South Bend Landscaping

Thank You Veterans

To all family, friends and business associates who have served our country in the military:

Thank you for all you have done to keep our country free - and to help other countries around the world.

You have made the world a better place.

Great annual flower beds!

Greetings all!

Here are a few tricks to get your annual flowers to really thrive this summer!

Plant early, but after the last frost.  While it's hard to predict the exact date of last frost, Mothers day is a good rule of thumb.  This season has been a bit cool after our early warmup, so we're waiting an extra week or so to begin our planting.

Amend your flower bed with compost & make sure you have good drainage.  Annuals like a rich fertile, well drained soil.  If your flower bed has poor sandy, gravely soil or holds standing water after a rain, your flowers won't do as well.  You can sometimes mound the bed to create sufficient drainage when needed.

Select the proper annual for your location.  There are a multitude of annuals out there, but here are a few guidelines:  Petunias like full sun and heat and can tolerate some dryness.  Impatients like partial shade.  Begonias are a good general conditions annual.  Buy from a reputable garden center and read the label for your choices.  Buy flats that contain vigorus, healthy plants.  Avoid "leggy" plants that appear too big for their container.

Give plants room to grow.  While dense plantings will give a good initial appearance, the plants won't mature properly if planted too close together.  Spacing will depend on variety and can vary between 6" and 9" on center.

Cultivate the bed prior to planting  It is easier for the new plants to root into loose fluffy soil.  We also find adding some slow release fertilizer at this stage provides continual nutrition to the flowers during the season.  If possible, avoid planting on hot dry days. 

Give them a boost by watering in with Rapid Gro or other liquid fertilizer.  The planting process is somewhat stressful to the flowers, so giving them a shot of quick absorbing water based fertilizer helps them get established quicker.  Be sure to follow the directions for your fertilizer.

Avoid mulching annual flower beds.  It takes nutrients to break down the mulch, which robs nutirents from the flowers.  We suggest using Preen for weed control.  Avoid other stronger weed control products.  Be sure to read the label, or hand weed beds as needed.

Don't let your flower bed dry out and keep them on a regularly scheduled fertilizer program.  We use a "blossom boosting" water based fertilizer.   A little TLC during the season and your flowers will be the best in the neighborhood. 

Don't have time for all this?  Give us a call. We'll be glad to help.  For more info visit http:\\www.foegleylandscape.com

Mugho Pine Pest

If you have mugho pines in your landscape, be on the lookout for sawfly larva.  Our crews started seeing them this week.  They can strip a mugho pine in short order, so an inspection is in order The following excerpt is from the University of Illinois extension:

"The European pine sawfly (Neodiprion sertifer) is found in large numbers and "waves" in mass as a means of scaring off predators. It feeds on mugo pines as well as many other pines. This sawfly larva feeds for about six weeks. They feed on older mature leaves, leaving the emerging needle alone.

Failure to control the European Pine Sawfly insect is not usually fatal to the plant. However, a more sparse plant will be the result. However, redheaded and white pine sawflies can kill branches or the entire tree if numerous. If an insecticide is applied, it is best done when larvae are hatching or very small to minimize damage. Time to treat often corresponds to saucer magnolia petal drop. Control as soon after egg hatch as possible."

We find this pest easily controled with insecticides available at most garden centers.  Be sure to follow the directions for the product you select.

For more information about your landscape, visit our website at http://www.foegleylandscape.com/