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Gardening
This Season
Summer is just around the corner, time for
vacations, backyard barbeques, and fun in the sun! Unfortunately, plant
diseases and insects do not take vacations! Here are a few timely tips
from your Illinois Certified Nursery Professionals (ICN Pros) that will
help you keep your yard and garden looking its best!
Lawn
-
 Keep
your mowing height up! Mowing taller will keep your turf healthier,
and a healthy turf is more able to withstand drought and compete
with weeds! It is a good idea to maintain turf at 3-4” tall.
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Sharpen your mower blades. A sharper
blade gives a cleaner cut. A cleaner cut looks better and cuts more
uniformly than a dull, dinged up blade.
Garden
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Now is the time to begin fertilizing
your annual flowers. There are many different formulations
available. Check with the ICN Pro at your garden center- they’ll
help you feed your plants right!
-
 It
is also time to start fertilizing and spraying your roses. If you
have hybrid tea roses they will benefit from a fertilizer
application about once every 30 days. Hybrid tea roses can be very
susceptible to black spot and powdery mildew. There are many
products that can be used to treat these diseases, consult an ICN
Pro for recommendations in your area.
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Your bulbs have finished flowering for
this year and they are now busy making food for next years flowers!
Do not cut, tie or otherwise destroy their foliage, yet! Towards
the end of June, the leaves will be turning very brown and they will
begin to dry up. At this point, it is ok to cut them back.
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Remember, it’s not too late to plant!
nnuals, perennials, shrubs, and most trees can still be planted
without worry! In fact, as long as someone is willing to water, the
planting season can extend all the way through summer and on into
fall! So stop by your local garden center, and see what’s blooming!
Water Gardens
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Your water garden becomes a peaceful,
cool retreat when the temperatures really start to heat up! There
are two big things you can do to keep it looking its best. Cut back
on feeding your fish. Don’t feed them any more than they can eat in
a few seconds, and when it gets really hot, it’s a good idea not to
feed them at all. Keep plenty of plants in your pond. 50% or more
of the surface of the water should be covered with lush plant
material. Use floating plants & water lilies to achieve shaded
water. Add marginal plants, like sedges, rushes, flowering plants to
add beauty and texture. Use oxygenators to help bring life to your
water.
Native Landscapes
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If you are establishing a new native
landscape, and have the vegetation on your site controlled, then it
is time to seed! Seeding can be done through the middle of June.
It is generally recommended to use a blend of 60% grasses and 40%
forbs, or flowering perennials. Be sure to use a high quality seed
mix to ensure clean seed and few to no annuals!
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If you have an established native
landscape- sit back and enjoy the beautiful colors and all of the
beautiful birds and butterflies!
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Plots less than 2 years old should be
mowed to control annual weeds, before they go to seed.
Insect & Disease
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Bagworms will be hatching in
June. Bagworms will feed on evergreen trees and shrubs the majority
of the time. Arborvitae and spruce are particularly susceptible to
bagworms. Many nurseries and garden centers will have a spray
program that treats for bagworms. This is probably the easiest means
of control, especially for large evergreen trees. If you have
questions about bagworms, or need treatment recommendations, contact
an ICN Pro at your garden center.
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Some newly transplanted trees are
susceptible to borer damage. June is a critical time to spray to
prevent borer damage. There are a few new products that have been
released that can aid in the prevention of borers. Consult the ICN
Pro at your garden center for recommendations in your area.
 Birds
& Butterflies
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Keep your hummingbird feeders clean
and filled!
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Apply any chemicals with great
caution! Remember that chemicals to kill undesirable insects also
kill desirable insects such as butterflies! Only spray chemicals
when it is absolutely necessary!
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Provide larval food! A butterfly comes
from a hungry caterpillar. So in order to get and keep butterflies
around, you must provide food for the caterpillars. Different
caterpillars prefer different species of plants. Check out this
U of I
Website for great butterfly information!
Get to know your ICN Pro! The ICN Pro at
your local garden center is ready, willing and able to help you with all
of your gardening needs! Whether you have a disease you need to treat,
a pot you need to fill or a landscape you need help designing….The
ICN Pro at your local garden center
is here to help.
More tips...
by Carey
Boehm-Corrie, ICN Pro of the
Year (2003), Boehm's Garden Center,
Rushville, IL
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