Dan West Garden Center

July 2007 Newsletter

Today's class is about our most frequently asked summer questions and some misconceptions.  We're going to separate a little fiction from fact and share with you some things we've learned through the years because what we'll tell you to do in 2007 may be different than what we told you to do in 1977.

"You shouldn't water in midday, plants will burn!"   Did anyone tell Mother Nature? Plants could be damaged from the very hot water that was trapped in your water hose and some begonias can be damaged by cold water when applied in drought conditions but drops on the leaves will not cause scalding.  If your plants are thirsty, please water them, they'll be fine.  What time you water, will depend mostly on your biggest concern.  If leaf disease is the concern, then watering in the morning (before 2 PM) allows the foliage to dry quickly.  If water conservation is the biggest concern, then evening watering looses less to evaporation. More important than when, is how.  Plants that are prone to leaf disease should be watered with a soaker hose or drip system, then you can water at night, not worry about leaf diseases and save water.

"I cut some limbs off my tree and I need some pruning sealer!" No you don't.  For limbs, make a good, clean, angled cut with a sharp pruning tool.  If removing the limb at the trunk, cut about 1/4" away from the trunk and then let Mother Nature take it from there.  Black paint absorbs a lot of heat and may cause tissue death and fermentation behind the paint, which can result in heartwood rot, which might hollow out the tree, which  may cause it to break in a light wind and fall on your new car!  All because you used pruning paint.  Did you know I hear voices?  (Explains a few things doesn't it!)  I hear one now screaming "I told you not to use pruning sealer...you have killed our tree!"  Don't panic.  Probably no harm will come from using pruning sealer but it's not necessary and does no good.  It's best to be able to monitor the cut and spray it for insects and diseases if you need to.  The only plant that needs to be sealed when pruning is a rose.  Any cane, pencil size or larger, should be sealed with Elmer's glue to prevent cane borers from entering. I can hear another little voice out there saying "But don't you sell pruning paint?"  Yes, we do. As a retailer, we try to have what a customer wants.  As a nurseryman, we want to give you the most accurate information available.  As a customer, you deserve to have a choice, to make up your own mind, and we want you to leave with a solution to your problem and/or content with your purchase.

"How can I kill vines that are growing up through my shrubs?"  It's become known as an "Ivy I.V.". You need a margarine cup with an X cut in the top.  Fill it with Kill-zall mixed at label directions.  Carefully unwind a little vine and gently push it through the cut in the top so it can absorb the chemical and just set it under your shrub.  The top keeps the product in and pets out.  Here are some other tips to use when applying Kill-zall.  If you can't spray in the flowerbeds without it drifting to your desirables then mix it up in a bucket and use a sponge mop to wipe what you want to kill. In really tight spaces, hand apply with a sponge.  Want to spray and avoid the drift?  Cut a hole in a 16 oz. plastic cup, insert the sprayer nozzle and tape it to the wand.  You can totally cover a weed with the cup.  What's Kill-zall?  It's a non-selective (kills everthing but cannot be absorbed through roots) herbicide called glyphosate.  You may know it better as Round-up.  Why Kill-zall?  Because it's 41% glyphosate for less money than 18% active in Round-up.

"Is it too late to plant...?" No.  Container grown plants can be planted anytime the ground is not too wet.  However...leave them unattended and go to the coast for a week and they will be dead when you return.  All the water available to the plant is in the bark-based soil that it was grown in.  It can be very dry while your surrounding soil be moist.  But without roots into your surrounding soil (which will take about two growing seasons), the plant can't survive without a little help from you.  The hotter and drier it is, the more help the plant needs from you.  But use caution, it's not hard to kill one with kindness.  You will hear this alot..."No plant wants to die before it's time".  If a healthy plant dies, the fact is...it got something it didn't want or it wanted something it didn't get.

"So how often should I water?" Can't tell you.  The water needs of every plant will vary.  Some will need to be watered everyday.  Some will die if you water them everyday.  Plant six azaleas, same size, same variety and each plant will need to be checked.  You can't assume that because they are the same size and type plant, planted in the same bed with the same exposure that their needs are the same.  Very slight variations in planting depth, soil preparation, leaf count, soil moisture, air movement, mulch depth will make significant differences in how much water each plant will need TODAY. TOMORROW the needs may be different because the third plant from the left actually got 30% less water than the ones on either side and you probably didn't notice that while you were watering and talking on the cell phone. Let it get too dry or too wet - just once -  and the damage is done, the plant is now stressed. It's may have lost some roots and probably some foliage, now the water needs are different than yesterday, and much different than the healthy plant beside it, but will you adjust your watering?  Chances are good you'll increase the water until there's enough damage for the plant to go backward.   So...nothing beats "The Finger Test"!  Stick your finger knuckle deep in the rootball an inch or two away from the trunk and see if it feels moist.  Dry...water.  Moist...don't water.  Not sure...don't water.  It's better to slightly underwater than overwater.  If you overwater, the feeder roots rot off, then the plant can't take in water, so it wilts.  What are you likely to do to a wilted plant? Exactly!  You think it needs water, it really needs air...but it may need water, so check it!  I will now climb down from the soapbox.

"How long and how often should I water the lawn in the summer?" Fescue needs about 2" of water/rain per week, Bermudagrass about 1" per week, Meyer and El Toro zoysia about an 1" every 5 days, Palisade zoysia about 1" every 10-14 days.  Exposure to sun, wind and your soil type may significantly effect the frequency but it's fairly easy to tell when turfgrasses need water. Water stressed grass turns brown or gray but recovers quickly when watered.  Sprinklers should be run a minimum of 2 hours per location to saturate the soil.  The time for sprinkler systems will vary depending on number of heads and water volume.

"Why are my annuals just not growing!" Mulch is usually the culprit.  Every now and then you notice your mulch has washed away so you replace it.  It didn't really go away, it just decomposed.  In just a few years, you develop a layer of decomposed bark covered with mulch and often we see annuals planted in this nice, black, loose stuff instead of the clay below.  It looks good...but it holds no nutrients and dries quickly, sucking the moisture out of the bedding plant rootzone.  If you can, lift them, dig a deeper hole and mix the clay with the "black stuff" and replant.  If you can't lift them, spray feed them weekly with a good quality water soluble fertilizer (ferti-lome 20-20-20 or 9-59-8 for lots of flowers) and you'll get better growth.  The other mulch problem we see is "fresh" mulch.  Tannic acid (the brown water running across your walk) lowers the pH to where plants can't feed and the nitrogen needed for growth is used by the decomposing mulch.  The best solution...wait until Fall, test your soil, plant pansies.

"Is it too late to fertilize?"  Bermuda and Zoysia lawns should be fertilized in July or August and a winterizing fertilizer in September.  Fescue should be fertilized in late September, not before.  Shrubs should not be fertilized after July 1 because the new growth generated by the fertilizer would probably not harden off before winter.  Annuals should be fertilized at least monthly until frost.  Even if you used a timed released fertilizer on your annuals, spray feed them with a high phosphorous fertilizer to promote more flowers.

"How can I get Bermudagrass out of my monkeygrass?" We still have customers that have not heard of ferti-lome Over-The-Top grass killer.  You can spray over the top of many plants and around any ornamental to kill bermuda and many other annual and perennial grasses.  Yep, spray it right over your monkeygrass and the bermuda is dead in about a week.  It doesn't kill broadleaf weeds or nutsedge (nutgrass), just true grasses.  It's available in a concentrate that makes about 1.5 gallons, and covers 1500-1800 square feet, or in a convienent 24 ounce ready-to-use spray bottle. Not for use in the vegetable garden.

Got a problem?  You can email us at questions@danwestonline.com.

DAN WEST GARDEN CENTERS

4763 POPLAR            12061 HWY 64

MEMPHIS, TN 38117    EADS, TN 38028

901-767-6743            901-867-2283

KENNETH MABRY - MANAGER          JIM CROWDER - MANAGER