Blossom by blossom, spring begins.
Hello, again!
A term I learned awhile back on the mid-day news at KAKE-TV was that March 1st is the meteorological “first day” of spring. In the back of my mind, I have always felt that our four seasons seem to start about a month or so earlier than the official changing of the seasons!
Last weekend we filled our bedding plant tables with blooming cold-tolerant pansies and violas. We’ve shut off the furnaces in the production greenhouse where we’ve been growing plants since early December. Our cole crops, broccoli, kale, lettuce and the like are out as well. I’d go ahead and get these plants in the ground. If necessary, they are easy to cover if we have any more temperatures that dip into the low 20’s.
We are a few weeks ahead of the germination of our grassy annual weeds such as crabgrass and foxtail, and by using a season-long preventer such as ferti-lome For All Seasons II Lawn Food Plus Crabgrass and Weed Preventer your turf will be crabgrass-free until fall. For All Seasons will give season-long control of crabgrass from a single application. Other short residual preventers are only effective up to 60 days, and a second application is often necessary to extend control. In fact, For All Seasons can be applied much earlier than short residual products and still will have sufficient strength to last the entire season. With quality fertilizer added to the product, For All Seasons will get your cool season turf (such as fescue) off to a good start. Because it’s not quick release, it will feed the turf for weeks.
Many homeowners choose to go with our 5-step Lawn Care Program to take the guesswork out of lawn care. Stop by the stores, and we will be happy to answer your lawn care questions and build this easy-to-apply program tailored specifically to your lawn’s needs.
Last week I had a question concerning our new stock of helleborus. I knew they would be arriving soon, and they have!! Helleborus or Lenten rose is a greatly underused, shade-loving and winter-blooming perennial. We have received our first shipment of landscape plants with not only helleborus, but boxwood, blooming azaleas and a few spruce.
Make regular stops by the stores; new plants are arriving daily!
Your friend in the garden,
Marty Johnson
Owner - Johnson's Garden Centers
