Yarden maintenance for April

Coming from March
http://davesgarden.com/community/forums/t/1246183/
We cut the lawn for the first time yesterday. I've been looking at swappable things to dig and doing that. Liriope is at a good stage to divide.
Ornamental grasses can all be divided now, and in fact for warm season ones it is the preferred or only time of year. THey are said to hate a fall digging.
I dug up some vegetable garden area yesterday and added fall leaves; hoping they rot quickly now with a month or so to go before planting. I was happy to hear rain last night to help it.

I refreshed some metal wire screening for two legs of the arbor for clematis to climb.
I planted some moonflower seeds (they never sprout) and then two years from now ---POW! there one will be! Maybe they need a cold winter.

Ahemmm.....just trying to brag here.....

I just mowed my lawn for the first time a few days ago.....Ain't it beautiful??????
First mowing I always do 2"high. All the others are 3" high. Keeps he weeds out.

I also NEVER bag clippings. I have a recycle mower. They all just drop into the lawn.
NO! They never create thatch--as many people believe. Clippings are god for the lawn!

Used Millorganite for the second year. NOT saying that it has done wonders--but I think it is a wonderful product.

My lawn has usually been pretty good. Not too many weeds--I mow 3" high. That really helps.

I no longer subscribe to a lawn Service. Did that for 15 years. Then it got too expensive and the results were so-so.
Have been doing it myself now for 4--5 years. One or two feedings a year--that is all that is necessary.
Early spring and mid-summer--with the Insect Control.

The lawn services want to do it 4 times a year--just to get your $$$$$. NOT necessary!!!
Five minutes of riding around in that stupid scooter--and you get a bill for $50 or more. I am basing this
on my development-sized lot. I am sure, if you have some acreage--you are paying WAYYYY higher!

Gita

Wow Gita it is lush and gorgeous. You should be bragging.

We had a great lawn once. When we lived in a subdivision in Durham. It was small enough to manage and no critters. It was hubby's pride and joy. Here---- nah-------hubby tries but it is nothing but vole runs and weak grass and MOSS. You can't clear an area of trees from the woods and expect to plant grass - it is STILL a "wooded" environment with massive tree roots and shade. The only thing that grows well ( beside the moss and my spouses frustration ) are the nuts from all the trees ------ trying to bring back the forest!

You have a great lawn Gita - I love springtime lawns.

OH Gita what a WONDERFUL lawn!! May I come roll around on it please!?!? < =D

I mowed mine on Sunday after work, and while it looks LOADS better than it did last year, it's not (yet) NEARLY as nice as yours!! I'm still working on it though! =) When I grow up (if that ever happens), I want to have a lawn as nice as yours... that's the goal, anyway. =)

Today, if I ever get off this computer, I will be out back trying to level that area where the new stair-step benches are going to sit, then re-potting up all the chaste tree babies into their own pots (yes, I will FINALLY get to that today, DARNIT!), and potting up some new goodies I got the other day at work. =)

Nice lawn Gita. HD here does not have miloganite.

Sally. thanks for continuation thread. Your article today on dividing perennial grasses is on my to do list. What tool or tools did you use most successfully to cut your divisions? Did you try your defunct electric knife blades? Do tell.

Yep, April for me is a time to scout out what is new or might function better with less headaches than what I currently use. Anyone see any promising gadgets out there?

The elec knife blades are so defunct I have lost them in my mess
; ^P haha
On big Pennisetum 'bunny tails kind of grass. I used a fifteen year old with a full size axe. Worked pretty quick
8 ^0 haha when I said axe I pictures the one-hand held size
When the clumps are big and tough, I think all you can do is hack away and take the best of whats left. The roots of my two Pennisteums are very wiry and dense.
Sea Oats, maybe not so bad.
Serration on the cutting tool is probably good, or hacking with a heavy blade.

OOps forgot to link to Sally article on grass dividing
http://davesgarden.com/guides/articles/view/3675/

While we are on dividing, what do you do with those long 'tails' of plant stalk growth between roots and growing end of heucheras or hardy geraniums, for example? Do you just bury it? How deep? Or, break it off and hope new roots will form ? Or?

Coleup, the HD on Defense Highway has Miloganite, I rang up a customer on Sunday who was getting some.

Cost---$13. 20-something..for the Millorganite....Right? 36lb. bag. Totally Eco Friendly....
N-P-K-......5-2-0

Sally--
I cannot imagine trying to save N. Sea Oats....I have had 4 clumps in a so-so raised, decaying bed
3' away from the trunk of my huge Silver Maple. Been spraying it with Round Up for a year.
It is still coming up! Will have to do it again while the new growth is lush and tender.....
The seeds flew all over my YUK bed and I have been digging them up every year.
Have several pots-full, if anyone wants them.
IF you have a lg. property and lots of open spaces--this may be an attractive Grass to have.
I wonder if its name "Sea Oats" means it likes to be near water??? Hmmmmm......

The landscape timbers around this bed are all rotten. I started dismantling it last summer--but never got too far.
Then I have to take them to the landfill. Need a buddy with a truck....

The only worthwhile thing in one end of this bed is a VERY old Gooseberry bush.
It doesn't even produce--as it is all choked up as well with the Maple Roots..

What I should do is try to dig it up (Oh yeah! Call in the national Guard!) and re-pot it in a large container.
I may have to hack and hack and sacrifice a lot of roots. But--then I could cut the plant back and it should re-grow.
Gooseberries make awesome Jam! Good fresh as well--if you like the sweet/sour taste.

Not sure I will get to this all in my lifetime. This time frame is shrinking fast......

Gita

#1--Sea Oats in season--with the attractive "oats" on the ends of each stem
#2--The same "attractive" oats in the fall, when they are dry and fall all over and seed and grow.
#3--The lush, new growth before the "oats" form. Once it gets going--it grows fast....

This message was edited Apr 4, 2012 7:14 PM

Coleup, I clip last years stalks down to the ground with a little pair of scissors. Never have to divide, they come up everywhere on their own. ;)

Using white vinegar to kill the chickweed in the path to the front door, wondering how long it will last. I have a hard time getting anything stronger out because of all the kitties (vole killers all)

Pam, consider a flame weeder ? I've never used it but I think critterologist does.

Coleup- the hardy geranium (Bigroot, Macrorhyzzum ?sp) I have will def root along those stems very well. Heuch, I dunno, good to try I suppose though.

In observation mode on the vegetable patch and noting where it really is pretty dang shady
} 8 ^P

Pam, I actually considered getting my vacuum out to suck up all the seeds that went flying when I was doing some weeding last evening!

Last evening was another adventure for me as I cleared around shrubs and areas I have neglected for a number of years (benign neglect). I saw a grey tree frog!!!! perched on a deutsia stem. May be just a temporary misplaced visiter as it says they need some kind of wet habitat as well as woody/trees. I don't have any areas in my near surrounds that would serve well for amphibian breeding...

So, like your cats/voles balance , as I roam my yard, I'm keeping an eye out for ways to enhance wildlife balance...Definitely need a bat house for some more mosquito control. And, where have all those toads gone?

cole I think (THINK the operative word) that I saw one too. It was on the trunk of a camilla. It was very scaly appearing and looked more toad-ish than frog -- but it was pure grey. I was on top of it before I saw it.

We use a burner on the gravel drive. The car takes care of the area where we ride on since seem to go roughly over same area again and again...but all up the center the weeds grow good. Once hit with the flame ....well......they go up in flames!!! Doesn't do a darn thing for all the new stuff dropped

We are in a formerly wooded area and we have frogs all the time. They serenade us each evening from the marshes around us! We have mosquitos 10 months of the year (this year even more) I don't go outside without my bug fan, seems to work great! We do have a burner (back on subject) but can't afford all the propane!!!!!!!!!! I should probably break out the shop vac for the chickweed sees! Our driveway is 180 feet long and that doesn't include the parking area for all our vehicles, or the path to the front door. We opted for a paid for manufactured home on 4 acres over a new house (who knew how smart we were!) Now that I am 13 months or so from retirement I can kinda appreciate it.

Pam, your 'space' sounds super. I'd choose it too!

The bottom leaves of tall garden phlox and bigroot geranium (that I got at the fall swap) are turning yellow.

I had them in containers all winter and finally planted them in the ground. The phlox went in a month ago, and the geraniums about a week ago.

What do you think is happening? Is this due to low nitrogen? Or not enough water? Or just regular transplant shock? It hasn't rained much and I haven't been great about watering them.

Its been very dry. I think that's why. I was shopping at a nursery once and overheard the manager telling the worker to pull the lower yellowed leaves that were because of the plants getting dry.
The geranium will rebound.

Thanks, Sally! I guess I need to make sure the newly transplanted plants are getting enough water. Should I pull the yellowed leaves?

Another question...

I planted wintersown lupines in the ground a couple of weeks ago. They look great but the leaves are now red/purplish. Are they supposed to be this color, or is this a reaction to the recent cool weather? They had regular green coloring in the jugs.

Well, pull the yellow leaves if you like it neater.
The lupines- I've never grown. It may be normal I think. I don't think its the cold, lupines ought to be pretty hardy that way. Again make sure they are moist.

Thanks Sally for starting an April discussion. Thanks MRosie for the Careyopteris info. Speaking of that bush, an area of our one bush seemed to have died this past winter too. John spent two days taking cuttings and pruning the bush this past week. He has about thirty or more pots of it. If they live, he will try selling at a local Farmer's Market where he sells other perennials we have and some house plants that I root and pot up for sale.

I spent two evenings working on Rose Campion volunteers that have really taken a liking to one of the smaller back beds where originally there was only one of the plants. I potted at least twelve pots and have at least that many more to pot up.

Last year at some point John dug up an area in one of the beds where there were Iris that needed dividing. In the process he damaged an Astilbe plant and upon inspection of the plant I saw there were at least five new starts for it and so I potted the damaged pieces and am hoping they will survive. Thinking back over the week and the yarden work, a lot of the time I was out there was spent re-doing the edge of the bed where he dug the Iris. There were pieces of other plants that were damaged too which have somehow survived the winter basically sitting on top of the soil in many cases and not in the soil. Digging those particular Iris and maybe another batch or two has resulted in about four hundred pots of Iris sitting in our front yard. hahaha

On Tuesday I spent a good portion of the day straigtening and semi cleaning my screened in porch where my houseplants will live this summer. Not time to take them out yet, but at least I am ahead of the game in getting the area ready for them.

I am hoping to get out side in a bit and actually have so many different things that need doing, that I am not exactly sure what I will end up doing once I get out there. Most likely will start with finishing a Day Lily bed that I wasn't able to finish weeding on Thursday. That shouldn't take long and so I will feel as though I have accomplished something, when it reality most of the work has already been done.

It is always good to hear from you all. Welcome to June. We also have a gardener who lives in Las Vegas who keeps up with the Mid Atlantic group, so anyone is welcome. I have actually done a swap with the Las Vegas chatter, so as you mentioned, garden often crosses over areas, even with miles and miles in between.

Hope that everyone is enjoying a great Easter weekend.

Ruby

My 3 year old graddaughter reminded be today that I have to clean the birdbath - I left it out all winter and she told me that it was "deeeesgusting".

It is a pretty sea blue and I fill it with colored glass pieces andi irredescent marbles and pretty stones. She likes to finger all the doo dads but I guess it was too 'deeeesgusting" for her with the rotted leaves.

Thank you sally!

We haven't had a soaking rain here in awhile. Should I be watering all the plants, and not just the new transplants?

Also, when can I cut down crocus leaves? I've heard that they need to turn brown first, but they're still looking pretty good.

SS--

Yes! Water your garden as needed--even if it is not in its full glory yet. It is growing though.
Spring growth spurts require a lot of energy, so watering is important....Emerging perennials need feeding as well.

Crocus, D-Lilies, Tulips, Daffs, etc are all bulbs. Bulbs need to restore the energy it takes to produce blooms next year.
This is accomplished by allowing the foliage to, naturally, wither and brown off--which
feeds the bulbs for next year's growth.

I hate this phase, which lasts about 6 weeks, when all the dying off foliage lays sprawled all over everywhere.
Have to deal with it, though. The daffs are the worst--they have so many leaves.
Sometimes I cut the tops off a bit--along with the spent blooms.
Sometimes I tie them (while still green) in loose bundles (not actually recommended)....
Sometimes I do all the things they say one must not do--like tying them in knots, or in small bundles.

Why do I cheat? Because by the end of 6 weeks it is time to plant all the annuals, and I have no
room--because of the sprawling foliage. It covers all the spaces.

If you have a free-form garden or a woodsy garden, you may not need to do anything drastic.
I have narrow flower beds all along my house walls and all kinds of fixtures. Space is of a premium.

EX: here is my S. exposure bed. see what I mean? Not much room there.......

Thank you Gita! That was very helpful!

Beautiful Easter week-end on the delmarVA. Way too much wind to do any spraying of weeds, so I resorted to "vinegar ing" part of the driveway. The winds were blowing the toward the chicken houses across the road so payback is a good thing! I guess I will have to get outside at sunup before the winds start so I can get busy on my front beds. I have some plants that arrived from Bluestone on Friday that need a home (presently in the chickweeds) so those areas need to be Roundup'd.

The gusts are really blasting today! I need to water any transplants and potted things .

Sally--

Been outside today since morning. came in around 3:30PM.
Yes! I noticed also how dry all the pots were. All those little pots don't stand a chance with winds like this!
I also watered all my beds today. The were SOOOO dry! like in a dessert! Seeded some areas that
VERIZON dug up--again! This is the 3rd time my curb-side lawn has been dug up so they could bury their cables....
Just when I got my grass growing semi-OK again--there they come.....

I cannot believe the amount of starts of everything that I have potted up! it is insane!!!!
Where did they all come from??? I need to get done with all this--as my beds are beckoning me to attend to them.
And--my two table-tops on my patio are loaded with trays! Too long to wait until mid-May so i can have them all
to myself, again....but--I have no choice.....

Has anyone thought about how early we all are dealing with our "haves and wants?????"
Seems we are almost done with our requests--and the Swap is still more than a month away!

I also need to get to the "MD Flower and Foliage" to p/u some annuals. Stuff I am NOT growing from seed.
What a slew of purple Angelonias I will be having! Those seeds came up in 3 days!
The little potting spaces are solid with seedlings.....AAAAGGGH!!! What to do? What to do???

Seems I go through this every spring.....and then THE DAY comes when everything is done! Halleluiah!!!
All that is left to do is to water and water and cut the lawn.....I can deal with that!
Till the seed collecting starts later in summer--and, once again, the whole DR table is delegated to seeds,
and my spare time id taken up with sorting and drying and labeling and bagging...and...and....:o/

Gita

Gita, GMTA 'cause I just came home from work and went STRAIGHT out to water all my babies before I came in here to relax. < =) Nope, most of my babies are not in full flush yet, but they needed a good drink anyhow. It's growing season! < =D

speedie---
am not all that up wit the on-line short hand---What is GMTA?????
I know--LOL--DD--DS--DSD--DH--and such are....But not all the others that you cruisers take for granted.

I hope you all people that live on Facebook and Twitter, and whatever else realize that many of us do not
know all the abbreviations. I have never used either of these. Never will!
So--I have no idea what some of the abbreviated words mean.

On DG--please could you use the full words? Us oldies are very behind the times with all the acronyms...

Thanks--Gita

LOL- I don't recognize GMTA either ROFL

I didn't either, but it appears to be . . . .
great minds think alike. I just put it in google, but there is also acronymfinder.com that can be a help. New plants and new chat talk!

AHA thanks Pat!

Actually, I can't be sure she didn't mean Guam Mass Transit Authority, another possibility offered by that site. By the way, we were interested to read somewhere that you are also a kayaker.

The greenhouse is really filling up. I check the H2O twice a day now and ensure it is closed tight around dark. I'll need to mow again tomorrow, it's only been a week. I'm going to have to water some of the beds tomorrow, rain has been slow now that we need it and everything is just popping. My asparagus has begun but that bed definitely needs watered. Ric

OH, Is GMTA the same as small trains run on the same track? LOL Ric

This message was edited Apr 10, 2012 12:02 AM

Oh my goodness Gita, I'm so sorry!! I must admit though, I am NOT a "facebooker" or a "Twitterer", I'm too old for that, eeeek!!! < =D Pat was right though... no, not Guam Mass Transit Authority, HAAHAHAHAAAHAAAAA, that was so funny it made me nearly spit my coffee out when I read it!!! What I'd meant was: Great Minds Think Alike. Again, my apologies, didn't mean to throw ya a curve-ball there. < =/ Now you've got me curious though, what is DSD, please?

Ok, got all the little babies watered last evening, and they are looking perkier this morning. I even moved the new acquisitions out on to the deck (from the basement) and gave 'em a drink. We didn't get the rain last night that I was hoping for, just a few random sprinkles here and there. Grrrr, we really DO need a proper rain. I sure wish my butterfly bush seeds (winter sown) would have germinated by now, but now I'm starting to think all those jugs are a 'bust'. Well, I did get ONE little sprout, but out of 12 jugs that's just pathetic. I 'regular-sowed' some black Pansy seeds about a week and a half ago too, and I don't see any signs of life yet. They're in a 1-gallon grower's pot out on the deck. I'm keeping the soil regularly moist, the seeds are lightly covered with planting mix, and the pot is sitting behind others for more shade. Is there something I'm missing? Is it maybe not warm enough yet?

Have a great day all! =)

speedie--

I have no idea either what DSD is! I think I mis-typed.....
Was trying to do the whole family thing--Dear Son--Dear Daughter, etc...

This makes me remember a forward I once got. it was all kinds of abbreviations they
use when texting...
G.

I think Pansies must have dark to germinate. I did terrible with them.
We mowed once and the rain, and grass, have stopped.

DSD- dear step daughter

We are wishing for rain here too. This is really unheard of, with needing rain this early. My goodness but this weather has really thrown us all for a real loop it seems.

As for the HAVES and WANTS, I am no where near finished because I haven't had time in the past two weeks to read any of the threads. Just sent my taxes off yesterday, so that is a bit of pressure off of me. Should be able to catch up in plenty of time to list more of the goodies I have found during my walks around the yard and am sure that I will see things added that others have that I cannot live without. Please don't close the threads yet.

We have a potential customer coming to look at things later today. She is the sister of a friend of mine and I hope that we will have things she will want for herself. Sally, John worked on the Lysimachia Firecracker yesterday and had seven pots to sell later on. He left several for us. That was such a fun plant to see in bloom last year.

The Farmers Markets begin here the last Saturday in April. We should have loads of things to send though as John said, folks want to buy things that are in bloom usually, so it may still be a bit for some things. We have some early blooming Iris doing their thing. The many Azaleas here are all looking very gorgeos currently.

We didn't really plan for it but somehow we have our gardens planted so that there is always color somewhere, depending upon what the week or month is. I need to give nature the credit for this versus taking credit ourselves though. Just worked out that way thankfully.

Anyway hope that all of us needing water will get some soon. Continue on with happy gardening.

On a side note......earlier when the March Yarden thread started there seemed to have been some mix ups early on. For anyone who may be wondering what ever came of it, I was told by Gita in a dmail yesterday that we have now dmailed in the twenty or so dmails since that incident and that all is well between the two of us. That is my continued hope for me and Dave's Garden.

So many of you are very, very dear to me. I did spend a bit of time away from Dave's for a while and spent most of my computer time on Facebook. I have now been back at Dave's for two years and very rarely have the time or inclination to visit Facebook though I do miss staying in contact with family members as much as I was able to being there. They all know where I live though and my email and snail mail address and actually my phone number too. So, all is good.

You folks have a great day.

Ruby