Use these tips to ensure the trees and shrubs in your landscape stay healthy and beautiful.
During the first year, water your shrub beds well once a week for two hours to thoroughly soak the root system. To water trees, water once a week by letting a garden hose trickle at the base of the trunk for a half of an hour to thoroughly soak the roots. Once plants are established, water as needed. Plants that are located under a tree will require extra water, due to the trees drawing most of the water from the surface soil.
Trim shrubs that flower on new wood in early spring, before they leaf out. Shrubs that bloom on old wood, trim after they bloom. Trees should be trimmed in the spring before they leaf out. Evergreens should be trimmed once a year in the month of July.
To help control a variety of insects and diseases on trees, shrubs, roses, fruit plants, and evergreens, spray with Lime Sulphur according to manufacturers instructions in early spring, before the plants begin to leaf out. To treat scale insects and certain fungi on fruit trees and other deciduous plants, a combination of Lime Sulphur and Horticultural Oil should be used, according to the manufacturers instructions.
Water well just before freeze-up. If evergreens or delicate deciduous shrubs are exposed to strong winds, set three stakes into the ground around the plant, and wrap burlap around the stakes to form a wind break. Do not wrap tight to the plant, as this encourages mold which can be more damaging then winter kill. Plants subjected to heavy loads of snow or ice from roofs should be tied with twine or wrapped in plastic mesh. Wrap the trunk of young trees with plastic Tree Guards in the fall to prevent rodent damage during the winter. Protect fruit trees, small fruit and ornamentals with an Animal Repellant in November.
The letter values of N-P-K can be found on fertilizer packages, but what does it all mean? Simply put, they’re the key macro-nutrients required for healthy plant growth. All of these nutrients naturally exist but can be lacking in unhealthy soils. Here’s what you can do to add these nutrients for balanced soil.