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 Of course, there are still places with frost in the ground. You
can tell since the thawed portion is really soft. Anyway, this
list will cover some of the items to be working on this year.
Let’s start with lawns.
There is ample work to be done in the early spring and the
appearance of green in the lawn has many excited, and a few
dreading the upcoming mowing season.
If you have to do some seeding, March 15 to April 1 is the
recommended spring period in our area. It’s a very narrow
window, but with purpose. New grass seed needs time to germinate
and develop a strong root system before hot weather arrives. The
right type of seed to use varies. Sunny locations do well with
Kentucky bluegrass, while shaded areas tend to do better with
red or chewings fescue. Perennial ryegrass provides quicker
germination and cover. Blending all three is a recommended
practice, and you can even purchase blends already made up. The
blends help with conditions, diseases, and insects. When one
type struggles, the others can tolerate and help fill in areas
in the lawn. The recommended seeding rates are four pounds per
1000 square feet in new seedings, and two pounds per 1000 in
overseeding existing turf to thicken it up or help fill small
bare areas.
Continuing on with lawns, crabgrass control is always a popular
topic. Use of a crabgrass preventer is very effective, and the
most common way to attack the problem. There are a few products
out there, and they are often combined with fertilizer. They all
basically kill small seeds as they germinate. They will also do
the same with grass seed you have sown, so the two operations do
not work together. If you sow seed, you live with the crabgrass
for the year. Timing is critical for crabgrass control. Material
needs to be applied, and rained in or watered in, before the
crabgrass seed starts germinating. April 1 is an average guess,
but this can vary widely from year-to-year. Forsythia in bloom
usually is the very beginning of the crabgrass germination
process. Many products only last four to six weeks, so mark your
calendars for at least a second application if you don’t want
crabgrass to appear later in the season.
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Shifting gears, starting your own transplants can still be done
for the warm loving plants such as tomatoes and peppers. We
usually figure about six weeks from the transplant date for
starting the seeds. The recommended outdoor transplanting time
for these is going to be in May, after the frost-free date.
You should use a sterile growing medium to start seeds in. There
are several kinds of soilless germinating mixes, potting soils,
peat cubes, and compressed peat pellets that are available.
These media are generally free from insects, diseases, and
weeds. Enough fertilizer is generally present in these to allow
for three or four weeks of plant growth.
Lastly for this week, many calls have been coming in about
pruning roses. At this time of year, it is easy to see where
winterkill has happened. Most recommend waiting until forsythia
blooms to do your pruning. That way you are fairly certain you
know what you are dealing with. The modern shrub roses, such as
the knockouts, have been the most prevalent type planted lately.
The rules for the modern shrub roses are: remove a third of the
very oldest canes, identify and leave a third of the newest
canes, remove remaining canes, cut back beyond the dead areas
from winterkill using a 45 degree cut, and size according to
your needs or desires.
More information on pruning all types of roses is available at:
http://urbanext.illinois.edu/roses/ prune.cfm
[By JOHN FULTON, COUNTY EXTENSION
DIRECTOR SERVING LOGAN, MENARD, AND SANGAMON COUNTIES]
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