10/20/ 2018

Grass:
Do not allow baby grass to grow too tall. Mow existing and new grass as needed. Cut the grass to make it 1/3 shorter. The mowing height currently should be about 2 1/2-3”. Make sure your lawn mower blades are sharp. Dull blades hurt young grass plants. Now is a great time to replace the lawn mower’s blades.
Continue to mow your grass without bagging the clippings. The soil temperature is still warm enough for the cut grass to decay and turn into nourishment for your lawn.
Skunks are destroying lawns now looking for white grubs. The only useful method this time of year to kill white grubs is to apply Dylox and be sure to water it in after application.

Many people have reported seeing white grubs while renovating their lawns. If you find more than 6-7 grubs per square feet, use Bayer Dylox to get rid of the grubs. If there are less than 6-7 grubs per square feet, then use Turf Trust to out grow the grub’s damage.
If you have not already done so, feed your lawn with Turf Trust. Grass fed with Turf Trust will multiply up to 200-300% which will crowd out winter weeds. Turf Trust is the most complete lawn fertilizer formula available to homeowners.
Do not use starter fertilizer with more than 5% phosphate when sowing or growing grass seed. Young grass, only needs a small amount of phosphate to start life.
Lawns that are not fed with a fertilizer, will become weed patches soon.
Lawns that are neglected, but still look nice, are most likely crabgrass lawns. These lawns will die after the first frost.
Lawns in cooler climates can be renovated by skipping applications of weed killers. Cut your lawn short. Rake out the weeds and crabgrass with a cavex rake or a power rake. Sow your grass seed directly in the remaining grass even with the weeds and crab grass left behind. With the cooler weather, the crab grass will die on its own. The weeds can be dealt with later.
It is important to get your grass seed sown as soon as possible. Soil temperatures fall fast in our Northern Broadcast areas. Soon, some varieties of tall fescue and bluegrass seed will not be able to germinate in the cooler temperatures.  An advantage of using Water saver R.T.F. tall fescue grass seed is that it will more readily germinate in lower soil temperatures than other varieties of tall fescue grass seed.
Lightly water the newly seeded Water Saver RTF daily until it germinates. After germination water longer but less frequently. Apply kick start to the newly seeded areas 3-5 days after seeding.

Flowers:
Ornamental cabbage and kale can replace tired summer flowers. The nights are cool enough to force these ornamental plants to start changing their color.
After first frost, dig up elephant’s ears and caladium bulbs and store these bulbs in a dry, paper box or bag, in a warm place (65-70°F). Do not store these bulbs in plastic bags.
Bring gardenia and citrus plants indoors, After you have sprayed then with Summit year round spray oil for houseplants and before it gets too cold. Keep the gardenias’ soil slightly moist, and keep the citrus plants’ soil on the dry side. Use Seamate every time you water and use vinegar (1tablespoon per quart of water mixed with the Seamate) every fourth watering. Keep both of these plants in a well lit location.
Tulips and other Dutch flower bulbs can be planted now. After planting the bulbs, feed them with Garden Trust. (Do not use bonemeal for spring flower bulbs)
To keep Mice and Voles from eating your Tulips plant Fritillaria bulbs 1 for every 100 Tulips in the beds.


Trees:
Deciduous trees and shrubs that drop their leaves in the fall should be fed with Plant Trust Professional Tree and Shrub Fertilizer one time in October/November, preferably as soon as possible. For pear trees, use 1/2 ounce of Plant Trust for every foot of the height of the tree. For apple trees, use 1 ounce of Plant Trust for every foot of the height of the tree. For the remaining fruit , shade, flowering trees, and shrubs use 2 ounces of Plant Trust for every foot of the height of the plants. Remember these trees and shrubs only need to be fed Plant Trust one time a year.
White pine trees that are over 15 feet and look dull are probably dying because of overwatering , non-draining clay soils, or sprinkling systems. These trees are at risk for secondary infections such as pine tree borers or nematodes. If you are seeing holes in the trunk of the tree, it is likely that the tree is infected with pine tree borers. You will not see the damage from the nematodes because they work below the ground, damaging the tree’s root system.
Arborvitae, pines, and cypress that show yellowing of the inner needles/foliage do not need treated if the yellowing is less than 50%. This is normal and these yellow needles/foliage will drop. If the yellowing is more than 50%, it is an indication that the plant has not grown enough because it was under fed. Feed all evergreens in early spring with Plant Trust Professional Tree and Shrub Fertilizer.

Leyland Cypress:
Leyland cypress showing dead branch tips or branches most likely are infected with a type of rust. Feed the Leyland  Cypress with Plant Trust in the spring and spray them now with Bonide Infuse. Spray them two times 14 days apart to suppress the rust.

Possible causes of rust in Leyland cypress are.

Lawn weed killers used to close tho them.
They are planted in too much shade.
They are planted in an area with poor drainage.
They stay to dry during the summer.
The PH may be too high.

A better substitute for Leyland Cypress would be Green Giant arborvitae.

Concrete, pool surroundings, patios, natural stone, roofs, siding, tennis courts, and outside stored marine craft can be treated with Wet and Forget to remove moss, mold, mildew, and algae stains. You can also use Wet and Forget to prevent the moss, mold, mildew, and algae from forming.