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How to grow Knockout Roses and Herbs How to control Leaf Cutter Ants Pine Trees and Customer Service How to put Tourist Farms on the Map How to control Snakes in the Garden
What are common Shrub Diseases
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How to Garden in Dry Weather If you planted wildflowers last fall, you may need to give them some supplemental moisture over the next couple of weeks. Don't put them on a regular watering schedule; just a deep soaking every now and then will help them grow normally for lots of color in the spring. New trees and shrubs will need a deep soaking once a week until established. Prune bare root trees properly. Leaving too much on top will keep the roots from reaching deep into the soil before summer. Think about "going native" this spring when choosing new plants for the garden. Exotic and tropical plants that you will find in most department stores will not survive this drought. My favorite plant for a dry garden is the salvia. There are many different kinds with every color of flower available, including blue, the hardest color to find in the garden. I will be offering a complete list of drought tolerant plants for spring and fall color in the next few weeks. Be sure to look around your house and do some preliminary fire prevention if things remain dry. Create a clean perimeter at least 25 feet wide around your house, barns, outbuildings and greenhouses. Don't forget to clear around animal pens that might be full of hay and around anyplace that contains gasoline, paint, flammable liquids or butane tanks. It's got to the point where even mowing is a fire hazard, but scalping the grass around these areas may keep a grass fire low enough so it won't do any damage. Protect water hoses and store them off the ground. The last time I was trying to fight a grass fire, I ran for the hose and it was curled up in a pile of burning grass. I found out that a plastic water hose burns readily and quickly becomes full of holes and of course, useless. Do these things now because you can get injured or killed by running around in a panic if a fire heads toward your home. There will be enough excitement with fire trucks, backfires being set, and helicopters circling overhead. In case you didn't know, the stuff you see helicopters dropping on a fire is either water or, if it's red, a non-toxic fertilizer-based fire retardant that releases carbon dioxide and water to smother the fire. Iron oxide gives it the red color, so the pilot can see where it's already applied. It has a longer lasting effect than water and can be applied ahead of an advancing fire. It contains polymers and gums that make it very slippery so avoid walking on it, if possible. Foam, made from a product similar to dish soap, is sometimes dropped from helicopters to control fires, but its usefulness is limited in high intensity fires where the long term fire retardant is more practical.
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If you are having problems with rust diseases on your snapdragons or other winter ornamentals, the best thing to do is cut the infected plants to the ground. Rust looks like an orange or gray fungus on the underside of the leaves. It can become airborne and spread, so be careful while removing the infected plant. Don't water overhead as that will splash it around the garden. Rust is not usually seen until we have night temperatures in the 60 and 70-degree range such as during a normal summer or late spring. This winter, since so many of the day temperatures fall in that range, you may be seeing more fungal problems on your ornamentals. If you're not bothered by fungus or rust on your winter plants, be on the lookout for it and remove any infected leaves you might see before things get out of hand.
