Dried, curled up leaves on Maples

Dead leaves on a Sycamore with anthracnose. The tree will leaf out again this summer, replacing these leaves with healthy ones.

Heather wrote about anthracnose on her oak leaf hydrangea a few weeks ago.

With our wet spring, maples and other trees have also been affected by this disease. This is a purely aesthetic problem, and treatment is not recommended. (The exception would be if the tree seems to have this problem year after year, or if you have a Sycamore with anthracnose.)

It is a hassle now, when leaves are dropping and the tree looks unhealthy, but in a few weeks, the tree will leaf out again and go back to normal.

To help your trees recover, water them during dry spells this summer.

Are you having trouble with anthracnose? Is this the first year you have encountered this problem?

Feel free to E-mail pictures of your lawn and tree problems, and we'll address them on the blog!

Astilbe

My astilbe has finished blooming for the season. I snapped this picture a few weeks ago when they were going strong. My husband brought these plants home last year and they didn't look very good. My husband had removed them for someone who had planted them in a full sun location and the leaves looked very crispy. We planted them and kept them watered. This spring they came back looking great - even better than the ones I had purchased a few years ago!

Since my backyard area is quite shady, I was hoping the flowers would be white. Even though they are a light pink, I think they add nice color because they are planted en masse. Astilbe does well in an irrigated, shady area - just like the one we provide.

Coral Bells

Another plant I love in my landscape are the coral bells (Heuchera). Right now I have 4, planted at each corner of the sycamore tree, between the planters. I chose plants with a deep read foliage. They bloom pink in the late spring.

It is funny to think that we bought these plants when they were in 5 inch pots, so they were very small. It has taken 3 years or so for them to start to hold their own, and they are still on the little side. I am thinking of adding a few more to fill out the space, but am definitely going to spend the extra money to start out with bigger plants.

These plants are extra special, because they are the first plants I saw in my grandma's garden and decided to plant in my own yard.

*The picture above is also an idea of what mulch looks like after it is top dressed with a finer, nicer mulch than the coarse variety we use in the back yard.

Revisiting Mulched Borders

I have written about mulched borders before and outlined the benefits (cutting down on grass areas to mow, water retention, composting, etc. ).

Mulched borders are not a 'one and done' project. The mulch has to be replenished every year or so as the older mulch decomposes and integrates with the soil.

My husband recently got a load of ash mulch dumped and went to work restoring our borders. (He did this while Kansas City was under a heat advisory--I recommend touching up the borders in the spring or fall to avoid the heat!)

I really have come to enjoy these mulched areas. They define where many of our plantings are, and we don't have a huge weed problem in these areas (we do put down a preemergent).

Here's my husband, spreading new mulch over the old. You can just see the mulch from the last time we tackled this project at the bottom right of the photo. We use mulch leftover from RYAN's pruning business, so it is much coarser and does have leaves in it--if we wanted, we could top dress with a fancy mulch to give it a cleaner look. (We usually don't.)

Caladiums

I wanted to share this shot of my caladiums planted under the Sycamore tree. I love how the white splashes on the leaves pop at dusk. Since they are in the shade, the foliage is really shown to its advantage. This fall, we will dig up these bulbs and store them in a cool, dry place. Next spring, we will plant them again for another season of enjoyment.

Caladiums grow best in full or partial shade, though new cultivars are being developed to grow in full sun. Most caladiums sold in nurseries are propagated in Lake Placid, Florida. (98% of the world's supply)

The best thing about caladiums, is that we can divide them when we dig them up, so each year we have more to plant--without a visit to the nursery!

Brown Patch!

This picture gives you an idea of the circular appearance of Brown Patch.

It has been hot and humid, and yesterday I got the call: We had brown patch in our lawn. It is amazing how quickly it spreads. Two days ago, the lawn was looking great. Yesterday, there were streaks of brown in many areas of the lawn. As I was preparing to take pictures of the disease, I stuck my hand down in the grass. It is unbelievable how "muggy" it was next to the soil.

Brown patch can be identified by the lesions on the leaves. These lesions rule out grub damage and drought as causes of the damage. The clinical description of brown patch says the disease may appear in circular patches, sometimes with green grass in the center. I kind of saw this--mostly it just looked like brown stripes from a distance.

The easiest way to tell if it is a disease, is to look for lesions like the one pictured above. Leaf blades may have more than one lesion.

Brown Patch can be treated with a fungicide. If you decide not to treat, the grass may grow out of the disease. Doing so has some risk, however, as if the disease gets bad enough, it can kill parts of your lawn. If you seeding in the last year, I recommend treating, as young Fescue lawns can be devastated by disease.

Have you seen brown spots in your lawn? Are they from disease?

Hosta in Bloom

I really liked this picture that I took of my hosta in bloom, so I thought I would share it. We have a variety of hosta in our back landscape area. My favorite is one that is variegated (green leaves with white edges). I believe it is 'Patriot', but I am not sure. I think the dark green with white contrast looks really nice because it is below our large pin oak. The white really stands out because the area is quite shady. (Maybe why I like this hosta in bloom so much.)

Growing up, hosta seemed to be the standard plant for shady areas. There are many, many different hosta out there. Consider checking out some of the newer varieties if you would like to add to your shade garden.

Happy Friday! Have a great weekend.

Lady Bugs

I'm so excited to see the lady bug larva on the plants in my backyard. It has been fun for me to share this beneficial insect with my kids. The larval stages look so different from the adult.

I snapped this picture of a larva that I found on my hosta. I've also seen them on other plants around my garden. Lady bugs (both babies and adults) eat aphids, scale insects and mites that feed on the plants in your garden. One source on the internet said one lady bug can eat up to 50 aphids in one day. I'll take that kind of help any day!

Anthracnose

I noticed I have anthracnose on my oak leaf hydrangeas. I took a picture of one of the leaves that display the most symptoms. Anthracnose fungi thrive in cool, moist environments (commonly experienced in the spring). The leaves that have emerged since earlier in the season are not displaying symptoms.

Anthracnose is a general term for a variety of fungal diseases that affect numerous plants. (Different species of fungi infect different plants.) Symptoms on leaves include brown or black spots, or numerous specks. If leaves are badly infected, they can die and fall off. Although symptoms are most common on leaves, antracnose can occur on other parts of the plant (including fruit).

To minimize anthracnose on your plants, promote air circulation by pruning your trees and shrubs. Also, clean up infected leaves and dispose of them to minimize re-infection when the conditions become favorable once again.

Rain Sensors

Last night we received heavy thunderstorms and rain around the Kansas City metro and surrounding areas. This is the second day of heavy rains (and we had more rain last week). I thought this was the perfect time to highlight the benefits of installing a rain sensor for your sprinkler system. Rain sensors prevent your sprinkler system from running when rain is received.

We have a rain sensor installed on our sprinkler system. (I took this picture of ours.) This one is a wired rain sensor; rain sensors can also be wireless. This small investment has saved us money in water many times over. If you don't have a rain sensor installed on your system, call an irrigation company (like Ryan Lawn and Tree) to have one installed.

Oak Leaf Hydrangea

I really like the foliage of my oak leaf hydrangea. I have three of these shrubs growing in my landscape bed in back. They will hide my neighbor's fence as they grow (and provide a nice backdrop to my perennials). Oak leaf hydrangeas can grow 6-8 feet tall by about 4-6 feet wide. The location is somewhat protected because there is a large pin oak in my backyard that lends itself to providing shade and protection to my garden area below.

Even though this plant is often grown for its oak-leafed shaped foliage, when it gets flowers it is an extra special treat. I snapped this picture of one of its blooms. (It is about a foot long!) Bloom time is important when pruning flowering shrubs. This hydrangea blooms on new wood, so I remove last year's flowers in the early spring before it leafs out. (That way I can enjoy them over the winter!)

I highly recommend this shrub for your garden or landscape bed if you have the space. It is a favorite of mine.

Planting Sweet Corn

Photo from Flickr

Nothing reminds me of summer more than corn on the cob. Maybe this is because sweet corn is a special treat this time of year. Nothing beats home grown corn (except maybe home grown tomatoes...)

If you enjoy sweet corn, I encourage you to try and grow your own (if you have the space). If you stagger sweet corn planting, you can enjoy this tasty treat for a longer time period. Planting sweet corn all at once means you can harvest for a few days before you are out of corn. Instead, plant one row of corn, wait until that row is an inch high, then plant your next row.

Sweet corn grows best in short rows, as opposed to one long row.

If you work fast, you may be able to get a row in the ground for harvest this year.

Learn more about growing sweet corn here.

What are your favorite summer foods?

Brown Spots in Lawns!

Brown spots become more common as the summer wears on, especially in the transition zone.

There are several causes of brown spots in summer lawns. Three of the most common causes are drought, grub damage and disease.

Drought:This is perhaps the most common cause of brown grass in the summer. If you want your lawn to stay nice and green, you must ensure your lawn gets one to two inches of water per week. Using a rain gauge will help you determine when your lawn has received enough water. Another guideline is to water when the lawn starts to take on a bluish tinge, or when you can see
your footprints in the grass after you have walked across the lawn. Drought damage will cause all or part of your lawn to turn tan to brown. If enough time passes without enough water, all or part of your lawn will die and need to be reseeded in the fall.

Grub Damage:Another common cause of brown spots in our area is grub damage. The easiest way to identify grub damage is to get down and examine the brown spots. If you the affected area pulls up easily, like a carpet, then grubs are the likely culprit. You may even catch some grubs still feeding in the area. Your local garden center will have products to prevent and control grubs.

Disease: Lawn disease can also cause brown spots in lawns. Most lawn diseases are caused by our hot, humid summer days and nights. The most common disease active in our area is Brown Patch. The first signs of Brown Patch are thin patches of light brown grass that are roughly circular in shape. Other times, the disease skips the circular phase and large areas of the lawn will turn thin and brown. Once again, your local garden center will have products to control disease, although the products with the longest protection period are only available to commercial pesticide applicators.

If you decide not to treat, the grass may grow out of the problem. However, this is risky as just as often the grass will die and need to be reseeded in the fall. If your lawn was planted last fall (2008) I strongly recommend treating, as these young seedlings are hit hardest by disease.

Brown spots are ubiquitous in the summer, but what are YOUR lawn concerns? Leave a comment below if you have questions and I will get an answer for you.

Rain!

Today, it is raining.

Why is this significant?

Last weekend I was at a friends, and she had some beautiful, big pots full of royal purple wave petunias. Which reminded me that I have not yet planted anything in the big pots I specifically asked for on my birthday last year.

Nothing. Nada. Zero.

I can go on and on about how busy I have been and how many weekends I end up spending out of town. Unfortunately, everyone is busy and spends many weekends out of town, so that "reason" doesn't fly.

So, what can I do on this rainy day, but make a list and PLAN what I will do when it is not raining.

Tara's List:
1. Buy potting soil.
2. Buy flowers for my pots. I have two small pots in full sun and two large pots that can go anywhere, but one should probably go on the porch, which is in (basically) full shade.
3. Plant flowers in pots.
4. Post pictures of my efforts on the blog.

Climbing Competition

This weekend, I went to the climbing competition at Swope Park in Kansas City, Mo.

The competition is a 5-event extravaganza for professional tree climbers to show off their climbing skills. It is hosted by regional ISA (International Society of Arboriculture) chapters. Top scorers of the first five events: aerial rescue, throw line, belayed speed climb, work climb and foot lock, compete in the Master's Challenge to determine the winner of the competition.

Check out some videos on YouTube to get a better idea of what these climbers can do!

Veronica

Finally, my veronica is blooming! I snapped this picture to share with you. The spiky flowers are a small version of the salvia that I have in another area of this same bed. (I posted a picture of my salvia yesterday.) This plant is much more dainty than the salvia; the entire plant is about 8-10" tall.

I also planted these last year. When they were done blooming last season, I deadheaded them and they bloomed again for me later in the year. This small plant would look nice in a mass along a sunny border. I recommend it!

Salvia

Last week, I snapped this picture of the salvia in my front yard. I believe they are the cultivar 'May Night', but I am not for sure. It is really starting to bloom well. We just added these plants to our landscape last season, so I am very happy with how big and full they look this year. I thought the purple color would look nice with the yellow St. John's wort planted behind it. (I'll share a picture when it starts to bloom in a few weeks.)

If you have a sunny place in your garden that could use a lot of color through the summer, plant salvia!

My Iris

I told you I would share a picture of my other iris when they bloomed, so I snapped this picture. The iris pictured above is a bearded iris. Like my peonies, I brought this plant from my grandma's garden. I think this iris is so pretty with the bluish-purple and white colored flowers. The flowers are so large that it often tips over when multiple blooms are open.

There is such a wide variety of iris out there. Consider adding one to a sunny area of your landscape.

Peony Blooms

I thought I would share a couple of pictures of my peonies that were blooming a little over a week ago. (Most of the blooms are spent now and need to be deadheaded.)

I have five peony plants: three that flower light pink, one that flowers white and one that flowers a very dark, deep pink. I love peony flowers. Two of my plants have been in my family for years. When I moved to this area, I brought them with me from my grandma's garden where I planted them as a little girl. The other three I inherited from the person who lived in my home before me.

Last week, Tara wrote about using flowers as centerpieces. I think this old-fashioned flower would be a great choice as well. Consider using a fully-opened single bloom, or make a bouquet using flowers that are open in different stages or different colors.

Hatched Bagworms

I wrote about bagworms a few weeks ago. I've never seen them when they first hatched. (The only ones that I have seen are after they had become larger or even when they've prepared to spend the winter in their sack that has been tied off from the outside world.)

For those of you who are not familiar with bagworms, they are a caterpillar that constructs a bag around itself as it feeds to help camouflage and protect it from enemies. Careful monitoring of landscape plants is important because as the insect (and bags) grow, control is more difficult. Large infestations of bagworms can devastate plants.

I wanted to share this picture with you. One of the arborists here at Ryan Lawn and Tree brought this sample in to me because he knew I hadn't seen small bagworms before. Bagworms have hatched, so monitor your landscape plants (especially evergreens) for this insect pest! Call a tree company, like Ryan Lawn and Tree, for control.