Lilacs in August

Lilacs in August? Yes. Josee reblooms! This dwarf lilac blooms on new growth all summer long. If you don't have this one in your planting, you can correct that situation in September and enjoy lilacs until frost this year. As a dwarf it has a maximum height of 6 feet, but you can maintain a shorter plant with pruning.

Unlike other lilacs which bloom only once, Josee blooms and blooms from May until frost. Since the lavender-pink blooms appear on new growth, you are safe shearing the plant when the bloom fades and dries.

Remember other lilacs should be pruned after they bloom to produce bloom for next year. You can feed now to produce blooms next year. A good 12-12-12 fertilizer works well.

Bagworms! Eradicate now.

Bagworms, found east of the Rockies, plague evergreens and other plants. Spray or handpick bags NOW. Eggs are hatching in those leather-like bags hanging on your evergreens. Larvae crawl out and feed on foliage, slowing destroying your beautiful plant in the process. Then they create their own "bag". Once they seclude themselves inside, they are impervious to any spray you apply.

How do you eradicate them? Spray or handpick bags RIGHT NOW. Spray the entire plant with malathion or check your local garden shop for another good product. If you are hesitant to use chemicals, then your next best method is to handpick and destroy the bags or spray with BTK, a microbial biological control (ask for it at your garden store).

If you choose to handpick the bags, use a knife or hand pruners to cut the silk from the twig. if you tear the bag off, you leave a coil of tightly wound silk. It will girdle the twig and cause a different problem.

If the bags are left on your plant, the caterpillars will slowly defoliate the plant, weaken it, and in a couple of seasons, or so, the plant will die.

Be aware that bagworms are not limited to evergreens. They will eat foliage from any plant and use it to create bags. So if you find them in evergreens, check every tree and shrub in your landscape. Vigilance is key in eradication and protecting your beautiful plants spring after spring.

Gnarledly Ugly Weeping Mulberry

Trusty loppers and hand pruners in hand, I tackled a tangle of limbs in my weeping mulberry. The limbs were a tangled mess because, over the years, I pruned incorrectly. I cut long tendrils back, maybe half way to their source. The cut created an apical bud which produced new growth at that point.

I had long graceful tendrils from the top of the tree, and I had short branches from the middle of the trimmed tendrils. Limbs close to the trunk got thicker and more gnarledly ugly.

A few days ago I decided to do something about it. I decided I couldn't make it worse and at this point, almost anything would be an improvement. I cut and pulled and cut and pulled until a huge pile of of limbs lay on the ground. I was careful to go all the way to the beginning of the branch, so any new growth should begin there. My husband finished the job with a tree saw and removed large bare stubs from the inside.

Presently, the tree is denuded, but wonderfully thinned. I'm confident new leaves will soon cover the branches and they will hang to the ground before summer's end, creating a cool secluded "hide away" for grandsons.

Grass needs a haircut.

Lush lawns take work and mowing properly is key to building a lush lawn. When I drive through a neighborhood and see grass cut so short, I can almost see the soil, I lament. That poor homeowner will probably spend money on fertilizer to encourage his grass to grow and weed killer to destroy the weeds he encourages with SHORT grass. But wait, a dry spell is on its way in late summer and a brown lawn for this poor fellow.

Grass is more than a stem, but when we cut it short, all we have left are stems. Set your mower high and cut grass at least 3 inches high. Then you will see blades (leaves) on the stems. Cutting the grass high encourages more growth in the roots, produces more stems with more blades of grass on the stems, and creates a thick carpet that begs for bare feet.

Thick grass saves you money and enhances your environment in the process. Who isn't interested in saving hard earned money? Thick grass discourages weeds, so you purchase less weed killers. Thick grass is more immune to dry spells in late summer, so you save money on watering, not to mention the time saved for more interesting pursuits.

So set your mower deck high, (mine is as high as it will go) and enjoy a greener summer.

Rhubarb! Scrumpdelecious!

Rhubarb stirs pleasant childhood memories in my soul. A freshly pulled stalk, wiped clean on my shorts or shirt, and popped into my mouth produced an unforgettable sweet/sour taste that I can actually feel in my mouth as I think about it. Remember how those glands on either side of your mouth react to sour tastes? I can feel it now.

My mom had a big patch of rhubarb along a fence row bordering her rather huge garden. She created lots of rhubarb treats through the spring while it was crisp, tender, and TART!

Rhubarb, fresh cut, combined with juicy red strawberries, then tucked between two crusts and baked for 50 minutes at 425 F produced my first pie for the spring season.

My husband, David, and I, each savored a warm, juicy slice with glasses of cold milk.

I planted a pot of Canadian Red Rhubarb in a plant bed last spring. I had access to some composted horse manure and worked that into the soil at the time. Then a couple of weeks ago I dug some rich humus soil in around the plant. Although our spring has been cold and wet, the rhubarb has thrived. So Tuesday, I pulled all the largest stalks and made a pie. Pulling large stalks stimulates the plant to produce more.

Composted horse or cow manure is a good amendment to any soil. Check out your local garden supply for bags or if you are fortunate, perhaps a neighbor has a pile near the horse barn. Composed manures are odor free, so you can use them near the house or wherever you need them.

No compost available? There are many alternatives including Proven Winners plant foods.

Back to childhood memories. Our next door neighbor's rhubarb patch flourished near our gravel drive. The leaves on those plants were so large, they served as umbrellas on rainy childhood days. I wonder if little girls still make umbrellas from rhubarb leaves and splash in the puddles?

Roses, love them or hate them.

Roses, love them or hate them. My tea and grandiflora roses may be DEAD! I neglected to throw some extra soil up against the canes last fall after the ground froze. They look dead now. There appears to be a little green near the base so I'll wait for a while and see if the growth is above the graft or below the graft. Thankfully, I only have three!

I'm glad I planted shrub roses last year. They are hardy souls and are already flushing out. I added two to a plant bed. They took off like rockets and grew from a 2 gallon pot size to about 18 inches tall by 20-24 inches wide in one season.

We fight Japanese Beetles in the summer and they love the leaves on roses, but shrub roses thrive in spite of the pesky beetles.

Shrub roses produce abundant and continuous blooms all summer until frost. These low maintenance beauties are hardy, disease resistant, and fragrant. A light shearing removes spent blossoms when you see lots of them. You don't have to shear them because they will continue to produce new growth and bloom over the spent blooms.

Last week, I used my hedge pruners and cut them back to about half their size and shaped them a little. Yesterday, I dug some rose food into the soil and now I'll stand back and watch while they deliver weeks of breath taking beauty.

So put a couple in your garden space, sit back and enjoy the show.

Buy Proven Winners Shrubs and Perennials

at http://www.gardensandsuch.com.

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Pruning Spirea

Proven Winners Snow Storm Spirea reminds me of the old fashioned spirea with massive white blooms in April. Proven Winners Pink Parasols Spirea produces big, pink, fluffy, umbrella-like blooms and cover a mounded, spreading shrub in June.

I just finished pruning my spirea. They collect lots of leaves in the winter and the easiest way to remove them is to cut the spirea back to about 4 to 6 inches tall. Then I use a metal tined garden rake and pull them out. It is safe to do this early in the spring because Spirea japonica blooms on new wood. That means a light shearing after bloom fades encourages a new flush of growth and more bloom.