Focus 580; LAWN & GARDEN CARE

Good morning welcome to focus 580 This is our telephone talk program. My name's David Ensor. Glad you're listening this morning. We welcome back to the show Sandy Mason. She's a horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County and she's here with us every month in the spring the summer and into the early fall. And we talk about taking care of plants that grow in the home landscape trees shrubs flowers vegetables. Also we can take house plant questions as well. That's the idea we do these on a regular basis so that you can call in if you have questions. This is the next to the last time here in the year 2000. She says she's always been very good because she says you know I come every month and I don't know why that is it's just there when I don't see you for a couple of months then when I see you again it's just all the more special. Oh OK. If you see that absence makes the heart grow fonder. It's true it's absolutely true. Well in any case she's here to answer your plate questions and I'll just sit here and vegetate

three of the three things I think three three three. W I L L or 9 4 5 5. That's where Champaign Urbana folks. We do also have toll free line good anywhere that you can hear us that's eight hundred to 2 2 9 4 5 5 3 3 3 w. while toll free 800 1:58 deli while we have some calls we got some folks lined up who would you like just at the beginning to take up a second to talk about an event or tour. Sure. Actually one of the things I didn't talk about actually the two are related is the city of Urbana has a new State Street's tree trail guide. And as you know in Urbana we have a bunch of streets named after states Oregon almost good ones. There's some magnificent trees not just on the streets but there's a magnificence on the trees on these streets. And now there's a new tree trail guide that's free to anybody that's interested in it. It's really a wonderful opportunity to get you familiar with the diversity that's out there I think people maybe for me with oaks and maples and stuff but there's a lot of other things out there. You can pick up the state street tree trail guides either at their Bana Public Works office or you can come to the UI extension

office here in Champaign County and it's located 8 a 1 North Country Fair drive in Champaign. You pick those up. Really a great opportunity to get some ideas about what trees are out there and in conjunction with that we're actually having a program on Saturday October 21st that's going to start at 10 o'clock at a line at Grove which is on the corner of Lincoln and Pennsylvania Avenues here in Urbana. We're going to do a run at the city arborist and myself we're going to do some presentations a little bit on basic tree care pruning identification those kind of things. And if people bring their bicycles we're going to actually go on a guided tour of these trees that are on the tree trail guide. So let's hope for good weather or you don't have to do that you can just pick up the tree trail guide on that day and then go out on your own if you like. So that's going to be Saturday October 21st starts at 10:00 o'clock. When a group of great OK well we have questions here with the lines are full we'll get as many folks as we can starting with a caller in Aurora. And this is one number for Hello.

Yes hi. What is a by technical name for Easter lily and how how deep do you plant it and how far apart. OK so you talk about the white the white plant that everybody gets for Easter. Yeah I think that when Lily I'm before or something like that I called several places in Italy and then it's I think it's the longest forum I think it's something like ELO in a if are you him his in its own right. Yeah I think that's the one that's the easterly right at the top of my head that's that would be at least be my guess but it's certainly a little Emmett's in that that particular genus. Well I wanted to be specific because I want to know how deep to plant it and how far apart. Right right. Normally for. We're probably look at it at 8 inches at least eight inches for those so they're fairly deep. And then how far apart again is probably about eight six to eight inches.

OK. And then is there anything new about Iris and what and what to put on them for a little tiny insect in the browning of the leaves just a little bit there. It's not real bad in the plant but I don't want it to become you know a problem. What is there anything this time of the year I can put on and Iris off Iris. Right right. I'm not sure you've actually seen an insect on there a lot of times it's a little teeny one. Because a lot of times that Browning's actually from a disease from fungal disease and not necessary from insect and it isn't a lot of it but I'm I don't want anything to happen to these beautiful two off Iris. Right right. So the iris border is something that does start in the leaves but that's something you know that's a little caterpillar and that's not a little insect and anything. Not that there are any general things that I could do for us. I think probably your best bet is just good sanitation this time of year I would go ahead and remove the foliage cut the foliage off and get it out of there and then I want to suggest something if I might.

I have a crappy of Illinois fruit some vegetable garden insects a schedule that I got from your extension bureau and it is just such a delight full calland this time of the year it is you know continue fall crop late and late planting of vegetables you know it gives it for the South and they go by delicious and Golden Delicious apples and other varieties as they mature and just dig you sweet potatoes before a hard frost and start curing them. It just has you know it says Enjoy your last week on of the season it's just a delightful calendar if anybody. I would suggest if anybody would be interested in that too to get one from the University of Illinois Cooperative Extension Service and then they have as you know many others they have about 4 8 12 12 of 15 different. Books booklets that you can send

for but this is such a fun thing I just lovely reading it every month. Yeah this suggests to me right now that particular one may not be in print anymore I will tell you I don't know when you got that one. It's very old. Yeah that one may not be in print anymore unfortunately like a lot of publications but we do have one in our office that actually myself and some of Master Gardeners produced and it's there it's called the Gardening Guide for Illinois and it's the same kind of thing where it just gives you. OK this is the time to do whatever whether it's lawns or herbs or vegetables or whatever but that certainly is available in our office and how much is that. It's at 250 So it's quite I think it's quite a bargain and I think people enjoy especially if you're new to the area or just not real sure when to do what. And it's like it says big peanuts in Cuba before storing enjoy the last week on the right and the final thing to a good good and bad. All right thank you for the call. And certainly we can remind folks that

the what is now called extension you by extension does have a lot of different publications to advise you on taking care of various kinds of plants and things like if you have fruit trees you have vegetables you know all that kind of stuff and and the person the extension person in your area and they're all over the state they have all these sorts of things so you can look them up in the phone book and and find out where the office is and you can go down there and do a kind of things that I know and I know sometimes it's difficult in the phone book but generally you're going to find either under University of Illinois or are you going to find it under whatever county you're in. So sometimes a film a campus or a look around a little bit but you can find it in all the counties have some sort of office or satellite office and have access to a lot of these brochures we also have a great Web site which is if you're just as soon get your information that way you certainly can check that out and it's a w w w dot u r be X for urban extension and then it's dot UIUC dot edu and you can. There's all kinds of great horticulture information on that too so lots of ways to

get info. Our guest here this morning Sandy Mason she's You have an extension person in Champaign County and is with us monthly here we do the show on the lawn and garden care questions welcome 3 3 3 9 4 5 5. That's for champagne Urbana folks and toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5 will next to call in Paris on line 1. Hello. Yes Sandy always glad to hear you. I've got a question about Pussy Willow. I've got it. My pussy will is huge just like a rabbit. Just as well it's a little bit taller than it is wide and I'm wanting to cut it back. And I wonder if it would be better to cut it back like as a shrub or cut it back to kind of resemble more of a tree. I think to be honest we having that sort of personal preference I think they generally I think from what I've seen they generally want to grow as a Bush as a shrub. OK being honest that's a general tendency to scream if I cut way back with more branches come

out they sucker up from the bottom. OK. Yeah sure well when the best time to cut back actually you know and enjoy the pussy willows jellied want to do that after they flower. OK. That would be the best time in that we can maintain those. OK. I thank you so much. Sure. Thank you. Next caller is in downs this lie number two. I had a problem with tomatoes this year I had some white. Stuffed under the skin is a string of white so you see it from the outside you can see you know kind of. Do you spot that or moral Pake and white or through the skin and then when you cut a cross-section you can see this white that's right under the skin ring a bell. Well I think there's a couple things I think that you don't think of sun scorched because they certainly can get bad. It's more of a kind of beige area on the outside so it's probably not OK.

OK. Really it's under the skin. OK. I might hit it big time and they all had it. Yeah well not everyone but every time kind that I planted I have heard of that to be honest with you. I'm trying to think that would be one that probably you'd want to bring in a sample Let's take a look at it and find out for sure whether the meat just sort of guessing. But I know there are some weather conditions that sometimes can make that worse. And I don't know whether to be honest with you I haven't had anybody else complain about this. So whether just in your particular garden there was a problem for one reason or another probably in a lot of that stuff. One of the things with tomatoes is to make sure you do things like even watering. That's one of the big things they actually can get a lot of problems blossom in Rhonda's one but certainly this problem can also be you have last minute you get about watering. But keepin it even evenly moist is important too. But you may want to check or you can give me a call down at the office or maybe I can give you a better idea about what that is and my numbers 3 3 3 7 6 7 2 and I'd be glad to talk to you a bit further about that.

Can I ask another question. I have a lot of potted plants and right now under cover and I want to take out things that that will come in as house plants like ivy and like you know what is the best way to do that so we don't shock them terribly and you know they do this. Yeah sometimes I think I'm real mean to you and they know it. Believe me they know is right. So I wait until the last day. Everybody dies everybody dies. Ideally right Ideally the thing would be to actually get them to a climate ties in other words finding the sort of halfway house where the light temperatures are lower. They get used to the old drier air so ideally it be nice if you had someplace whether it's a maybe unheated poor choice or some place where they get those specially lower light because that's when the biggest shocks that they have is that you've had them outside even

if they've been in the shade they're certainly getting a lot more sun than they are indoors and so that's that's probably where the biggest shock is is that changing light so if there's a way to sort of get them used to that lower light levels gradually that's ideal. You think it's like more than than the temperature. I I believe it's light much more so than the temperature temperature certainly something and also obviously their tropical plants and they're not going to like those cooler temperatures but the light is the big problem so. And ideally if you do that over like a two week period minimum that would be the best thing but you know like in this year we had you know we had it really hard you know cold temperatures very early in the season and so sometimes it gets very difficult so if you start thinking about even in August or first of September start thinking about getting you getting those plants moved to areas where they're getting lower light that kind of thing so they'd actually have that maybe that whole month of September give them up outside this early. I know none of us stop them. I know none of us do it. And is there anything to do with. Sometimes I think I'm bringing in critters like I

don't always bring in large critters but things like spider mites and this are in union with Me. Something you would do before you brought them in. Yeah probably if one thing is if you're bringing in the pots and everything I think one of the really important things is is to actually you know drenched the soil get out a hose and just keep drenching the soil and all those guys. Ants pill bugs all those you know whatever millipedes whatever there are hanging out in that soil are going to be driven out and I think that's we create a lot of problems I think because we do bring these guys in because they enjoy that kind of soil transferred to something smaller usually. Right. Right but certainly that would be one thing but also at the same time where you're doing that you're also washing the plant off and so that certainly can help for a lot of those kind of critters the things I noticed who are ladybugs you know they start overwintering in my potted plants and so that's something you certainly want to make sure that you get rid of before you bring them in. I think probably as a general thing if you if you concerned about spider mites or something you might also spray them with something like an insecticide or soap.

That's no they don't. It doesn't have a residual But certainly if there happens to be anything there that you're not really seeing very well at least it will get rid of that. But it is it's always one of those things that I think they spontaneously generate or something inside because about the time January rolls around you certainly spider mites and all these other things so it is one of those things you can take care of to some extent but I think you still have to watch during the winter months. Is there anything systemic that you can do outside you know before you bring them in. Not quite so yeah I'm not sure. Generally we wouldn't recommend that unless we know that there's insects on there. To be honest with you and this is I hope this is quick. Is there any way to sterilize. I have big pots and I have a bunch of them. And if I don't replace the dirt I end up with a lot of. Plants just rotting off there anyway I can sterilize that. Sure Actually you can.

Pastor I saw well by either putting it in the oven or you can put it I know it's not you know has an earthy smell you know. Well you could also do it on the if you had like a Weber grill or something outdoors but obviously you're going to have to do it in small batches and it may take a lot more time than you want to deal with plastic and put it out in the sun somewhere over the winter and with that any good probably isn't over the wintertime is not going to the temperatures are going to get up high enough. If you did over the summertime sure the temperatures that would be high enough and you wouldn't any problem with it that way but that may not be the route you want to go or you may just want to replenish the soil each year and put it you know put in your compost pile and save it. I know I know exactly what you're saying. Much of it. OK. Thank you very well. Thanks for the call. We just keep going here we go Freeport next line 3. Hello good morning. If I get in a word in edgewise I spoke to you earlier and earlier in the summer ma'am you know about a tree planting. Yes ma'am.

Well living your stand about to air for you high now but know what you mean and Sharm are colder weather up here on our show on our gardener you have been bringing in and I now sure won't get any thing you know next year and then I made it. Yeah I'm surprised it's that short to you didn't get it when did you start it you start from seed I didn't mean you have been doing the jawline. Wow. That's probably why it's particularly short and grew so rapidly I'm going to do something. Yeah that's probably one of the reasons I I guess I assume if you're going to keep it over the winter Yeah. Yeah I unless you have a greenhouse or something I think you're going to see much off of it into a greenhouse but when you put in. Right. Really. But next year you'll have quite a play if you keep it over the winter. What's your option. Well you know yeah you know yeah. So you have quite a plan next year and I have an R after drinking wine and sorrow and one I don't know what size pipe you have but certainly I would think anything less than a

gallon is going to be too small and I would think probably spent like a five gallon if you got in a container I would think of like one of those five gallon buckets or something that you write in your mind and a style big government shop drawing room wiring and it should be rejected right. Right you'd have to dig it up. But I would think like a five gallon is five gallon buckets you could probably get it through the winter that way if you have a fairly sunny spot that kind of thing. Your biggest mom is going to sin in sex unfortunately often. Oh sure. Hello. Yes you will find insect problems indoors. I know you from your own memory on earth again for most of the soft bodied insects like spider mites and stuff insecticide also actually is fairly effective for your finals. Great All right all very well but for some reason right. Yeah good luck to Meadow will go on here too. Champagne line number one. Hello there. I have a question about red raspberries. A couple of weeks ago the people next door were cleaning out some growth in their backyard and

discovered all these raspberries that they were just going to try Should I said oh please don't. So I dug up about four of the sturdier looking ones and put them in my yard with some root starter solution to get them go on and so far they're hanging in there but I'm wondering because it's so close to cold water I've covered them at night the last few nights and I have asked what can I do to make sure these guys make it through when you know they're actually pretty tough if you've got if you've got even a pretty good root system on these things that it is they're pretty they're really pretty tough plants to tell you the truth in. That's why they've been living back there and they didn't even pick their cause is that the plants so I'm not sure there's too much you're going to probably what I would do is maybe put lots of shredded leaves or something like that on I'm just sort of help protect them a little bit over this first winter but then after that they're so tough that generally you don't have to do much of anything. One other quick question I have the most pitiful looking blueberry bush. Hang on. And I'm not sure it's going to make it through the winter.

I'm assuming that I should dig it up and bring it in because when I bought it that you know they need cold water right. Right this poor thing I just I don't know. I've mulched it with pine needles. That's good for us. And it's like I said it's barely hanging on or anything else I can do. It's still green. Probably not even 8 inches tall and it looks really bad. Should I just forget it. Well I think at this point one of the things did you have to change the soil PH before you put it in some salt for something like that to it when you really need to do that and ideally it would it would be it would be something we probably do in the fall and then plant them in the spring so it actually the sulfur would have a little bit of a chance to work. And that's that's really one of the big reasons why blueberries don't do very well they like. A low pH they like ages around 4.5 or so and depending on where you are you may be at 6 or 7 or just it's just too high for them and so they really struggle along and that's probably what's

going on with this guy at this point I'm not sure what you can really do other than try to protect it for the winter and then hopefully if it's if it still got halfway decent you know green leaves on it then I'd say there's probably a pretty good chance that you and I put it in I think a pretty protective area. I make my point and get it right. Right and I think what I would do is probably you know the rabbits really love them so if you have any rabbits and coral you're probably gonna have to put ill chicken wire or something around them and then as the temperatures drop then I probably just put a lot of shredded leaves in there inside with the chicken wire to try to help protect it. And then next year I what you might think about are even this fall you might actually think about where they're going to move it or not but if you if there's some place where you can actually mend the soil add sulphur peat all those kind of good things yet this fall. And then thinking about next spring I'm going to move it into a site where it's a little happier. OK so even if it's just you know a couple feet over but it's so much easier to change that soil PH add sulphur and all those kind of

things if the plants not there. How much sunlight does a blueberry bush actually. Actually the very shade tolerant believe it or not out of all the fruits produce trade in and of all the fruits. And actually I think they do better if they have late afternoon shade. They really don't like that hot. Let it go. Yeah I put it where it is. Sure sure. I don't know if it's not doing well because the critters have been bother another blog but I will try to get him through the winter. OK thank you good luck. Yes we are but midway through this part of focus with Sandy Mason she's horticulture educator with extension in Champaign County and in the spring summer and early fall she's here we do these programs giving you the chance to call and ask questions about things that grow in the home landscape grass trees shrubs vegetables fruit house plants any and all those kinds of things you've got some kind of problem you're not quite sure how to deal with it. Maybe you need a little bit of vice about putting things to bed for the winter or you're already maybe thinking about next year

and you know all those questions are certainly welcome here in Champaign Urbana 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 and toll free anywhere that you can hear us 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. We have another champagne color. Their next line to hello. Hi I have a question I have a motto stablished wildfire patch can flower they itch it like it is that sort of thing. And a few years ago I noticed in the corner of it that that mid-summer be black eyed Susan with start to die like a mole bee leaf and I took some of the summer. It got much worse and I took it in. Garden center and they said it was white. What did they say. Well some kind of fungus and they suggested that I used a fungicide. And I did that and it didn't really do a lot of good. So what I'm wondering though I usually leave this just standing in the winter and I'm wondering if I should cut it down and

really let it be exposed to the winter or what I can do now to get it off to a better start next year and try to kill whatever's consuming my wild flower patch. It was probably powdery mildew that's useful to us. That's what I've seen quite a bit actually on black eyed Susans and actually a lot of other plants will get it and some years it's worse than others. And it generally doesn't kill the plant and the plant does come back unless you've got some other problems and they always come back that they look bad hey they're Yeah I know what you mean. And you're absolutely right good sanitation is important I would go ahead and remove the foliage because those fungus will hang out you know over the winter on that old foliage and so if you get that out of there that that that will help but I will tell you you know powdery mildew spores are all over the place and so it's very difficult to get rid of them completely. Also if you if there's some way that you know what this wildfire patent if there's some way that you can open it up to better air circulation that will actually help you know with Wildfire patches there's lots of flowers in that guy and he makes it very difficult.

It's surrounded by my house. One side says Yeah so it makes it and that will make it worse to tell you the truth. OK the other thing you might think about in the future is there are some of the black eyed Susans are actually not as prone to powdery mildew. OK and I know you probably trying to firm maybe a little bit more natural look to this thing but you can actually get some black eyed Susans varieties that are less or less certainly much more resistant to powdery mildew than maybe what you have right now. So certainly the older varieties are very prone to it. I mean I was trying to plant things that were truly native plants that I've got. Now if I'm going to go this sort of fungicide route should I start putting it on before I see any profit. Yep yep and that you're absolutely right and that's one of the real problems with a lot of these fungus is that we don't know to you know we don't see it until it's happened and then by the time it's happened it's really too late. So that's what I should really yeah. You really have to gently powdery mildew is one of those that shows up a little bit later in the season it's not like some of the other diseases that we've seen so probably you're talking about maybe in June or so you're really going to have to start thinking about if you want to go the fungicide route to go ahead and use a

fungicide but I would really think about resistant varieties and actually getting some of those in there and in the in the long term that's probably a better solution for I would think. Okay okay thanks. We have a sort of growing your own house a plant that I had been told was called false sunflower. Now I don't know if that's really what it is. It's a it is a I think it looks like it's a wild prairie plant. They get very tall meat and they have a daisy like flower that's up arrayed right at the very top. So you get these I'M TRYING TO SLEEP tall things and they also have this. They get this powdery mildew and it doesn't seem to hurt the plants. It's just not very attractive. Absolutely right. And unfortunately there's a lot of plants and some years this worst I think this past year I know it's a lot more powdery mildew in a lot of the plants that I had as well and so unfortunately the fungicide route is that same thing is that is that something that is probably something you would have to do every year you'd have to do it before the disease occurs. And is that really around that people want to go as part of their maintenance program and that's why probably there we have lots of new varieties whether it's

black eyed Susan. Another one that often gets powdery mildew flax gets powdery mildew zinnias get powdery mildew and the nice thing is a lot of the breeders are looking for those that are resistant to that to that particular disease and so generally if you look around in some of the catalogs you'll find some that are resistant and that's probably in the long run a better route to go. And if you're going to try doing fungicide does you all have to put them once or you have to connect. Fortunately and fortunately only what you're trying to do is just protect your trying to protect the leaves and then as the plant grows you need to continually protect those new leaves and so generally one spray is not going to do it you may have to do as many as four times and you know it gets because I mean in Spain I think. OK I will go on here. Let's go to line number four this is our COLA. Yes I have two questions. One back on the blueberry. There's a blueberry bush have a life I mean expectancy where it stops producing.

Later on in its life. I mean is there a time limit. There probably is probably none of us have probably seen to tell you the truth unless you're in some of the areas where the bad blueberry plants were a very long time. I know there are some that we've had on campus there probably 10 15 years old they're still there. Wonderful these large shrubs and still producing and all that kind of thing so it's certainly not a real short term like we might think with. Oh I don't know maybe strawberries or something that we really feel like you have to get new ones I'm not sure where you are. You just thought maybe one of them had but known it worse. I have a friend who has absolute berry patch and and had never told of course that there so well when it was appropriate for this. So they planted a large cramping but there there Bradbury's have been in the last couple three years consistent. Thank god I left and I don't know that the P I mean if there is it's a natural ph balance. So it's not that aspect but it's

just that we are wondering as to the bushes where you know their life expectancy. And they have replaced some of them then and added You know the new growth and new but they have about four different kinds o. Right and I guess now that you know there's a fee. Certainly some years they might be more more prolific than others. Generally they do even though they don't require cross-pollination you actually get better production if they get cross pollination So I would also wonder about what you know are there BS or insects around there actually helping them to do some cross pollination we've certainly seen decline in the wild bees in the last few years. So that's a real problem so sometimes you see there's other things going on there that may be well and they're not as poetic. We've had to battle the Japanese beetle which doesn't help matters any either so it sounds like they're all methods. So you know in bars that's good but it's just the proof that the production seems to be down.

Yeah I have a feeling it's probably some other things going on and certainly they need to be pruned periodically to get some of the newer growth and that kind of things to rejuvenate them to some extent so there may be some other things they could do with that really seems like they've gotten old enough where they're just not producing as well. Also my second question was with the hollyhock. We have. Some lovely gardens at our place here and we do have varieties of high hats but we have a some kind of a miner that runs around inside Lee and they're all infected and I didn't know I have I have a bad effect about halfway during the season I just kind of moved out of course and come back up and they're fine until they start get what is should you. Again pretty maintenance prior to their Coming up or are is there something. What is this thing. Yeah they do. They do sometimes you will see leaf miners on hollyhocks and it is another one of those is probably not really hurting the plant all that much but aesthetically they don't look all that great

now so that's it. Is there any way to treat those. Yeah you probably have to do an insecticide treatment I would really have to check to see what the timing would be on that. But you'd have to put insecticide actually before it occurs. So OK if you can think back when that happened or you can check with me at my office I could find out any rational reason for the before the blossoms. Yeah. So you have an idea when the you know when the blossom starts to shoot up and then it begins to show and of course it comes from the bottom and moves on up. You know you know still bloom but it has no weight. Right they just don't look for it. Yeah. Or you could just plant something really tall in front of them. So you get the flowers you have to worry about the leaves and I don't know when but so it's a pretty crazy or yeah you'd have to because once you get inside the leaf there isn't too much you can do about it at that point other than removing the lily which is what you've done. Yeah yeah. Okay but there's no way to rid the soil of that. You know unfortunately and it's not really and so I went out and bought new Hollyhock. They would end up

the same way. Now you know there may be some that are show some resistance to that I've never seen that that listed is one of the resistance. You know on those particular plants but these particularly old varieties Yes we have doubles we have red we have and why have we have you might try some other ones because I've never really seen my plants but I've had people mention it and they get on there so I don't know whether there is some difference but you might try a few other ones and see if they don't show some resistance to it. Okay thank you. Thanks for the call. You know I think that this summer was the first time in my yard that I really was conscious of seeing Japanese beetles and maybe they were there and I just wasn't noticing this. This summer Phil Nixon was here he said he was thinking about bringing me a jar full. You need any of these. I tell them No I think I have some now because I really noticed them and I guess it's they're they're they're just continue to spread out and even if you don't if you don't have them chances are sometime in the future you're going to notice them. And there's not

much you can do. Yeah it is one of those things that we have seen in certain areas they seem to be getting more and more populations when the big problems is of course they're flying in so it's not you know even if you made it try and treat the grubs in your own lawn or whatever it doesn't mean they're not going to fly in and so there are certainly some problems with that and in control and they like so many different plans I mean that's the other thing and they always travel in these huge hordes and you don't just get one or two. You always get these. But one of the things they have found is that if you can control those first ones that come in those actually seem to attract other ones later. And so when you first noticed them if you can get rid of them get rid of the foliage because Actually even that feeding damage actually will attract other ones so if you get rid of those first ones that you see get rid of that foliage that does seem to reduce the numbers that you get later. So it is important I think to make sure you monitor what's going on in your own yard. OK I will go on here to see. I think Chicago line number one.

Hello good morning. What is the proper use of the crystal so let's talk about this. Where is that on the leaves. Run set off. No you don't rinse it off you leave it out right. Right it's a soapy Livan you can get it as a ready to use product or you can get it as a concentrate. Either one you need to get good coverage but that's probably the big thing about the soaps is it really just kills those insects that are there. So it doesn't have a residual. It is one of those it has to be a contact kind of thing you have to actually spray it on the insect and so good coverage is particularly important so you may have to sort of tip the plant a little bit spray underneath the leaves because we know that's where spider mites a lot of other insects like to hang out so you need good coverage and you're probably going to have to do it more than once depending on what insect you have so probably one application is not going to do it but I guess the good news is that it's a it's a pretty safe product because it's just a specially formulated soap to be used on plants and so that's sort of the good news. It's a brand that's there's a

couple of mouth there no ortho makes it safer is probably the one that's been around. We've probably seen the most savers insecticide all soap and you can find that fairly readily if you will tell you that if you do use the concentrate to make sure that you might one actually use something like distilled water or something and when you use those because they have found some problems with high pH. If you have water that's particularly high pH like some city waters are there are some problems with that. So does it get in the soil and then doesn't want to damage it when it drips down its no that's not a problem I can see you set up all plants like well I had a crowbar and the leaves are falling off and they took over. Would that be that. That's all of that growth time that sort of leaves the fall off from time to time or if they simply had mites on it. Yeah they certainly get spider mites. That's one of their big things unfortunately they're also very high light plant. So they need a lot of light and sometimes indoors they just aren't getting enough light and so they seem to really start to fail especially

this time years we started getting lower light levels that kind of thing but certainly spider mites will make the leaves fall off if they get too dry the leaves will fall off so that's another thing so there'd be several things like there that might be prepared to search for support. Plans for some plants you can use to read the label I think there are a few things I think it's right. Recommend I am not sure about Boston for some of those I think there actually are a couple of plants listed on there that it should not be used but as with all insecticides make sure you read the label it will tell you which plants it should be used and what a crude term work on our north facing window facing north. Well probably not enough light enough light. Yeah most need it like an east or west or south or something like that where actually it's going to get some light and it would be even better if you hit something where it's more of a sun room where you might actually be getting light from more than one direction. It's there a little tough in the winter time to get him all right Chris thank you very much. OK thank you. Ten minutes left here in focus with Sandy Mason from

you by extension in Champaign County taking your questions on taking care of plants in the home landscape houseplants too but also we could talk about trees and shrubs and flowers those sorts of things. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5 and we'll talk next with someone in Champaign online too. Hello hello. I pipe plants with the best of intentions on the ground and I have them hosses and some of last year's. Wondering should I plan to have or should I try and wait till next year. I would get in the ground as soon as you can. To be honest with you. No I don't think so usually you know I mean it even looks like this week temperatures going to rayson And that we're going to have at least halfway decent weather can get in the ground. Thank you very much. Oh I think you go to urban aligning 3. Hello hello Miss Mason.

I two or three years ago bought a line from a local store and it's about snow about six inches high and it's never grown more than a few leaves and it's never been. I've had some fungal problems I transplanted it into a more sunlight summit area but it's just not growing not like it. Well I would want to do about it. Yeah normally they're pretty vigorous plants and I like shrubs and generally take off and pretty vigorous So I guess I what you might want to think about doing is get a little late to do it but you probably still do it now I think I would dig it up and see what's going on with the Roots to be honest with you. OK because I would think there's there something either for one reason or another it's just not sending out the route because you should really start to see a lot more growth on that at this point to be honest with you to encourage rooting. Well you might try something. I would think about where I assume it's not an area was going to wet in any time or no not now. So that's I don't think. So OK OK because that would certainly be one thing. Make sure it's getting plenty

of light. That would be the other thing that it is now right. I transplanted it last year. OK it was getting very multi and it was getting very shaded. Yeah yeah it's in a Family Wellness area and all the plants around it seem to be doing OK. OK OK well you might you know if you really don't want to dig it up to see what's going on. I would just probably go ahead and you might even fertilize that this time when using anything with much nitrogen in it but you might use something like a five ten ten or some like that Mr. encourage him get routinely and it is in an area with a lot of mulch and not you know heavily mulched because I had some trees removed in that area and so I think planting and so maybe there isn't enough soil down there. When you say heavily mulch to are you talking more than four inches or in some places. Yeah. I really check the mulch really should be more than about four inches and if you really get a lot more mulch than that then there may be actually some rot going on down there or even some ground on the plants so you might sort of dig down gently dig down in there make sure it's not buried to

mint. OK I will look at that and you recommend some plants alive. Yes thank you very much okay good thank you. Another urban a person here line number one no. Good morning. I got some houses that I planted last year and some small high plants probably 8 inches. I planted them last year this year they did not remain on fact they are dead and have them on the north side. In soil that's fairly moist. We did obviously have a lot less moisture the share and I'm wondering if I'm going to have them come next year or if they are gone. So when you when you say they're dead it's just the foliage is gone just gone. OK I've got I have three. I have three plants in different part of the garden. Two of them are gone and one of them is still but it's not blooming and they're supposed to bloom. Now they have their the late summer early in. Well it be another of those I wouldn't give up on him right now I think what you could certainly want those guys that

if they're still alive it doesn't take much to sort of just sort of gently dig down there and see if there's anything to the roots. I mean you should be able to find out real quick without too much effort and even without doing too much digging is find out if there's a Libre not welcome and if it's all you know black or dark brown and you'll know whether they're going to come back or not. They have this year have I planned last year should they have them this year they did not bloom last year which is the first year you would you know they might not bloom but normally depending on the size of the plant normally you would think that they would go in bloom the second year but if they were somewhat small and maybe didn't do all that great that first year then they might not flower even the second year but if they're growing Well you're absolutely right I would think that they would go and bloom that second year if they should come up next year. Is there a type of fertilizer or is there something that I can help strengthen the plant area.

Right. Probably just the tender loving care of things just making sure that they're well watered during drought periods it's probably one of the big things with those and you could see fertilizer early in the spring if you were to go that route again probably look at something that's fairly low in nitrogen and higher in the other two numbers of phosphorus and potassium. It's not like a 5 10 10 or some along those lines to get them going a little bit better than what they're doing now but I think just general maintenance kind of things you know mulching those kind of things and then watch out for slugs obviously that's a big one I hate. I've had some people say they've had really good luck as they mulch with tiny needles so if you have access to anything like that even this fall then I think I would mulch it with and go that route. OK. Thank you very much. You know you can get a lot more at least two champagne line to fill up. I was wondering if they knew about the Donald really my mother had them in the forties and fifties and I can't seem to find them in my catalogue.

Oh really. I think if you go with some of the bold the bulb catalogues the ones that really specialize in bold I think you'll find them. Generally they are one of those it's actually it's planted a little. The biggest thing about those that they're planted shallow compared to the other one I say so it's not a traditional instrument you know. You know you know pretty but another question Is it too right to fertilize and to move can't you. I know how you get as far as the moving peonies I think I would do it right away usually say through the month of September to move peonies so I wouldn't wait much later than than now if you want to go ahead and move them and divide them this is this would be better than waiting till next spring. The other thing as far as fertilizing the lawn. No actually we generally think about the very last fertilization is maybe in November and usually we think of a usually after the for the last MOA. You go ahead and fertilize and so usually that's even in November or so. So you know he's certainly not too late now actually they found that this late fall fertilization is actually much better than trying to do an early spring fertilization very good I

think you healthier for the lot. OK. And Clinton Indiana line for the call they're just going to do it. You mentioned Japanese beetles. I've had. And some of them you know were yours. When I use I don't want to what your guest thought was a seventh. I mean you know it's a job on him. Yeah that is the one insecticide we do recommend you're absolutely right when it comes to control for Japanese beetles as Sevendust or seven spray decide so you're right that is the one I used to. Also on but you know for potato bugs. But you got to wait. Well you know you got to be careful with this. Yeah it's only an edible crops you have to be you have to really watch and make sure that you use it according to label directions and wait between the application and harvest those kind of things but you're right there is some control with seven but unfortunately with Japanese beetles that you know they keep

flying in. So it's not just get rid of the ones the admin you know see if you're right. Boy you're absolutely right and I know you guys in Indiana have had him longer than we've had over in Illinois. Another thing I use it on my dog for fleas. Oh really works. Yeah. Well I just want to tell you. Yeah I think you know thanks very much well we're going to have to stop because we're out of time. One mention real quick one more time the the tree thing. Yes on Saturday October 21st at a line a growth we're going to do a tree workshop on tree care and then also do a guided tour of the new state street tree trail guide or you can pick up the guide at that time as well. OK very good Sandy Mason. She's horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County. We'll have her here one more time in November. Them not until 2001. I know let's just say it was a rite of passage I guess. Thanks very much.