Anthracnose

Anthracnose continues to worry homeowners. The amount of leafdrop due to anthracnose on ash has visibly increased. Infected sycamores look like they won’t survive the summer. The disease has begun to show on maples in central Illinois as well. Don’t panic. Just remove fallen leaves (to make you feel better) and keep the trees watered in periods of drought stress later in the summer. They will begin to look better in a few weeks.

Halloween Pumpkins

Want pumpkins to ripen around Halloween? Plant seed around June 10th. They take about 110- 125 days to mature.

Lilac Pruning

Lilac should be pruned after blooming each spring. Remove one-fourth (1/4) of the plant starting the fifth year after planting to encourage new basal shoots. Remove old wood at ground level.

Pruning encourages better flowering and reduces insect problems such as lilac borers which attack thicker, older wood. Pruning also allows for better air circulation, limiting the amount of powdery mildew.

Maple Seeds

Heavy maple seed production can cause a silver, red or sugar maple to appear thin and sparse. Seed formation takes precedence over growth and until the seed falls, the amount of leaves on a tree can be small. When seeds fall, the trees should resume additional growth and eventually fill in by mid-summer. Fall fertilization of maples can limit the sparseness of leaves. No chemical control is registered in Illinois for homeowner use to prevent seeds from forming or causing seeds to abort after pollination.

Sawdust

Sawdust is often used as a mulch material around herbaceous perennials and woody ornamentals. Problems can occur as sawdust starts decomposing. Soil bacteria may tie up or "borrow temporarily" some available nitrogen. The constant addition of sawdust may cause plants to appear stunted and yellowish. As the sawdust finishes decomposing, nitrogen will be returned to the soil. A handful of a complete fertilizer scattered over the sawdust should limit any temporary nitrogen depletion.

Aging Woodchips

Fresh woodchips should be allowed to age a month before application to landscape material, though little damage will occur if used immediately. If chipped material is from dead trees, shrubs or evergreens, there is no need to allow the material to age. Fresh chips can temporarily deplete the soil of some available nitrogen, resulting in slow growth or yellowish foliage. Scattering a handful of fertilizer on new chips would reduce the tie-up of soil nitrogen.

Charcoal Ashes

Ashes from charcoal grills should not be added to garden or yard soils due to the chemicals used in the briquette bonding. Ashes should be discarded properly in landfills or driveways.

Early Summer 1998
Vacations and the Yard & Garden | Periodical Cicadas | Bronze Birch Borer | Moss Problems in Lawns | Bug Bites—Grubs Are Coming to Your Lawn! | Lawn Care Calendar | Cybergarden Sites | Hort Shorts | Hort Tips | Food Handling: Picnics, Barbecues and Outdoor Eating | In the Kitchen: Persuading the Public | Locally Grown: A Kitchen Herb Garden | Health Update: Gardening in the Summer Sun

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