Focus 580; Lawn And Garden Care

Good morning welcome to focus 580 our morning talk show My name is David Inge. Glad to have you with us also pleased to have back here on the show. Sandy Mason she's a horticulture educator with us by extension in Champaign County and once a month on a Tuesday she's here and we take questions on lawn and garden care whatever might be on your mind has to do with some plant that grows in the home landscape trees shrubs grass flowers stuff you can eat. We can also take house plant questions. And if you're having a problem you have a question just give us a call and make sure you can tell us what kind of plant it is and give us the best description of the problem or you know whatever the question is. I know that Sandy will do her best to give you an answer here in Champaign-Urbana 3 3 3 9 4 5 5. That's the number. We do also have a toll free line so if it would be a long distance call for you the number is eight hundred to 2 2 9 4 5 5. At any point here you have questions you can call us and we'll take as many as we can. Welcome back. Yes thank you. So we would have been sitting here talking that it's been sort of an odd summer it's been hot and it has been overall pretty dry with

occasional deluges here and there it seems like it's nice. There were rain that we've gotten for example just over the past weekend was fairly gentle over a number of days. But there also have been these times over the summer where if you've got rain you might have just gotten torrential downpour. And of course know when these deals were across the street or the next field over you know all that. Yeah they didn't you getting that you could have got a couple of inches in an hour or something. And neighbors don't get anything so it's been pretty strange. I tell him Don why because you have got to get in I did get it together. It's going around. I think I'm going to bed Kermit there I don't know. Well when we talk a little bit about grass grass. Because also as we're talking here we're getting into the point where we would be recommending that people if they were going to do a fall fertilization were kind of getting to that point we're also getting to the point where a normal if it was sort of a normal year and we were expecting normal moisture. And people wanted to reseed were also getting to that point but

we were just talking. You were just saying before we got going. If it continues to be as dry as it is maybe you don't want to do either of those things and I think that you know we are at least when it comes to receding and people may find I was just talking to someone else about you know usually when we start getting a little rain then the Kentucky bluegrass printer I guess will have green up a bit. There is no nos in my lawn they're not green and people may notice it. That part of their lawn is truly died this year so they may want to think about reseeding. Normally we think about mid August in about mid September is really an ideal time it's early enough in the season to get late enough where hopefully we get some rains but you know you just have to realize that if you're going to do some receding you're in reciting you're going to have to be watering and you're going to have to make sure especially your three seating that you keep that seed bed moist so you could have you know water several times a day and you really have to make that commitment if you're going to go that route I wouldn't play. Mother Nature helping us too much with that. The other thing as far as fertilization normally you know if you don't fertilize any other time a year normally we say early September is really

your best time to fertilize If you're just going to fertilize once that's the time to do it. But we want to make sure that there's moisture out there we want to make sure that the grass is actively growing so it can take advantage of that fertilizer. And if it's not an F. It's still hot and it's still dry. You may want to think about delaying that. We certainly can still fertilize when we come into October and then even into November so it's not too late to do that but you kind of have to keep that in mind Same thing with wheat control. If you're if you concerned about we control and maybe late season you normally would put on a weed and feed to take care of those those dandelions or whatever you have out there but realize that again even if the weeds are not actively growing even they shut down. Let's see. Well if it's real hot and dry they don't take up the herbicide properly and you don't get a good kill so you may decide that you're just going to delay some of these things maybe even into October. So if you were if you decided you were just bound and determined to do that though would it be OK if you watered yourself if it was not raining or would you just say don't

even. You really don't even want to get in. It depends on the temperature. And if we start getting days where it's once we start getting above 85 degrees that's kind of been considered the temperature where plants kind of start shutting down. They're not nearly as actively growing for most plants that's a difficult temperature for them once they get above 85 so we like to have it so if we get a stretch here where we're in the low 80s and you feel like you want to go ahead in water I think that's fine. If we get into these 85 90s and hopefully we don't stay that way but we may you never know and that may be a time where even watering may not be all that terribly helpful for you. And then so just to underscore what you said if we continue to have those kind of conditions it's not if we even wait until the beginning of October that's not too late to do at least to do the fertilizer. Certainly the fertilizer and weed and feed both if you want to do a broad leaf herbicide at that time you certainly can still do that in October. It's getting kind of late to do receding at that time so we'd hope that maybe September will roll around to be a little nicer month for us and people can still receipt you could resell

odd at that time. It's not getting too late into that but even with that I'd be getting that done even in September so. And this is the time if you're going to do control I'm talking just the other day with Phil Nixon he was here this is the time if you're going to do control for grubs now's the time to do you need to be checking for them. I mean you definitely need to be checking for them and you know because we haven't had a lot of rain those lawns that have been watering the most are generally those are the lines where the grubs are going to be. So you kind of that catch 22 thing if you've been watering you're more apt to get grubs if you haven't been watering your lawn has been basically dormant this season you're probably not going to see too much in the way of grubs. So if you're high maintenance lawns I'd definitely be checking for grub. We have several callers here ready to go Sandy Mason is our guest. She's here once a month to talk about lawn and garden care. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 here in Champaign Urbana toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. First caller is in Rantoul line 1. Hello hello.

Yes I have a Dell. Cindy I'm one one delphinium I planted last year to see if I could grow them and I planted beside my current port and it bloomed beautifully this spring and summer. There is a new growth on it. The leaves have a yellow background with green veins planted next to the concrete post with a carport I'm wondering if it's got to too often. Also fertilize it every summer with a slow release so as to be a three month and lightly as a 16 12 12 all purpose with micronutrients and that's all I've done to it besides cut back the blossoms after they die. It sounds like a nutrient deficiencies specially the veins are stained green so you may want to think about maybe a fertilizer for acid loving plants again and wouldn't do that if we get at the temperatures much above 85. But thinking about doing something on those lines and I assume you've been watering you know if anyone bought it it's been watered regularly.

They hate they hate our summers. I don't know if you realize that and I do not like came from Georgia where I cannot grow delphiniums Yeah you know I thought I would try it here and I put it so it didn't get cross winds we have north south crossing and put it where it was sheltered from the wind and it did it did very nicely I was surprised it made it through last winter but there was a lot of ice in that area. But. Concerned you do it do you think then it's probably a matter of being too out there possibly possibly or for one reason or another maybe because of dryness or heat or whatever there it's experience and nutrient efficiency so that's definitely what it sounds like you know I goings on with cooler and fertilize it with than with a dozen as a different motion. Something along those lines and that really should bring it around. Will it be alright into fertilizer that late in the year. That's not a problem. I wouldn't fertilize it much past September or so but as it should be a problem now.

Thank you very much. Good luck thanks for the call next to someone and Bellflower on our Joel free long line for Hello. Hello good morning good morning. They have just put our road back and I'm looking for suggestions for possibly some small shrubs that you think would do well there. I'm hoping to get something that would have some color in the fall but not get out of hand too easily. Is this full sun or shade. It's full sun except for very early in the morning. Well as far as fall color kind of depends on what you're looking for there's some smaller for city if you like that you know certainly as a spring flowers they do have a yellow fall color in there I would definitely look for the shorter ones are some shorter cult of ours that you might find good for that even some of the smaller red twig dogwoods are kind of nice to get some you know color from those twigs in the wintertime so you've a little bit of show. There's another plant if you're able to get enough moisture that's called an idea that's a probably the one most popular one is probably Henry's garnet and it has a

beautiful fall color kind of a reddish maroon color very pretty but it does need moisture. So it's not one where you can just sort of sit out there and let it you know really bake in the sun so it is full sun is fine it just needs some wasters So if you're able to do that you may find that helpful. I think that sounds very nice. You may find depending on the height that your deck there there are some smaller culture bars of like the Korean spice Viburnum. You may find that some of those will work for you now those are probably again even the compact ones make it five or six feet so it may be a bit too tall for you. That might be a little tough. Yeah that might be a bit top. So that might be some sort of really just walking through some of the garden centers I think you'll be surprised at the because every year everybody's in is kind of the same boat. We're all looking for these smaller shrubs so that might be a few options for you. Thank you so much. Always there thanks. It seems that there are a fair number of shrubs that do grow very large that are available indoor for you right is if you will if you like a particular thing.

Often they do come smaller so that they will get right and more and more we're finding that a lot of these shrubs you can just cut them down to the ground say after they bloom and then they won't get quite so tall if you actually do that every year. Then you can keep them smaller. Now obviously that's a low maintenance thing but actually they can be manipulated to some extent by doing those kinds of things but you know you've got to look at the mature height unless you're willing to prune it once in awhile. OK. Champagne the next color blind to the low. Yes I've got three quick questions the first one is crabgrass. I heard what the guest said about reseeding but I notice a lot of crabgrass and I'm on What does she recommend should I pull it out and reseed Should I quit. Some kind of herbicide on what should I do with the crabgrass. The one thing about crab grass it's an annual grass so it has to come back every year from seed. So usually how we combat it is in the spring we put down a pre-emergent crabgrass control. OK. And that seems to be a little bit better thing you sort of you know

any any of them that you can get rid of now just by pulling them out that's great because then you won't have quite so many seeds but generally it's a lot more effective just to try and use it. Pre-merge inexpert OK. My other question is my next question is on the north side of my house. I have a holly and a service area right next to each other and they're both been on the ground for a long time and when I got back from vacation they both they both appeared to be dead and I'm not sure if they just dried died from the drought which would be it would surprise me. Because the north side of the house is fairly moist or if they were attacked by Japanese beetles and I wanted to ask you how could I tell which is which and what should I do in either case. Well Japanese Beetles I don't think they certainly would detect service very soon think the attack Hollies I'd be very surprised they technologies that Japanese beetle has a very distinctive damage they tend to eat so that they leave the veins. So all the leaves are there but they have a sort of Lacy appearance very characteristic with those

guys so usually you can figure that out fairly quickly. I think that's what happened to the service. Yes certainly the service area would not be surprised by that. Holly I would be a bit surprised I don't think they go on Holly So I guess with the holly what I wonder about. They certainly are ones that do not like dry temperature I mean dry soils. But you feel like that's been been moist enough that that's not a problem. I can't tell there's another Holly you know 20 feet away from a thriving house going. You might do a little bit of investigation are you sure it's dead or just sort of dead. I'm not sure what I would do is just take take your thumbnail and just scrape the stems a little bit and see if there's any green under there because sometimes you know they'll go through you know maybe a drought or wind or something and the leaves look horrible but the stems are still very much alive. So I would check that make sure that the stems aren't still green in which case there's always a chance that it might leaf out this year but certainly maybe next year. So I checked that number one the other thing and do a little bit investigation maybe

look at the base of the plant did you plant these or did something else plant or you planted them. So you're pretty confident that there was any promise for his leaving string on or anything like that that might girdle the roots are OK. I was pretty compulsive about it. That's what I like to hear. But that would be one thing else. It also kind of look at they certainly don't like to wet of soils but that certainly unless you really left the water on and it was a very very clear sight I don't imagine that happening this year. If I'm not sure that it should I cut it back and see what happens next year. Actually I would just leave it at home. I would just leave it I would take up anything that you know is dead. That's obviously dead you can print that off but you know every year we just have to keep in mind that those stands as long as the stems are green. That's a source of food for the plant. You know that stored food reserves so if you can leave that on as much as possible that gives the plant maybe a little bit extra food reserve when it comes to relief. So I would wait until you know it's dead dead before I actually go ahead and remove any of the branches I know it looks probably funny and it

looks bad and you can take the leaves off maybe if it concerns you looks but and I weight of asparagus It is beautiful there. Should I treat it now or just leave it at this point the beetles are pretty well gone so they've done what they're going to do and most of the time the it's not life threatening for the plants I know it looks horrible and I hate seeing it but it's generally not life threatening. They usually come out of it. OK my last question is I have by my lamp post talk. The grass and I think it's called to bluegrass or something like that. And what I would like to have is a nice clump of hair right by my lamppost. But it's not doing very well I only have three sprigs right now and I wonder what can I do to make it clump you know make the clump propagate better. Should I take some of the seeds from it and plant them in the ground right near the base of it. Or should I you know move the I have a ground cloth around it to prevent weeds from growing up should I tear that away so that more spruce can come up. How can I how can I encourage that to bluegrass and to propagate and spread and make and I

usually don't have too much trouble to be honest with you when they get it once they get established. I definitely would take the ground cover cloth whatever you have. Take that away from it. Make sure that it's it has plenty of room to spread and then if you want to go and fertilize it certainly again the whole thing we've been talking about before as far as making sure it's not too hot not only good stuff but actually just for less than watering is going to be your best bet. And remove the Kwara and remove that cloth and then you know it will grow they actually grow fairly fast. Well thank you very very good luck. Thanks for the go. We have someone else here the next person is in one piece. Line 1 Hello. Hi I have a lot of pine needles. Well because of the pine trees that I had. What's happening. Especially this year's sea weeds are taking over and I don't want that we share. And because it's just to create I think it brings mosquitoes and that kind of stuff. So I'd rather have a just pine needles. But the weeds are

just going crazy. What could I do to a lemonade. I try to. I pulled a whole bunch of weeds. And then when we got all this moisture now the little bit of moisture we did get over the summer that we just went nuts over it. So how would I get rid of the weeds besides pulling them all it doesn't seem to be effective. And this is underneath the pine trees yeah yeah. OK well I guess a couple of things have you consider maybe putting in some ground covers or something you know I have ground covers in some parts of that but this is a big big area and I don't want to have it all covered with green I'd rather have the pine needles because I think it brings in mosquitoes. Well have you let the pine needles just stay all year and they say oh yeah yeah it's usually that's thick enough that it chokes out most of the weeds out and yeah but some of these weeds are who have learned how to walk.

I'm sure. Really tricky that was with you when you least expect. Well I guess the one thing would be if we knew what kind of weeds they were it might help. Sounds like they may be perennials as in the coming back from the you know when you poll I'm there and they're coming back with a route they thought they'd find the things that they crawl underneath the pine needles and spread out all over the place. Could be buying weed or any number of things I think X is some kind of creep or somebody said one creeping charlie Reaper. No no Texas creeper Arkansas creeper. One of those states creepers. Gotta watch those stale the state of Virginia creeper. Oh yeah that's not a well that's not a weed but some people think they are. It was a nuisance. Bland Yeah. Some people actually like it it's one of those things that if you can keep it controlled. Some people like it because it grows in the shade but it will grow up over stuff and yeah it'll grow it'll get out of control.

Yeah you know I got ground covered that it's growing now. You know it definitely over a few platic probably I guess you probably have a couple options. One would be you're going to have to choke it out somehow. Obviously it doesn't look all that great but you could even use something like black plastic something along those lines where you just leave it enough long enough to actually kill off the weeds. Maybe for one season and then I take it off is not good for the trees but a bit but it's a pretty good method for sort of choking things out. So actually using black plastic. I've also used and had this to be somewhat effective is actually use several layers of newspapers and then put your pine needles back on top of it. And I don't know if Virginia creeper it's such a woody plant that I don't know about that one that might be a little bit tough but I have with some weeds I found that to be somewhat effective too. And if you're not opposed to herbicides you certainly could use an herbicide on on these particular plants as well if there's nothing else under there that you want to keep. Then any any of the non selective type herbicides would help too and when it's happening not selective

nonselective would be something like life to say. Just sold it as Roundup usually OK. And that would be as long as you don't spray it on anything you want to keep it. It's not going to be a problem for the tree because it doesn't go into the soil like that so what about the wildlife. And like birds and stuff. Well as with anything you'd want to try to keep things all at once it dries there's not a problem. OK so as long as you keep animals and set off a bit until your eyes do it during that dry period. Well you just want to make sure again you don't want to use it when it's too hot outside. I wouldn't use it when you think it's going to rain within the next couple of hours. And if you just read the label it will give you all those kind of actions on it and just make sure it's not too windy. Those kinds of things so so there are certainly any with any pesticide you need to make sure you read the label and follow the label directions. Well that. Will that Virginia creeper. It should probably what I would do with that if you have some really really would even mind I would probably cut one of them cut it down as far as I can and then actually paint on the

herbicide right on it next to the cut surface and it's labeled as the cut surface treatment. OK and so you may find that that's helpful. OK thanks Tom I don't know if I should try that Roundup or not because it might be sort of I don't know. Heard the rest of this stuff but as long as you follow label directions keep it off of anything you want to keep those kind of things OK for you. All right thanks a lot. Thank you. Our guest here this morning in this part of focus 580 is Sandy Mason she saw horticulture educator with UI extension in Champaign County once a month. Tuesday she's here and we talk about lawn and garden care if you have questions or maybe you have some sort of problem you're not quite sure how to solve it. Give us a call and Sandy will do her best to help you. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 here in Champaign Urbana toll free eight hundred to 2 2 9 4 5 5 and hear someone else to talk with in Champaign line too.

Oh yes I have a question about I have a pretty flower pink and I don't I don't know which frighted it is but it's got a real glut grassy clump and then there are several sprouts with pink flowers on the top. My question is when I went to divide those I know that there can be difficult to divide and spread out but they're getting huge. Well that's good they must be happy. Usually with most of perennials and those included September is a good time and some folks like to wait until next season like mid April to May. Somewhere along. Right. So it kind of depends on you I wouldn't do it much later than September you really want to make sure that you give them a chance to get established before winter comes right I'd like to do it sooner so that I can. Because they're so big now if I wait until spring I never know when I'm going to be. You think you might have a second question about quack grass. How do you deal with that in your lawn. It's not going to question the most we killers don't affect it.

Yeah the problem is it's a perennial grassy weed in it so it's very difficult to find anything that's going to kill it and not also kill your grass. So we really don't have anything selective that's going to select for it and not also kill your good grass so that's the unfortunate part it's probably one of the most difficult weeds to get rid of. And I will tell you again. Look at you. So you have a couple options I suppose you could live with it. And then deal with it as it comes into perennial beds and stuff because it will run in the beds. The other the only other thing you could do is either you could try and pull it out. But the problem is what you'll find is that it snaps and all those little white big white roots just stay there and back up again. So your other bet would be if you wanted. If you truly wanted to get rid of about the only thing you can do is to hit those areas with something like like round up rather nonselective herbicides and wait for all to die and then come back in and receive a re side because it definitely will kill your good grass as well but we just don't have too many other options unfortunately.

OK thanks very much. Thanks for the go we have some old folks here ready to go and let's see who will talk with next someone in Champaign. I believe the line number one. Hello Yes yes go ahead. I have a pumpkin question pumpkin vines are growing well and lots of blossoms and through the blossom after they block some and open up when they close they fall off and don't make any fruit. So are you actually can you tell if you're actually getting male flowers and female flowers both because female flowers even though even when they have been poly and actually have a little bit of bulbous area right behind the flower. Oh I have a look. I look close because they have male and female flowers and so you may be seeing the male flowers and maybe just don't have female flowers yet you should by now I would think. And then the other thing would be whether they're getting pollinated properly or you know have you seen BS and

stuff around there or something that would pollinate properly. Yeah I don't know whether we're gonna be in the neighborhood or not. Well you may have to act like your own little bee because you can actually pollinating yourself if you want to just find the male flowers you know you'll see the white the yellow kind of powdery stuff the pollen. Yeah go ahead and and actually pollinate the female flowers yourself. OK thank you good luck and thanks for the call and we'll go next to somebody here on cell phone line number three. Hello. I think Andy. Right quick question about some storm damage to a cherished dogwoods and we had a large oak that fell down just a couple weeks ago in one of the past storms. Top heavy and I want it. When did it landed on the re Cruise adulthood anyway. One of them as a when we finally removed a large tree that Crusoe was then and snapped at the bottom but you know what we did is we didn't

put it back up into its original shape and have it staked but is there is it a loss or is there anything that we might be able to do to actually repair the injured area. So I'm trying to. How big a trio of these the dogwoods. How big around really is the job was for about 10 years old. So they were nice specimens. OK you know and then when you say it snapped you actually saw the interior bark when it snapped. Oh yes. OK and then you put the part that snapped back in back and connected it with the other part is that would you know I don't need you to actually write it down so much that you could see the snapped interior but see all sides of the trunk actually were still remaining. Ok kind of pushed it all back brace and you know have it you know braced up into position. But we know that the interior of it you know has been damaged.

Well we're just trying to figure out if it might live. We can you know add anything insure and you know it you know. When did this happen. You said a week or so. Oh about three weeks ago after we had had such a real long run this is actually on some property we have up in case one of the storms that hit up there but not down here. OK and how do the leaves look now on that particular tree. They still are. They're still green. Well then I'd say that's a really good sign because what and I know this is going to sound really funny. And if you if you watch red green yellow you'll think I'm making this up but actually what I have done is actually duct tape the handyman's secret weapon. And I have done if if the inner bark didn't dry out too much. It is possible to sort of bring it now you can do it on a young tree big mature tree gets much harder obviously duct tape is a hole. But where you can actually put them back together again if it hasn't dried out too much and I have seen it actually I've done it myself where they actually sort of eventually sort of heels over now you have to

really watch the duct tape. And you want to make sure you take it off in the fall you know because otherwise it will end up gurgle in the tree. And then I would see if it if those leaves stay green I'd say you have a really good chance that it's going to survive. So your best bet now is just good maintenance kinds of things you know water during drought. You may want to think about fertilizing either late this fall or next spring. Those kind of things just as train encourage it and it'll tell you real quick whether this is going to work or not because that half of the tree will just die. Right well there are some pointers. Good luck thinkers and try to try. Good luck. Thanks for the CO who knew Sandy but I never would have thought Nancy get wet and make a lovely couple three three three W-L all toll free 800 1:58 W while I would take questions about lawn and garden care and get as many as we possibly can in the time that remains and we'll go next over to talk with somebody in Kokomo on line 4. Hello good morning. I have a mushroom question this

morning. UNDER MY you want bushes in the edge of the lawn and it's a shaded area under ground cover I have thousands and thousands of mushrooms. Yesterday they looked like a little like you'd spilled a bag of perlite. Today they're a little bit bigger and they're beginning to turn slightly brown Now this has happened before and two days they have vanished completely. Now they're back what do I have. Well you have little mustard. And I noted to surround my own yard. So the conditions musta just been right for this particular one because it sounds like the same mushroom I have been in mine and it's just growing off of the mulch and that's that isn't terribly uncommon and usually you know the fungus need a certain amount of moisture and so once we get these little rains the temperatures right then they'll do this. You know the mushrooms are pop out but like you say usually in a couple days they're gone. OK so it's nothing it's not a problem for the plants there's nothing going on it's just there truly growing

off of that decomposing wood chips or whatever that's might be there. So I'm not a big no there's no mulch but there's other miscellaneous stuff on the ground. I've never seen this before. Yeah this year I've seen so many of these little bitty ones and they're like all like you say overnight they pop up. They're all over the place. Next couple of days are gone. OK. So there must be something just right about those. OK thank you very much. Thank you. Let's go to line one champagne next. Well I I I I want to know how can I prevent that from growing up in my brick patio. My idea. Just spray it with vinegar. Well actually they do have a. The one thing you'll see vinegar listed as an herbicide a couple things that actually the homeowner type vinegar is not the strength that was actually studied to be found to be found as a good herbicide so I will tell you that. But

I think they've actually come out with a product now that actually has a higher concentration of vinegar and actually does a pretty good job when the weeds are quite small. So once they get going. It's a little bit harder but you certainly can use a product like that there's some other Actually I think safer is actually makes a particular herbicide is actually made out of soap that also kills them off and those are great for these little seedlings that pop up right there. They usually just kill off the top part of say of a weed that's really big and has a big root system but they're really quite good for things like these little bitty seedlings. All right and I'm concerned that there are. Place for animals. Yeah that's that's the nice thing about actually both of these pregnant again you'd always want to make sure it dries before you let animals or kids or whatever wash their photo at Iran but once it dries it's not an issue. And then if you can get those little seedlings before they set more seed that's going to be one of your big things to do it first thing in the spring. Yeah and just keep on it just really keep on it you may find the first year or so you just really have to spray quite a

bit. But then hopefully once that seed bank sort of lessens you won't have nearly the problem. Is it possible for you to give me a name or one of those parts for that. Well I think so. I think safer is as one of the brand names and I think they actually make one that's it's a soap. The vinegar product I'm not sure what label that's come out on but you might be able if you have internet access you might want to do an internet search for vinegar or a sign. OK thank you. Thank you to Monticello line number two. Hello hello. I have a problem with. I ve. I had it put down and an area where it was very shady and I have a hedge on one side of my yard and the ivy is growing into the hedge and I'm wondering how I can. I'm afraid it's going to choke the hedge out and I'm wondering how I can put a bear is there a way to put a barrier far away to the ivy over there without hurting the hand.

Yeah I guess I know what kind of a hedge is it. But I don't think it's a pivot heads because the leaves are a little bit softer and I think that I grow rigid and I have to try it. Usually even if the ivy kind of goes over the base of the plant there is more than likely is not going to be a problem for the head. I will tell you that it really is. If it starts smothering at then obviously there's an issue there but this is sort of going through the head around it. Maybe over the crown of the play at this point I can be a big issue for the hedge itself so I will tell you that the other thing they're really as far as a boundary or anything I think you're going to find that's a little bit difficult unless you actually put something in the ground and you'd have to stick up probably at least. Wow probably at least 8 or 10 inches that's going to have to stick out because the idea grows right over the top of it. But you know in over 8 or 10 inches it shouldn't it shouldn't over that if you sort of keep it cut back at that point and that would sort of help you otherwise. The other thing I was

going to say is that just to keep it cut back and actually use like a one edge trim or something like that to sort of keep it cut back away from the hedge. OK but I'm fraid it just has a tendency to sort of keep growing. Yeah because really the only way I can control it is to get just get in there and pick it up then cross it off. That would be your best bet unless as I said you use some sort of like an edge or something along those lines that would probably cut through it if you hit it like an electric edge or you know the wood edge beds and stuff. That should cut through all this. Sounds like a good idea. Thank you. Very good luck thank you. We have about 15 minutes left in this part of focus 580 was Sandy basin. She's a horticulture educator with you have an extension in Champaign County she's on the program once month on Tuesday and we talk about loan and garden care. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. One of things I was thinking about ask you and I don't know what kind of thought you might have like right off the top of your head but think about the fact that now it's late summer

and a lot of people's yards and garden stuff start to look a little tired. Annual flowers are still going to produce blossoms but then there would be a lot of stuff that maybe would have lowered some time back. Is there anything that really stands out in your mind as being a really attractive late bloomer something that I know for example hostel will do this. There are some that bloom late in our yard we have and Mini which is nice which is booming now. Anything that that doesn't bloom until say you get into August at the end of the summer that sort of stands out in your mind if somebody was looking for something that would. You know when everything else is sort of winding down and tired and having flowered already what's just at this point really getting going. I think one of the things that I was just up at the Chicago Botanic Garden they have an evaluation trial of Joe Pyle weed which is just tall and I mean it can be fairly tall but it's just now flowering and it's in its absolute glory it just looks beautiful kind of a pinkish flower. And you

can you really have to watch the sizes because even some of the smaller ones will get you know four or five feet. So but it's a great background plant butterflies love it. So that's just a super plant certainly asters there's lots of different asters now and some of them actually bloom about now some of bloom a little bit later. So that's always kind of you know one of those plants that really fits in well for that kind of late season and stuff and those are probably a couple of them that would be easy to find at this point I think a lot of a lot of cards and it was no problem with asters. Bunnies like them. Yeah they do. I have had this. Well I had some planted a couple years ago and the first year they did great and the next year when they started to come up in the springtime they just vote him down and the poor the poor things just died because the rabbits woodenly Malone Yes sometimes I've noticed if you can at least cover them for that first year or so then they leave him alone like they did that with mine and now they never touch the asters I don't know what's going on there but it's something about newness I've decided. But the other thing is I found that they actually were trimming them off and that helped them to be a little bit more

compact. They're actually doing me a favor because they see the asters tade stayed smaller which is a good technique for anybody who is to trim them back early in the season then they stay smaller and they don't flop over and do all those kind of other things. But you're right the rabbits do absolutely love them. So you kind of have to. OK I won't say more about the rat I know I know don't go there don't go. There we have super cool us the lanes are full. We have somebody here on a cell phone there in civil way. The line number one. Hello hi. Yes now I d as a very strong I don't know what you call it a line at me too quick and I think that if you pull up all the ivory but you do that with ivy that goes on your house and some of these ID are very sort of fragile you know pull it up before you get to the one really well I have a backyard to cover with think oh yeah and my wife and that's what we have on it is a creeper.

And it covers the entire room you can see it. Yeah I try to pull it up but what I get is one reason for the time coming off of it. So no I don't know what to do about that tonight is the treasure underneath. Is there any way to get rid of it. My life. Without Thank you. Oh well you'd have to be very careful with that obviously is one of those things are going to have to follow it back and see where it's actually coming from because it's a Jew it's a woody Vaananen actually can get quite woody at the very end of it so just sort of keep following it back and you may find even though that's a huge find there maybe maybe only popping up one spot so you may find you can dig it. At that point you are back into the Lake of the woods far from there are always probably coming out of there as well. Yeah yeah. So that may be a little bit more difficult for you but somewhere along the line you need to follow it back which you could also do as long as you protect the bank I would go ahead and put down plastic or something over the bank. You actually could go ahead and just

cut the Virginia creeper as I mentioned before and then go ahead and use one of the nonselective herbicide like ground up and actually paint it right on that cut surface. And that will help to kill the root which is really one of your big problems is that just because it has a big root it just keeps coming back and back and back. We tried that and just killed everything. Contemporary. Well you have to protect I mean you have to protect what you want to keep. I mean you have to make sure that the spray does not go on what you want to keep. So you have to put black plastic over and then you have to wait until the spray dries and then you can remove the plastic. OK thank you very much. Either that or digging an unfortunately that's about your options. OK let's go to champagne here for our next call or line number two. Hello. Hi I have a problem with volunteer trees mulberries primarily some of the soft maple as well and cutting them of course

doesn't really work because they just come right back here than they were before. Round up on the young ones and that seems to kill them if I get them early enough once they get to a certain size. They don't want to die. Right. Figure out a way to get rid of it. Well if if they are in an area where you can spray them you could also use something like what's called brush be gone. Oh and that might be it's a little different herbicide and then round up is in that you may find that's a little bit more effective on some of these trees again read it you know use it according the label directions protect anything that you don't want sprayed. I think that's also listed as a cut surface treatment and that's one of the nice things you can actually cut it in and paint on the spray. Then you can just really make it a berry judicial spraying where it's just one spot you know to worry quite so much about it. You know going to someplace where you don't want it. Would that be harmful to animals. The brush be gone. It's

something that when it dries it's OK. It's the same kind of thing to use it according label directions and then certainly keep anything away from until the spray dries. OK. Bird is another one of my issues. I spray it if I get it early in the season I there again I'm ok but by the time it gets away from me I would be cutting it and then painting the surface. Would that be the best way with Roundup. You may find that's a little bit more effective but I think you've hit on the one thing is much more effective if you can get them when they're smaller. Yeah they do have a really big tap root. So you know you could do something where you try it you dig it out as best you can and then when it Reese Prout's then actually use an herbicide at that time. That's all about more effective. You know sometimes the prime moment and when it starts to come back then I can get it when it's yeah it's coming. There when it gets that lush growth going out but you may find Fall is actually a pretty good time to take care of those as in October or so it's pretty good time to take care of those really hard to kill

weeds you know. OK good luck. OK. Someone here on cell phone a near Danville the next caller line 3. Hello. Oh there yes I have a question. Bill we are building a home in the country and we have a couple acres and right now is all I'll sell. How can we you know it wouldn't be out south to be able to play along. I think probably one of the things you might do when are you are you plan on doing this next spring or actually soon because the house is almost done probably in the October time friends will be moving in. Well actually I found the pretty good green cover crop are actually sort of to fill it in and you just work it into the soil and actually use it as a kind of a green manure. OK so you could try. Go ahead and do that and then you'd want to go course grade and stuff after at that point then you may find that telephone that's actually a good way to help fertilize the soil.

So just try to chill it isn't and then use it kind of as almost a compost pile right right right. They call it the Congaree manure crops but actually that I think you make on that because I know our neighbors have a problem but they keep growing back. Oh really I don't wonder how they started out with I one they were they rated the whole lot and then planted grass but it fell from the kind of back up to you really have to till it in. As in you know you go down 8 inches or so. Like you're truly telling it in OK and then just come in and they should act. It probably helps the soil to grow better. You know her. Thank you so much. You could always tell it in there if you're really concerned about it coming back. You could wait because you want the green part to actually decompose. You'd actually wait and if you see any album popping up in you can sort of deal with it. If you're really really concerned that might pop up but even after that I would think you could use it probably purposely to get rid of OK and it doesn't really bother me too much. I mean

as long as it's not over I'm you know overwhelming property of their songs. So I think it's pretty. Like even you know when you're a kid still kids running you know. Thank you so much. OK all right. Thank you. Next caller is in Indiana and this is line number 4 Oh hi. I have about 10 3 foot high discus in time and. This is the first summer that I have gotten them and I'm wondering what am I going to do in the winter. Buy a greenhouse that finds. Find somebody else. You know this would be a really good excuse to get a greenhouse There you go. But you're going to have to bring them in. And what you can do since they're so tall you could do some trimming on them I would do severe pruning at this time but you could do some trimming on them and then bring them in and if you can find some place where those at least some light they may not look all that great during the wintertime unless you have some higher light. But they'll hang

on and they'll be fine and then you can pull them out next spring and then they'll recover and be OK. So you certainly could do that if you want to they do have some problems when you bring indoors they can get some spider mite issues and so you kind of they're not completely a problem less that way. But there's no reason why you can't bring in a house plant. OK. Should I hear anything I could do to prevent. The bugs like. Maybe what I would like my own very mild detergent or something before I bring them in. You could certainly use something like insecticide all soap or something. Absolutely re spraying down or maybe just even a heavy stream of water is actually pretty good for getting some things off and just really really do that and usually I try to drench the soil too because sometimes they'll be answer sow bugs and stuff that like to take up residence in the soil itself and so usually just keep drenching the pot and then you can see if you actually have any bugs coming out of the pot as well

and then bring them in. OK I thank you so much and I wouldn't wait much later Pat you know. Forty five degrees is like the absolute lowest you'd ever want to go with those guys. So probably September September is a good time. OK all right thank you. Thank you and again here we've got another caller battle line too. Hello. Hi With regard to Murdoch it's a by any of the writers that see this in its second year of life that plant will die but then you have a zillion seeds so you never want to go to seed. Yeah but I'm wondering whether it might be possible I haven't tried this where we've got doctors I've been working on bird mustard but I'm wondering whether it might be possible to knock off the you know top of the sea to let those plants die and then you have. Next year just plain and simple for you perhaps but I don't think it works that way to be honest with you because I tried that before and actually the plant just keeps coming back at like really really wants to

flower. You're sure it's the same plant. I'm absolutely sure it's the same plant because you can't miss them they're so big. I mean that's been my experience that maybe people have found that they do absolutely die but I have not found that to be the case. So sometimes by analysts aren't truly biennials But you're right. But you definitely do not want them to go to seed. It was my big mistake. I'm also wondering really as I'm calling as I've managed to kill my rosemary plants again and I seem to do this that way for one and a half years it's really inconvenient now because like I can't find any Rosemary at the divine scene of rosemary plant for example I could buy a place for it to bring inside for the winter. Wow I really like I really like fresh rosemary. Another recipe to use it in my life. Well usually they do become available usually around Christmas time and that helps in any but Generally I've found a more and more you know they printed topiary look and think Christmas trees and stuff so you may find that later in the season you can actually can find one but I haven't seen any for sale right

now. OK so maybe later. But thanks for the idea about the bird that's certain certainly something to think about. Thanks for the CO before we find ourselves out of time here. Would you like to talk a bit about any upcoming events. Well we have a couple of programs coming up at the idea garden which is on South Lincoln just south of the corner of Florida and Lincoln Urbana and on August 27 Jim Schmidt who's a year by extension specialist is going to be talking about the tall and short of it border binders. So you know flowers in the in the Borders he's going to be talking about that so that'll be fun and that's at 11 o'clock on August 20 7th at the idea garden. And then September 10th I'm going to be doing a program on weed them and reap learn how to effectively idea and manage lawn and garden weeds because that's part a lot of our problem is we don't know whether we're talking about the bird. We don't know whether that weeds an annual perennial or whatever. So getting proper identification makes a big difference when it comes to how we might treat them and manage them so that's going to be September 10 to 11 o'clock at the idea garden.

In terms of where it's maybe a little bit too soon to start thinking about end of season cleanup but I guess I'm wondering for those things that have already ballooned between now and frost when things are truly dead and when do you do you suggest that basically people wait until we actually have a frost and things clearly have died off if something is still green and growing. Leave it alone. Your best bet with perennials is if it's still green and growing You certainly can Deadhead it maybe clean it up so it looks a little bit nicer but you know that's how the plant produces food reserves for next year and so especially in the fall that's when they're start to really put down those storage you know storing more food for the winter you know those kind of things and so that's not really a time to be pruning them back. So wait until they die down natural that if you've got an annulus or something you may decide you just want to go ahead and pull them out because they're just looking really lousy right now and I think what we're going to find is that more and more of the garden centers are actually having plants there that you can replace these with you know things like pansies and some of the Fall blooming kinds of things so you may want to start thinking about that to the

point where you know I'm going to get rid of this and something that looks a little bit nicer. OK well thanks very much. Thank you. Sandy Mason she's a horticulture educator with you by extension and Champaign County she's here on the program once a month on Tuesday usually on the third Tuesday and I think this month we had to change it. This is you say there is a second Tuesday it was supposed to open last week. Yes and I was gone. But next week next month. I don't know when it's a good attitude All right second. Thank you very much. Just tune in they'll find it.