Focus 580; Lawn And Garden Care

Our morning talk show. My name is David inch. Glad to have you with us. We're also happy to have here on the program Sandy Mason she's a horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County once a month she's here on the program we talk about things the girl in the home landscape usually that is on a Tuesday and she is here one day early but it's the same deal. Other than that if you have questions you give us a call 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 here in Champaign Urbana. We do also have a toll free line so if it would be a long distance call use that number and that is eight hundred to 2 2 9 4 5 5 you have questions about trees shrubs flowers stuff you can eat things in the home landscape house plants we can do that to any and all of that is welcome 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 and toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5. Welcome back good morning nice to have you here. It seems like man within the last week 10 days everything out there is just completely nuts. It's gone crazy. Everything it seems like everything that can bloom virtually And actually we're getting at least in our area we're getting a nice show of the early flowering stuff like Magnolia as you know so many

times magnolias get hit with that late frost and we don't get much out of them but I just as I was coming here today they're just magnificent So there's some good fortune to that warm weather. I wish we get a little rain at least in our area were pretty dry. Yeah well I kind of think within that we are going to be some with over the next couple of days I guess we'll see if that pans out the staff just never had any too wet too dry. Absolutely. All right well we got somebody to talk with. Let's do that line one right here. Hello. Hi we have a huge fir tree that got hit in the two ice storms that we have the one that we had in January and the one we had years ago on Valentine's Day side of the tree. But the lower branches of this tree which are gracefully are to block the view of our canoe from our house. This big open space now and you can sort of see the canoes and I'm wondering if there's something I can plant there in the understory of this fir tree

that's got some of these. Well it all happened on the same side of the tree of the ice storm. It's coming from one direction. Could be getting more sort of faces southeast. But has the tree would shade it. And I'm wondering if it's something like a rhododendron would survive. There are no roads this is you have to find a right minded microclimate for a rabbit to work or do you have a suggestion of something that's evergreen that might. So how would it shade would you. Did you say it is a part of the day but what afternoon it was and it shaded in the afternoon this wind. How close were you planning on planning because they would tell you it's really tough to grow things underneath trees like that. It's such a dry shade. It's very very difficult with that adding a lot of water on a regular basis so just it's a much higher maintenance situation so if you can bring him out in front of him a little bit they do much better.

Is that a possibility or. Well that would reduce the size of where you are considerably from elsewhere it would expose the plant for more. Well it's doesn't have much above it anymore it's more that the shooting comes from the branches that are still left on the southwest part of the tree. Oh I see what you're saying. It was kind of took out like I think nine branches this time and it took several times before so it's kind of like the whole quadrant of the tree in terms of branches it is. Right right right. Well would you maybe this again makes your guard too small. Have you thought about anything like some of the upright our bodies or something like that one of the evergreens like along those lines. Our bodies never appealed to me. OK. Somehow I don't know what it is about and that's OK. I like something that's looser looking than I think they're too formal for my. OK OK well that's fine that's fine. I was just trying to think of something evergreen like like you say that would you could certainly try the

rhododendrons. They certainly are evergreen now realize it takes a while for them to get to any height like up to five or six feet so I don't know how tall this thing needs to be told is it need to be whatever you're doing. My feet would probably do OK. Well then maybe that's not going to be a big issue for you. Are there some varieties that are better suited to. While there is one again you'd have to look at the color of the flowers not everybody likes the color of the flowers but they're probably the easiest one to grow as color PJM rhododendron. And it has a little smaller leaf that has kind of a it's a pretty flower. It's pink but it's almost a darker pink almost a muddy pink and it's pretty but. But I think you need to look at the See if you like it or not it doesn't blend well with other things very well but if it's by itself I think works out great. And it's probably one of the by far one of the easier ones to grow it's not nearly as finicky because you know what the road they have to have an acidic soil. So you're going to

have to do some salt preparation add salt for ADD peat moss something that so you have higher Gannet matter and then that more acidic soil because you're going to have to have to do more site preparation which I would still do even with PJM. They're just a little bit older and you know all those for a little bit of unfallen over there. Despite all that happening it really isn't enough to make this all acidic so you really have to still do the whole sulfur thing. So you may want to try that. There certainly are other I don't know if you again I don't know maybe you don't like use there probably a little bit maybe again more formal. Is this a situation where you're going to eventually take down this fir tree. Have you thought about something even like a hemlock or something where eventually you'd even take down the fir tree. Hard to think about taking them down because it's such. Yeah I know how mine and peaches and then they would we would have to have somebody climb the tree to take it than that where you get a bucket truck and right through it. So it wouldn't be inexpensive. Yeah. So hemlocks actually work out very nicely there. They're much more open kind of

look not nearly so formal like you're saying with our bodies. They actually can be trimmed if you don't like you know because eventually they're going to get treated get to be trees that might be one issue for you not going to get as tall but certainly boxwoods like those would least make things look different. If you want sort of a quick cut thing it's not going to be all the time but you could even do some ornamental grasses that are certainly that tall. But realize you cut them down so this time of year you'd still see the canoes. Yeah maybe I should move it. Actually I think canoes are look nice so maybe well they haven't been used most they're getting kind of grimy look. OK don't worry. So there might there might be some issues there where you actually could do some more of my grasses or maybe combinations of a couple things and maybe it's not so much covering up the look but getting people to sort of look at different ways sometimes just sort of steering your aisle differently. Yeah sometimes helps. Thank you very much and good luck thank you. Their questions are welcome 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 for champagne Urbana and toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5 our guest Sandy Mason she is a horticulture

educator with you by extension in Champaign County. She's with us here on program once a month to talk about things that grow on the home landscape usually on a Tuesday. Tomorrow would be the day. One day early. We just could not go for an extra day without seeing her. So you got question cause we talk about lawn are we at a time for. Either fertilizing and weed control. Yeah this is where the universe ability is just a little bit different Normally we recommend that you wait until around the first of May or so to actually do your first. For illustration the if the feeling is that actually the research has shown that you get more leaf disease problems if you fertilize very early in the season so you're better off fertilizing late the year before and then doing waiting till you run the first of May or so do you first fertilisation. You certainly could be think about crabgrass control this would be something that normally the April here usually meant April we had to be thinking about putting an crabgrass control. If you need it you may not really need it it's not some you have to do every year. But if in certain areas you found you've had that problem probably your

best bet is actually look at the law on why isn't the crabgrass any of the weeds come in because the grass is open so maybe the best thing to do or is is the best thing to do is why isn't the grass growing very well. Maybe you need to think about core era finding maybe anything that receding at those kinds of things and then use the herbicides and such if if you truly need later on. OK well we got some other people lined up here ready to go so many on cell phone will start with them on line 1. Hello I'm out of there. I'm part of it was a simple question but running around shopping I see a lot of trees that are me with white flowers. Right now I just want to know if you know what kind of tree. That is. Do they have really big paddles. You're going to know this seems pretty small. OK it could there's a lot. OK could be either star Magnolia. And those are more like a small tree a large shrub looking thing but they have long kind of straps like flower strap like paddles and then they're also some of the

early flowering cherries and stuff are blooming right now cherries and plums are blooming right now. OK. So could be those those have a little little bitty kind of a cluster of white. Yeah I was I was but I've been going to church are you. Well I mean yes that that group is blooming right now so that could be were a little early for crab apples and some of those. OK thank you very much. Thanks for the call we have growing it actually belongs to the folks who live next to us but right in between their house and are ours what is I think some kind of a cherry. Yeah. That has these very small white flowers. It's just stunningly beautiful. They are gorgeous and then when you get to the point where the flowers to start to come off if there's a little breeze it looks like it's snowing which is nice which I think is pretty neat. We're littler. I mean Bradford pears might be in there but I think we're still a little early for them so they're probably very simple and the redbud seem like they're just about ready to just now get ready to pop out so I think we're going to get a nice flower show here for the spring we don't always get that because of the cold weather sometimes but I'm going to have a touch.

OK the next caller is in Champaign and line two. Hello I have a question about. OK I was raised with me. Yeah ok sorry. We have a we have a we we just bought a house my wife and I and we have a couple of dogs and I've been told that dog can I mean just the elimination can do some awful things to the lawns and just over the winter we just bought the house last summer and over the winter we've noticed that there are a lot of brown spots showing up in our in our yard for the typically go. And I was wondering if there are any coping strategies for dealing with that for you know trying to keep on living. Yeah and I do have a female dog. We have both male and female. OK OK. It could be that I guess I just wonder are you pretty confident that's what it is. Unfortunately there isn't a whole lot you can do other than when they're out there you could dilute it with water. Now that's not something that you know is going to be really

easy to do but that would be your best bet as far as combating it is that it right after they go you just don't dilute it with water. All right but I would also check to make sure you don't have something else going on there so you might just actually get down there maybe dig around a little bit and see if you know maybe you've got something else going on there so I'd be real careful in that in this be a great time to reseed I would go and reseed those spots now. OK. I mean is there anything specifically I should look for. I think probably the thing I get it's like really matted down maybe because sometimes we should have gotten too many problems over the winter but sometimes you can get some matting and stuff for me. There might be an indication of fungal problems. Also I'd wonder is it true the grass grown is gone or maybe you got a weed problem. There's a weed called nimble whale which is a warm season grass in a stays Brown this time of year and it doesn't green up until late in so sometimes it is right now it's very obvious but it's a weed problem it's not really anything else going on. OK.

Thank you Sean. Thank you. Next callers in Aurora. Why number four. Hello. Hi Sandy. Hi how are you. Well how do you feel privileged I tore myself away from working on my income tax court. Now I would like to take that as a compliment but if you like me any anything. The wind the wind blowing. You know take me away from my taxes. I wonder if they're well ornamental grasses I want to get I you know I look wild and it is what I meant. Grass might attract birds. Oh I think. How tall do you want to be or do you care what I have. I've never. Yeah yeah. Following the trial of the better. Well I think actually our native grass the big blue stem I think is a beautiful grass I never thought of that. Why do I I've worked on the Prairie. Oh sure a big blue stone actually is a very pretty grass they even have made some selections if you want to go that route. They've actually made some selections that are blue or have a blue or Castro and also Indian

grasses the other night and I was native grass. That's my favorite Indian grass. They've also made some selections of that for you know if you like that blue color that so there actually is some cult of ours out there you certainly could go there straight species so either one of those I think are very beautiful grasses and look very nice. There's the the like the heavy metal switch grass switch grass those are real pretty. Yeah yeah those are real pretty and all those have seeds that the birds are. Well thank you so much. They actually answer pretty graphs Yeah yeah I knew it I just didn't know it. You had the answer all along you just didn't know it. I guess I was thinking of some of the other ornamental grasses and and of course this is a question that's difficult. How can you remove garlic we. Oh you mean garlic mustard or garlic. The little green flower leaf that's out now when a primate and the whole garden I mean it's all over.

That looks like a commitment. Unfortunately I wish I had a really good answer for you but unfortunately your best bet is to try to dig up those little ball bills you know they have little bulbs in there and really you can try herbicides but it just doesn't work very well. So unfortunately you know yeah yeah yeah. And they're not very big but they're enough that thing just keeps coming back. Yeah. Where do they come from good question. You know they certainly can start out from seed but I think a lot of times the little bitty the little bulbs are very very tiny when they first start out so I think that's part of it they get moved around and certainly by sea. Well Paul thank you my good luck and thanks for the call. Let's see let's we will go next to another caller and this person is in Danville. On line number three. Hello good morning. I have a problem. That I did not trim down my butterfly bush as early as I should and the stocks are about three feet high and about weeks ago when I went out to trim them there was when I cut it it was quite a bit of

green and so I quit. Should I just leave it as it is for going ahead and cut it I would go ahead and cut him down cut him back and because the 5 inches. Yeah I got mine back to about 6 to 8 somewhere in there and because if you leave them they tend to get real Ganguly in there not very pretty. So even if it's still green that far up I'd still trim down and that would be true for a lot of the plants that kind of stay green you know the I don't know people for me with the Blues by Rhea Carey after oh so it's another Russian Russian sages if I don't have it too. I would still trim it down. Pardon should I be trimming that I would still trim it down they look so much better if you trim down rather than let carry off. OK well do both. Thank you so much. Thank you for the go and let's see you were next we'll talk with someone in Burlington Illinois this line number one. Hello. Yes good morning good morning. I have two questions. I have some Virginia that were planted by a landscaper but the spot is very dry and gets a lot of sun and I'd like to move them to the east side of the house and I didn't know if they can be

transplanted and if this is a good time to move them this is an excellent time to move them and they move just fine and actually can probably divide them a bit if I don't how long it's been there but you can actually use it divide the crowns if you want. Very good so this is actually is a great time to move be moving a lot of the perennials Okay. And then the other problem I have I have an IRA that and I have a lot of quack grass that's through there as I do with Polen Poland. Is that the only way to really get rid of it. I would say your best bet I know this a lot of work but you've already put in a lot of work just trying to pull it in. You know as you found out those little roots a little rhizomes just stay there. I mean you know you just pull in it. They just don't come up. Really your best bet is to dig up the iris all the irises and then assert separating them and then you'll find all these white rhizomes They're very white very big and that's all the quiet grass and that's going to be your best bet and sort of fish all that out and then replant your irises and then the long run I know it takes more time but in the long run it'll save you a good time

to do that. Or should I wait till they bloom because when they bloom the ground starts. You know much dryer I'm right I'm right. Yeah normally if you're actually going to divide them I would say wait till after they bloom. If you're just going to lift I guess one could say and then just going to have to pull in part I think I would probably wait till after they bloom and then you can always water the area you know a few days before before you plan all this. OK thank you very much. OK thank you. Let's go to caller in Champaign lung number two fellow and is it too early to fertilize rhododendron. Normally we probably fertilize them right after they bloom. So I think I'd probably wait till they bloom. Oh really. Oh I've always done it a little before. Well which is probably I mean and that's fine. You're really not hurting anything I don't know what kind of things are you using when you normally fertilize have some fertilizer. OK. If you would just put

on something like sulfur distrait sulphur you could pretty well do that any time but if it's actually got some nitrogen and I think you're better off waiting till after they bloom. And I have always been. This last year I did not do that and of course I've read that if you don't do that the plant will not set new rooms and I'm going to be interested to see just how how consistent that is. I would think they'd still set Bloom's it just looks much better. Yeah one thing and they stand you know when you pop those blooms up it actually kind of takes part of the stam and then I think they brake better. You know they sort of send out new shoots better. Yeah but it should stick and actually you should see the ball the buds right now because you only produce the buds you know we've already produced a flower bud so you should see this huge flower bud at the end to know whether you're going to flowers or not.

Well sometimes it seems a rose rose flower buds turn into leaves. The ones on the very top those big huge ones should be good so unless for one reason or another the Flobots died sometimes happen on another question. I have quite a lot of barracks up I mean the area Vera groaned in front of the rhododendron which is supposed to be graphic but for one reason or another it isn't. I'm wondering if there is some acid loving plant that you could plant for flowering and mainly shade in the front yard. And so I was wondering if in that bare area I could plant something else. Possibly by different soil.

Right they are and I don't know how far out you've been adding your soul for whatever you probably haven't been adding it that far away to be honest with you know you are right. OK that's a typo in the larger view I would think you know if this is one of the larger rhododendrons I'd sort of pull the new plants away anyway so I'd almost bet by the time you get to the to the area where you going to be planting you're probably not going to see that much of a difference in PH. To be honest with you. So am I. Yeah because you don't want the plants right next to the rhododendron anyway you want to give them their own space. So by the time you pull it out I think you'll be fine in most of our prime. We'll take a range of PH is you know they're not they don't have to have it right exactly 7 or whatever so most of them will take a range so I would go with any of the shade loving perennials that you happen to like I would think you know whether you do in ferns or really any of the hostages any of those things I think oh it will still do just fine.

Sure and that would look very nice in that you know they come up a little bit later and that look very nice right there and think all right well thank you. Yes sure. OK I think. Go our guest this morning here in focus 580 in this hour the program is Sandy Mason. She's horticulture educator with you by extension in Champaign County she's with us once a month we do these shows talking about things that grow in the home landscape usually a Tuesday. She's here one day early same program though we have questions about things that grow outside in the yard grasses shrubs trees flowers vegetables or house plants too. That would be fine. Just call in and whatever kind of problem you're having tell us about it. And she will do her best to help you out. 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 to 2 2 9 4 5 5. Just real quick I was thinking about going back to the caller from Aurora who's asking a question about ornamental grasses and I guess I was just wondering about things like that and whether you have to be worried about keeping those contained. Are they going to want really want to spread on you and maybe get big then you would really like them to be.

And that's a good question because certainly some of them do do their bounds I think number one I'd always look for ones that say clump formers. So it says it's a clump former That implies that the clump just gets bigger every year rather than if it says spreads by rhizomes I'd be very concerned because that's when they really start to take off and we have a few grasses that do that so that be number one. I'd also I think it's a good idea just to sort of look at some of the things that are going on and if it's one that seems to be have a problem where it recedes itself. And I think most of the catalogs are pretty good these days the reputable ones are pretty good as in they'll tell you recedes or something like that and usually what I found is that most of the cult of ours the ones actually have names with them tend to not receive as much that's not always true some of them certainly still receive themselves but I guess I'm thinking like switchgrass I see a lot worse receding with the street species the non-calls of are as opposed to the ones that are cult of ours they don't seem to reseed themselves as much so

there's a little bit of that going on but I think just doing your homework and find out what's going on and your best bet is you know stick with some of the natives like I was talking about you know big blue stems a beautiful grass a little blue stem Indian grass switchgrass you know those are all native grasses in really quite lovely and so that might be people's best bet to their concern about invasiveness. Well we have a number of other callers here. We'll get back to it and starting with Line 1 this is someone in Champaign. Hello. Hi Sandy. Hi. Just a comment about native grasses. People who use them need to know that they don't grow much with shade. But most houses especially all the haves have decreased and so probably will become an annual. Also they have a litter problem. Big blue stem. If you like it it has a what goes into it with it.

Down like you put your hands around skittles and every direction. That's not right. Can't stand that. You know what you're getting then if you understand this beautiful big blue stand you have to remove that letter. And if you're in the urban setting you have to do it with scissors or something because it would need to heat and light and you know the body of the plant early in the spring you know gas stays a little longer. But I think the little blue stem is quite the diplomat of the crew. It sort of stays up in a clump and stays up or wizards and you can remove that about now and it doesn't spread. Congress has a rhizome and it will spread. Yes situation yes I found that out that when it sort of spread everywhere but yeah you know even though it's new to me. Yeah. So those are those are excellent points and I think it just goes to show your body is going to do a little bit of homework yet you know and there's no perfect plan using natives.

Yes good point something else quite a concern right now. Some people prefer to take the concept and not necessarily us natives unless they're British cover contest. But they're inviting the prayers and there's quite a deal of concern about those. Sense moving into the native vegetation. There's one in particular. Yes. Get its name exactly but it's like about eight feet tall and you leave it up in winter and for years about now. Ok that one is is moving into the prairie and some of the switch grass is very very aggressive. Yeah being used extensively and I've been bred for different purposes some of them can stay under water for eight days now. Oh wow. Yes that's a good thing I know the area is about right.

It also means it. No no it's almost becoming the switchgrass state right. Right. But I haven't I mean my experience been the cult of ours are nearly a seedy as the streets B3. Yeah. At least that's what I found I have heavy metal and a few other culture bars and they just never receded in my yard. But that's not to say they don't know their situation. I would encourage anyone that wants to do native vegetation There's also a whole bunch of problems in a very interesting. Oh sure but you have to read about good cattle prairie moon catalogs around but very many a product probably could get abroad either in Wisconsin or Minnesota Wisconsin but brashly going to Illinois gene pool because the guy's father was. No no you don't write that. I mean you know very sensitive to keeping pretty natural to moon.

So Okay Okay great thanks. All right well thank you. Well I guess there again it's like you and the caller said probably the moral here is that if you see some kind of plant that you really like when you see it it's at the garden shop or with the U.S. in a catalog or you see a picture of it in a book or a magazine or something just you know make sure that you know what characteristics of the plant are what it's going to do what kind of conditions it really needs to grow in so that you don't end up with something that's either planted in the wrong place so it won't be happy or it will do something that is its natural thing to do and you won't like it and you won't be happy. Yeah I actually have a story of someone who told me this and I couldn't believe it made it but they actually are way way way back when they were traveling somewhere and they actually dug up some creeping charlie because they thought it was so pretty. And brought it home and it is a pretty plant. Well it has that nice and little flour and you know it's ground cover and they brought it home but that just goes to show that the other thing you never want to do is dig up plants from somewhere and then bring them where

they don't belong. Lots of morals to the story today right. We have some other folks to talk with and champagne is next That's line three. Hello. Hi I have some daffodils that were you know you know during the fall from my mom's house in Ohio and back here and there since me lots of green. You know they seem to be you know thriving in that way but not that many. Well do you know how big you planted them. Yeah. OK and then how big were the bulbs probably enter to I mean pretty good size. OK. And how deep did you plant them. I don't remember. OK. Because it could be could be one of two things that assuming you didn't plant them too deep or whatever you normally were going to be about six inches or so not much deeper than that I don't think I think deeper than that. OK and the other thing is bulb size sometimes of the bulbs themselves are not very big. They'll send up green stuff and they don't flower until the bulb itself finally gets bigger and that's what I

really wonder. Maybe what happened because I would have bet when you dug them up they were probably different size some are little some are big and so you more than likely probably planted all of them and so you're going to get some of them that with the bigger bulbs are going to go ahead and bloom the other ones just need more time. OK. So I just fertilize them when I get him gone for next year when they fertilize. Right after they bloom when they still here and make sure you leave the green foliage there and really care for him that way and let the foliage die down naturally and I would imagine that yours so you find that they'll bloom better for you. OK thank you. I want to thank you by the way somebody if you're interested in that catalog of that nursery that the previous caller mentioned we were talking about prairie plants. It is indeed called Prairie moon and their website is Prairie moon dot com and so they say it's a place for native plants and seeds for wetland prairie Savannah and woodland. And it is actually in. It's in Minnesota in when known or Minnesota. And what they do is about what's going to move and they do have have that website

and through the website you can request catalogs or I'm also sure that you can take a look at the website and see what kind of stuff they have so that would be one kind of source for that. I think that you know that is one that we always think about prairie plants in the prairie in the ornamental plants and you know in our landscapes but there's so many of the prairie plants are just magnificent as is ornamental plants purple coneflowers a good example of that my gosh that's you know it's a native plant yet you know people don't even probably think of it anymore as being a native plant certainly lots of cold bars now but you know it's an excellent plant for a landscape there's lots of them out there yeah the rabbits like those cones. Yeah. They have to. I think I told myself I wouldn't talk about rabbits but. But you had to and I had to you. OK let's go to normal. That's a good place to go. Why number four. Hello. Oh I just want to add to I have a couple of questions. But Prairie moon I have from them and they also you can call them up and

they get pretty good at it. So good it's a good source. And then there is also a place in Mason City called Earth. Yeah I believe and they have a Web site. Earth what's it's like Earth like Earth Earth and Earth Earth in like the place where you go stay in a name like now earth. Yeah yeah yeah. Oh OK. Neither one of us added the skin. OK and they have prairie plants as to for and it is local. Oh in the ecosystem and I guess we should say this would be a good time frame for a friends has their sale may segment. Oh yeah so grand prix France has lots of great plants. May 7th at Lincoln Square Mall so people can check back to base 7 if they have great plans to print. I'll have to think and I do have a question about great I have a deck and then I have a pro go

over it and we eat there and it's spread of it's sunny there so I want something to cover and I thought about growing great and. Do you have a good book to recommend on how I grow grapes. I know nothing about growing grapes. OK. Actually the universe of an extension has a nice book it's only 5 bucks I think it is called growing small fruits in the home orchard. And if you go to a local extension office or McLean County I'm sure they can either have it or they can help you get it. But it's a really nice little book it shows you you know what kind it talks about a cult of ours are good for Illinois how to grow them how to prune them all that good stuff and so it's a great great starter book if you're interested in them. It's called growing growing small fruits in the home orchard so it has things like strawberries blueberries you know all the those kind of things brambles grapes. OK. A good place to start. But you know it's a Sunday but I guess it would

depend on the route is there. But you need also where the vines grow right for them to ripen properly and to get good air circulation so dim to these problems so yeah they'll need some sun too. OK. So is there a tree there or something that's yeah there is a maple that I like but it still be there's a lot of. Yeah. I would suspect that it's a sign of spyware. OK. My other question is I grow. You know I grow a lot of native plants and I'm trying to. Is there a book about how to grow plants from seed. You know there is and I'm trying to think of the name of the book. I think there's one it's actually called growing wild flowers from seed or something like that it has that kind of a name and I just don't say which I wish I could remember that are out of hand and I've got it at home but I used to remember

what it is. Oh you mean when Check with your local library and see. So there is such a thing on how it actually goes through with such and such a need to do this and that kind of thing. So they're out the info is out there. OK all right thank you. All right very good. We're continuing in the next person will talk to. We'll be in champagne and wine one. Hello hello. I think I have a climbing rose bush which I didn't trim at all this year and I was wondering should I just forget it this year and went when I should trim. Is it a real early flowering one or is it normally a summer bloomer. You know in kind Italy are only OK. I mean the leaves are all out. But does that flower like even before June or you know. I don't remember OK.

That's fine that's fine. The reason I'm asking is the ones that flowers say from mid before mid June likely be flowering here in the next month or so. Those actually bloom on old wood wood that produced the year before. Well actually mine is booming and I mean mine is only thing I know. Yeah right but should leaf on I'm a leaf on old web it doesn't necessarily bloom on wood. So that's the reason I was asking and using the really early bloomers other ones are going to bloom in an old wooden. So if you prune them now you'd be cutting off all your potential flower buds. If it's a summer bloomer then you could prune it now and not have a problem. So if you're just not quite sure you may for this year you might cut off anything that's obviously dead or diseased or whatever to make it through the winter and then and then see maybe you can write on your calendar when it when it blooms again if it's an early bloomer then you'd want to print it right after blooms. If not then you can pretty much prune it when one of their early bloom where you prune it right right after it blooms right. How much do you.

That's pretty much up to you you know depending on where you have it and how tall how big you want to get but usually it's a matter of just sort of taking out some of the weaker canes and just maybe getting down to four or five predominant canes and if. It's a late bloomer if it's a late bloomer you can pretty well but prune it whenever you want to normally would we prune it right the first of April we'd be printing it now. That's a late bloomer that most very much. Yeah most of the climbers approach that we have probably late bloomers unless it's a really old variety and it was here when I moved them. Oh ok well and it was I mean when you know a long time ago. Yeah I think my viewers may want to check and see when it blooms OK thank you very good. Let's go next to line number two and this is someone on a cell phone. Hello. Hi I just have a question for you. I have the evergreen all over my house and periodically some of the branches go brown so I know that some of these are dying. What I did is I had to trim some branches of an evergreen that put up a privacy screen and I

think that over months ago. And the princes are lying on the ground and they're still green. I don't do that guy. Yes they don't they get if they're green. Well probably I wouldn't. I'm not sure what Evergreen is that some of them will actually retain their needles and it still looks green use a probably good example they kind of just go. They retain their needles but the kind of does go a little lighter green. So it's you know they're they're dead but just hope they don't know it yet. I get that feeling myself. It's good to champagne this line 3. Hello. Hi there. I have a question regarding a peace plan a peace plan and it's in a pot that I don't know the diameter of maybe about a foot maybe a little bit more so it's a pretty big plant and it's you know if the plant is completely filled up the pot. I'm just wondering do I need to trim it and if so how do I go about trimming it.

Because like the leaves the older growth ones they're kind of Browning a lot around their edges handed and bloomed in a while. Well in the middle of the greenery in the middle looks really healthy. So just why should I be sending this out. You may just want to divide it at this point if it's really getting that big and I'm not sure you'd want to put it in a bigger pot but it sounds like it's time for it to either be divided or put in a bigger pot is a good time of year to do that. We'll get to that point where you plenty lighten up. How do you go about refighting it I just dig down dig up the yeah I would take the whole thing out of the pot. And actually this may sound really brutal I know but I've actually used a sauce sometimes on these to sort of saw through them. The Roots. Yeah you actually saw through the whole thing through the crown and the roots and the whole thing and then you can divide it however you want to. Lot of times you can even get four sections at a bit or maybe you just want to take off the older style for you know you can kind of decide once you get in

there how big you want to be in that kind of thing and go from there will be more likely to bloom because it has a few more. I would say that might be number one one of the issues depending on the watering. I don't know sometimes I get brown edges if they've dried out too much and sometimes it's very difficult to keep them moist if if there's just nothing there but roots and they're not a whole lot of soil. So you may have had some issues where it's drying out too much and then because of this not flowering as well. OK all right well thank you. So I do that fertilize it should run with it. All right very good. Thank you. We have maybe about 10 minutes left in this part of focus 580 was Sandy basin show if you have questions you can give us a call 3 3 3 9 4 5 5 toll free 800 2 2 2 9 4 5 5. Probably we should mention that this year and it's moms weekend on the campus and there are a lot of things going on. Among them is the flower show. The universe of Illinois horticulture club flower show our annual event everybody loves

coming to this it's at the stock on Pennsylvania Avenue in ur Banna and it runs this coming Saturday and Sunday 9:00 to 5:00 and then nine to two on Sunday. And it's just a great opportunity and the students work so hard for this they you know they do everything as far as getting the plants and doing the gardens it's like this little mini flower show and so you go in there and there's all these different gardens with different themes and it's really a great opportunity to see what the students have done. They can use their creative skills and they work so hard to get it done plus you can buy some really cool plane. So that's the other good thing. And the county Master Gardeners will be there to help people out with their questions as long along with the students. So just a great opportunity to be this Saturday and Sunday at the top of the. OK is there much action going on these days at the demonstration garden are there things actually really going out there at the university. Yeah yeah. Pretty much because it's an annual as they're testing annuals he really doesn't get going to war we start getting into it and I guess I was also thinking about the one that the Master Gardeners might have sort of in that same stuff going on there is stuff going on there so if people

want to come out to the idea garden that's also at the nearby arboretum if they want to go the idea gardens and we have some things going on there you can see some of the early flowering stuff and of course we're just getting in the beginning season of things but it's fun to go out I think throughout the season you can kind of see what looks good. You know even early so I think yeah. OK. Anything else in the way of events things that are going on that you want to mention are pretty much the Flower Show was the bombers you know these are big thing coming up. Of course I know it's a long way off but it's not that long but the herb society is also having their plant sale May 7th at Lincoln Square Mall so you can go out May 7th Lincoln Square Mall in Urbana and you can buy herbs and you can buy lots of great prairie plants so it's a great opportunity and and if you have questions about herbs and prairie plants it's a great place to go. So May 7th it's Saturday at Lincoln Square Mile had to be another good thing to think about. OK we are probably I would guess maybe about 10 days maybe even two weeks yet away from the average date of last frost

which is around the third week of. April right right right. And I'm just thinking about you know at what point do you not stop worrying if you're going to put out something that's you know the other day where we were out at a place where they had a garden center and they had plants out and Mrs. insists pointed out that they had tomatoes and I'm thinking oh my I think that might be a little early for the planted tomatoes. I'm sure there are some things you can plant now that it would be just fine in a fright if we got a little chill. It would be OK but certain other thing to really tender things you don't want to to do yet right. Where where is your from your point where you say after this day OK. Yeah. Usually I say after May 10th. But usually we actually can get a frost up until like May 18th or so I mean there's still possibility at that point but it gets much rarer at that. So years around me 10 years I say you can least wait until Mother's Day you know after Mother's Day that's you're usually pretty good shape you know tomatoes this is just you know you've taken some risks you're going to have to just make sure you really watch the temperature and if it's going to be cold and I'm going to have to

cover them and realizing covering it only helps for a few degrees. So you're kind of taking a risk. But certainly broccoli cauliflower pansies you know anything like that will take a frost is fine too you can certainly put those out. OK so you have other months years ahead. I know it seems with this warm weather I think it seems seems hard to think we have a few more weeks but OK well let's say we have color in Berwyn We're going there next. Line number four toll free line. Hello. Oh yes I have. And last summer I had ranger that my friend and daughter in law gave me last year and I put it in the side yard which faces south but the home next store is about 15 feet away I think. And during the summer it grew and I had a few. But it's that terribly insect So we've got to get up and put it in a pot on the back porch for a while and then I had my son put it out west of the house which is full of them.

And my question is can it take or a place where there are I'd say maybe 4 hours of some a day. Oh sure I had ranges do OK in what would be a good spray I have no idea what the insect was you don't remember seeing anything not a thing is just horribly OK. Not knowing what it is is kind of hard to do. I wonder if the insecticide also might do something. Well no insecticide of soap is certainly a good pesticide but it only doesn't do any prevention kind of stuff you know strictly for when the insects there then use insecticide also but it is no residual effect so that doesn't really help you too much it wasn't like Japanese beetles you remember seeing any beetle during Jack and I haven't seen any bug at all I guess the effects of my husband in that we. They get up there. Bring it on but I didn't think it would last over the winter. Well you're right I would. The only thing I wonder about your saying is kind of

shady if it was even slugs. That's the only reason I kind of hesitate a little bit because certainly slugs are not insects so you can't use the same no matter. Well I don't know if I know I've seen very small slugs around my house but nowhere near this particular location. OK well you may just want to wait and see it as far as doing any prevention kind of good time. Well I suppose I could transplant at almost any time I would get it out there soon and transplant it now is the good time anything with training OK. Thanks a lot. Surveying Q.. And let's see the next person up in line here would be urban line number one. Hello. When the best time to transplant. Now I'm not Bush now anyway because yes in the spring. It's in the shade. This is a good time actually for a lot of transplanting of things. It's an excellent time so I would I would this afternoon.

OK well again we have some more time if somebody wants to call we you know I'm sure we get a couple real quick. Let's see we talked a little bit about lawns we talked about the fertilizing and weed control or anything else that you know particularly seasonal right now I guess I can't you know by now certainly people should be out doing the kind of the clean up getting ready you know cutting down the dead stuff in green and getting writhing sort of all ready to go. We have writings that are flowering now. Yeah and pretty much if you had a kind of dormant things you needed to have done you may have you know like dormant sprays and stuff you probably have missed it. You're probably late so if you're going to plan if you still think you're going to do that make sure you really check the plant because there can be some damage depending on what kind of spray are you using and what rate you're using some of them can be used later on in at a different rate. You know the same sprays can be the oils can be sprayed at different rate once the foliage comes out so just really look at the plants before you start making those kinds of decisions. It's certainly a kind of pruning that you needed to have done I would be doing it now and getting that over with so be had in CA shrub pruning Maybe you need this is easier going to

cut down your privet shrubs whatever I be think about doing that now. OK well let's talk with someone else in Urbana line 1. Hello hello. Yes good morning Sandy how you need to be able to talk you have a question about a Japanese maple. It's almost a year planted now and has a lovely green leaves coming out and so on. My question is about pruning. There are lots of branches at the top that seem to be going very this way my husband says I shouldn't touch it. But what can you tell me about it. So it was planted last year is that which is it or it was planted last year you know. Winter it over did it. Well I went in maybe in early spring. Which is fine I mean I think it doesn't mean that you are probably the biggest thing on young plants like that is that this is a time to really start shaping it. Yeah but you don't want to do a lot of drastic pruning one year and I think for the young stuff the thing to do

is sort of look at it and say OK this year I may take this little branch off in this little branch next year I think I'll probably take this one off and that one so you can have a plant over the next three or so years if it's truly one that you think maybe the shape isn't quite the way you want it to kind of plan for it. And don't take off major branches that it even one time. So that's probably the biggest thing on the young ones and then as they get more stablish than you can do you know maybe things that are a little bit more drastic but there's no reason why you can't go ahead and do some shaping right now. Some small branches. OK. All right thank you very much. All right thinks Well we're going to have to wrap it up right there for this time around with the promise that next month Sandy will be back probably on a Tuesday. We think it will be days but in the meantime if you're interested in gardening advice and information you might look and you you're in the range of our television station. TV you can look for a program called Illinois Gardner which is on when when there isn't thirst they keep moving to keep moving it around Thursday nights at 7:00 o'clock on

TV and they do have the opportunity on that showed call in and ask questions Diane known as the host. So if you're into gardening that's a show that you would like. And thank you very much. Thank you. Programming here made possible in part by Krannert Center for the Performing Arts presenting verities Baroque opera the coronation of Pope a a with you by students and period instrument ensemble concerto Urbano April 28 through May 1st for more information visit the website Krannert center dot com. Our show focus 580 made possible also with support from the art markets in the Lincoln Square Mall Urbana the art Mart is pleased to support public radio in east central Illinois. Coming up later today on the afternoon magazine Celeste Quinn the host will talk with an engineer responsible for the structural design of hundreds of buildings and structures around the world including the World Trade Center. And I'll be talking about some very basic questions like how is it that the world's tallest buildings manage to stay standing. How is it they can withstand high winds of the winds for example of a hurricane or a typhoon. Those and other issues up for a

conversation as Celeste Quinn talks with Leslie Robertson that's following the one o'clock news today here on AM 580. The show itself the afternoon magazine gets underway at noon Celeste Quinn is the host. In our next hour we'll be doing the show that we call talk to the family doctor Dr. Jeff swearing in will be here. He's a family practice physician from Carle Clinic so will be open to whatever questions you might have on health issues. First though we'll take a break we have news at one minute past the hour before that an update on the markets so stay tuned. The Carle Center for Rural Health and farm safety is proud to underwrite agricultural programming on WRAL the site or helps residents or Brule communities with education and training and farm safety. For more information call 2 1 7.