|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
Garden Clippings
Coasting into the fall season
By RUTH DAVIES
Article published on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008 |
Whew! We made it through the dog days of August. Now it’s easy coasting toward the gardeners’ favorite season. September is still hot, but even five degrees cooler helps.
Wasps seem irritated by these hot days. Use care when pruning shrubs, as they love to nest inside. Usually, one or two will give a warning by buzzing out; continue pruning there and they send out a squadron of fighters. Keep a can of wasp spray in your garden bag or delay pruning for a few months.
A plant that until last year I eradicated needs attention now – the grass. I pulled the weeds out of my small back yard and am ready to put down lawn fertilizer just before the next rain arrives.
During the summer two applications of Ironite maintained it nicely. Of course, with help from a 15-month old dog, there are areas of dead grass.
I sprigged those with the grass that grows where it shouldn’t. I’m thinking of getting a fake fire plug so young Angus will water one place only.
If we don’t have frost in the next two months, the zucchini seeds I planted should start producing.
The same with some cucumbers that are growing in a pot. The bush beans are up but need watering twice a day. I’m thinking of setting a beach umbrella to shade them from the roasting afternoon sun until they are larger.
My bougainvillea lament continues, as it is time to prune them this month so they will set bloom for winter. No matter how carefully I cut and run, some of those sharp thorns tear my skin. Oh, what price beauty – the bougainvillea.
This spring I was concerned about the lack of flowers on amaryllis. This month I will use a garden fork to raise them and stuff some compost under them. After so many years in one place, they have buried themselves.
Use 6-4-6 citrus fertilizer this month at the drip line of the trees. The amount to use is listed on the bag.
Azaleas, ixoras and just about all shrubs are ready for fall fertilizing. Purchase a product that is designed with the acidity they need.
Between the heat and the rain, shrubs that usually got haircuts once a year are on their third cut. Guess there was something beneficial about a drought.
Ruth Davies is a Pinellas County Master Gardener. She can be reached at sunflower1368@juno.com.
|
Article published on Thursday, Sept. 11, 2008
Copyright © Tampa Bay Newspapers: All rights reserved. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
 |
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
 |
|
|
|
|
|
Tampa Bay Newspapers
9911 Seminole Blvd.
Seminole, FL 33772
(727) 397-5563
Open Monday-Friday
8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
|
|
