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Examine soil texture, too. Add fresh soil, mulch, and compost, being careful to aerate as much and as deep an area as you can before planting. Sunflowers are also a good option, since they grow quickly and tall, or try easy-to-grow ferns—both of these can be grown all across the United States. To avoid crowding, Sullivan suggests researching your plants first so you know exactly how big they will get and how to space them out accordingly.
You can also use it to keep notes about the interesting plants you come across elsewhere, so you can make a reminder to include them in your garden next year. In the fall, after the heavy heat has passed, I prune trees and large shrubs. If I want to add bulbs or any new plants for the next year, I add them at this time, but you can also plant in early spring.
And winter is when I cut back woody plants and roses, usually before the first frost. Make sure the water penetrates the soil as opposed to just putting a little bit on the surface. As for the best time of day, Lambton suggests early morning before it gets too warm so the plant can really soak up the water.
Sticky traps work really well if you are being bothered by flying whitefly or fungus. There is always so much I could tell you but I am going to leave you with one last piece of advice in. Do you know your soil pH? If you do, your yard will be very proud of you. They can test your Nitrogen, Phosphorus and pH balance there.
Why is it so important? Think of soil pH as a chemical balance in the soil. If it is out of whack, nothing grows as well as it should. The more sour our soil is, the more your plants. Once you determine your soil pH, we can help. If you measure a 7. Here is what you need to do…apply Lime! Fall is almost here and is one of the best times to apply Lime. It takes its sweet time,. Think of your lawn and garden as having a bad sweet tooth. It needs a sweeter soil to thrive. If your soil is sour, raise it up with a Lime application. You will have a happier lawn next Spring and I know that will make you smile.
Back in , when my career in horticulture began, I worked in the garden mecca of Longwood Gardens. The buzz was, that there was something new on the gardening horizon! While ordering for my customers in Old Saybrook this fall, I saw that it was still just as popular and still available as ever.
The other perennials introduced from that same time period have all been replaced or are plants we as gardeners no longer grow. Thirty years ago, a great plant started a family of great perennials that no fall garden should be without. Put on your garden shoes, gloves and hat. It missed you and suffered during the August heat.
Now your chores are done. Kick off your garden shoes and relax! We would love to help. I had a bitter sweet moment last week. The bitter news first. We retired the sand box that I played in everyday over 20 years ago. I remember my dad dumping fresh sand in there with our old John Deere tractor, it was so loud and rusty, and I will never forget how awesome it was to play in a big new pile of sand. I would build intricate tunnels and sand forts for all my little green army men.
The sweet news, our playground area received a facelift! We were happy to discover the Jet Blue terminal at JFK had a playground; it really saved our bacon when we had a 4 hour wait for a flight. Kids and parents come check out our newly renovated play area. There is no longer my sandbox from my child hood anymore but the whole playground has a nice thick layer of playground mulch.
We started carrying the playground mulch back in spring and we are excited to be able to try it out. Come play on our new flower climber, handicap accessible digger, bouncy duck and climb through the big flower tunnel. We also fixed up our swing set with a new small toddler swing, a new slide, and new climbing wall grips. Where do I stand on this topic? Where do you stand on this topic?
Most importantly, where does your lawn and garden stand on this topic? Yup, this is the smelly part of the nursery that houses all the fertilizers that make our plants and your plants extra healthy and beautiful. Veggie gardens will give you a much greater yield, annuals will push out more bloom, trees will establish deeper root systems, shrubs will be less prone to disease, etc. I am not suggesting that you over-fertilize.
This possibility does exist. Remember I mentioned that there is a fertilizer for every time of the year? They are perfect for any type of plant from veggies to houseplants. There is no risk of burning your plants with these fertilizers. Use one or both together every week. You will truly notice a difference.
In spite of this terribly hot, humid, dry weather, fall is on the way and this means it is time to restock the garage with fertilizers or to pull the ones you already have, out of the garden shed. This heat is brutal on plants. They will need your help to recover from the stress of summer. Pay attention to your struggling lawn.
Fertilize the heck out of your annuals and veggies. Push them to their maximum. Use half the rate, at this time of the year and quiet their screams. Do not let your lawns and gardens go hungry. We will help you choose the right fertilizer for the right plant at the right time of the year.
I know it is still summer and we are out socializing, boating, beaching, picnicking, etc. The nights are getting cooler so morning dew helps to provide moisture. Weeds are not as much competition. Watering is less time consuming. Most importantly, you have had a nice summer break, and I promise, if you seed this fall, you will be so much happier with your lawn next spring. The level you want to seed at is up to you.
These are a couple of methods. No matter what, some preparation needs to be done to get the ground ready for new, fall seed! Lawn preparation comes in many forms. Still others, till everything up, bring in new topsoil and start from scratch. No method is wrong but some tips will help no matter what method you choose.
Come see us at the end of August to get your supplies and start your lawn prep. It would be great if you could get the new grass seed down in the first few weeks of September. Come see us and we will help you pick the right grass for your yard. This is the only time, I will tell you to do this. The grass seed you apply needs to make contact with the soil in order to germinate. Make seed to soil contact. Applying starter fertilizer with your new grass seed will really help it to establish deep roots. After you have seeded, cover it with Salt Hay or Mainely Mulch.
It is a great cover for smaller areas. Yes, even in the fall you have to water grass seed. A good rule of thumb is: Grass seed needs moisture to split open. Once it splits, germinates, and your new lawn is about 1 inch tall, change your watering program. Water every other day for 1 hour in the earlier part of the day. Watering for a longer period of time helps to push deeper roots. Trust me on this one, you will be so much happier with your lawn for if you seed this Fall.
So enjoy the rest of your summer but start thinking seeding. They are so good for you. It is nice to get them from your local grocery store but even better to pick them out of your own garden. Nothing like the smell and taste of fresh veggies! Nothing like the satisfaction of knowing you grew them on your own! Nothing like the joy of sharing with family and friends! It would be great if we could just yell at the disease and it would go away. Spots will dry up and turn into holes. Fungal spores will remain in the dead leaves and reinfect plants next season.
Products that are good for your lawn and garden in the summer heat! Fellow employees are hot, customers are hot, dogs are hot, kids are hot, everyone is hot! We are able to express our feelings and even whine about the heat. What about our poor lawns and gardens. They are hot too.
They are just a little more quiet about it. Sure, hydrangeas may droop in the afternoon sun, herbs may not be standing at attention, tomato leaves may be curling a bit, and our lawns may be looking a little crispy but at least they are not making a lot of noise about the hot agony they are in. Root Boost is as organic as you can get. It is an organic power house filled with every essential plant element, beneficial bacteria, and myccorhizae beneficial fungus. It is also a balance fertilizer with a ratio of I do not want to get too nerdy, technical about this product but I do want you to know how great it really works to increase a root system of any plant.
The beneficial fungus and bacteria literally attach themselves to the roots of plants and increase the roots network system. Roots in turn, can absorb more water and nutrients. Here is the kicker! Root Boost will never burn a plant even in this summer heat. In fact, the added kelp will actually help plants to retain moisture and give them a little breather from the hot sun.
Use it on every plant from veggies to houseplants. They all will benefit from all it has to offer.
Give your summer plants a boost with Root Boost! This is another awesome summer fertilizer that can be used any time of the year. Root Boost has no odor and comes in a powder form that you mix with water. It works really well in a hose end sprayer if you have a lot of garden to cover. Fish and Seaweed is a nice balanced fertilizer that keeps plants strong, helps them retain moisture, and keeps them productive even under the stress of heat.
Do not forget your lawn. Love your lawn this summer with DR. It comes equipped with a hose-end sprayer so all you do is attach it and go. One bottle covers 5, sq. This can be used in conjunction or alternating with the tried and true Milorganite. Milorganite is a mainstay for lawn fertilizers that will not burn your lawn even when everything and everyone is suffering in the summer sun. Give them a summer a treat. Summer is the best time to run barefoot through the grass. Who wants to wear shoes this time of the year? Step your bare tootsies onto the lawn and run free. I try and go shoeless as often as possible in the summer.
Oh well, I am a lawn nerd. What can I say?! I find them interesting. Lawns are the anchors of our yards. They frame our homes and garden beds and provide recreation areas for our families. Summer is a time to have fun but hopefully not at the expense of our lawns. It serves you well. Give it a little TLC. Your lawn needs a minimum of 1 inch of water per week. Buy a simple rain gauge to measure how much water your lawn is getting per week or set up an empty tuna can to capture the water.
It is really important to give your lawn a deep, root soaking. Instead of watering daily for a short period of time, I would much rather that you water 2 to 3 times per week for a much longer time. Most people set their sprinklers to run 20 minutes per day. Change this up and go every other day for a minimum of an hour. This way, water will seep deeper into the soil, encouraging deeper grass root growth.
Water in the early part of the day to avoid water evaporation and disease promotion caused by late day watering. Lawns have an amazing survival instinct to shut down and go dormant in the heat and drought of summer. The bad news is, our lawns are brown and crunchy during this time period. The good news is, they usually recover once the cooler weather of September returns. Trying to get a sleeping summer lawn to wake up with just a little bit of water in the heat, is not the best idea.
It will wake up grumpy. Believe it or not, the sharper your mower blades, the softer the grass will be on your summer feet. Grass that is rag tag from dull mower blades is more vulnerable to diseases and drying out. If you mow off more, you will stress out your lawn, making it much more susceptible to burn out.
This is no joke folks. Pretty soon grubs will be hatching and lurking beneath your feet, eating the roots of your lovely lawn. Be sure to water it in or apply before a heavy rainfall. The more rain it gets, the better it works. Pay attention to new weeds popping up and nasty crabgrass and Nutsedge. Crabgrass loves the heat and is one of the greatest summer bullies in the lawn.
Use Nutsedge Killer by Ortho to control that nuisance Nutsedge. It is best to use these products when temperatures are below 85 degrees. Milorganite is one of my favorite products. Espoma makes a nice, organic Summer Revitalizer that is perfect for this summer heat. Everybody, kick of your shoes, run barefoot through your lawn, do cartwheels, have a picnic, play ball, etc. Be sure to thank your lawn for all it does for you and your family.
It provides you with a fun place to play, a perfect backdrop for your garden, and a lot of oxygen to run around. They are notorious this time of the year in Connecticut. The metallic, brown and green, Japanese Beetle gets all the fame or blame, depending on how you look at it. Every hole we see on a rose, a weeping cherry, basil, or pepper plant, we tend to blame on the showy Japanese Beetle. Its coppery color shines in the sun and they tend to cluster on a plant while they feed and mate. They get all the glory but they should be sharing the spotlight with a few other scarab beetles.
Oriental Beetles can be out spotted during the day but their mottled gray and black body is just not as interesting as the Japanese Beetle. Because they do their flying at night, they are not as obvious until they end up tangled in your pony tail. The Asiatic Garden Beetle and European Chafers are other night time flying beetles that fall under the radar due to their night time clandestine activities.
It can do a lot of damage to plants at night and then it stealthily burrows itself in the soil during the day. Have you ever noticed devoured Basil leaves but no critter? I bet the Asiatic Garden Beetle is the sneaky bandit. Dig at the base of an eaten Basil and you may find him hiding in the soil. This night time dive-bombing of Kamikaze Scarab Beetles will not last forever. They are busy flying, eating, mating, and laying eggs right now, but in a couple of weeks they will be done.
All of these Scarab Beetles lay eggs in the soil of our gardens and lawns. The next phase that we have to pay attention too is the white, c-shaped grub stage that will be hatching sometime in August. The newly hatching grub babies are very hungry and feed on roots from summer hatch to late fall. Those sneaky, little devils! What should we do to stop these dive-bombing beetles and sneaky little grubs?! The beetles are pretty easy to control. There are several good products that will wipe them out especially when it comes to ornamental plants. The discreet grub stage of the beetle requires a different form of treatment and product timing.
Here are the products that work to control grubs in the lawn. This product is best if watered in or applied before a rainfall. If applied within this time frame, it will control grubs throughout the rest of the fall season! An organic way to control grubs in the soil. Apply now through August to take care of grubs naturally. Definitely needs to be watered in for a week following application to keep Nematodes from drying out and to spread them over a larger area. This product must be watered in or applied before a rainfall to be affective.
It kills on contact. You may need to make a follow up application a month later. Take charge of these crazy night time feeders and sneaky underground dwellers. They need you; so put on your coolest clothes, some sun block, a wide brimmed hat, and fill up your water bottle with ice cold water. You can do this!! A 3 inch thick layer is perfect. Mainely Mulch chopped hay is a perfect choice for your veggie garden. An inch or 2 of compost spread on top of the soil around plants will help to hold in moisture and replenish plant nutrients.
Shrimp is great at retaining moisture. What a great idea! Soaker hoses are perfect for trees, shrubs, perennials, and veggies. You can turn them on and forget about them for a few hours. A slow drip or trickle when watering this time of the year is perfect. Plants establish a deeper root system this way.
Watering plants at the base as opposed to overhead will really reduce disease problems and summer scorch. It really is awesome. You have to try it. It is great for any time of the year but I really love it when the summer heat kicks into high gear. It is filled with every type of beneficial bacteria, fungi and element you can imagine. Use it dry to establish a new plant or transplant one. Use it mixed with water to fertilize the foliage and the soil on a regular basis. Watch your plants thrive with Root Boost during the summer months. It is a rich fertilizer that feeds, helps plants retain moisture, and keeps them disease resistant.
A little smelly but I love it! Your lawn will greatly benefit from a straight fertilizer application this time of the year. Throw in a bag of Fast Acting Iron by Encap. Iron is a little trick lawn companies use to help keep your lawn green through the summer months. Grubs will start eating the roots of your lawn in August. Water it in and you will be set for the rest of the year. There are so many other little tricks for the garden in the summer heat but I do not want to thoroughly exhaust you.
Wait for the sun to start going down, fertilizer in one hand, hose in the other, and go visit your plants. Planting and caring for a veggie garden can be quite a game. It can be challenging, relaxing, frustrating, rewarding, educational, but most importantly…delicious! Who or what is to blame for the problems we may encounter with our veggie gardens? The key players that we are going to use as scape goats are; temperature, soil, light, and water. Sometimes it is an insect, sometimes a disease, occasionally Mother Nature plays a part, and often the gardener is the guilty one.
We try so hard but sometimes our schedules get in the way or we are just not sure what to do. Should this stop us? Gardening is one of the healthiest and rewarding hobbies we can ever have. Temperature is a key player in the veggie garden game. If it is erratic, too cold, or too hot, it can foul up the game. Soil is a very important player in the game. Without good soil, you will not have good vegetables. Soil deficiencies can throw the veggie garden game completely off.
Veggie gardeners, you have a lot of control over your soil. Start out right and you will be rewarded with beautiful produce. Do not downplay how crucial of a player light is to the veggie garden game. Without proper sunlight, issues can occur. We obviously cannot move the sun but we can help our veggies get the right amount of light. As a rule of thumb, most vegetables that get a fruit can bake in the sun. Veggies such as; tomatoes, peppers, and squash love it. Consider putting your leafier vegetables in the less sunny part of the garden.
Salad greens, broccoli, peas, brussel sprouts, cauliflower, beets, radish, chard, collards, spinach, and mustard will all tolerate a little less sunlight. Gardening friends, you have so uch power when it comes to watering. If Mother Nature is not giving your veggies enough water, it is your job to take over. Plants need consistent, even watering to keep them healthy. Your vegetables would be happier if they were watered at the base as opposed to overhead and please do not let them dry out for too long.
Our top secret formula for keeping our planters and baskets looking hot all summer long… Leaked! Are we constantly replanting with fresh annuals? Let me assure you, with all the pots we have planted on the property the answer is MUCH simpler and much less ridiculous than any of those! This means watering more or less once a day, and not letting the plants dry out. Your plants are alive just like you and me, and just like us they need plant food!
This combo is going to ensure you get the most bloom-for-your-buck out of your annual container mixes! I saw it with my own eyes… the 4-Lined Plant Bug! This is the quick moving culprit that is attacking my Montauk Daisy right now. This bug looks like it is built for speed.
If you have the chance, head out to your garden today and see if you can spot this speedy plant feeder. Take a look at your herbs; especially mint, basil, lemon verbena and sage. No sign of the plant bug there? Head over to your flowers such as; nepeta, coreopsis, dahlias, morning glory, lupine, geranium, zinnia, and marigolds. Walk to the woody plant section of your garden and investigate your azalea, dogwood, forsythia, honeysuckle, hydrangea, viburnum, caryopteris, and weigela. Veggie gardeners, you may even want to look at your lettuce, squash, melons, and cucumbers.
This bug is not too fussy. The best time to begin your 4-lined plant bug hunt is in May. They will wait patiently until your plants are looking their greenest before they attack. The nymphs with their reddish bodies and small black wing pads, hatch and immediately begin syphoning out the delicious green chlorophyll from the leaves. It is kind of like they have their own juicing program. They inject a toxin into the leaf that helps break it down and make it easier for them to digest. Their mouths look like little needles or straws. They pierce the top of the leaf surface and suck out the yummy, green juice.
This feeding action leaves your plants with round, uniform dots on the leaves. The dots can be very close together. The dots may even fall out, leaving a whole in the leaf. Usually, the diagnosis for a plant with round, brown dots on the leaf is a fungal leaf spot and often a fungicide is prescribed. It may be our speedy culprit.
He is swift and likes to hide under the leaf or drop to the ground so you cannot see him, but the round, little dots he leaves behind are a sure sign that he has been there. It will do a good job at suffocating the overwintering eggs of the 4-Lined Plant Bug before they hatch. Once those buggers have hatched, it is time to switch to a different product. There are other methods which require a little closer inspection but if you have the time and interest, may work for you.
In the Fall, you can inspect the top 2 inches of your garden plants for the banana shaped eggs of the 4-Lined Plant Bug. They usually lay them in groups of 6 and at 90 degree angles. The eggs are kind of easy to spot. If you see them, you can remove them by hand or prune them off. Sometimes, a Spring clean-up consisting of a 3 inch shearing off of plants can also do the trick. They like it so much that it may be the only plant they attack, leaving your others alone. The bottom line is, the 4-Lined Plant Bug does not usually kill your plants, especially large ornamental plants.
They can be more destructive on herbs and veggies and of course make your ornamental look not-so-pretty. If you like entertaining your guests with more edible looking herbs, then an early timed spray or two may be the right answer for you! Bill Van Wilgen is generously dedicated to helping people with cancer. We have flocks of pink flamingoes up for adoption around the nursery. How awesome is that! During Rose Rally and I know many of you bought some of our gorgeous pink roses. Now it is time to take good care of those pink beauties!
Roses need a little TLC. Lisa and others work hard to keep our roses in tip top shape so they go happily from our garden to your garden. You need to do the same, especially if you cannot plant your new rose right away. Once roses are planted in the ground, you need to continue watering. Set your hose or soaker hose at the base of the rose at a slow trickle. This will give your roses a deep root soaking.
Plant your rose with Jump Start. Jump Start is an excellent root stimulant. Mixed with water and poured all over the root ball, the high phosphorus and B vitamins in Jump Start push root growth to help your rose establish itself more rapidly and reduce transplant shock. Approximately one week after planting your new rose plant, follow up with Rose-Tone by Espoma.
Your tulips and daffodils may still get top billing in the spring, but make sure you tuck some .. Put Your Green Thumb To Work With These Organic Gardening Tips . The Ultimate Backyard Garden Starter Guide- This collection of DIY .. These outdoor planter ideas are a quick and easy way to add character and curb . "Container Gardening Tips For New Gardeners - Container Gardening" . " Anybody can do organic vegetable gardening at home because the principle Mini Farming: Ultimate Beginners Guide To Mini Farming "Turn your brown thumbs green with these incredibly easy garden tips for beginner vegetable gardeners.
It provides your roses with an organic, slow release feed, they will gobble up. Continue to feed your beautiful roses every month through September. Mulch is marvelous for roses. Give them a little breathing room. Apply this systemic product on the soil at the base of your roses once every month.
Customers love this product and your roses do too. Dead head spent blooms, remove dead canes down to the ground, trim off damaged canes, and remove sucker growth. Keeping your roses cleaned up throughout the season, will keep them energized and healthy. The best time to prune roses is in the early spring.
Leave approximately 18 inches of canes when cutting back. Talk to your roses. Tell them how much you love them. Thank them for all the beauty they provide you. Give your rose a kiss. I know you all do this when no one is looking! Come see us for Pink Week. We would love to help and if you buy a pink flamingo or pink plant, you will be helping all the people battling bravely with cancer at Smilow Cancer Hospital.
We are preparing for our second Pink Week and just like last year we have Flamingo drama! It seems these pink friends are difficult to nail down. Last year we had them locked in from a vendor who discontinued selling them and never informed us. This year we are told by our new supplier that they are holding our flock because of either a recall issue or an issue with customs. I quickly got on the case and started tracking down a new flock of Flamingos. To my knowledge there is no networking event to connect people who are in the flamingo trade but I do have some contacts in the lawn and garden industry that I was able to turn to.
Bottom line, tomorrow morning I am taking our box truck to the northern part of Massachusetts to pick up 10 pallets of flamingos. Two weeks ago, we got out of our car after a fun, family dinner. We were standing under the two, huge Oak trees in our yard. I have always loved them. They shade our home perfectly and our hammock is stretched comfortably between them.
I wondered what we were listening to. The bullfrogs in the pond? The peepers on the trees? What do you hear? No, that was not it. It was a perfectly clear night. It was the sound of Gypsy Moth caterpillars chewing, chomping, and tearing at the leaves of our giant Oaks. Gypsy Moths are always around us in low levels but I was hoping that they would not be as active for I will be the first to admit that I was wrong but I wish I was not.
However, if the population is high enough, they will feed on most any tree. They even love blueberry bushes. They will attack some needled conifers and evergreens. A sad customer sent me photos of an Azalea and Blue Spruce being devoured by this furry creatures. So, what do we do? There is always something we can do. At this stage in the game, Gypsy Moth caterpillars are getting larger. I spotted them on my tree trunk this morning. My poor Oak trees. As I moved over to Oak tree 2, I ran out of my spray.
Back into the garage. I have some wonderful, organic products in my garage that are also very effective but I was being impatient and could not find them right away. Here we are at the beginning of June and the Gypsy Moth caterpillar is happily feasting. They will be pupating in a few weeks. The only natural control Connecticut has for the pupal stage is the white footed mouse. This little mouse can only eat so many pupae! Pull out The Gypsy Moth Trap by Safer to control the brown, male moths that make it through the pupa stage. The trap is filled with a pheremone that the male Gypsy Moth adult loves.
This will help cut down on the reproductive cycle. After they pupate, out pops the white, flightless Gypsy Moth mama and the brown, Gypsy Moth papa. They do not live long. Their sole purpose is to mate and make more babies. The white, female moth will lay one sac of eggs on trunks of trees, branches, rocks, patio furniture, etc. Each egg case holds anywhere from to 1, eggs.
If you miss the chance to spray the egg cases this Fall, there is always early, next Spring. The Gypsy Moth overwinters as an egg. Get prepared for Spring of It is a systemic product, applied to the soil, at the base of the tree. The tree will absorb it all the way up into the leaves. When Gypsy Moth caterpillars hatch in the Spring and make their journey up the tree to eat, they will get a mouth full of product.
If your tree is very large, like my Oak, I would consider doing your treatment in Fall of or early Spring of When the Spring is very dry, like last season, the fungus and virus are not as active, thus the Gypsy Moth explosion. One night, go outside and stand under the largest tree on your property preferably an Oak and just listen. If it sounds like rain but there is not a cloud in the night sky, look close, it may be the the very hungry caterpillar. This week John will be talking about the best perennials to draw butterflies in. Plants and sunshine are key to creating a butterfly haven, but there are a few other simple things you can do and accoutrements you can add to ensure they come to visit your backyard butterfly haven every year.
When a beautiful butterfly emerges from their cocoon, they are cold. They need the sun to warm them up, pump blood into their veins, and fly. Limb up branches of overhanging trees and prune back shrubs to let the light shine into your butterfly haven. Butterflies love to bask in the sun. Provide them with a big, flat rock to sunbathe on. Put it right in your butterfly garden. Bring a cup of coffee outside and look to see butterflies basking in the cooler hours of the morning.
A butterfly house or hibernation box is a wonderful garden accessory for your butterfly haven. Place it in a lightly shaded area, several feet above the ground. Butterflies will seek refuge in the narrow openings of the house where predators cannot enter. Butterflies like to get away from the wind and rain. A butterfly house provides perfect protection. Place your butterfly house near nectar and pollen plants. Male butterflies love to hang out at the water cooler and discuss all the problems they are having with their female counterparts.
The only difference is their water cooler is usually a mud puddle. They love mud puddles on a sunny day, after a nice rain fall. They drink the salt and minerals from the soil. Salt and minerals that they later pass to the women as their gift during mating. Salts and minerals greatly improve the health of a butterfly egg, ensuring generations to come. Add sand and water to the puddler or a saucer. You may even add a pinch of salt.
This will draw in the males and they will pull nutrients from the puddler making future babies stronger. Butterflies are pollinators that only drink liquids. Place a Butterfly Feeder in your butterfly garden and butterflies will gravitate to the yellow and red feeders filled with delicious nectar. We carry the feeder and nectar in the store.
Of course the plants in your butterfly garden are the most important accessory but there are so many other accoutrements that will truly enhance your butterfly haven and your enjoyment.
The little extras can really attract more butterflies and give you many more opportunities for butterfly watching and picture taking. Are aphids the new super villain? They have some astounding traits that could qualify them as the super villains or superheroes depends on your perspective of the insect world. I guess humans would place them in the super villain category because of all the destruction they cause to our indoor and outdoor plants. Aphid eggs can overwinter even in harsh climates.
In the spring, the female aphid is basically born pregnant. Talk about reproductive ability! One female aphid can have 12 babies a day without any help from her male counterpart. Maybe the female is the superhero! Aphids have many overlapping generations in one season and these villains love to spend time together. If you go out in the garden now, you may see these villainous clusters everywhere. In my own garden, I have spied them lurking on my sedum, mock orange, spirea, sand cherry, viburnum, honeysuckle, roses and so many more.
In my house, they have enjoyed sucking on the buds of my overwintered hibiscus. Shame on them, preying on the new, innocent, tender, spring growth of our sweet plants. Aphids love all the tender shoots and they love to eat together in a big, aphid feast.
Another incredible, super villain trait that aphids possess is the ability to sprout wings as needed. Aphids do not normally have wings but will grow them if the feeding spot they are at becomes too crowded and food becomes scarce. They will sprout wings to find more food. Not only can they reproduce without a mate, have 12 babies a day, sprout wings when needed, but they also come in an assortment of colors…green, black, brown, orange, yellow, gray, white, pink, and colorless.
Aphids tend to match the plant they eat, providing them with much needed camouflage from hungry predators. Aphids are not impervious super villains. They have their weak spots too. They are very soft bodied insects so many insects and insect controls can kill them easily. They are also very slow. This makes them easy targets. The most natural controls for aphids are water, Lady Bugs, and Lace Wings. We sell beneficial Lady Bugs and Lace Wings right in the store. One Lady Bug can eat up to aphids per day. What great garden helpers. Knocking the aphids off the plant with water does not eliminate them but it suppresses their immediate damage.
They are easy to use and easy on the environment. Aphid damage is criminal. Aphids cause plants to twist, curl, stunt, and turn yellow. These little offenders can also spread viruses to our plants with each suck they take out of a leaf or stem. Applied to the soil, it gets absorbed through the plant and as soon as Aphids go to eat, they ingest the product into their system and meet their demise.
Using high Nitrogen, quick release fertilizers are not the best choice when Aphids are in abundance. It is also important to keep these unwanted corrupts under control with the recommended pest control products. In Connecticut, Ticks are no joke. The Tick is technically an arachnid not a bug. No matter, it is the Black Legged Deer Tick that is the trouble maker. Too many of us have had Lyme Disease or know someone who has been afflicted.
My goal is to tell you how you can reduce and even eliminate these pests in your yard. Make Tick control a regular part of your spring yard work. Ticks begin hatching in the cool, spring weather. When they are young nymphs, they are tiny and hard to spot but they still carry Lyme Disease. Ticks do not love the heat so they hang out in tall grasses, weeds, woods, garden beds, and any overgrown or un-manicured part of the yard.
Keep this in mind, because this fact is important when it comes to proper tick control. Whether you choose to go organic or treat using the conventional method, the applications are the same. The best type of application consists of a perimeter control treatment, where the manicured part of your yard meets the un-manicured part. I recommend applying granules for long term control and spray with a hose-end liquid product for immediate knock down. The organic products help to reduce tick populations but do not provide as quick of a kill and work more as repellents.
Wood piles, decks and under garden sheds are also hot spots for ticks to hang out. Be sure to treat these areas. If you want to be very thorough, product application can be made over the entire lawn area but your most effective control will be focused along the perimeter of your property. To enhance your perimeter tick control program, consider control over woodland creatures that carry ticks. Using deer repellents will greatly reduce your deer population and in turn, reduce Tick populations in your yard. The mouse is harder to repel but using Damminix Tick Tubes will really help to reduce the Deer Tick populations in their nests.
It is pretty cool. Mice steel the treated cotton balls inside of the tick tubes, bring the cotton balls back to their nest, and the ticks are killed by the product on the cotton balls. Controlling Deer Tick populations in the nests of the White Footed Mouse is an extremely clever and important part of your tick control program. Ticks are no laughing matter. This week we are highlighting some Proven Winner plants that everyone needs to know about. Our grower Billy spends months and months methodically and meticulously choosing what he is going to grow each and every year.
Proven Winners plants go through a rigorous trialing and testing period before they are released to ensure you the most success possible. We then take it a step further, every year we get a notification telling us a package from Proven Winners is on the way. We get all excited and greet the UPS driver at the door.
Proven Winners plants go through a rigorous trialing and testing period before they are released to ensure you the most success possible. I do not want to get too nerdy, technical about this product but I do want you to know how great it really works to increase a root system of any plant. What are your feelings? Fertilizing your aloe vera plant a few times during the growing season can also help to encourage flowers. It is filled with every type of beneficial bacteria, fungi and element you can imagine. I hope your aloe will grow a thrive for years to come.
We oh and ah over these tiny top secret plants for a while and then we pot them up and grow them in our greenhouse. Throughout the summer we punish these new releases putting them through everything we can throw at them and the plants that keep looking good we consider adding to our lineup. There are a few Proven Winners in the greenhouse that you just have to know about.
First on the list is the PW Supertunias, they spread like a Wave Petunia but with more flower power and a much better color range. Another favorite is Diamond Frost Euphorbia, we love adding this plant to containers. Diamond Frost grows in-between all you other plants and adds a cloud of white taking your container from ordinary to elegant. These are unlike any other Million Bell we have seen. Try these out for sure. Hope to see you soon, see you at the Proven Winners displays in the greenhouse.
It all started last July, Billy our grower, Tommy our perennial manager and I were in Ohio at a trade show.
This trade show is like the Comicon or the Sema Show for plants; it takes days to walk the show front to back. We were walking watch isle intently and we discovered this brand new cover pot system. We knew we wanted to switch pots so we came home and started doing our due diligence. How many trays fit on a table? How many trays fit on a shipping rack? Once we sorted all these numbers out we decided to go for it. We even had the supplier make a new custom tray for us. Two of the styles of these covers pots are specifically for herb so we are selling these with herbs right in the cover pot ready to go.
We are calling this our Window Sill Herb collection. This inexpensive decorative cover pot is self-watering, included is a pipe cleaner in the bottom of the pot that wicks up water and all you have to do is watch the sight window on the side of the cover pot to see when to add water. I took 2 of these window sill herbs home back in early April, I put them on them in my bright sunny window next to the sink and we have been enjoying fresh herbs despite this crazy weather for over a month.
Herbs cannot get any fresher than that! When I see those plastic baggies, I run and hide in the back room. I am always curious to see what is lurking inside. Many of those baggies contain some kind of insect, weed, or disease.