Focus 580; Lawn and Garden Care

Good morning welcome to focus 580 our morning talk show. My name's David Enge and we're glad to have you listening we're also pleased to have here back on the program once again Sandy Mason. She's a horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County and monthly on Tuesday August 2nd Tuesday she is here and we give you a chance to call in and ask questions about things that grow in the home landscape. So we're talking about trees and shrubs flowers things that you can eat things that are just ornamental. We can also take questions about house plants any and all of that. If you were already just itching to get out there and start doing things she says Well yeah actually there are some things that you could be doing this time of year and you're also thinking about what you would like to plant this year. You have questions like that. There are some kind of problem use that is just hanging around for the last year you need a little bit of advice. Any and all of that is certainly fine and I know Sandy will do her best to help you out. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 that's for champagne Urbana folks if you'd like to call in. Also we have a toll free line that's eight hundred to 2 2 9 4 5 5 so if you have questions you can call us. Welcome

back. Thanks. After Sunday you just everybody just want to be out there and thinking. I know it is after all only the 8th of March and I know that's hard to believe but you know this is a great time to be a gardener I think. You know everybody is so optimistic. You know the Japanese beetles haven't been here yet. Just optimism to springs eternal. I love to talk about gardening this time of year. OK. Well we're we're getting here of maybe we'll get some calls lined up. If people are thinking about wanting to if if we get some more good days and people are want to get out there and do some things in the yard what should be some of their top priorities. Yeah. I think probably the top priorities is anything that needs to be done when the plant is still dormant because when we start getting these warmer days it's not going to take too long that things are going to start popping out. And so I'm a little bit concerned about that so that would be things like maybe have a dormant spray that you need to put on your apples. This would be a good time to be thinking about that maybe you've had a problem with peach leaf curl on your peaches. And this is the only

time that really a spray will do anything for that peach leaf curl it's very common at home orchard because it's kind of a crinkling on the leaf of the peach. But then the peach leaves a bit then and also can spread to the peaches themselves and so peach leaf curl is a b the time of year you'd want to be spraying a lime sulphur Bordeaux mix in order to take care of that particular fungus so that's really important. And just just dormant pruning you know there's a lot of things we talk about dormant pruning in the way of whether it's fruit trees really. Pretty much any of your trees that we talk about this would be a good time to sort of think about doing that so pruning you know sharpen those printers get going on that. Also even we were talking earlier about even thinking about if you're going to be doing any seeding on your lawn just to be a good time to start at least thinking about that. Usually we think about in central Illinois it's March 15th or about April 15th so we're really getting to that point so you need to start making some plans maybe getting some seed those kind of things. OK. So that really it really is I told you about how the other day I saw just this past week and I saw somebody out there were tossing on the receipt and I thought to myself This isn't a little early for that. Well maybe it was a

little little. But I'm really not jumping to the next when the other week probably would be my time to meet with and I really want to look at the probably the forecast for the next week or so because we really what you really want is is higher soil temperatures so that C doesn't sit there for a long period of time you really want the seed to pop out as quick as it can so if it really looks like the week is going to be particularly cold even we start getting into March 15 it looks like it's going really in the cold. I probably hold off for a while because we certainly still have time to do a little bit later. OK what if you were thinking about doing either weed control or some fertilizing for the lawn when is the first time that you might think about doing it. Yeah usually with your Isabelle I were a little bit different than maybe what you see with some of the some of the popular long care companies or lawn care chemicals. Usually we say to wait until the first of May in order to do your first fertilizer application and really that the thinking is is that you have a lot less leaf disease problems on the lawns if you actually wait until a little bit

later and then also making sure that you do your late fall fertilization so thinking that that late fall fertilization helps that early green. So usually we say to wait a little bit on the fertilization. Certainly if you've got weed problems probably this time of year we're looking at more of some of those. Those really early like what we often consider sort of winter in things like a chickweed is going to be popping up here real soon. Things like creeping Speedwell bit. There's lots of those early things that if you really have a problem with them you need to either be removing them before they go to seed or you need to be thinking about some sort of post emergents control for good. We have a couple callers here let's get to them and talk first with someone in Charleston. Line 4. Hello I have a couple quick questions. First of all what would be the earliest time you would recommend soil testing the earliest. Well spring is probably the best time to really do so testing is really more and probably in the fall or something like that but you can certainly do it this time of year and not have a problem. Are you having

a problem or you're just going to be doing something different or. Well we're putting in some new landscaping and you know what to do before we get out. Yeah I would go and do it now then and that way you'd have plenty of time to get back the results. Kind of see what you need to do because really if you need to be doing anything most of this stuff is not going to be quick acting is going to be something that you need to work in the soil or that we know before you get started. OK. And my second question is I wanted to plant some daffodils and enter plant something with them that will grow up a little later and hide the dying foliage. Is there something I can plant at the same time the stuff to those that you recommend. So your type might do that later in the season. Well can think of plant daffodils in the spring what would happen if you can find them. Probably the hardest part is using can't find them this time of year as normally we play them in October. Certainly if you could find them they're probably not going to flower this this year but certainly next year they would flower for you. I had done a lot of different things I've certainly in a planted and with day

lilies and had pretty good success with that. Also I've been or planted them with the hostas. Really you just want to think of anything that's going to kind of come up and cover the foliage and I've done a variety of perennials with them but probably those are too depending on what kind of site you have those are worked out pretty well. All right thanks. Thank you and let's go to Urbana. This is our next caller line number one. Hello. Yes hi. I had a question on earlier. Well I heard it recommended that if you have a shady area of a aggressive role as well in my phone I promise. And I was wondering if there's any particular you would recommend for backyard front yard you know bad. Probably with the moss that may have been the last program we're talking about with kin Kendra's the author we were deciding that how we like how we like tomatoes I think pretty much although I'm sure you can buy Moss you can buy anything. I would just build it and it will come. It's kind of my theory with moss. I mean if it really is a site where Moss is going to enjoy it's going to be.

It needs to be an area where it's shady and moist and where there isn't a hole where it's open where there isn't a whole lot of plant material. You certainly I have had people actually tell me that they've transplanted Moss when they've just gotten lost from one area and transplanted it and you certainly could do that if you really get in the Mons. I mean is this something I had like fairy garden Moss. Yeah not moss moss. There's a few things that kind of look like moss. They might be able to purchase but play no mas. I think I've actually seen a catalog that actually delves into MAS but I think I would be more inclined to go with something that's already here and doable transplanting if you have it another part of the yard or something like that. I think you are. I think it's good to hear people thinking about people want to get rid of MAS but that's kind of what I was thinking that a pretty yeah I think. Wasn't that the person who was calling in when we did the show last time actually if they wanted to get where they want to run it.

Yeah can I were trying to convince them. Yes leave it. And certainly there are there are a lot of different things if you have shady spots there are a lot of different shows and it seems to me that over the last I don't know how many years. Shade gardening has become such it has become really really huge. Yeah and actually Kendra's has a nice book on Shade gardening there's plenty of gardens and you know the more and more I think about it you know in July and August where do you want to be to be in your shade. You know sun garden so I think there is and there's so many more plants now. A lot of new breeding and things like the coral bells and lung warts and some of those shady plants that there's such diversity now and certainly in hostels that there's so many things out there that you can do with them with shade garden. OK. Caller in Aurora Let's go there on our line number for Hello. Hi good morning good morning. Well thanks. You know a sure sign of spring. You know the weather out here doesn't it. P It doesn't say that.

But I I have three things I wanted to discuss and it's funny that shade Gardens was the thing I wanted to say I have a burpee catalog and I never noticed these before but I am. I work on the plant booth for the Fox family animal welfare and this one woman keeps telling me that she has a. She can't find any plant for the shade. So thinking about that. The book has a new gig. Hybrid an African hybrid of impatience. Yeah and the jungle jewels of the African the hybrid just beautiful. Those are some fun new colors I think in impatience I think people are going to be pleased with those. Even some corals and you know some by colors and stuff maybe some color you haven't seen before. And there's jungle rain mix just beautiful.

I really think if people look through their books they would find these plants and be very very happy and I think it's just a mind set sometimes if you're used to gardening in the sun you're used to things that you know black eyed Susans and all these things and you just sort of be discounted have to do a little switch and think about some of their planes. And I think also they need a little bit more. What a ringing as far as watering. I think in the very beginning especially they have like a maple tree I think maple trees are probably one of the worst because it's a very dry shade in so you're really in the very beginning you really have to make sure you do a little watering with them especially if you're gardening underneath maple trees so well I was trying with much. Work hard work to get a butterfly garden to get the last year and I guess I won't give up this year I'll work on it again I only got one bite a fly. What kind of plants are you.

Well you know I probably could tell you if I tried but I don't want to lose the time unless you want to rattle some off. Well every quit sure that are supposed to be. Have a list. Sure. Well I think butterfly weed the milkweed is probably one that should always be in a garden they really are caterpillars you know certainly like to feed on them as well as the butterflies like to feed it like the nectar on the flowers so that's always a good one. And it's just a great garden plant anyway. New Jersey tea is another kind of well we know you're really curious eat. Yeah. New Jersey. Yeah. That's a super. That's a super nectar plant. It's a great nectar plant I happen to be over in one of the. Oh the sand prairie Ridge I think is the name of the preserve just on the north west side of Illinois in the New Jersey tea they were just every single little flower had a butterfly and they love it so I have to get a prairie plant that is not on my list.

Yeah there's quite a few prairie plants and actually the butterflies like. So yeah and I have a lot of those plants and already I just began to think well the other thing I want to talk about was what effects to what you say besides tomatoes and you know which are very much a festival that you can do almost anything and everything with like can you can make bread right etc. What other veg. Would you say was that type of festival that you can do all kinds of things with it. Yeah well other squash. Yeah it was and I think it think it was other squashes like Certainly a lot of the winter squashes other than the summer squashes like zucchini and all the winter squashes you can make desserts out of them as well as any other casserole they caught.

Well ACORN butter now there's actually a new butternut squash now called Bonbon is one of the new ones for this year so there's some. I like the winter squashes in even a lot of them are actually fairly small we always think of these giant you know Hubbard's stuff that for most people are just too darn big but there's a lot of smaller ones now. Oh delicate I think is one you've probably seen it's really pretty kind of a striped looking squash but it's a nice sort of a one person size winter squash and I think those are great you know have to deal with this and that I was going to buy it. As far as I can eat they have one that is edible a five to eight inches. Right there's lots lots of new zucchinis now too there's even one that's a round ball control rather than a 8 ball or something like You remember the name of it when I couldn't sleep so I got up and I made out my list said. I thought it was the best think I've got very good thanks. Well good sure your boy thank you A.J. And it's great.

I look to our guest this morning here in this our focus 580 Sandy Mason she's horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County. She is on the program once a month on a Tuesday to talk about lawn and garden care growing things in the home landscape and if you have questions thinking about what you'd like to plant this spring and summer or you have some sort of problem you're not quite sure how to deal with it you can give us a call talk with Sandy 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 that's for people who are here in Champaign Urbana where we are. We do also have a toll free line in that when you get anywhere that you can hear us that 800 to 2 2 9 4 5. I'm someone over in Belgium near Danville line number for their next Hello good morning. Couple items. First off we were talking about my mama how nice it is in the summertime really you're a very good plan this time of year but if you go to the major producers. Stuff especially over a long wall brush falling. There are mosques over there like you've never seen before. They can get two or three inches

tall. It's the most amazing stuff and it's a wonderful colors no to monitor them old Korea or whoever. Yeah yeah just look at. But anyway that's just grown completely naturally there's right and nobody plants yes right build it and shoot it in the worst spots. Yeah you kind of. But the question I want to ask you about is I grow some peach trees. OK you were just mentioning peach curl and I occasionally get that problem but I have another problem. And the peaches I grow here too. Variety their pitch is a problem most people wouldn't want to grow they grow smaller peaches. It's called a Crawford peach and now you can't buy plants from as far as I've been able to see. But they make a most and it's peach flavor is just ridiculous. Oh it's just fabulous peach flavor and I think I want to ask you about is can you come down to make it more like desperation and one sort of large trees.

And when I say large there might be 15. I'm sorry. Do we lose all still there might be 15 feet tall. OK. And so you talk about doing this a yeah yeah but I can reach him. Yeah. Well you certainly can do and peaches are one that need a certain amount of pruning because they really can get kind of add a control you know. Yeah as you as you have found out is far as a spouse a Usually we do that when they're fairly young because you're trying to get that sort of one dimensional look to him so you usually have to do a certain amount of training I suppose if you look at it and you really found that it had kind of that one dimensional where you could do a certain amount of pruning on him to make him that way but it's certainly a heck of a lot easier if you start early as in when you first plant them you know we're not going to make it so. Yeah but you can certainly do some pruning on to make it shorter. You know I was pretty much there. And when you do those I mean I'm talking about limbs that are three. Four inches in diameter maybe five.

Some of the biggest ones to have to cover them with something you know you really don't we really know that used to be the thought that you needed to cover those. Those services but you really don't need to really have found that through research that you're much better off just leaving it just let the plant grow over those areas as it needs to don't leave a stub that's probably one of the big things and don't make a perfectly flush cut you want to leave just a little bit what's called the branch Park Ridge. You kind of see that little ridge area and you kind of want to leave that part but it grossed over just fine for the one I want to get where the ones are pretty much gone straight up you know the main trunk I want you know off because it just keeps going up and up and you know right right. Yeah you may find you want to do that or maybe just looking at the structure you may find you just want to head them back a little bit as industry Meum down but you kind of really have to maybe get a good book or something so you can come to see the overall shape of them because you want the main scaffold branches and something so you really have some good strength. But you're right those ones that go straight up usually are not ones that are most

productive anyway. No I think you're way beyond You're right the other thing is these pitchers have a tendency to block you. Response on and sometimes it does affect you so you throw those away. But you know what I mean. That is does it go into the flesh or is this usually Reich a fungus that grows across the top or you know kind of a dark spot. But at the end of the end of the year when you harvest and there was areas are not nearly as tasty and they're kind of ok ok. Yeah it's something you maybe get and they do get some scab problems. And that sounds like that's probably what it is I don't know if you can if you could maybe look at some pictures that your local extension office or something probably figure out which one just by looking at some pictures that university Donna has some great publications on tree fruit diseases than you can look at the pictures and usually by looking at a picture you can figure out what it is and kind of go from there but it almost but you get a little fungus and scabs or something. What's the way to control use Acer fungicide sprays. I

prefer not to have to put it on and you may be having a problem just because maybe the plant's getting more overgrown and you're not getting very good air penetration that might that could be part of the problem. Thank you very much. OK thank you. Keep going here the next caller is someone in Eureka. On our line for right here. Hello Spring Flower Show. Oh the horticulture club flower show. I think I don't have a calendar from me it's April. Is David going to look at up here all the way. You by extension website and be on the university. It's whenever Mother's Day is here at the U of I O. OK you know Mother's Day weekend or whatever it is it's April like the 20th. You'll find it here in a minute. If you I might have to noodle around. I'll bet I could feel fine if it's whatever it's always on what they call Mother's Day weekend it's not Mother's Day in May but what you buy has their Mothers Day weekend so it's always that and I think it's like that third week in April

when I'm betting. But it's an excellent show as you've probably been there before. Yeah it's really a really great show the students do a super job doing all kinds of gardens of people I've never been there before they really need to go to the stock. And in a really fun time you can actually buy some playing and see what different gardens they have and get some ideas about landscaping. It's really really a lot of fun. So find a date here a quote for you I have and I'm pretty sure it's that third week in April and unfortunately I don't have a calendar in front me to know but I will find it so keep listening by the end of the show. Well keep listening by the way. Well put David on the spot. It was there it was there something else you wanted. Thank you just OK. Keep listening. Well find the day for you will go on here we have a caller next in painter on our line number too low. So you know back in the 50s when I used to cross the quadrangle at the U of i'd go write my moral play. And I don't think so

used to experiment with corn there. I saw my give us a little update on it. Thanks. Well as far as an update it's one of the oldest the oldest I think it is actually the oldest research comes to corn and now and the undergrad library was actually built underground in order that it didn't shade that particular field area. So it's very interesting and actually we're If you go to that area there is actually a little write up right there and you can see what it what's going on there but yeah it's still being used. So that's pretty amazing stuff. At the heart club is definitely and I could tell you when it was in 2001 Can you find Mother's Day weekend. I'll keep on here. Cindy Mason is our guest because she's going be taking over while it's been our time I'm sorry and it's Mother's Day weekend and it's actually usually in the year by phone books even at the very beginning when they list the schedule.

OK. And if other people have questions on things that grow and hardly anybody knows what that means. I think Harriet I think we have got all of us here. Well I was actually got there was something else you know that you're not completely lost. OK here's April 16 thank you very much. Thank you Harriet Williams And she she figured it out in April 16th. It's a two day it's a saturday sunday so I'd be like the 16th and 17th probably whatever that Saturday Sunday is and it's always that so that's the thing when the students they do their they do sort of sample display garden right and you get some different ideas and you can buy plants and it's a really nice it's really nice and it's a good you know it's a great opportunity. The students work so hard to get this done and it's a great opportunity for them to sort of work together and come up with the designs and ordered the plant material and do the whole thing so it's a lot of fun. OK that's April 16th on the oh I can't and it's a Saturday and Sunday. It's that stock we're going and it's just activity there in Pennsylvania Avenue and it's and it's free there's actually all

kinds of other things going on that weekend I think Krannert does some interesting things at their art museum and all kinds of things for parents to go I think we had somebody else here ready to go on our line number one the color in champagne. I don't. Yes. Creeping charlie. Oh boy I think. What about it. What do you do with it. Yeah I know that's really a tough one creeping charlie or it's also known as ground. And sometimes if you're reading labels it will call it ground beans that are creeping charlie. It really is. I get the most questions about how to get rid of it as you've probably known and probably a couple things you say about the only thing you're trying to get at your lawn so I could try and dig it up but that ends up being really tough. You can also use some of the post emergent herbicides and usually ones that have a couple different herbicides ANAM and one of the brand names is called tri Mac and it just has several that has

three different herbicides anent and that tends to be a bit more effective. Probably the biggest thing with ground ivy is you've got to get it when it's first starting to grow and then usually you're always going to have to do a second application so really if you read the label on your product and it'll say you can reapply in six to eight weeks I would definitely do that. Re-application so don't wait too late I've seen people try to control it with herbicides just in when it's just too hot July and August herbicides are not going to work well if it's hot and dry. So doing it earlier in the season trying to get them before they go to flower. It's tough it's really tough and as you've probably found out so early in the season it would be soon as a start of I mean it's it's not quite doing its thing I would say probably. April May it's going to start growing once you see it it's starting to grow. Then it's time to consider doing something with them. What I do with rare. What does it do with the grass. These are these are broad leaf herbicide so it's only going to take care of anything that has a broad leaf so would be things like dandelion and all that stuff but if you

use it according to label directions shouldn't do anything to your lawn. Well thank you and good luck to you. It's you know it's one of things really really tough and it starts getting in here. I've had people complain is going into their strawberry beds and if it would just you know it's greed it would just stay as a pretty as LOreal hook and if if you heard all those things and saw that the catalog you'd think isn't that a wonderful plan but it's just not a very good neighbor it's sort of just takes over. That's right. So unfortunately and you know if you have been in certain areas where there is nothing there that you want to keep around up will actually do a fairly good job again you're going to have to do a second application round and so it seems like the problem with that or I don't know I suppose some say you might see it as a virtue is that it likes places that are actually not in not in good writing not in good shape. It'll it will if you have places where your grass is really not very healthy and that he doesn't get good. Son in a movie it's not a really desirable place. It likes it right. And that's where it's going to go and if you have a little bit of time or feel like you and take the time you can certainly you know cover with black plastic. If you leave it there for a couple months you know when it gets really hot and stuff usually you can do

a pretty good job of just sort of killing it off just with black plastic but you're going to have to leave it the plastic there for a couple months to really make sure that it's been good to Indiana for another color line number four. Hello. Oh I have a winter scene where Hawthorne which is very close to being you know fully grown and I examined it yesterday and have found two bag worms which I neatly snipped off. But I found something on the end of a twig which has me baffled and I was hoping we might be able you know might know what it is I've gone through most of my insect looks you know looking for egg deposits basically. I'm thinking it might be a moth. There are a series of eight there in the columns of two. They slightly overlap and they're sort of a grayish brown they they give the you know fit the two wings are very well I just happen to see it because I was it was an

eye level and I saw him and the first thing that came my mind scale but they're not scale it's not a scale insect. And I'm thinking that there have been let down by some moss perhaps or Ovid or all of it and in the very thin wafer like and the way they overlap I mean you know I'm starting from the like from the center of the tree out twig and they overlap each other and it looks like there's actually nine. Looks like the tenth of May have fallen off there's looks like a some sort of a he sort of thing it was laid down for him and they were put you know put it in you know and I've got my little eye a magnifying glass out it's a 10 hour an All it does is make him larger in regular zone you know any kind of surface. Prominent something like yeah it's very smooth and it looks like you know the finger now you could flip them off for easily but they're right they're there right now right. And if they're models I'm not too much but you know I just sort of want to

know what they are like butterflies Maus you know and bag worms I've seen what they can do pretty quickly so I didn't take a chance on those open them up and they were still in the pupa stage and I just thought you know if you had some idea. Well I'm just trying to get from your description I would if you got some reference books I would look for. It almost sounds like Katie did. Yes and I would look at that and I've seen you know I said I've seen it at my cat before but I haven't been able to find it so that's what I'll do I'll get there. Yeah look for Katie did because they kind of lay I'm kind of in a little almost looks like they sort of layer them out and of course Katie does we don't worry about it. So it's just so it's a truly wish thing and you know I you know I don't if you know it's deserts the Society for the cooperation of invertebrates and I belong to that outfit so i'm there was as our little kid you know under stepped on and Solich I can't for you know what a hassle good for you to bag worms off with their heads but yeah yeah I would look at look at

a good picture and they should have some pictures of eggs of katydids and then I'd almost bet that's what it is and then you don't have to worry about it some you know that's good right. Thank you annex colors in Champaign County it's line number one. Hello morning. I have a tulip tree question and a clematis question. A tulip tree question is I have a volunteer and I need to move it at some point. Only about 4 feet tall now and the people call that by another name I mean somebody is telling me no that's not a tulip tree. It's got a big heart shaped leaves and I'm just laughing about it. I understand it's got sort of a taproot right. Well that temperate things sometimes a little. You should be able to move it. And sometimes they will calm yellow poplars and I have seen that listed so sometimes to a tree sometimes yellow poplar dominie depending on what part of country you come from. It seems like those two names but you know it's got that funny sort of. So almost like two points at the top of the leaf

that kind of what it looks like. Almost like it comes at two points instead of one like you think of the maple leaf and maybe it isn't the sort of tree it doesn't because it's not really a heart shape I wonder if you've got a red bud. What's big big heart shaped leaves. That doesn't sound like tulip tree it sounds like red. OK. Which certainly do reseed themselves because I was wondering a little bit about tulip tree I haven't seen them reseed themselves but red buds will receive themselves all over the place now and I'm still wondering what this is it has a really huge leaves like like I'm going to my hand right. Suffice in my hand out of it's going nuts that's could Tampa it's a capella. OK Tampa might be the other one that has a heart shape but it is a big leaf and then Basswood would be the other one has kind of a heart shape when I think I'm pretty sure it's a cop out. OK. But. What I think I might have asked once before about root pruning like I want to transplant it. Could I reprint it now and transplant it in the fall or does it doesn't matter a whole lot of I mean does it.

How much does it help I mean I assume the reprinting thing is if you you get it ready to ball sort of right. Right right you're trying to encourage roots within a smaller area if you really feel like that's going to be a problem. Temples are pretty tough to use for the most part. I'd almost be inclined to go ahead and try to get as much as a root as you possibly can here in the spring before it leaves out and then go forward from there. Now you do realize that tap can be a little bit messy tree. I mean they're beautiful trees in their native and all that kind of good stuff but realize they do have big flowers big pods big so it definitely would be a plant that I probably wouldn't put in my front yard I'd be more thinking about it and you know colic in the back forty or something like that. I just want to kind of warn you a little bit about bad. Why would certain issues is as food for my compost heap so. Oh there you go like the refuse. There you go. I don't call it refuse to bow to. About. Clematis it's most recommended to be a good plant for a pot and I put one in an oak barrel but it's also supposed to have

cold feet they say right. That's true if you want to have it right. OK right they really don't like maybe they like a cool base and a warm top ranks. But the one in the barrel died on me and I never noticed it needing water or anything like that. Sort of you know went away without me noticing it. Sorry I don't know it's right up here in there but actually the. So I'm wondering and it's on to the pot is on the north side of you know the fence kind of thing so it doesn't get any sun on them. But the one that I have in the ground is is doing fairly OK even though it had some problems too so I'm wondering if I just didn't notice that it needed water more often or was there anything that went around last last summer that I took out. Come out of something. Well certainly although it sounds a shade it certainly pots can have a tendency to dry out more often they certainly have a tendency to be hotter. Those kind of things certainly can

happen. So I'd wonder about that a little bit and you had really good drainage in there there was a problem with it being too wet in there was I don't think so. OK I think so but it's kind of odd that it's both recommended to have cold you know when a cold soil and and a B in a pot but like I said it should have been well shaded and so right. And when did it when did you notice the dieback is sort of I think it was sort of August so the dryness would have may have been a factor but OK OK the reason I mentioned then and probably would have happened a little bit early but do get thing called Clematis wilt and it kind of die back and it looks like the thing is an absolute gone or but then they go ahead and sprout up again the next year. OK so I guess what I'm saying is don't give up on it I may want to wait and see or maybe as you dig it up you could tell whether the roots look like they're still alive but sometimes you know they do that. I've heard they're pretty hardy and if you actually try to transplant them sometimes they'll come up from the roots that you haven't taken so yet when it's one of those things when they find a happy spot they

do beautifully. So it's just a matter of finding that happy spot. OK well I hope my pots happiness. Thank you. We have about 15 minutes left in this part of focus. Sandy Mason is our guest. She's a horticulture educator with the University of Illinois extension in Champaign County she is with us every month always on the second Tuesday. Except I think next month we're talking about just a change to do on Monday but it's almost the second Tuesday and she's here to answer questions about things that grow in the home landscape. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. The next caller is in Urbana and online to tell them how I think and I had a question a pruning question. I have both a I have a Mahonia and a boxwood. They're not formally cut in any way but they're in an area where they're doing really well.

But they're both getting a little bit wide. And I would like to you know keep them in bounds so they say. No wider than they are now. So I wonder what do I need to do to do that. Well I think with both of those guys you really want to maintain when you say they're not formally pro and you really want to maintain the sort of you want to be informal so you're not going to use an hedge shears. Now so at least now I mean yeah I do like group probing to keep them from getting whiter to keep doing it. Well certainly root pruning is one of those things that will help them to stay more dwarf. You may just want to think about doing some pruning and usually if you do a little pruning every other year or so you can use it keep them somewhat MBAM moans. But it's it takes a little bit longer certainly than using head shares but it's just a matter of sort of taking the stems and then following them down to where you get to the point where you finally want to that's how big you want them. And so you doing individual branches as opposed to just doing it all at the same time with a hedge.

Yours is of a hole you have particularly seems to spread by sort of underground. See they do do that. That when you definitely might want to do some root pruning just to get some of those out. That unfortunately is kind of the nature of the beast so you probably get him on a regular basis every couple of years. Yeah every couple years are probably really going to have to do that but a lot of times you can dig those up given to your neighbors. Well that's right. Cher Oh yeah. And the fact that I started the one really you know I think I'm getting it. Friend OK right. And with the boxwood especially just prone it. Yeah I would just grin I'm not sure I do a lot reporting on it since box would sometimes have a little bit of a hard time here anyway but I think I just do a matter pruning in the just two individual branches and then to the point we get it it's a little sort of wide at some point just at the ground and just try to keep a certain amount in formality to it but yet when I do in order to do that yeah they are and it takes time but it's only can be done and people could do that

and use or any of the things I'm big on the informal pruning. So you don't have to get tied to this you know this perfect sort of shape and having to prune them all the time and oh yeah I don't mind doing a hand printing right. It's sort of interesting actually. It's very Zen like. OK thank you and thanks for the call there examine the art of pruning would you write that book. Go to Terre Haute. Well I number one hello. Good morning. Yes yes good morning good morning. Almost happy spring. We're almost there a little bit of history I collect pine needles to mulch with a marker from a viable County area and I collected many many areas and last year I had two Virg ated red buds come up. Variegated Redbud's Yep. Wow. Who I want to talk to about this. I've asked a couple plants men in the Terre Haute area but I can't seem to get anybody interested I don't even There's a geneticist works here from a cornfield in us.

So the leaves are actually green and white and they seem to maintain that throughout the plant are. Oh that is way cool. Good question I think I would probably talk to perhaps trying to think of the two people there's a person trying to think what his name is but he he has caught Connor Shaw is this name calling or showing any as possibility place nursery here in Illinois and it's up north I'm not sure exactly what to do with people. Yeah do you have a you have web access. Yes I do. OK probably if you do a search for possibility place you can probably find it. But he does a lot of stuff with natives and I know he likes to do a lot of propagation those kind of things I think he would be a good person. There's another gentleman I'm trying to think with the name of his places but his name is Guy Sternberg OK. And he actually has a nursery in southern Illinois and I wish I could think of the name of his place but I would imagine again if you do a web search and it's this guy Sternberg I think it's s t e r in B U R G. OK.

I think it would have to be under a lot of variegated. Not so your I guess I'm going for the people that I had native stuff in certainly redbuds are native. So they might have some interest I guess something about both those people because they also have a tendency to do a lot of propagation speed never heard of that in this area for a very gated No I've never seen a very good one you know actually I think about I've never seen a barricaded one. Yeah well if it came up and two of them came up side by side and the third one on the pot I guess is what I'm guessing it came up as a green leaf once. Oh wow you ought to figure out how to take cuttings of those and start you know you could just sell em yourself you could be the variegated guy named after you can name it after yourself or your wife my wife. That's how these things get started. Oh for it you can send me a cutting if you're really well up and something comes out good luck. Thanks Mike oh we'll keep going here and our next caller is in tune. Well in number three. Hello. Oh yes I have. Quite birches and these two birches are

probably 25 years old and I have never seen a seedling or a sprout and thing come up from them like birches sprout from seed. I don't know. I'm trying to think out some of the other ones and it could be just the conditions around it I don't know if some of the of the cult of ours might be whether they're sterile. You know that's probably an AT LEAST A young enough one it might be with a cult of ours do you know where it came from or anything about it. One of the nurseries I believe out of Yankton South Dakota. I'm just not sure now and I think I've got some birches that I've never seen them reseed and it could be just maybe conditions aren't right or you know something else is going on there that we're just not aware of. But you could probably do a little. Again some information go to the library whatever and you could find out if your if that's what you're looking for for them to reseed you could probably find out what kind of conditions they need.

Well I didn't know of it were male female. No they actually have separate flowers but they're on the same plant. Yeah yeah. Oh I've tried freeze number three number I'm still getting Yeah right offhand I'm not sure what it takes but I would imagine I know that there are certainly other reference books out there so if you can check with their local extension office or go to the library there are all kinds of books that that will get more detail on that on how you get those to propagate. OK thank you my good luck Very good thank you. Well we certainly have time for some other calls. Maybe bout 5 6 minutes 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5 you like to talk with Sandy. We got a number of questions from people about trees and I guess one of the just the general kinds of things I wanted to ask about was at what point is it OK to start thinking about planting trees. I would start thinking about it now. I mean look I mean I guess I wonder when at what point it's too soon to do it in you know is there some sort of line some sort of date you say well sort of think about it

but not before this day but yeah you know because most of the stuff that you're going to get is is dormant more than likely anyway this time of year be dormant. And so planning it probably really wouldn't be a big deal certainly through April you can usually get away with planting things without a whole lot of worry. Now if you were actually going to move them I probably make sure that they were dormant and wouldn't wait too much later but certainly April and even into May. We just really wouldn't want to do a lot of planting maybe when we know it's going to be particularly hot unless you know that you can provide water for them. So that's probably one of the big things. Pretty much you know we do a lot of planting all kinds of times. Yeah. OK. Couple of other people here. Danville line 1 Hello. I never will live to my neighbors. I'm told there are no real chemical riddle to me. Everything was. Yeah I wish I had a good solution for you. And if people are from a number well they probably have it but it is a warm season grass and it's probably one of the problems of the warm season weed

grass and so you usually can tell as you know as in it tends to be tends to grow get Brown earlier. Kind of a kind of a straw color earlier in the season in the fall tends to green up late very finely. It seems like the last couple years the seeds themselves must have done particularly well because I've had more comments about number well over the past few years because it is a perennial. We really and because it's a grass we don't have a whole lot controls for it when it comes to any kind of herbicide So that's one of the big problems with that. I have had people that when it's active when that weed is actively growing you can use a round up or one of the nonselective herbicides the life estate products and you just spray that particular spot and that will help to at least kill that particular number well and hopefully kill some of the roots as well. Or just digging it out so unfortunately those are about your only options with any of the perennial grassy type we are all right.

I wish there was some better solutions but I don't. I do. Thank you. Let's start with someone in Dallas. Only number four. Hello. I found a wonderful program this weekend. Oh thanks. You talk about a garden day we had a wonderful garden day this past week. Kendricks it's just so wonderful. Yes he is a wonderful and he was certainly was on this program last last month but he really is a delightful person. He he's just like his books read which isn't always the case with authors but history even when he's sick. I have a question do you know about a product called messenger messenger. What's it supposed to be for everything. Well I got to get me some too. Let me see let me think of all my problems. Cornell University is being produced commercially now under this under this name. The key ingredient is a protein called Heart pin. It's a it's not a fertilizer or growth hormone but it

revs up the immune system system makes plants for resistant to diseases and stress growth systems robust lower food production increased surge seed germination improve road development while holding improved tolerance to environmental stress. Sounds like the elixir of life you know but I think I was just thinking that it serves no it does to people who have current issues like gardening Oh I should look at that. I want this stuff I think. Yeah I'm fortunately I'm going to have to do some little research on that too. But you might check if it's from Cornell I think I probably check their Web sites to see what they have on it or do a search on it. Yeah that's interesting and certainly I think we're finding out more and more that sometimes you know it's just like with us with people you know if you can do more preventative kinds of things in the long run we're much better off than trying to just sort of do these Band-Aids and try to fix this and fix that stuff actually making the plants or making yourselves healthier so it makes sense to me. I just I haven't realized it isolated anything that would do that so

it's an interesting thing. I mean yeah it sounds wonderful but quite a bit for it would we not. Yeah but it's a protein that's what they want. Key ingredient is a protein and they make them. They stress that it's not a fertilizer that you need fertilizer also. Well if you decide to use it this year. Call back in the fall and you know how it works. Give us all a report right. No I won't do a scientific test then for you. Yeah I have to do a search on that that's interesting. It was just a good year or bad year. Yeah that's it is hard sometimes to replicate that. But yeah that's interesting I had to look into that. Thanks for the thanks for the thought. Well we're trying to do one more urban on line number one. Hello. I just tuned in so I'm sorry if this is a repeat that I have. Bush is out in my front yard. They're really sort of hedges and they've grown to be over four feet tall and are hiding a lot of the house and I'm going to cut them down to about two feet. Is that going to kill him. Do you know what kind they are I don't there are the evergreens or other

green and the green is just very right around had it's mostly branches is that a real dark green. Not real dark. Are they soft. I'm trying to figure out what it is. They kind of soft when you when you touch them are they kind of prickly when you touch them. They're more soft they're soft. It almost sounds like a you know most that I would think the problem is by taking him down that drastically you're going to see a lot of just bare wood. Now you use are one of the few where you can actually cut down quite a bit and they come out of it. The problem is is they're going to look pretty bare and kind of funny looking for a while. OK as in for a couple years they're like funny looking. If I decide to just take them out but I want to put in some sort of a hedge bush that's only going to grow to maybe two or three feet at the most. Anything you could recommend. And you want it to be evergreen or new yeah. What side of the house is this on. This would be on the north side.

Well you might actually be able to get away at Boxwood because sometimes on the north side I know it sounds kind of funny but if you don't get a whole lot of wind on the north side and mainly because they actually prefer a little bit of shade in the hot part of the season and if it's particularly windy sometimes a box would have a hard time but you may find that that would actually be a better one for it didn't grow quite as fast and quite as big but use can be taken down but you can take a man down over a couple of years but just realize it's going to take some patience and really realizing that they're going to look kind of beer for a while but they will come back. Yeah and it what you want to do is just want to follow the stem down and find where somewhere on that little brown that brown stem they'll be a little bit of a tuft of green. And then that's where you cut down to now realize you're going to these brown stems a little tough to green at them and that's why they look kind of funny. And what is the best time of year to do that. I would think about doing it now. Okay great. Thank you very much. And I think you well there will finish up for this time around with a promise that next month Sandy

will be back and we will do it again although I think we said next time we're thinking that it's going to be Monday Monday before Monday before he or she will. But she will be here and generally she's here once a month always on the second Tuesday to questions on the lawn and garden care and thank you very much great. Thank you. Sandy Mason she's horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County.