Prune pine varieties, prevent bunny and insect attacks
If you applied systemic rose care as I advised earlier, that was six weeks ago so now is the time to make a second application.
All forms of pine trees and shrubs are making their new growth now. That new growth is called a candle. For the more compact varieties of pines like Mugho and Tannenbaum, cutting off 1/2 to 3/4 of that new growth will result in a much fuller and compact plant. Completing this pruning chore every year will make a huge difference in how long that plant remains viable and the proper size in your landscape.
A challenge I seem to have every year in my gardening experience is dealing with rabbits nibbling, to one degree or another, on newly emerging seedlings or plants that I have planted.
Earlier this spring I mentioned using Milorganite fertilizer as a repellent, and that worked until the rain dissolved it.
I don’t want to make a second application of fertilizer so step two is a dusting of garlic powder … just a dusting, not a dousing. Garlic powder changes the flavor if they get past the smell, and usually they will leave the plant alone until it is big enough to hold its own. Again, rain washes off the remedy, but it is inexpensive and easy to reapply.
Excessive heat made for a short bloom season for our fern leaf peony flowers this year. Not something we can control, but we deal with what the weather is. Snip off the expired flower heads and remember that if you want to move or divide these peonies, the time to do that is when the foliage begins to yellow in mid August.
We prune lilacs when they have finished flowering and for the French hybrids, that time is now. Remember to cut them back far enough to give them room to grow, not to the size you want them to be.
In your vegetable garden, be vigilant watching for insect damage. It seems early for that problem, but I already see damage on tiny kohlrabi seedlings, and often bean seedlings are a magnet for leaf hoppers.
Leaf hoppers are a small insect that works from the bottom of the leaf. They pierce the leaf tissue, feeding on the sap or juice of the leaf. The damage shows as white speckling on the leaf surface.
I don’t know how the summer weather will unfold, but to help my garden survive if we have a dry summer, I mulch my crops with grass clippings. The mulch helps retain moisture, prevents weeds, keeps my shoes clean if the ground is wet, and adds organic matter to build soil health.
I do not use grass that has had herbicide applications because that weed spray has the potential of damaging sensitive vegetable and flower crops.d
