Here is an idea to control Bermudagrass

Bermudagrass is problem for a lot of Tri-City lawns.  It is the grass with deep roots and runs it's tendrils throughout the yard spreading where ever it feels like it.   Bayer has come out with Bermudagrass Control for lawns, it is a growth regulator that supresses the growth of the Bermudagrass and lets your preferred lawn to choke it out.  Timing is critical on applying it, you want to hit the Bermudagrass when it begins to emerge in early April, then repeat applications on a monthly basis until it is no longer trying to grow.  Easy to apply with the Read to Spray Bottle (RTS), just hook to a hose and begin spraying only the affected areas of the lawn.  Be sure to let the product dry completely after application, before letting kids or pets back on the lawn.   We stock it regularly here at Job's.

My Hibiscus aren’t awake yet! Are they OK?

The dayliies are up, the black eyed Susans are waking up, even the salvias are peeking out of the ground, however the Hibiscus are still the cut back stalks that you left them back in February.  Did they survive the winter?

The answer is yes, they most likely did survive the winter. They just are waiting for the ground to warm up a little more before they show sings of life.  Wait until Mid May to see what peeks up. 

Plants of the Week for March 16th!

Magical Gold Forsythia is a large flowering Forsythia that is compact at 5 to 6 feet tall and wide. It's also tends not to get lanky like the larger varieties. It likes full sun to part sun conditions.  When it flowers in early March it is covered with large golden yellow blooms, a great way to start spring!

Kramer's Rote Heather is an evergreen that starts blooming in February and goes into April with dark pink flowers.  It stays low at a foot high and spreads to about three feet. It prefers afternoon shade in our area.

Marianne Red Anemone is a perennial with gorgeous red blooms.  It flowers in March.  They reach about 1 ft tall and about 2 to 3 feet wide. In our area they do well in afternoon shade and morning sun. Don't freak out that they go dormant when it gets hot out. 

Plants of the Week for March 9th

Here are three plants we wanted to share this week.

Gold Tide Forsythia is a dwarf Forsythia that stays low and spreads.  It’s an early bloomer ahead of some of the taller growing Forsythias.  Full Sun to Part Sun.

Cardinal Redtwig Dogwood is a full size Redtwig Dogwood that has orange red stems throughout the winter.  It is striking against snow and winter gray.  Full Sun to Part Sun.

Pink Dawn Viburnum is a early flowering shrub that smells like lilacs.  It grows tall and can work as a screen or early spring show piece.  Full Sun to Part Shade. 

Use Google Maps to Help Find the Right Tree for Your Yard

Google Maps is a wonderful tool for directions but did you know if use it to measure distance?

The answer is yes, yes you can if you house is a couple years old. Simply go to maps.google.com and type in your address. Then click over to satellite view to see you yard details.  Then with your mouse or track pad, right click and select "Measure distance." When a white dot appears, drag it to where you want to start your measurement like your house, click then drag the second white dot to where you want to plant the tree.  This gives you the distance.  Now you can do your research on trees based on their diameter. A tree is best planted half it's diameter away from homes, buildings or pools. 

Steps to use google maps to measure distance

Seeds are in!!

The 2017 Seed Rack has arrived!  It has a great selection of vegetables and herbs to grow a plethora of tasty crops.  Follow the links below to see about our selection and when to start vegetables in our area

2017 Seed Selection
Starting Vegetables in the Tri-Cities Handout
 

Tune your Irrigation System for Success

Tuning your irrigation system allows for a more efficient use of water and it's easy.  It also helps prepare your plants for different weather shifts and you apply water based on that irrigation zones conditions.  Both Hunter and Rainbird have free apps to set your run times more appropriately for established yards. Also we have set up links to help determine your yards conditions. Remember that new plantings their first year will need to be babied a bit more but they don't need daily water. 

A link to Hunter's App

A link to Rainbird's App

Things to know as you tune your irrigation timer
-The soil type of your yard: Sand, clay, silt or a mix of the three (loam).  This will help identify how your yard behaves in drainage and moisture retnetion.  Sand has very good drainage and can handle longer run times of sprinklers but needs more frequent runs.  Clay soils hold moisture very well however it does not take to long run times well, short bursts work best to prevent run off and water waste. How to tell soil texture by feel.

-The exposure of that sprinkler zone.  Full sun, afternoon sun or wind exposed sprinkler zones dry out faster through evaporation than afternoon shade, mostly shade and wind protected zones.  Thus as you adjust your sprinkler zone times based on their separate exposures. This can be determined by taking time to walk around the house a couple of times of day and observe what area is sunny and what area is in shade at what time of day and for how long. Do this on a lazy day off.

-Your type of sprinklers.  Different sprinkles types throw out water at different rates. Common sprinkler types are rotors, impacts, sprays, bubblers and multi-streamrotors. Also if you have drip, what size of emitters are your using. Irrigation System Component Video can help you identify what type of sprinklers you have.

-The grade of the yard. Is it flat or does it slope up or down? The slope of your yard also affect how sprinklers work as well as how water will travel in the yard.  Here is a video to determine slope.

by Alex Job

Steps Preparing a Vegetables Garden

Starting the garden or refreshing the garden starts before you buy a seed or transplant.  

Place the garden in a space that is in a sunny spot, afternoon sun is best.

1.  Figure out your type of garden.  Row, raised, or container. Row gardens are where the garden is planted in rows. Raised gardens are a little easier because you build raised beds to house you veggie garden.  There are many variations to this garden type, you can organize your crops into rows or grids.  The final type is container gardens, they are portable and work anywhere there is sun, water and someone to care for them.  Just remember to go with a large enough pot for your crops.
2. Work organic matter into the soil, store bought or home prepped compost work great. See our selection of composts by following this link. You want to work the ground with it by turning it, tilling it or raking it.
3. Plan out the crops, what are going to use and when.  If the spring is mild enough you could plant peas, radishes or quick maturing lettuce, harvest them then plant your tomatoes in the same spot at Mother’s Day. Also consider planting a late summer or fall crop when you have had that fill of tomatoes.
4. Consider what you want to start from seeds or transplants. (Buying Seeds or Transplants)
5. Now plant that garden. Weed it, care for it and then harvest!  Enjoy!

Written by Alex Job

Seeds vs Transplant for Vegetable Gardening

Vegetable gardens can be started by seeds or transplants.  A lot of vegetables are available both ways, sometimes its advantageous to go one way or the other.  

Seeds- Are inexpensive, however if you planning on starting the seeds indoors you are going to need pots, potting soil, fertilizers, space and the time to care for them.  Some vegetables are easy to plant in the ground when the time is right, these include lettuce, radishes, carrots, spinach, mustard, melons, beans, peas, corn, cucumber, squash,  and pumpkin.  While tomato, eggplant, celery, peppers, broccoli, and cauliflower require indoor starting to get them to produce on time, this can be 3 to 5 weeks before planting time.  Also how much do want of each crop, if your just feeding the household you may want to limit your number of starts, so your not overwhelmed with one crop or another.

Transplants- These are plants that have already been started and ready to plant when the time is right (weather and ground conditions).  Instead of buying seed packs of every variety you want to grow or try, you can buy only what your garden has room for or what you want to contend with.  This allows you to have several varieties of a crop to mix it up a little or experiment with new varieties, while still having some old favorites.  

Here is a list of Plants and which way is best, easier or convenient to have from seeds (S) or transplants (T).  It really all based on how much work you want to do.

Beans (S or T)
Beets (S)
Broccoli (T)
Cabbage (S or T)
Carrots (S)
Cauliflower (T)
Celery (T)
Corn (S or T)
Cucumber (S or T)
Eggplant (T)
Lettuce (S or T)
Melons (S or T)
Onions (S or T)
Peas (S)
Peppers (T)
Pumpkins (S or T)
Radishes (S)
Spinach (S or T)
Squash (S or T)
Tomato (T)

By Alex Job

Gardening by Soil Temperature

This is a practice to help you be more successful with you seeds and transplants.  All you need is a soil thermometer to track the soil temperature three inches down.  This tends to more effective than planting by calendar, or if the air feels right for spring.  The weather and seasons don’t always follow our calendars.  The weather can be warm but if the ground hasn’t warmed up yet, your transplant won’t root and the seeds won’t germinate!   

On the parent page to this one, we mentioned Cool Crop Veggies, Warm Crop Veggies and their differences. Now lets look at their soil temperature requirements and this will help plan, plant and grow easier.  

Cool Crop Veggies seeds will germinate between the soil temperatures of 40 to 90 degrees F.  Cool Crop Veggie Transplants can be planted at about 50 degrees F.  

Warm Crop Veggies seeds germinate between the soil temperatures of 60 to 100 degrees F.  The Warm Crop Transplants prefer to be planted when the soil is about 65 degrees F.

When the soil is at proper temperature for your crop, generally the weather is also at the proper conditions for it to survive and grow.  Remember to be patient and follow the directions of your Thermometer.

By Alex Job

Understanding Buded vs Own Root Roses

In today’s market of roses you can buy own root or budded roses.

Budded or grafted roses are roses that a bud has been attached to another rose variety’s root system. Usually a single red rose called Dr. Huey.  Budded Roses are hardy to zone 6, which works in the Tri-Cities.  Most of the Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Grandifloras, Climbers, and David Austins are budded. It is best to mulch these rose for the winter either with compost or bark to protect them from quick arctic blasts.

Own root roses are roses that are propagated from cutting and are raised on their own natural root system.  Own root roses are more cold hardy (zone 4 to 5) which is great for the Tri-Cities and outer lying areas that tend to be more exposed or colder in the winter.  Own root roses, being own root, do not bolt (sucker from the root stock) and do not revert to the root stock.  Shrub, Miniature and Ground Cover Roses are own root.

Written by Alex Job

Pruning Rose throughtout the Year

Pruning roses is really easy with the right techniques and tools. What we are going to do is break down pruning to time of year, so you can keep this as a little calendar of care for your roses.  

Mid February to Early March-The Rejuvenating Pruning
Recommended Tools: Loppers, pruning shears, canvas or denim coat, thick gloves and eye protection.

The goal for rejuvenating pruning is to refresh the plant by cutting it way back and thinning out some of the older canes.  
For Miniatures, Shrub, Floribundas, Hybrid Teas, Grandifloras, and David Austin or Romanitca roses, you want to take the loppers and cut the canes down to about 18 inches to 24 inches. Once cut down, remove any damaged, dead or crossing branches with the pruning shears or loppers.  Next you will remove about a third of the canes (some older, some newer) with the loppers.  For climbers, we generally with leave them trained to the trellis, we just remove the crossing, damaged or dead branches and canes. For Ground Cover Roses, shear back to 2 to 3 feet wide and thin out the damaged, crossing and dead branched.

April till Mid Octoberish- Deadheading and shaping.
Recommended Tools: Pruning Shears, thick gloves and eye protection.    

Deadheading and shaping is to remove spent blooms and errant growth.  This is recommended to do at least monthly, to promote new blooms on most classes.

For Hybrid Teas, Floribundas, Climbing, David Austin/Romanitca, and Shrub Roses; we recommend grabbing the stem just below the base of the bud (less thorns are there).  You want to cut at a 45 degree angle just above the second fifth leaf set.  If the plant is leggy or you want to reduce its height you can cut lower than this leaf set.

For Miniatures, grab the stem below the bud and cut just above the first leaf set.

For Ground Cover Roses, generally we don’t worry about dead heading because they are self cleaning and it takes way to long trim out all those blooms. Mainly worry about if encroaching on sidewalks, patios or other plants. Cut back and your done.

October or November-Prepping for Winter.
Recommended Tools: Pruning Shears or Hedge Shears, thick gloves and jacket.

On all classes dead head and tidy up the shape of the plant, so looks decent for the winter. Hedge shears are okay to use on everything except for Climbers, they make the job quick and easy.   For climbers, just use pruning shears to selectively remove spent blooms and errant branches.

Written by
Alex Job

6 Ways To Grow Roses Easily

Roses love our warm, dry climate.  Here are some steps to make roses easy to grow.

1. Give roses light, they do best if they get at least 8 hours of sunlight a day.  Afternoon sun is best for the warmth to encourage more flowers.

2. Give roses some space,  jamming them in tight leads to more disease, bugs and literal pain as you try to prune them.  We like to take the height of the rose plant, divide it in half and add 1 to 2 more feet to give us a distance to keep the plant from other roses, structures or other plants.  This spacing allows you better access to prune roses when needed. Proper spacing also allows airflow to dry the foliage and prevent disease from occurring. It allows beneficials (predator insects, birds, or spiders) to assist in keeping aphids and other bad bugs down.

3. Water roses to keep them blooming.  If your not sure if they are getting enough, they communicate by wilting and not blooming a lot.  Roses can be watered by drip or overhead sprinklers.  If you water overhead, to prevent diseases, make sure the roses go into the night dry. 

4. Feed roses for the most blooms and healthy leaves.  Start feeding them April 1st and feed as directed until August 15th.  Choose a blend geared for roses or flowers, preferably one with trace elements in it to build strong foliage.

5. Mulch roses for winter.  In October mound bark or compost 2 to 4 inches around the crown or bud union; this protects the crown from heavy freezes and prevents damage. Using compost instead of bark is a great way to build up the soil with nutrients for the roses to come out winter ready to grow.  In March rake the mulch flat. If the roses are plant in gardens of rock mulch you could use landscape edging to create a ring around the plant to allow for mulching.

6. Observe your plants or roses, is simply walking through and making sure things are looking good.  If the plant is having a problem (bugs or disease), get it identified then use the proper solution for that problem.  If you are not sure what the problem is or the best solution, you can ask us.

Hopefully this will help you take care of your roses easily in the Tri-Cities and make them the fun and enjoyable plant that they truly are.

Written by Alex Job