Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2002
PDF file available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/miscellaneous.html

Lose Weight and Earn Money!
March 2002
Sallie Strole, Johnson's East Store

    Whose curiosity isn't piqued by these types of announcements
offering spectacular results with little or no work?

    It's the same in the gardening world. Ads tempt you with easy
solutions to landscape dilemmas, and there is just enough truth in the
claims to make the reader think that this time it's the real thing.

    Having problems with your lawn? You could plant Amazoy, the grass
that will save you time, work and money. The only down side seems to be
that it goes "off its green color" in the winter. The truth is that
zoysia is a fine grass, but it is not a wonder cure for lawn woes.
Planting plugs is time consuming work and zoysia is slow to grow and
fill in, allowing weeds to get a head start on the grass. The watering
requirements for zoysia are about the same as for fescue and "off its
green color" simply means that zoysia is brown half the year.

    So what about Canada Green for quick cover and a green lawn 12
months of the year? Best guess on this, since the exact variety of this
grass is omitted from the print information, would be that it's a rye
grass. Rye is extremely fast growing, but alas, usually dies in our
Kansas summers.

    What better answer to that heat than instant shade with trees that
grow 6-10 ft. a year. The austrees, poplars and paulownia do grow
rapidly. The flip side is that they are weak wooded trees prone to wind
damage and susceptible to insect and disease attack. Many plants
advertised in national publications are not well adapted to grow in the
extremes of the Kansas climate.

    The multicolored butterfly bush and rose of sharon, the fragrant old
fashion lilac and the spectacular Stargazer lilies are all legitimate
plants; but the size and quality of what you receive through the tabloid
type ads are usually inferior to what you could buy locally.

    Then there are miracle tomato trees that grow as tall as a man in
three months and produce hundreds of tomatoes. Of course, when you think
about it there are many varieties that will grow that large and produce
abundant fruit. And isn't production more a matter of picking the best
type of tomato for the area and good soil preparation and aftercare? For
the same $3-4 per plant (plus shipping and handling) you can come to
Johnson's and select several healthy plants from the dozens of varieties
we will have in stock.

    It can be fun to look through the catalogs and ads but just remember
to take the exaggerated claims with a grain of salt, because if it
sounds too good to be true it probably is ... except for the "lose weight
and earn money." You can do that by getting a job at Johnson's in the
spring!