We've Moved

Crape Myrtle. My backyard, last summer. We're waiting to see how it does this year.

We have moved our blog to our main web site. You can continue to learn landscape tips and tricks at www.ryanlawn.com.

We have a few more adjustments to make in the next few days, including enabling RSS Subscriptions. Be sure to visit the week of June 28 as we celebrate our new blog design and Facebook page with a virtual open house, complete with daily door prizes.

Hope to see you soon!

P.S. My plants are LOVING all of the rain we have been getting.

Planting in Groups

Larry Ryan, forester and founder of Ryan Lawn & Tree is a big proponent of mimicking Mother Nature in our residential landscapes. One of his favorite ways to implement this, is by encouraging homeowners to plant trees in groups, just like you see them in natural forests. We recently removed a single Ash tree at our office and replaced it with a group of four evergreens:


As the trees grow and fill in the space, we will have a little piece of the forest right outside our office door.

What have you done to mimic Mother Nature in your landscape?

My June Landscape

I have a lot better luck planting in containers than I do planting directly into the soil. While I haven't given up on beautiful flower beds some time in the future, I have thoroughly enjoyed the pots around my house this year.

Here's a peak at what's growing at our house:

The clematis and the knock-out roses are my old standbys. The impatiens and begonias are new additions. The petunias are an annual staple: this year I opted for Super Petunias in place of my usual Wave. The pretty orange flowers grace the pot I planted at the flower swap.

Since I took these pictures, the cannas and caladiums have decided to show themselves.

What's going on in your landscape this week?

Garden Party

My good friend Anne recently hostessed a planting party at her house. She provided the dirt, and everyone attending brought full-sun flowers and a container to plant.

Everyone had a great time and left the party with several pretty pots to take home. Most gardeners brought medium-sized pots, so we had a surplus of flowers necessitating a quick run out for more containers.

Our growing season has barely started, so there's more than enough time for some of you to plan a flower swap of your own. (I recommend having each guest bring half a flat of flowers.)

Falling Sycamore Leaves

Yesterday, I came home to this:


A smattering of crinkly Sycamore leaves on my lawn. This happens every time we have a cool, wet spring. One of our foresters calls it "Wet Weather Disease." It's technical name is Sycamore Anthracnose.

Are you raking leaves in May, too?

Coming Home

The last blooms on my lilac.

I haven't enjoyed my landscape more than I have this year. My flowers are all doing well, the lawn looks great and my husband planted some Oakleaf Hydrangeas in the backyard.

I still have room in a few pots, and I am dying to get one of those Drift roses I wrote about in April, so I am heading to Suburban Lawn & Garden at 105th & Roe in Overland Park on Friday to get the last few things on my list AND support a worthy cause.

Friday, from 5-8 p.m., Suburban is donating 10% of every purchase to the Children's Center for the Visually Impaired.

Here are the official details if you would like to join me:

Get your yard ready for summer with CCVI!

Another Bloomin' Fundraiser

5 to 8 p.m.
Friday, May 28
Suburban Lawn & Garden
105 and Roe in Overland Park, Kansas

View and purchase new spring bedding plants, trees and shrubs for your yard and garden while enjoying live music, light hor d’oeuvres and beverages. Suburban Lawn & Garden will donate 10% of every purchase to CCVI.

For more information, contact Jennifer Anderson (816) 841-2284 x2016 or janderson@ccvi.org.

Hope to see you there!

Lawn Brown Spots

I mentioned earlier this week that all the rain may lead to lawn disease when the weather warms up. This weekend Kansas City is supposed to be a toasty 87 degrees. This means we may see a flare up in lawn disease. (Warm nights + moisture = a breeding ground for fungus.)

Brown Patch, the most common Fescue lawn disease, causes thin patches of light brown grass that are roughly circular in shape. Sometimes, the disease skips the circular phase and presents as large, thin, brown areas. To determine if disease is causing your brown spots, look at an individual leaf blade for lesions.

This, my friends, is what the lesions look like.
I know, because this came from the lawn of yours truly.

Ryan Lawn & Tree can take care of your lawn disease. Request a free estimate. (We can also prevent disease.)

Bermuda Lawns Slow Coming Out of Dormancy

Weather in the Kansas City Metro has been hard on Bermuda lawns. The cold, long winter led to more than normal winter kill, and the cool, wet spring is keeping them from greening up on time.

Winter kill occurs when large areas of grass die off during the winter due to low temperatures, too little precipitation, or excessive foot traffic. It is very common in Kansas City, because we are in the Transition Zone. (This simply means we are on the border of areas where warm-season grasses, like Bermuda, and cool-season grasses, like Fescue, thrive.)

Because temperatures have been milder than usual, and we have had more rainfall than normal, Bermuda lawns have also been slow to break dormancy. This means the grass is still brown, rather than the deep green we're used to seeing this time of year.

Rain and Your Lawn

Photo from Galyna Andrushko - Fotolia.com

We have been getting a ton of rain in the Kansas City Metro area recently. Initially, I was grateful to skip a day of watering my container plants; then I started to worry they were getting a little too wet.

Containers aside, what does all of this rain mean for our Fescue lawns?

Because the weather is cool and the rain has stopped for now, it may simply mean we get to enjoy our lush, green spring lawns free from drought or heat stress. However, yards with drainage problems or standing water can pose a threat. Waterlogged soil has less oxygen available for plant roots and may lead to wet wilt, a fairly rare condition.

Another possible complication concerns temperatures. If they heat up too soon, it will make our currently wet lawns more susceptible to fungal disease. These diseases can potential kill grass, especially in Fescue lawns planted in the last two years.

For now, though, I think we can safely enjoy the new life that the rain has brought forth. If conditions change, you know I'll keep you posted.

Sick Sycamore

Tom pruning our Sycamore last spring.

If you have a sycamore tree in your yard that is dropping its leaves, it may be suffering from anthracnose. This is an aesthetic disease, and won't affect the health of your tree. However, as a Sycamore owner, I know first-hand how annoying it is to clean up after these trees, especially when "fall" comes twice a year.

Ryan Lawn & Tree can treat Sycamores in August to lessen the affects of anthracnose in following years. The treatment is good for two years, although you may have some leaf and twig drop the first year.

Ryan Lawn & Tree featured in The Referral Engine

John Jantsch, author of Duct Tape Marketing, featured Ryan Lawn & Tree in his new book, The Referral Engine.

The book centers on the idea that small businesses can grow almost entirely by referral. The catch? Your company/product/service must BE referable.

Thanks, John, for including Ryan Lawn & Tree in your book!

Thick Lawns Prevent Weeds

Thick, healthy lawns have fewer weeds. Why is this? The density and health of the grass will out-compete weeds for water and vital nutrients.

To test this idea, find a thick healthy lawn and walk along the driveway and sidewalk. These areas, where the turf is ending and not as thick, may have a weed or two. Now, walk in the lawn - no weeds. Likewise, look at thinner, unfertilized lawns. You will find weeds all over. Compare this to the thick lawn.

Of course, it is possible the thick lawn owner has used something to kill the weeds. However, we all know how fast weeds pop up, so the likelihood that the thick lawn is only weed-free because of weed control is slim.

Do you have thoughts about this? Leave a comment below.

Purple, Spherical Flowers

I have long admired these Alliums in the boulevard of our home's association. What I did not know, was that these flowers are closely related to onions, and, as such, are referred to as "flowering onions." They come in many varieties and colors, and some are more star-shaped than spherical.

To grow them in your garden, plant the bulbs in the fall. I don't know about you, but I think these would be divine (and unique) in a bouquet.

Pretty Green Lawn

A RYAN customer in Gardner, KS, sent me this picture of his back lawn:

Can you tell where his lawn ends and his neighbor's begins?

Special thanks to Tyson for sharing this photo. I would love to show off your lawn, too. Send a picture to tara patty at ryan lawn dot com with your city, and a statement about why you love your lawn.

Trees and Power Lines At Odds

A local news story recently detailed the plight of homeowners in Lenexa whose trees are being removed or transplanted to accommodate overhead power lines. You can read the full article here Lenexa neighbors fight to save trees.

This brings up a common issue - trees and power lines don't mix. Local electric companies, largely for safety reasons, often prune or remove trees that interfere with their lines. At times, trees pruned to avoid coming into contact with power lines can look unsightly.

The best way to prevent these issues altogether is to avoid planting trees near power lines.

• Small trees, like crabapples and dogwoods, should be planted at least 20 feet from power lines.
• Medium trees, like American Holly and Lacebark Elm should be planted at least 35 feet from a power line.
• Large trees like red maples, Ginko, oaks and pines should be planted 45 feet from power lines.

Of course, if the tree is already planted too close to a line, this is not an option. In these cases, it is best to hire a professional tree company to prune the tree regularly to keep it from growing into the line. Arborists you hire will be more sensitive to the aesthetics of the tree than a company hired by the electric company.

Simple Container Planting

The other day, I was talking to a friend who wanted to plant some containers for her landscape, but didn't know where to start. I let her in on my secret:

1. Go to a nursery and find containers planted with a combination of plants you like.
2. Look at the plastic plant identifiers in the pot.
3. Buy those plants and plant them in a container.
4. (You can probably take a picture of the nursery's container if you are afraid you will forget.)

That's basically what I did with the container I planted above. It is on our front porch in full shade. I purposefully picked plants with varied colors and textures of foliage, but not a lot of blooms. (You can see one tiny purple bloom on the far right. There are three of these trailing plants in the pot that will flower.) Impatiens work well in the shade if you prefer to put more flowers in your pots.

Don't be intimidated because you think you lack creativity - nurseries, garden magazines and your local newspapers can all give you insight on how to put together a nice display.

"Neon" Grass in Your Lawn

Poa Annua (Annual Bluegrass) If you look closely, you can compare its color
to the darker grass in the background.

Two types of bluegrass, poa trivialis and poa annua (Annual Bluegrass) will appear in your lawn as neon green patches of grass in the spring. If you have a Fescue lawn, these grasses are generally regarded as weeds.

Annual Bluegrass is an annual. It will take away from the uniform color of your lawn in the spring, but will die during our hot summer. You can apply a preemergent in mid-August to prevent the grass from coming back next year.

Poa trivialis is a perennial. It is more "neon" than the annual version and tends to grow a little faster than the grass in your lawn. Because this grass is perennial, the only sure way to get rid of it is to kill out your lawn in July and reseed. Weigh your tolerance for the plant with the labor intensive project of reseeding to decide if this option is right for you.

*Poa annua and poa trivialis are very similar. The seeds on poa annua alternate, while the seeds on poa trivialis are directly opposite one another.

Tulips

Tulips won't be around for too much longer, but right now they are beautiful. One of my neighbors has a breathtaking bed of tulips every year (pictured). I love the mixture of colors.

A tip for those of you who are new to tulips: they are technically perennials, but the best blooms come the first year. For a spectacular showing, treat tulips as an annual and plant every year.

Volunteer Trees Are Stubborn

I went for a walk on Monday to enjoy the nice weather. I was thrilled to see several saucer magnolias in bloom, and several freshly mowed lawns. The rain last week has landscapes green and thriving.

Unfortunately, the rain also encourages the growth of volunteer or "weed" trees. When these pop up in the lawn, you can just mow over them. Eventually, they will stop springing back to life.

Volunteers next to your house, deck or fence line are a little more tricky. Sure, you can cut them down, but that is usually not enough to knock these plants back. Your best bet is to cut the tree as close to the ground as possible, then use a brush control product to keep the plant from reviving. (A little goes a long way.)

Eastern Red Cedars commonly come up as volunteers in our area. This one has been thriving in our side yard for a couple of years. As you can see, they grow fast!

Spring is Back...and so are Allergies.

My husband and I spent most of Friday night and Saturday outdoors. As Tom was planting his vegetables, I looked up and swirling in the wind were seeds, petals, pollen and other signs that Spring had arrived and was getting down to business.

The next morning, I walked out to my car and it was COVERED in yellow pollen. I am not sure which tree is the culprit, but I am amazed at the amount of pollen it produced.


Now, I know all you allergy sufferers out there are hurting. What do you do to alleviate your allergy symptoms? Leave a comment below or E-mail tara patty at ryan lawn dot com.