Johnsons's Garden Centers Text File document - copyright 2007
PDFfile available at http://www.johnsonsgarden.com/newsletter/gardentips.html

J U N E  2 0 0 7

Garden Tips 
Marty Johnson President, Johnson's Garden Centers &
               KS Certified Nursery Professional

Spring "Do Over"
    Note to self:  Never again in an article for "Garden Talk"
mention anything about a last frost date, last freeze, last snow ...
you get the point. In the spring edition of "Garden Talk" I
mentioned that the last time we experienced a freeze was March 16. 
I guess I was feeling pretty good ... finally, the perfect spring
for gardeners. Our stores were well stocked and people were really
into early spring gardening activities.
    Wow, does a couple of weeks make a difference or what? We all
remember the deep freeze of April 7 and 8, then on April 15 we had a
low of 32 degrees. This spring weather shows us a couple of things.
First of all, plants are very resilient. Sure, there will be some
plants that will not survive, but for the most part, plants do come
back. The plants that I was most concerned about were my crapemyrtles 
and hostas. In early May, these plants were not at their normal point in
their growth, but they will be just fine.

De-Stress Your Plants
    Keeping plants healthy this year will be as important as ever.
When plants are stunted or experience some type of stress, that is when 
secondary problems can occur. Borers seem to be attracted to plants under 
stress. I believe it has to do with the plant's natural defenses. In its 
recovery from stress, the plant produces sugars and the insects are 
attracted to these sugars.
    The first thing you should do is keep plants well fed. By using
ferti-lome Tree & Shrub Food, the plants will be actively growing
and will be able to defend against invading insects.
    Secondly, I would use some type of borer control. Hi-Yield 38 Plus
is an excellent control for borer insects that invade the outer bark of 
plants. For systemic control, Bayer Tree & Shrub is available in both a
liquid concentrate and a granular. Both are applied at the base of the 
plant and absorbed by the root system, remaining in the plant and protecting 
it for 12 months.

Love/Hate Relationship with Bermuda
    I might not make bermudagrass lovers too happy when I talk about
killing their favorite turf grass. I also love bermudagrass, when
kept contained and used in areas where irrigation is limited. But,
if you are trying to grow a fescue lawn and bermuda is trying to
invade, you don't like bermudagrass. Two products are available to
take out bermudagrass in fescue lawns.
    Hi-Yield Turflon Ester is a great broadleaf herbicide that will
go after bermudagrass as well. Used on a monthly basis, you should
be able to stay ahead of the invading grass. I have used Turflon
Ester when the temperature was over 100 degrees and had no damage on
fescue. If you need to take out difficult weeds such as clover,
violets or ground ivy, this is the product to use. An 8 oz. bottle
will mix enough to treat 8,000 sq. ft.
    Bayer Bermudagrass Control for Lawns is available in a
ready-to-spray container which covers 5,000 sq. ft. It will take out
bermuda as well as crabgrass, foxtails and sandburs in fescue lawns
and is labeled for use in ornamental beds.

Rainy Days
    I was visiting with my mother about this spring's weather and
she brought up a Bing Crosby tune, Pennies from Heaven.

        "Every time it rains it rains
            Pennies from heaven. 
        Don't you know each cloud contains 
            Pennies from heaven. 
        You'll find your fortune falling 
            All over town. 
        Be sure that your umbrella 
            is upside down. 
        Trade them for a package of
            sunshine and flowers."

    Mom thought we should come up with a rainy day promotion for our
customers with this as the theme song. We love promotions at Johnson's,
so stay tuned, maybe a rainy day event will be in our future.