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The Goderich Signal-Star, 1981-04-29, Page 50Page 16 Add fragrance to your gardin with flowers, trees or shrubs. There are many cultivars of virburnum available to suit all types of home gardens. Many feature wonderful scents and long-lasting flowers. New lilac developed at Vineland Vesper, a dark purple lilac d• eveloped • at.+Vineland, was i• ntroduced last year through the . C nedian m Ornaentab " Plant Foundatiaf: Stock has - •° 'already. ken 'shipped to. the ▪ iinite'd.--S-SatesPand :Western ▪ Canada, . aqd the new variety should be !.available. through • . • most catalogues within two years. Although there are thousands. of lilac varieties, researchers, at the Hor- ticultural Beseech institute of Ontario . • felt this • new lilac should' be commercially available.( s Buying. a' mower tsecause lawn mowers are used More than any other piece of gardening equip- ment, it is important to choose these machines carefully. Ross Irwin, School of Engineering, Ontario Agricultural College, says prospective buyers should be aware that there are basically two types of lawn Make your.lawn. lovely By C.M. Switzer Ontario Agricultural College University of Guelph . A weed -free lawn should be the aim of every homeowner. Developing a weed -free lawn isn't difficult, if you are prepared to spend a little time at it. A good maintenance program, which includes 'correct mowing, watering and fertilization,is the, key. Fel.; tilizer is particularly im- portant because turf grasses respond well, to fertilizer. Thick turf grasses can crowd out many weeds that would otherwise grow and flourish. Lawn weeds can be divided into two major groups - broadleaf -weeds and grassy weeds. The broadleaf weeds include such common plants as dandelion, • plantain, black medick, chickweek, heal-all, ground -ivy, and clover. The grassy weed group includes annual crabgrass and annual bluegrass,• and perennial grasses, such as quack grass, orchard grass and creeping bent grass Broadleaf weed control Chemicals are readily available for broadleaf weed • control. However, if you have a small lawn, or only. a few weeds, it is probably easier to cut them off, below the ground, with a sharp knife or a V- shaped spudding tool. The most commonly used herbicide for broadleaf weed control in lawns is 2, 4-D. This chemical has been used for the selective control of weeds for more\than 30 years. and has been found to he effective and safe. it controls such weeds as dandelions- and plantains well,: but it is somewhat less ef- fective on such weeds as hlack medick, chickweed, and ground -ivy. Fortunately, these weeds are susceptible to another, herbicide, called mecoprop. However. neither 2. 4-D nor mecoprop will control members of the knotweed family If such, weeds are present, use a mixture con- tainingdicamba. The best general weed killer for turf is a three-way mixture of 2, 4-D, mecoprop and dicamba This mixture gives excellent control of most broad-leaved weeds in lawns. However, some broad -leaf weeds are resistant to this mixture and any herbicide used selectively on turf Goutweed. yarrow. and creeping bellflower are examples of resistant weeds. If these plants are a problem in your lawn. you have only two alternatives. Either attempt to crowd them out by stimulating the turf through good main- tenance procedures. or treat thern with a herbicide. such as glyphosate t Bound -up). to kill all vegetation. and then reseed or resod. Obviously, this latter apProach iS a last resort, used only in cases of extremely heavy infestations. Apply 2, 4-D mixtures when weeds are young and growing rapidly. Early May is a'good time.' When you apply the mixture, use enough water to cover the treated." plants Keep in mind that both Betasan and Dacthal will kill all germinating grass seedlings. You cannot reseed the treated area for at least one year after application. Tupersan, however, will only damage -germinating crabgrass seedlings, so you thoroughly. Follow the in- structions on the label to en- sure that you apply the ap- propriate concentration. A small one or two -gallon pressurized sprayer is the best application method, but you can use a sprinkling can, hose - end applicator or other ap- plicator or other methods. 'Whatever the method, never use the container which held herbicides for other purposes. such as applying insecticides or fungicides to flowers or shrubs. When spraying. the herbicide, use low pressure, keep the end of the nozzle close to the ground. and avoid spraying if the wind is blowing, All of these precautions prevent the herbicide from drifting to nearby desirable plants. • Control of grassy weeds An infestation of crabgrass in a home lawn concerns most homeowners. Crabgrass is an ,annual weed which germinates in early May throughout most of Canada. it remains rather inconspicuous until mid- summer when it produces reddish. finger-like seed stocks that are difficult to mow and unsightly. There is no effective method of crabgrass control in lawns after the weed appears: The only .suitable time to control it is before the crabgrass emerges. so use a preemergence herbicide, such as .. bensulide t Betasan 1. chtorthal dimethyl (Dacthal(, or siduron (Tupersan(. Apply these materials early in the spring i before the end of April(. Betasan and Dacthal. because they have a long residual life in the soil, can he applied in the autumn just as satisfactorily can reseed in the same year. Quack grass is probably the most difficult weed to control in lawns. No chemical will selectively kill it. without damaging the desirable species. Therefore, the only, possible way to •control this plant is to try to crowd it out by following gond lawn main- tenance procedures. If this is not successful, you may wish to renovate the whole lawn area by spraying with glyphosate r Hound -up . and then reseed or. resod. This is a drastic step to be used only if quack grass and other weeds aretakingover the whole area. Detailed ,information about lawn maintenance is given in Ontario Ministry , of Agriculture and Food publications: Lawns, Publication 448, and Weed Control in Lawns and Gardens. Publication 529. These are available from the infor- mation Branch, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food, Legislative Buildings, Toronto, Ontario M7A I A5, and from local agricultural offices: Chinch cocktail Early July is the best time to treat for hairy chinch bugs. To check your lawn for these pests, use a large juice can with the top and bottom removed. Push the can into the turf, and fill it with water. The chinch bugs will float to the surface. Repeat the procedure at random intervals across the lawn. If you see bugs, treatment is necessary. mowers. There are advantages and. disadvantages to both types. and like cars, there„are wide ranges of prices and models. • The reel -type lawn mower, commonly used by ,professionals; operates in a scissor-like fashion with the reel blade cutting against a bed knife. This type of mower, if correctly adjusted and sharp makes the cleanest cut and is best for lawns that are meticulously maintained and cut low. However, the reel -type is -not as versatile as the rotary lawn mowers and is usually more expensive in'itially‘and more costly to maintain. ' The hand -operated reel - type lawn mower is ideal for small lawns. It will give a good cut, save gas and provide exercise. The .rotary -lawn mower used by most- homeowners cuts by the sickle -like impact of a whirling blade. This action bashes the grass off and causes the top of the blade to turnbrown. Because of tHis; rotary lawn mowers are best used fqr grass control, rather than. for lawn appearance. Whatever type of lawn mower you select, get a good qua lity machine to make mowing as pleasurable as possible. Vesper was grown from seed in 1958 and researchers have been evaluating it since then: It is similar to many other lilac varieties with one important exception; it blooms five to seven days later than other, varieties. "Because it blooms later, we feel that it deserves a place in the lilac collection,” says 'Bob Fleming, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Food hor- ticulturist. "It extends the present lilac season by a week to 10 days." Vesper features single flowers 112 to 212 cm (314 to 1 in.) in diameter on a medium• to large flower truss. The deep purple color resists fading well,. and, under normal conditions, can remain attractive %pr up:to three weeks. 'Chis'whet.. should grow well wherever the speciesgrrmvs. Lilacs are one. of •the, most et reliable flowering plants -and one of the easiest to maifatain. Too much care may do more hartn than just leaving. them alone: Mr. Fleming suggests cutting off the old flower Beads to encourage more blooms, but be careful not to harm the next year's bud directly un- derneath. TIME TO PLANT READY FOR PLANTING Trees -evergreen and deciduous and flower- ing shrubs. c To Holmesville i" Huron #13 34 56 • • ,.o Bayfield Conc. BAKER'S NURSERY R.R. #2 Bayfield BAYFIELD Varna Baker's Nurser. - f - R.R. 2 . Bayfield 482 9995 Quality merchandise at lair prices CLOSED SUNDAYS .4 '11 � p.r qr�,g jf � fi �. IIS • 1 re - Three oranges looking for work. Our B -Scrap, „r.+nt;c Kok ,1,1 Irak r„r, range tom 11 n, to hp. and are .n,lilahk u 1fh 'lir wheel drive. All IS.rve ,r h'Jr,u,11e t -p, int hath, ,t,014hr4I rear [T( ), (i 1 rw and ,peed, and 2 rcVcr,c. and ,1 JcpcndaH- dic,cl •' engine. 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