HomeMy WebLinkAboutThe Citizen, 2003-05-14, Page 21THE CITIZEN, WEDNESDAY, MAY 14, 2003. PAGE 21.
Plant wildflower garden in shady
Wildflowers may be the perfect
answer to a shady problem on your
lot. They thrive on conditions that
defeat many other types of flowers.
And you may be surprised to find
that many of the perennial plants
available through garden centers are
actually “tame” wildflowers, nearly
identical to their cousins growing in
natural areas. Columbine, Jacob’s
ladder, creeping or blue phlox,
bleeding hearts and Solomon’s seal
are just a few examples. You’ll find
they blend beautifully in a shady
setting along with woodland
favourites like Jack-in-the-pulpit,
foam flower, trout lily and a wide
range of fems.
Don’t be tempted to rush out,
spade in hand, and dig plants out of
the wilds, though. (Besides being
illegal in many areas, it’s unfriendly
to wild plants and the environment).
Many nurseries and garden centres
have special wildflower sections,
and they can advise you on which
plants will naturalize well in your
garden conditions.
When choosing and preparing a
site for your wildflower garden,
keep in mind the kind of natural
habitat these plants prefer: moist,
Early action needed
to control crabgrass
Do you have a crabgrass problem
in your lawn? You’ll recognize
the symptoms in the late summer,
especially if you’ve noticed patches
of coarse purple grasses in your
lawn.
Crabgrass can spread particularly
quickly around the edges of the
lawn, and along driveways and
paths. The problem is most
prevalent in Ontario.
It’s an ugly grass weed that
invades weaker areas of the lawn,
and gradually takes over, creating
thin, off-colour patches that detract
from the lawn’s overall appearance.
In late spring the plants are a light,
lime green colour with wide, short
blades. If such plants appear in the
lawn as soon as the snow disappears,
they are not crabgrass, and won’t be
controlled by a crabgrass pre
venter.
A healthy lawn: The best defence
A lush, healthy lawn provides its
own best defence against crabgrass,
because it allows few areas for the
weed seeds to germinate and
establish new plant.
Regular fertilization is the key to a
healthy lawn...making sure the grass
gets the complete nutrition it needs
to fight weed competition and resist
stress from summer drought.
A typical “four-step” lawn
fertilization program might look like
this:
1. Early spring, either with a
regular lawn fertilizer or a fertilizer
with crabgrass control blended in.
2. Early summer, regular fertilizer
or “weed and feed” to control
broadleaf weeds.
3. Late summer, regular fertilizer
and an application to control white
grubs, chinch bugs and other lawn
insects if necessary.
4. Late fall, fall fertilizer, a special
blend to fight winter stress and
encourage fast spring green-up.
(This may be the most important,
but often overlooked lawn feeding).
Be sure to use high quality,
“controlled release” fertilizers. They
provide consistent feeding up to 12
weeks, without risk of burning the
lawn.
Crabgrass control strategies
Crabgrass is an annual grass weed
that must re-establish itself from
seed each spring. This is the secret
to effective crabgrass control...
getting the preventer onto the soil
early enough (before May 15) to
keep new seeds from germinating.
The easiest way to apply a
crabgrass preventer is to spread it on
with your early spring fertilizer
application, around the time the
forsythia blooms. Mow the lawn
once before applying the preventer,
so it can easily get down to the soil
surface.
Avoid spreading crabgrass
preventers on newly seed lawns,
bentgrass lawns or vegetable
gardens.
The soil must be left undisturbed
after application to allow the
product to work on the
ungerminated seeds.
As always, be sure to read the
product label carefully.
- News Canada
humus-rich soil in an area that has
lightly dappled shade in the
springtime when they’re flowering,
and more shade cover in late spring
and summer to keep the habitat from
drying out.
Like most other plants,
wildflowers will not survive in a
very dark, compacted area.
If you’re not sure which varieties
to choose, most seed companies
make premium wildflower seed
mixes specially designed for either
sun and shade.
Spend some time preparing a good
deep bed with plenty of compost
mixed in, then plant in an informal
pattern — wildflowers look best in
groups as they would appear in the
wild. Your new garden will fill out
faster, bloom more abundantly and
withstand stress better if you feed it
regularly with a fertilizer.
How to keep wildlife from turning
your new garden into a salad bar:
It’s not surprising that animals,
birds and insects are attracted to the
garden environment with all it has to
offer.
And many gardeners enjoy the
increased level of wildlife activity a
new garden brings. But how do you
keep these creatures from dining out
too heavily on your flowers and
foliage?
Many perennials are naturally
resistant to insects and animals: Due
to their taste or poisonous nature,
wildlife will avoid them. Here are
some examples:
• Resistant to deer and other
animals: Astilbe, bleeding heart,
columbine, daffodil, foxglove, iris,
periwinkle, lavender, lungwort,
sunflower.
• Resistant to insects: Marigolds
• Other controls: There are some
area
quite effective animal repellents on
the market that are worth trying.
(Some gardeners sprinkle blood
meal around to deter deer. While we
can't vouch for its effectiveness as a
repellent, it will at least improve soil
fertility).
As a general rule, use more
organic controls first ...then
conventional insect controls if
necessary.
- News Canada
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