April '23 Tips

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Dear Gardening Friends,    Spring has sprung, well almost. It has been trying anyway. Even though we are all anxious to get out there and work in the soil, wait a while. Remember patience! If you’re dying to do some gardening work on your houseplants. This is a good time to repot, trim and give them a good dusting. If there is a whitish/yellow crusty surface on the top of the soil it’s a good clue to repot and replenish with fresh soil. The buildup is a concentration of salts which is not good for the plant. This can also occur on the outside of the pot. If so, it can be scrubbed off with steel wool. Check your houseplants for any insect or disease problems. Identify what the problem is before trying to treat. An easy way to ID the problem is to GOOGLE possible problems on that specific plant. Select a “.edu” site to do the research. That way you’re getting scientific results.   There’s lots you can do outside. Whatever you do be mindful of not walking on the soft soil. If you can see your footprint don’t go on the soil. Lots of sticks and branches are down after our damaging winter. Pick up the ones you can reach. This is the ideal time to prune most trees or shrubs (that don’t bloom in the spring). If your tree/shrub has broken or damaged branches those should be pruned back to a main branch or stem. Don’t leave stubs is one of the basic rules of pruning. If a shrub, like an arb, is splayed you can try wrapping it up with twine (not plastic cord). It should be OK. Some trees may just have to be removed. Check with an arborist for an assessment of the damage. Many damaged shrubs can just be cut back, and they will regrow. My Bottle Brush Buckeye is so badly damaged I’m going to cut the whole thing back about 6 inches from the ground and hope for the best. Before starting any pruning chores clean and sharpen your tools. It makes a HUGE difference.   Other timely tips Rake or sweep up the road grit from driveway and road edges. There seems to be a lot of black knot fungus on flowering cherry and plum trees. It can affect ornamental and fruit bearing trees. The affected sections look like swollen black knots on the branches and should be pruned out 8 inches away from the “knot”. This is a highly contagious fungal disease so don’t ignore it. Disinfect your tools after working on an infected tree. For information go to: http://plantclinic.cornell.edu/factsheets/blackknot.pdf Gently rake up mulch/leaves that may be over areas where bulbs and early perennials like daylilies are poking through. I always leave some leaves as protection for late season snow & frost. We are bound to have some of both before consistently warmer weather arrives. Ornamental grasses should be cut back before the new growth starts so now is a good time. Wear long sleeves as they have “razor” edges which is why deer don’t eat them. The soil should be above 50 degrees and form a loose clump in your hand before you start any moving or dividing. Again, patience pays off in the end. It’s doubtful we will be able to do anything other than clean up by the end of the month. If you’ve left plants up from last fall don’t be in a hurry to cut them back. Many beneficial insects overwinter or lay their eggs in the stems and litter around the crown. The same goes for leaf litter in the garden. There are a lot of insects and larva living in the ground litter. Just let it be for now. If you need advice on how to transplant, divide, prune, what to plant etc. contact me for a consultation   Garden Consult:   It’s not too early to start planning, changes and improvements for your garden. Just contact me for an appointment to get a head start on the season.   I’m also available for a pruning consult. You can learn proper pruning techniques so you can do it yourself in the future.   A garden or pruning consult will save you time and money in the long run. Happy Gardening! Lyn Chimera Lessons from Nature 170 Pine St. E. Aurora, NY 14052 lyn@lessonsfromnature.biz 652-2432 Copyright © 2014 Lessons From Nature, All rights reserved. *|IFNOT:ARCHIVE_PAGE|* *|LIST:DESCRIPTION|* Our mailing address is: *|HTML:LIST_ADDRESS_HTML|* *|END:IF|* unsubscribe from this list    update subscription preferences  *|IF:REWARDS|* *|HTML:REWARDS|* *|END:IF|*