Monthly Garden Gossip

Looking for some interesting yard art? We have it. Some how we just loved these Zen Frogs. Don't you think everyone needs one of these in their garden!

We also fell in love with the flamingos. They made us laugh.

Copper sprays are excellent for bacterial problems such as fire blight on apple and pear trees and bacterial spot on peach, nectarine, plum and cherry. It is generally best not to mix copper with other spray materials. Don't spray copper within 2 to 3 weeks of lime sulfur or oil sprays.

If you ar having a problem with scale insects and eggs, mite eggs plus overwintering fungal and bacterial pests you could use Liquid Lime Sulfur Spray, Parafine Horticultural Oil, Year-Round Spray Oil, Hi-yield dormant Spray, Saf-t-side (80% petroleum oil or Fertilome dorman Spray and Summer Spray Oil, ( 98.8% horticultural Oil. Don ot apply oil sprays within 48 hours of a hard freeze, (below 30 degrees) because freeze damage may be increased.

Bloom sprays are used late February through early April. From first bloom until essentially all flowers have opened. One or two sprays are adequate. We use bloom sprays to control fungal and bacterial diseases.The sprays be be applied throughout bloom. When applying copper be careful to use the recommended rates to aviod bloom damage and apply during pink bud- early bloom period. Bloom sprays for fungal problems such as brown rot mat not be needed every year but are suggested if brown rot on fruit was severe the previous year. Suggested products are Hi-yield Captan, Hi Yield Vegetable, Flower, Fruit and Ornamental Fungicide (12.5% chlorothalonil )and Fruit Tree Vegetable , Ornamental Fungicide (29.6% chlorothalonil) You may also use Liquid Copper Fungicide and Liquid-Cop.

Do not spray insecticides during bloom period to protect pollinating bees.

This spray begins at petal fall (nearly all flower petals have fallen.) and runs until 15 days before harvest. These sprays are used mainly to control insect and disease problems of the fruit. (especially plum curcullio which causes wormy fruit and brown rot which causes fruit rots). The first 2 to 3 sprays should be 7 to 10 days apart with later sprays up until near harvest 2 to 3 weeks apart. Suggested products are Hi Yield Captain Fungicide, Dusting/Wettable sulfur, Thiomyl. When using Thiomyl include Captain in the spray to reduce possible development of resistant strains of brown rot. For plum curculio and other insects, Mal-A Cide (50% malathion) Monterey Garden Insect Sray (0.5% spinosad) The old fruit tree spray that contained Malathion and Captan is no longer available. However the gardener can prepare the sme spray by mixing per directions the captan and malathion together.

Fire blight is the enemy of apple and pear trees. It is caused by a bacteria that attacks the blossoms and moves up to the twigs and then the branches turning the blossoms brown and shriveling and blackening the twigs and branches. In advanced cases discolored oozing patches form on the branches. Fire Blight is easily spread by rain splashes, birds and insects. Gardeneres can also spread the disease on infected gardening tools. Disinfect your tools with a 10% clorox solution when trimming infected trees. Dispose of infected plant material by burning or discarding in the trash. Copper sprays are excellent or bacterial problems such as fire blight. Fire blight spray which contains streptomycin may be used also. Spreptomycin should be sprayed about every 10 days during bloom to be effective.

Prune evergreens, pine, hemlock, yew, cleyera and cedar now before they start to grow.  Prune spring blooming shrubs after they flower.  Don't wait too long or your will remove next years buds. Prune boxwoods if needed.  Open up the inside to allow air circulation and light.  Prune pomegranate and summer flowering shrubs.  Lilac Chaste tree, Anthony Waterer Spirea and Pee Gee hydrangea should also be pruned now while dormant.  Hydrangea arborescens, Annabelle hydrangeas, can be pruned to the ground since they flower on new growth.  If the stems are cut to the ground the new shoots produce larger inflorescences.  Don't prune your hydrangea macrophylla, mopheads and lacecaps until after they leaf out.  Then prune only the branches that are dead. For pink blooms on the hydrangeas use lime; for blue blooms use aluminum sulphate or camellia and azalea fertilizer.