Wrapping it up         

By John Fulton

[OCT. 16, 2006]  Late October brings me to the last regular installment of the column. That's not to say there may not be a few special ones, but count on the regular column resuming in March. We could call 2006 "The Year of the Insect," but finally a "no insect column" as we wrap it up for the year. The freezes must have helped our situation!

To begin with, you may have noticed a very large number of brown needles on evergreens this fall. That may even have translated to large piles of needles under your evergreens in the past few weeks, especially white pines. Not to worry. Evergreens usually keep only one to four years of needles (one to two years' growth for white pines) on the ends of branches. Depending on weather, the old needles will turn brown and drop off. Usually this is a gradual process that isn't noticed too much. This year it happened all at once. If the buds on branch tips are plump and green, odds are your tree is fine.

Several calls have come in concerning the proper time to prune or cut things back. Let's start with some flowers. Keep in mind that perennials keep building their food reserves until all the leaves and stems are brown. For peonies and other similar flowers, you want to wait until all the above-ground plant parts are brown. Then you can mow them off or cut them at ground level. This same principal goes for most perennial flowers -- wait until the above-ground parts are no longer green.

For trees and shrubs, pruning is best done at other times. Flowering shrubs should be done after they flower; high-sap-flow trees are best done in December; and most other trees are best done in February. The evergreen trees and shrubs are best done in late June.

Keep mowing that grass until it stops growing. Keep in mind that you should remove no more that one-third of the leaf blade at any mowing. This helps reduce the thatch buildup that can lead to disease problems. At this mowing frequency, there is no need to catch clippings or use a thatching system (unless you are thatching leaves as you go).

Plan for next year's garden planting scheme now. It wouldn't hurt a bit to apply some lawn and garden limestone to the entire area, especially where you will have tomatoes, green beans and peas. The only areas to not put lime on are where acid-loving crops, such as blueberries, will be. Assuming you are applying about a pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet, apply about 4.25 pounds of lime to the same area. This rate would also be appropriate for lawns.

If you are looking to use the iron chlorosis plugs for pin oaks or sweet gums, between December and February are the best months to insert the plugs. During this time, the sap should be low in the trees, and it will pick up the micronutrients as it rises in the spring. This should help you get away from the symptoms of light-colored leaves and premature browning of leaves. The February time frame is also great for applying the systemic drench program for borers, since the same principle of rising sap is needed to distribute the insecticide.

I hope you have enjoyed reading the column as much as I have in providing it this year. If you do have questions, feel free to call me at the Extension office at 732-8289. Our website at www.extension.uiuc.edu/logan will also help keep you up to date on the many programs offered. Until next spring -- take care.

[John Fulton, unit leader, University of Illinois Extension, Logan County Unit]