THINGS TO DO: April- May 2008

1. Where’s the rain? Better start watering your landscapes. Check your time clocks and drippers.
2. With the sparse rainfall this year think about mulching your trees and shrubs to keep moisture in the
soil. Keeps the weeds down too.
2. Time to plant all your vegetables and summer annuals. Uphill people – be patient or protect plants.
Corn, beans and squash come up very fast from seeds. Stagger your corn plantings a couple weeks
apart for continuous harvest. In a hurry? We have veggies in pony packs up to 1 gal. containers.
3. Bugs and more bugs. For ornamental plants, you can use a systemic that kills even inside rolled up
leaves – Orthonex, Bayer Rose & Flower Insect spray or use granular systemics like Bayer Rose
and Flower Care that also fertilizes your plants and protects from bugs for 6 weeks. On veggies and
fruit trees, use Powerforce Insect killer or Safer Soap (use distilled water to mix with concentrate if
you have hard water). These are contact sprays and dissipate rapidly. And read the instructions!!!
4. Spray those weeds now with Remuda/Roundup before they get too big! Grass is drying fast and
pretty soon you will have a fire hazard. Mowing dried grass often starts fires. Use weed-eaters
instead on dry grass.
5. Roses are flowering!! If your flowers are distorted, there are two possibilities: you probably
have thrips or sometimes a sudden drop in temperature will distort leaves and flowers. For thrips,
see #3 above. For temperature problems, wait for warmer weather. The problem will go away.
6. Mildew and Rust love cool humid days and especially Mildew can explode on your roses. Bayer
Disease Control spray for Roses, Flowers and Shrubs is a systemic that controls disease from the
inside out Bayer Advanced All-In-One Rose & Flower Care fertilizes and systemically treats for
insects and disease in one easy step with no spraying. Just water in.
7. Keep dead-heading your roses and perennials for a longer continuous bloom.
8. If you have a problem with a plant or can’t identify something, put it in a plastic bag and drop it off at
the retail nursery. We can often figure out the problem or identify your plants.
9. Watch for snails and slugs – especially when you put out young tender plants. We also carry
Sluggo – snail bait made from Iron Phosphate that is safe around pets and kids.
10. Pray for some late season rain.