Spring 2007 -
Seasonal Tips for a low snow year.
Warm days followed by cold nights followed
by seasonal snow showers and bursts of sunshine.
It is a time when you are tempted to get ahead of yourself on planting
projects and then get behind yourself because of the mud. Try to be
patient.
Some good ‘early season’ projects are:
 Soil
Preparation - add Gypsum, Ranui Compost and
Soil Pep to planting areas.
Fertilize - Lawn, Trees, Shrubs and Garden areas.
Plant Wildflower Seed and Grass Seed.
Plant Mountain Acclimated Trees and Shrubs.
Plant Mountain Acclimated Perennials and Ground Covers.
Plant hardy annual pots - pansies, violas, snapdragons, stock and hardy
‘Proven Winners’.
Aerate established lawns (three years and older)
Check tree strings - pull burlap back from tree trunks and cut old strings.
Prune trees for shape and to discard dead branches. DO NOT prune flowering
shrubs until after they have bloomed.
Re-establish your tree wells.
Coping with a water
crunch season.
Here are some important considerations to having a successful
planting season in the wake of a low snow year. . .
Do NOT start watering too early. Get your sprinkler system
turned on, tuned up and ready to perform efficiently when it is
time to really use it.
This is the time of year to create deep roots. The plant roots
will follow the water as the level goes down, so will the roots.
If you start watering too early, the roots will stay shallow.
Dig down 4"-6" to test soil moisture. If it is wet, Do
Not water,
if it is dry, spot water.
Do NOT ever water your lawn every day.
Do Not Water during rain and snowstorms
WATER CYCLE
May thru July - Ample moisture
August thru Early October - Withdraw supplemental water
Mid October thru November - Ample Moisture (hopefully natural)
December thru March - Snow pack/Ample moisture
Create more ‘growable soil’ (our soil is pretty much rocky,
clay-like, alkaline). Your soil is the foundation of your
landscape. Without proper attention to it, your plants will not
flourish.
VALUABLE SOIL AMENDMENTS
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Gypsum
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Pep
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Soil
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Compost (local brand: Ranui Live
Compost®)
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Soil Sulfur/ Soil |
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Live
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Acidifier
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Regular Fertilization (preferably an organic brand like Milorganite®) |
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3" plus Bark or Mulch (Soil Pep®/Compost) on top of your
planting bed and around your trees will help with
evaporation and hold moisture in the soil. . . great for
weed control too!
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Do NOT over water. It creates weak, water dependent plants. |
TROUBLESHOOTING
SYMPTOM:
Spruce tip weavil again. . .
COMMENT: It looks like the problem
is beginning to lesson but. . . We cannot let up yet. Now is a good time
to spray Sevin® or Perethrins®. (these are the products which have
replaced Lindane and Dursban). It will be necessary to spray again in a
couple of weeks. The ‘bug’ has several hatches throughout the season.
SYMPTOM: Crabgrass in your lawn last
year?
COMMENT: If you have not noticed any yet,
it’s not too late to spread a pre-emergent with fertilizer on your lawn.
If you can already see it coming up, it’s too late. You will have to wait
for the weather to warm up and spray a post-emergent selective herbicide
on it later.
Go ahead and fertilize now anyway!
SYMPTOM: You want to move a tree or
shrub in your yard.
COMMENT: Do it before it leafs out.
As soon as you can dig. Use Rootstarter® every 4 weeks to establish a
stronger root system.
SYMPTOM: You want to grow a
wildflower patch.
COMMENT: It is best if you remove
any unwanted vegetation, preferably during the previous season. Any annual
seed that is planted (in an irrigated area) before June 15 has the
potential to bloom this season. Most perennials will not do much until the
following season. That is why we recommend a 1/3 Annual to 2/3 Perennial
seed blend - for better success on blooming flowers.
©
2007 - Park City Nursery - All Rights Reserved
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