MSU LAWN AND GARDEN NEWS PACKET FOR FALL 2005.

Leslie Johnson

Extension Lawn and Garden Editor

Communication and Technology Services

312 Agriculture Hall, MSU

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039

517-432-1555

Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- As gardeners begin to make the transition from the outdoor growing season to winter downtime, there’s no lack of gardening questions. Michigan State University Extension specialists answer timely queries about landscape plants, small fruit, insects, vegetables and related lawn and garden topics.

Q. Doing some night fishing recently, I began seeing faint spots of light at ground level as my eyes adjusted to the darkness. Whatever it was didn’t flash brightly like a lightning bug -- it was just a steady, faint glow. Sometimes I saw lights come on where there hadn’t been any before. What was I seeing?

A. These mystery lights were immature fireflies (lightning bugs), often referred to as glowworms. They’re most often seen in moist environments such as swamps and creek or river banks and around ponds. Though they don’t flash, they can turn off their lights if they’re disturbed.

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Q. I planted burning bushes for fall color, but again this year the leaves didn’t turn red. What could be wrong?

A. Euonymus alatus, or burning bush, needs plenty of sunlight to develop its trademark bright red foliage. Transplanting plants to sunnier areas or trimming away overhanging branches from nearby trees or shrubs may help. If bushes already receive full sun, you might try having a soil test done -- burning bushes prefer a slightly acidic soil and will not develop color well in an alkaline soil. Another possibility is that you have another type of shrub entirely, one that simply doesn’t turn red in the fall.

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Q. I remember a song my grandmother used to sing about picking up paw paws, but I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a paw paw. Do they grow in Michigan?

A. Most of Michigan is north of the paw paw’s natural range, though paw paw trees will grow in river bottoms in the southern part of the Lower Peninsula. Their natural range extends from the Applachians on the east to the edge of the Great Plains and south as far as Alabama and Florida. The fruits look like short, fat bananas with green rinds, have a distinctive sweet odor and taste like a cross between bananas and mangoes. They can be eaten fresh or cooked. The small trees (usually 10 to 15 feet tall) have few pest problems and produce fruit in September and October. The late spring flowers have a rotten meat smell, and there’s speculation that they are pollinated by carrion flies.

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Q. I planted strawberries last spring and am wondering when I cover them with straw for the winter.

A. Apply mulch after plants are dormant but before temperatures drop below 20 degrees F. The aims of mulching are to keep the flower buds from being damaged by low temperatures and to prevent frost heaving, which occurs when alternate freezing and thawing of the soil pushes the plants right out of the ground in late winter or early spring. The most commonly used material for mulch is straw, but you can also use chopped cornstalks, hay, corn cobs or bark chips. Grass clippings and leaves are not recommended because they tend to mat and smother the plants. Add material and let it settle, then add more as needed to form a 2- or 3-inch layer. Uncover plants in spring as new growth begins, but be ready to recover them if cold temperatures threaten.

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Q. Do you have any do’s and don’ts on making and using compost?

A. DO’S:

** Layer materials 2 to 6 inches thick, adding topsoil to provide microorganisms and manure or nitrogen fertilizer to yard wastes.

** Add lime, small amounts of wood ashes or crushed eggshells to neutralize acids that may form and cause an odor problem.

** Mix finished compost with topsoil to prepare garden or flower beds or potting mixtures.

** Don’t add diseased plants or weeds heavily laden with seeds. Disease organisms and seeds may not be killed during the composting process.

** Don’t add meat or fish scraps to the pile -- they may attract animals such as dogs, raccoons and rodents, and they do not decompose easily.

** Don’t use unfinished compost -- it will rob your plants of nitrogen and may spread garden diseases.

Q. How can I store the onions I grew this year?

A. Cured onions -- thoroughly dried in a shaded, dry, well-ventilated area for 2 to 3 weeks until the green leaves are dry -- should be stored in mesh bags, slatted baskets or boxes in a dark, dry place with temperatures as close to freezing as possible without actually freezing the onions. Use onions with thick, moist necks (where the leaves join the bulb) first -- they will not keep as long as those with thin, thoroughly dry necks.

Q. I’ve heard that a ladybug in the house is supposed to bring you luck, but it’s hard to feel lucky when you have hundreds of them indoors! I realize they’re just trying to find someplace to spend the winter, but I don’t want it to be my house. What can I do to discourage them from coming inside?

A. The first and most important step is to close as many of the ladybug doors to your home as possible by caulking openings in the foundation and siding, around windows, etc. When ladybeetles congregate on the sunny side of your home on warm fall days, use a hose with an attachment for applying fertilizer or pesticide, and fill it with a strong soap solution before hosing down the ladybugs. This will kill some of the beetles and maybe encourage them to look elsewhere for overwintering shelter. You can also use a properly labeled contact pesticide on the home’s exterior. Be sure to try it in a hidden area to make sure it won’t discolor siding or other surfaces. Once ladybugs are indoors, you can collect them by hand or with a vacuum sweeper.

Q. Every couple or three years, one or more of my forsythia bushes produce a few flowers in late fall. Is this unusual?

A. It’s fairly common for some spring-blooming plants to bloom in fall, especially if dry summer weather is followed by cool temperatures and then unusually warm weather. Pushed into early dormancy by the drought and cool temperatures, the plants are then fooled into flowering by the late warm spell. Buds that open in the fall won’t be available to bloom next spring, but generally only a few buds jump the gun and bloom early, so you shouldn’t notice much reduction in the spring flower display.

Q. How long do insects live?

A. Insects generally have a short life expectancy -- usually less than a year, counting both immature and adult stages. Notable exceptions to this are the egg-laying females (queens) among social insects such as honeybees and termites. Honeybee queens may live for 4 or 5 years, some ant queens live more than 10 years, and the queens among the mound-building termites in Africa may survive more than 50 years. White grubs feeding in your lawn may spend 2 to 5 years in that stage before emerging as adult beetles, in which stage they survive maybe a month. Adult mayflies rarely live as adults for more than 24 hours, during which time they mate and lay eggs to start the next generation.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Ron Calhoun

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-0271

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Fall in Michigan, with its cooling temperatures and autumn rains, is usually a time of vigorous growth in lawns. For lawns stressed by drought and/or root-devouring grubs, repair and recovery are in order.

"Homeowners who watered their lawns through the summer or were blessed with enough rain to keep the grass plants from going dormant need to be thinking about fall fertilization to help the turf thicken and recover from the drought," says Ron Calhoun, Extension turfgrass specialist at Michigan State University. "Those with large areas killed by lack of water or grubs will need to decide what to do about those bare spots."

With adequate fertilizer and normal fall rains, grass plants grow and spread in the fall, thickening the lawn and making it more difficult for weeds to get a foothold. This vigorous growth can fill in small open areas in the turf, Calhoun says. Extensive areas of dead grass -- patches larger than the palm of your hand -- will probably need to be reestablished.

Mid-August to mid-September is the best time to seed or reseed a lawn in Michigan, Calhoun points out. Sodding can be done well into the fall. Both newly seeded areas and new sod need regular watering, so if rain is scarce and irrigation isn’t available, it’s probably advisable to hold off until spring.

Lawns without large dead patches and those that were irrigated over the summer can be fertilized in early September and then again in late October. This will reinvigorate the plants before they go dormant for the winter.

Calhoun recommends using a mixture of quick-release and slow-release nitrogen in the late fall. The plants will take up the immediately available nitrogen at once; the slow-release nitrogen will be available next spring when plants resume growing.

Fall is also a good time to control lawn weeds, Calhoun notes. In fact, it’s the best time for ridding lawns of winter annuals such as speedwell and chickweed, which germinate in the fall. It is also the best time to remove pesky perennial weeds such as dandelions and clover.

"There is no better time for weed control than the fall," he adds.

The first line of defense against weeds, however, is a thick, vigorously growing lawn. Filling in the open spaces makes it harder for crabgrass and other weeds to get a foothold.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- After a long winter, those first flowering bulbs of spring are a most welcome sight.

"Spring bulbs can be a highlight of the spring landscape," says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "With some planning, you can have bulbs in bloom from early spring to early summer."

Bulbs need well-drained soil year round and sunlight in the spring when the foliage is growing and rebuilding the bulb for next year’s blooms. Spring bulbs can be planted under deciduous trees and shrubs, which won’t leaf out and shade the bulbs until after their foliage has done its job. Bulbs can also be combined with ground covers, herbaceous perennials and annuals.

Planting bulbs in ground covers is a good choice for folks who like the informal look of drifts of naturalized bulbs but don’t have a semiwild area that can go unmowed until the bulb foliage dies back, McLellan notes.

Spring and early summer-flowering perennials combine well with bulbs, also, she suggests. As they are producing foliage and preparing to bloom, they provide a backdrop for the flowering bulbs and then camouflage yellowing bulb foliage.

Annual flowers planted among bulbs also spread and fill in around them as the foliage fades and provide a transition from the spring to the summer garden.

Fall is bulb planting time, and the most dramatic effect comes from planting masses of bulbs rather than single-file, regimented rows, McLellan suggests. For a natural, informal look, some gardeners scatter bulbs by the handful over the planting site and plant them where they land.

Small, early bulbs can be planted with larger, later blooming ones, she notes. Simply plant the large bulbs first, at their recommended depth, and then layer the smaller, shallower planted bulbs above them.

Whether you choose a succession of early, midseason and late bloomers for an extended season of bloom or a variety of bulbs in harmonious colors that bloom at the same time, the experts in garden design usually recommend planting clusters of at least a dozen of each color together rather than mixing the various colors.

"It’s easier to create a pleasing display with clumps of color than with individual bulbs," McLellan says, "and the resulting display looks planned and purposeful rather than hodge-podge."

Some bulbs -- daffodils, especially -- perform year after year and multiply themselves.

Others -- some of the hybrid tulips, for instance -- tend to be spectacular the first year but disappointing after that. For a glorious display every year, gardeners treat these as annuals, removing them after they flower in the spring and replacing them with new bulbs in the fall.

Spring-flowering bulbs not only survive northern winters -- they require that winter chilling period to bloom, McLellan points out. This makes them well-suited to Michigan gardens and favorites of northern gardeners, who eagerly await those first spring blooms.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- What gardener can resist the gorgeous colors of potted mums in the fall? They’re everywhere -- from garden centers to discount stores to supermarkets -- in white and shades of yellow, bronze, pink and red, and just waiting to grace your garden.

"The keys to success with mums are well-drained soil and full sun," says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "Plant hardy blooming mums for instant color now and you should expect to enjoy them for years to come."

Mums begin to flower about the time summer annuals are starting to fade away, she notes. They offer a variety of flower shapes -- described by words such as "button", "daisy", "cushion" and "spider" -- and sizes ranging from less than an inch to several inches.

Not all mums for sale in pots will survive the winter outdoors, McLellan points out. If reading labels doesn’t tell you whether the plants you’re looking at are hardy, ask a greenhouse or garden center employee. If you’re looking at plants at a supermarket or discount store and no one knowledgeable is available to answer your question, you could buy the plants anyway and enjoy them now and, if they survive the winter, consider that a bonus, or you could shop elsewhere.

Mums don’t need a lot of pampering, but they do benefit from both winter and summer mulches. Winter mulch, applied after the ground freezes, prevents alternate freezing and thawing of the soil, which can damage roots or even push plants right up out of the ground. In summer, mulches help discourage weeds and conserve soil moisture.

After picking a suitable planting site, the most important part of growing mums is pinching them in the spring and early summer.

"Pinching is removing the last ½ to 1 inch of each growing tip every two weeks or so beginning when new spring growth reaches 6 to 8 inches high and ending around mid-July," McLellan explains. "This produces thick, mound like plants covered with flower buds. You need to stop by July 15 to give flower buds a chance to form."

Plants that aren’t pinched tend to develop long, weak stems and few flowers, she adds.

One of the great things about mums, in addition to the fact that they come back year after year, is that they can be divided to increase the number of plants in the landscape. Divide when plants start to look crowded or when you need more plants. Divide in the spring, after new growth has begun and after the average date of the last killing frost. As you lift plants carefully from the soil, you will see where new plants have formed around the outer edge. Separate these along with their roots and plant them 2 to 2½ feet apart (1 to 1½ feet for compact varieties). Closer planting, like overcrowding, makes plants more susceptible to fungal diseases that thrive on wet foliage.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Ground covers can’t solve every landscape problem. But for a steep slope that’s difficult or dangerous to mow or a shaded area where grass grows poorly, a living ground cover can be the answer.

"Technically, turfgrass is a ground cover," observes Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "But people considering ground cover plants are generally looking for an alternative to turfgrass."

Steep slopes and lawn areas with raised tree roots or closely planted woody plants can be hard to mow. Grass may struggle to grow in heavy shade. In any of these locations, living ground covers can simplify maintenance and improve the appearance of that part of the landscape.

Once they’re established and fill in their assigned space, most ground covers can compete successfully with weeds and, because they don’t have to be mowed, need less overall maintenance than a lawn area, McLellan says. Until the ground cover spreads and fills in the planting site, however, weeds can be a problem. Areas too large for hand weeding can be mulched. Planting the ground cover plants through weed-suppressing fiber mats is another option.

Controlling weeds before planting ground covers will cut down on weed problems after planting, she notes. In open areas, repeated tilling or herbicide application can be used to eliminate weeds and grass. In areas with valuable landscape plants, tilling or applying herbicides may damage the permanent plantings. In this case, a combination of hand weeding and mulching with black plastic is probably a better choice.

Sometimes the characteristics of a plant that make it a good ground cover can also make it an invasive pest, McLellan points out. Honeysuckle vines are a good example. Honeysuckle has small, fragrant flowers, and its creeping stems form a thick, tangled mat. This makes it a great ground cover as long as it’s growing in an area contained by masonry walls or walks or other barriers. If it’s not contained, it can and will spread beyond its assigned space. This is also true of English ivy, goutweed and snow-in-summer.

For steep slopes, especially those near roads, where growing conditions may not be the greatest, crown vetch and common daylilies are recommended. Crown vetch grows along interstate highways throughout the Midwest, unfazed by fumes, road salt and general neglect. Daylilies will grow in conditions ranging from wet to dry and shady to full-sun, and they also have a reputation for tolerating road salt.

Densely shaded spots where grass struggles to survive can be planted to such ground covers as snow-on-the-mountain, Baltic ivy and vinca. In sunnier areas, prostrate juniper, an evergreen shrub, can form a dense mat of foliage a few inches high that shades out unwanted weeds.

Once they’re established, ground covers are generally low-maintenance plantings, McLellan says. Newly planted areas, however, require regular watering during dry weather and weed control until they fill in.

"How long you have to control weeds may depend on how thickly you plant the ground cover plants," she suggests. "Planting more densely means the plants will fill in the area more quickly. This might be especially desirable in a small, highly visible area."

The more plants you buy, of course, the higher the cost. How many you’ll need depends on the size of the planting site, the type of plant and its proper spacing, and how quickly you want the area to fill in.

If you’re planting a large area, you can choose between spending more money for more plants at the beginning or planting less densely and investing time and effort controlling weeds instead. Another strategy would be to plant a large area in sections, taking several years to complete it. Interplanting with flowering annuals is another possibility. It may help control weeds, and it enhances the appearance of the area.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- In fall, as landscape chores wind down with the end of the growing season and thoughts turn to getting ready for winter, it’s a good time to pause and cast a critical eye on your home grounds. Stroll around and think back through the previous year. Chances are there are some changes you might want to make.

Would you have used your deck more this past summer if it had trees to shade it? Or maybe a screen -- some kind of fence with plants, perhaps -- between your yard and your neighbor’s pool would be nice. Then there’s that steep ditch bank out by the road -- it sure would be nice not to have to mow that. Last spring you wished you had planted spring-flowering bulbs the fall before. And that border where you plant annuals every year -- wouldn’t it be great to convert that mostly to perennials?

OK, you’re on a roll now. Keep going! What about that snowdrift that forms in front of your garage door when the wind’s from the west? Maybe a windbreak would cause the snow to pile up somewhere else. And that boxelder tree growing at the corner of the garage -- it has another broken branch hanging, and the main trunk is getting hollow. How long before a big chunk of it falls on the garage?

The list could go on and on, and everybody’s list would be different, says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. The aim of making a list of ways that the landscape is or isn’t working for you and your family is to plan changes. Then you can determine priorities and explore options.

"A decrepit tree that could fall and damage vehicles or structures or even injure someone is obviously a top priority," McLellan observes. "Others, such as the snowdrift-diverting windbreak, will take a while to grow to full effectiveness, so maybe you want to put that one near the top of the list, also. Now’s the time to plant spring bulbs, but that’s not a major project, so you can add that to this fall’s list, also."

Planting shade trees can wait until spring. Spring is also a good time to plant perennials and climbing vines for a screen, and for killing off the grass on that steep ditch bank and replacing it with something you won’t have to mow.

"What the check-up and the changes boil down to, of course, is making the landscape do what you want it to, whether that’s delight the eye, provide play space for kids, shade the house, redirect the wind, look good with less maintenance, whatever," McLellan sums up. "Then you can make the changes that will allow that to happen."

A fall check-up is a good beginning, but it may take a year to assess the total landscape, she notes. Keep notes on wind, drainage, people and vehicular traffic, outdoor living space, storage needs (lawn mower, garbage cans, firewood), pet accommodations, maintenance needs of garden and landscape plants, and the general appearance of the property in all seasons.

"Tackle your priorities in whatever way makes sense to you," McLellan suggests. "That might mean dealing with hazardous situations first (the boxelder tree), then adding woody plants, which grow slowly, and herbaceous plants later. If outdoor living and entertaining are important to you, making the deck and its surroundings more amenable to that may top your list. Or maybe that steep ditch bank is really scary to mow, and you know your whole attitude about mowing will change if you eliminate the need to mow it."

Where do you get ideas for landscape changes? In other people’s yards, in gardens such as the Horticultural Demonstration Gardens at MSU, on college campuses and parks, on the Internet, in books and magazines. And help is available from local nursery operators, landscapers, your county Extension office and community garden clubs, among others.

"Unless you can hire someone to come in and do everything all at once, chances are you’re looking at making changes over time, perhaps several years," McLellan observes. "As you cross items off, you will probably add others, and priorities may change. That’s OK -- families and interests evolve and resources change, and the landscape needs to evolve, also. With guided evolution, you’re much more likely to end up with a landscape that meets your needs."

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Dry weather in the fall is less common in Michigan than summer dry spells. When a dry fall does occur, it leaves drought-stressed landscape plants in poor condition going into winter, unless gardeners step in.

"Landscape plants are dormant in the winter, but they continue to lose moisture," says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "Plant roots in frozen soil can’t take up more water to replace what’s lost, and evergreens, particularly, can suffer serious injury."

Deciduous spring-flowering plants may fail to flower if their flower buds are damaged or killed.

To send landscape plants into winter well watered, gardeners should water about every two weeks when the weather is dry. Apply 1 to 1½ inches of water slowly, so that it soaks into rather than runs off the soil surface and wets the soil at least 6 inches deep.

"Most of the roots responsible for taking up moisture are located away from the main trunk or stem," McLellan points out, "so you want to concentrate your watering out toward the dripline, the outer edge of the foliage."

Mulching after watering is a good way to keep that moisture in the root zone, she notes.

If it’s not practical to water the entire landscape, focus your efforts on trees and shrubs planted within the past year or two and broadleafed evergreens. These are the ones most likely to suffer winter injury if they go into winter dry, she explains.

Back to Table of Contents

Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Fall is like a second spring for landscape plantings -- many trees and shrubs can be planted in the fall. Warm soil, fall rains and cool temperatures make for good root growth and quick establishment.

"Spring can be a hectic time for gardeners," observes Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "Sometimes there just isn’t time to get everything done. But homeowners who couldn’t find the time to plant trees and shrubs in the spring get another chance in the fall."

Most landscape ornamentals can be planted in the fall. Some exceptions are most fruit trees, golden raintree, oaks, poplars, red maple, birch, magnolia, dogwood, hawthorn, hornbeam, tulip tree, sweet gum and yellowwood. Because of their susceptibility to winter injury, they’re better planted in the spring.

No matter when you plant, the keys to success with woody landscape plants are hardiness and suitability to the site.

Hardiness is the plant’s ability to survive a normal winter, McLellan explains.

"Much of Michigan is in USDA hardiness zone 5 or lower," she points out. "So homeowners should look for plants hardy to zone 5 or lower. Plants hardy in zone 6 or 7 might survive a mild winter or two in a sheltered site but die when normally cold weather returns."

Plants in higher zones will rarely survive even the mildest northern winter, she notes.

Marginally hardy or exotic plants may need more care to survive than plants that are better adapted to the climate, she says. Even if winter conditions don’t kill them, winter injury may make them more susceptible to disease and insect attack and environmental stress. Hardy native plants tend to have fewer problems and contribute more to the overall landscape, she adds.

To match plant needs with the conditions in the planting site, you need to consider such site characteristics as soil type and soil drainage, and exposure to sun and prevailing winds.

"Drainage refers to how quickly water moves through the soil after rain or irrigation," McLellan explains. "Sandy soils dry quickly; clay soils tend to get wet and stay wet. Some plants will thrive in soggy soil; most won’t. Likewise, some plants tolerate dry conditions that many others wouldn’t survive."

It’s usually easier, she points out, to find plants that will thrive in the conditions that your planting site provides than to change the site conditions.

Winter sun and drying winds can be particularly hard on evergreen plants, she points out. Even too much sun can be too much of a good thing when the recipient is an understory tree such as dogwood, which does much better in the shade of larger trees.

Plant traits need to be considered, also. The mature size and shape of the plant determines proper spacing from other plants and structures, including overhead utility wires. Susceptibility to pests, diseases and other problems, such as winter injury, relate to future maintenance needs and longevity in the landscape. Ornamental characteristics such as presence of flowers and fruits, foliage color, interesting bark texture, shape and branching structure, fall color, etc., may be the first thing the homeowner thinks of, but they collectively make up only one factor in plant selection.

Back to Table of Contents

Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Could Murphy of "Murphy’s Law" be a gardener? Surely the famous law, that anything that can go wrong will, originated with someone who contends with weather, pests and other challenges to grow plants.

If not, it makes a good story.

Chances are that any gardener could write a few corollaries to the basic law, says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. Here are a few to start with.

• Any fast-growing, bug-repelling, high-yielding, easy-to-grow plant that sounds too good to be true probably is.

• Under identical growing conditions, weed seeds will out-germinate and out-compete vegetable and flower seeds.

• The greater the cost of seeds or transplants, the more likely they are to:

• The farther you have to drive to obtain a particular plant, the more desirable it becomes and the more you’ll have to pay for it. As the distance, cost and desirability increase, the likelihood that the plant will survive its first year in your landscape decreases.

• The likelihood that insects, diseases, hungry rabbits or the neighbor’s dog will commit atrocities on a newly planted shrub is in direct proportion to the distance you had to travel, the cost and the general difficulty you had in obtaining it, and to your desire to have it succeed in the landscape.

• Cutworms invariably find the one pepper plant in 50 that has no cutworm collar.

• Planting cool-weather crops causes a heat wave. Planting warm-weather crops generates a cold snap.

• If you set out cold-sensitive plants before the local frost-free date, they will freeze. If you wait, it will be one of the mildest springs on record.

• No matter what extraordinary measures you resort to, someone else will always have the first ripe tomato. If you have the first ripe tomato, it will have blossom-end rot.

• Carefully timing your plantings so that you can take that two-week getaway in July invariably results in a major harvest period coinciding with your vacation.

• If you plant one hill of summer squash, bugs, weather, diseases or some other mischance will wipe it out by mid-July. If you plant several hills at various times, they’ll all thrive and inundate you with squash.

• Seed your crops at the recommended final spacing and the majority of the seeds won’t germinate. Seed them thickly and they’ll all germinate.

• Early tomatoes aren’t. Late tomatoes always are.

• The probability of rain is usually in inverse proportion to the need for it.

• Irrigating the garden or applying a home orchard spray to your fruit trees will usually increase the likelihood of rain – unless you really, really need it (see above).

• Applying granular fertilizer or pesticide to your lawn repels rain.

• Robins are better than you are at telling when strawberries are ripening.

• If you have to be away from home for a few days, watering before you go will mean rain will fall the whole time you’re gone. Failing to water before you leave will guarantee that drought will parch the land.

• If there’s one lonely thistle in your yard, you’ll find it the one time in the summer that you walk outdoors barefooted.

• A plant with a one-year guarantee will die in 13 months. If it dies within the allotted year, you will have misplaced the receipt.

• The likelihood that your lawn mower will break down or blow up is related directly to your lawn’s need to be mowed.

• The likelihood that a tree will break in a storm is related directly to the amount of damage it will do when it falls.

• Failsafe flowering annuals aren’t.

• Perennials aren’t.

• Rabbit-proof fencing isn’t.

• Animal repellents don’t.

• Netting to keep birds out of your berry patch will trap them in it.

• The chemical that kills your neighbor’s tomato hornworms only inspires yours to greater appetite.

• Garden projects multiply fastest when you have the least time and energy (and money) to deal with them.

• The more meticulous you are about keeping garden records, the greater the likelihood that you will misplace them.

• All gardening projects take longer and cost more than you think they will.

• You always need one more gadget.

• Any gardening problem can be overcome, given enough time and money.

• Murphy was an optimist!

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- The growing season is winding down, and already your memory of which varieties you planted when might be getting a little fuzzy. Quick! Make those notes you know you’ll want when you’re ready to plan next year’s garden.

?Even if the high and low points of this year’s vegetable garden are still fresh in your mind now, do you really think you’ll remember variety names and such in five or six months when the garden catalogs are coming in" says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "And are you sure you’ll know where you planted those families of crops that you’ll want to rotate to another part of the garden next year?"

If you have notes on this year’s garden, you won’t have to rack your brain to remember.

What should you keep notes on? The general organization of the garden, for one thing. A garden map, especially if it includes information on varieties and quantities of seed sown or transplants planted, can be the basis of next year’s plan. With it you can make sure that crops that are susceptible to the same insect pests and diseases don’t follow one another in the same part of the garden.

Notes on how much you planted are only partially helpful -- be sure to add information on yield. If five hills of squash were too many, make a note to plant fewer next year. If the yield from 20 row feet of beans or a dozen pepper plants wasn’t sufficient, make a note to plant more.

Sometimes circumstances beyond your control affect the outcome of various plantings. Make a note of that, also. Drought, hail, a mistimed vacation, vandals, wildlife, Japanese beetles -- any number of extenuating factors could have contributed to less than spectacular results. Could you have avoided some of that disappointment by fencing out the rabbits that ate your peas, for instance, or push that up north vacation back a week or two, or install cardboard cutworm collars around your pepper transplants? Make a note!

Outstanding varieties, both good and bad, also rate a mention in your garden records.

"When gardeners find varieties they like, they tend to rely on them year after year," McLellan observes. "But they also like to try new varieties. When a new variety out yields an old favorite, holds up better under bad weather, begins to produce earlier, tastes better and has fewer pest problems, it’s a keeper. Better write its name down so you don’t have to count on recognizing it in next year’s seed catalogs."

Gardeners also tend to be always on the lookout for different ways to grow their crops. Maybe you tried drip irrigation or grew climbing beans instead of bush beans. Were you happy with the results? Is there anything you’d change if you were starting over? Make a note!

If you didn’t make notes as the season progressed, make a note to do that next year, McLellan suggests. Jot down when you planted which crops, what the weather was like, when annual problems such as Japanese beetle and tomato hornworm appeared.

"If you get in the habit of writing down pertinent information on how your garden grew, eventually you’ll have a veritable textbook specific to your growing conditions that you can consult throughout the season," she says.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- If you want to grow your own garlic, you can plant in early spring or fall. Early spring planting is often foiled by soil too wet to work, however, so fall planting may work better.

"New garlic plants grow from individual cloves, which are sections of the larger bulb," explains Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "Garlic bulbs from the grocery store rarely give good results, so garlic for planting should be ordered from a reliable garden center or mail-order catalog."

Garlic will grow in a wide variety of soil types but must have good drainage. Plant after working the soil and incorporating ½ pound of fertilizer such as 12-12-12 per 100 square feet and about six weeks before you expect the ground to freeze, McLellan recommends. Separate bulbs into individual cloves just before planting, and plant the cloves 2 to 3 inches deep (with the tips pointing upward) in double rows 12 inches apart spaced 24 inches apart. Larger cloves generally produce larger bulbs, she notes.

Irrigation during dry weather and weed control are necessary for good yields. Problem perennial weeds should be controlled before planting. Crop rotation is important in controlling insects and diseases, McLellan says. Avoid planting garlic after onions, which are susceptible to the same pests.

Garlic planted this fall will mature in July or August next year. Harvest after the tops fall down and dry. Then snip off the tops and allow the bulbs to air dry out of direct sunlight for a week or so. Bulbs can be stored at room temperature for several weeks. For long-term storage, temperatures should be as close to 32 degrees as possible without actually freezing them.

If you want to plant cloves from your home-grown bulbs next fall, store bulbs between 40 and 50 degrees and no more than 60 percent relative humidity until planting time.

Growing garlic is much like growing onions, McLellan notes. Both are members of the lily family and the genus Allium. Garlic plants produce bulbs in response to increasing day length in April and May.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- If you live near a busy highway or other source of noise, quiet can sometimes be hard to come by. One partial solution is to plant a living noise filter.

"Trees, shrubs and other plants can be very effective sound mufflers," says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University. "Just how effective they can be depends on what kinds of plants and how large the planting is."

Mixed plantings of evergreen and deciduous trees and shrubs work best, and the larger the area that the planting covers, the better the noise control job it can do, she says.

Evergreens such as pines, spruces, firs and cedars make good year-round noise reducers. Less dense evergreens, such as hemlock and juniper, are less effective.

Deciduous trees are useful for noise control when they are leafed out. Because this occurs when windows are most likely to be open, deciduous plants alone may do the job.

A planting designed to filter noise also acts as an air cleaner. Vegetation sifts dust, smoke and soot from the air, she explains. Living plants also take in carbon dioxide and give off oxygen, and they can reduce a home’s energy needs by providing shade in summer and protection against cold winter winds.

"Well-chosen plants are clearly a plus in the landscape," McLellan says.

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Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Fall is a good time to plant many landscape trees and shrubs. After choosing a plant well suited to the site, the next step is to plant it properly.

Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University, advises digging the planting hole two to three times as wide as the diameter of the plant’s root ball and then spreading the roots in the hole so that they’ll grow outward, not around.

"Roots growing around the plant can act like a noose and eventually kill it," she notes.

Make the hole as deep as necessary to allow the plant to sit at the same depth that it was growing at in the nursery, and loosen the soil beneath it to allow for good root penetration.

Before filling in around the roots with soil, be sure to remove plastic canvas, wire, plastic cords and any other non-biodegradable materials from the trunk and the rootball, McLellan advises.

"If left in place, these materials limit root growth or become a strangling noose over time," she explains.

Support the plant while you fill in the planting hole with soil so that it stays upright, she says. Fill in around the roots, watering to eliminate air pockets and settle the soil, and keep adding soil until the plant is firmly anchored. Then build a donut-shaped ridge of soil 2 to 4 inches high around the margin of the hole outside the root area. This creates a reservoir for watering.

A large tree with a relatively small root ball or a tree in an area exposed to the prevailing wind will benefit from staking or guying. The bigger the tree, the more support it needs. One stake should be installed on the windward side of the tree; two stakes should be on opposite sides, with one on the windward side; and three stakes should be evenly spaced around the tree. Attach the tree to the stakes with soft strapping material, lengths of old garden hose or other materials that won’t damage the trunk, McLellan cautions.

Mulching around the base of the plant is recommended to conserve soil moisture. In the winter, it also helps prevent the alternate freezing and thawing of the soil, which can damage the roots and even push small plants right up out of the ground. Mulch will also discourage weed growth and competition for soil moisture and nutrients.

Mulch should cover the root zone but not pile up against the trunk or main stems, McLellan points out. This could provide cover for mice, which can severely damage or even kill woody plants by gnawing on the bark.

Regular watering during the first year or two after planting promotes good root development. How often you need to water depends on local rainfall and soil type. Water is quick to run through sandy soil, so plants will need frequent watering. Clay, on the other hand, once it gets wet tends to stay wet. Roots need air as well as water, and standing in soil that is waterlogged from too much irrigation will kill them.

Communication and Technology Services Contact: Leslie Johnson or Mary McLellan

MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY Telephone: 517-432-1555 or 355-5191

East Lansing, MI 48824-1039 8/26/05

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- Unlike spring-flowering bulbs such as tulips and daffodils, summer-flowering bulbs such as cannas, tuberous begonias, gladioli, dahlias and caladiums can’t survive in the ground over winter.

"They can grow and bloom again next year, however," says Mary McLellan, Extension Master Gardener program coordinator at Michigan State University, "if you dig them in autumn and store them properly."

These non-hardy bulbs are called "tender" because they can’t tolerate the cold of a Michigan winter outdoors. Each needs slightly different handling to get through the winter indoors in good shape for replanting, she points out.

Gladioli, or "glads," grow from corms. Leave them in the ground until the foliage has dried and dig them before a hard freeze. Dig carefully to avoid bruising or injuring them, and shake off the loose soil. Cut the tops off 1 to 2 inches above the corms, and dry the corms in the sun for a day or two. Then dust with a general-purpose fungicide and cure on wooden flats or trays in a warm (80 to 85 degrees F), airy location for two to three weeks. Then remove the old corms from the bases of the new ones and discard the old ones. After another two to three days of warm temperatures, place the corms in paper boxes, open paper bags, mesh onion bags or cloth bags, or on wooden trays with screen bottoms. Stack or hang the containers so air can circulate freely around the corms. The storage area should be dry and cool, with temperatures around 40 degrees.

Dahlias and cannas grow from tuberous roots. Dig them after frost has killed the tops. Cut the tops off at ground level and turn the roots upside-down to dry for a few hours. Then store the roots in cartons filled with dry sawdust, vermiculite or sphagnum moss. The storage area should be fairly dry and cool (temperatures in the 40s). Check stored roots occasionally and sprinkle the packing material with water if roots start to shrivel.

Lift tuberous begonia tubers after frost has injured the tops. Leave both soil and tops attached to the disk-shaped tubers and spread them out to dry in a warm, dark room for one to two weeks. Then break off the tops and shake off the soil. Pack tubers in slightly moistened sawdust, sphagnum or vermiculite and store in a dry area with temperatures between 45 and 60 degrees F.

Caladiums are ready to dig when the leaves turn yellow. Store tubers with the soil attached in a dry area with temperatures between 50 and 60 degrees F.

"Store only corms and tubers from healthy-looking plants," McLellan advises. "Check them occasionally during the winter, and discard any showing signs of decay."

Tuberous begonias are started in late winter; the others are planted in outdoor containers or in the garden again after the danger of frost is past.

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