August 2, 2011, Colors of Summer Newsletter
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It’s prime lawn time, use Corn Gluten soon It’s common for us to clamor for time and products to help lawns grow well in early spring but the coming weeks are prime time for tasks that really help grow beautiful turf. First of all, if you’ve been holding off on installing new grass, the time is near. August 15 to September 15 is the ideal time of year to seed grass because the weather and day length are perfect to germinate grass seed. Grass sewn this time of year will be up, growing and cut before the mower is put to bed this fall. As the weather cools down toward September, it’s a great time to work on broad leaf weeds again That’s why you want to get your second application of Corn Gluten down by mid-August. If you choose this path of lawn care you’ve already made one application this spring so get going again. Click here for a guide to corn gluten use. This late summer application will stop weed seeds from growing. Take note however, it won’t allow ANY seed to grow into a plant so patching your lawn will have to be done by sod. If you want to take down weeds with a herbicide start thinking about doing that around Sept. 1 depending on the weather. We never advise using sprays on turf when temperatures are above 80 degrees. Finally, if you aren’t using Corn Gluten which has it’s own fertilizer charge, you can put down fall/winter fertilizer any time after Labor Day. |
August Crops & Thoughts Like most vegetable gardeners, you are probably just beginning to reap your summer harvest: Quite late! And, we know many of you didn’t even get a crop started because of all of the rain early this spring. Not to fear… August is here! Now is the time you can seed a second (or first) crop of many vegetables including lettuce, spinach, cilantro, peas, beans, kohlrabi, broccoli, turnips, beets, carrots and green onions. Just about anything that takes 60 days to reach maturity, or that can be covered with a floating row cover to prevent frost damage, is fair game. So come on in and select seed at 25% savings. Now is also the time to be looking at places in your garden that could use some color from spring-blooming bulbs. They will be in later in August and they must be planted in fall. Bulbs are a great way to get early color in spring.
At any time of the year, Johanna can help you design a landscape that works for you and your family (or customers.) She is going to make sure that the design you arrive at together is functional, practical and looks nice. Plus, you can install it in parts. There’s no need to take the plan and feel like you have to install it all at once. The purpose of the plan is to allow you the flexibility to do that when you are ready but that you have a cohesive look along the way and once its completed. Give it a try. Johanna is also available to visit your site and help you determine how to maintain and care for your landscape or to help you achieve changes like knowing when and how to transplant. |
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Garden Tasks to do Now + Get your bearded iris divided by the middle of the month. If your bearded iris are not blooming as well as they used to or not at all this will be a helpful step to improve your crop. The link above will be helpful to you if you are thinking about incorporating iris in your garden and if you need to divide your plants.
+ If they need it, divide any spring-blooming plants in your perennial gardens is fine in August. Watch your transplants for water and remember that using a starter fertilizer like Bio-tone will reduce transplant shock and will help build healthy root systems. + Finish any left over evergreen pruning tasks by mid-month. Remember not to prune your evergreens in fall because that leads to winter injury. + If you’re planning on applying fertilizer to anything except annuals now get it done in a hurry and then hold off until everything is dormant or next spring when plants begin to grow again. Fertilizing later than early August encourages growth at the time the days are becoming shorter and plants are preparing for dormancy. This too can cause winter injury. Yuck! All this talk about winter! + Do remember to keep using Soil Acidifier on soil for blueberries, azaleas and rhodedendron. This is also the time for your third application of iron if you are working on correcting the alkalinity around trees if they are suffering from yellowing of their leaves.
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Sales and Specials View our specials any time on our website. + Annual flowers, containers and hanging baskets are on special. Find a wide variety of single plants (including herbs) for just $1! Have some fun filling in holes or creating a fall display. Shown below are ornamental peppers.
+ 30% off Roses, raspberry, blueberry, grape, vines and select shrubs including fall-blooming witch hazel. Try one. + 25% off any perennials + 25% off vegetable, flower & herb seeds + $5 off fruit trees and $7 off if you’re a member of our Growing Rewards program (It’s free, confidential and easy to join.) + Incredible pricing on hedge plants. Don’t spend another summer awash in road dust. Don’t spend another summer without some privacy from the neighbors. Put in a hedge! You can select from Chinese Lilac (think fragrant blooms in spring), Red Twigged Dogwood (gorgeous color in deep winter), and Hedge Cotoneaster (go ahead and shape it all you want). These shrubs that are good selections for hedges also make great landscape plants and can be used alone or in groups. + Super reductions on closeouts, dings and dents and on furniture. Check them out. |
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Not your Grandma’s Roses I can’t count the number of times I’ve worked with a customer who is looking for a small shrub that blooms most of the summer but will not even consider a rose because they are so hard to maintain. NOT true! Today’s hardy shrub roses are almost just as easy care as any other common foundation shrub. They resist disease and repeat bloom through the summer. What about winter? No problem. They are just as hardy as other shrubs too as long as you’ve purchased a shrub rose hardy to zone 4 which covers a wide area around southern Minnesota. Take a look at some of the roses we offer here. Of course, drop by and see our entire selection and they’re on sale.  Carefree Beauty reblooms all summer  Reblooming Sigrid is part of the Bailey Nurseries series including Sven, Ole and Lena |
Consider conifers for winter interest
 This Montgomery Blue Spruce has been in the landscape at the store for about 10 years and has an impressive appearance When you’re spending time and money selecting and growing trees and shrubs for your yard you’re considering how it will work in your life. If looks matter, I always encourage homeowners to incorporate plants that provide winter interest long after the wonderful shapes and colors of summer are gone. Winter interest definitely includes the shape and form of trees and shrubs without their leaves as well as bark color and appearance. But nothing provides greater color than evergreens in winter time. Conifers are a class of evergreens that produce their seed on a cone. They have a wide range of sizes from the mighty and tall white pine to the tiny and ball shaped Hetz Midget Arborvitae.They also range in color from silver and blue to, of course, green, brown and yellow. No matter, there’s an evergreen that may appeal to you. This year we have a really nice selection of evergreens. In fact, it’s probably the widest collection we’ve ever had. So, come on in and check out what might work for you: Summer and winter.
 These Montgomery Blue Spruce are ready for planting |
