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by Rett Davis | |
Gardening Q&A by Rett Davis appears in
Alamance County's daily newspaper, The Times-News,
every Sunday in the Accent section. Each week's installment is
posted to this
website, beginning with January of this year. Scroll to the bottom of
this page to navigate to other Gardening Q&As. Please contact
Rett via e-mail with questions
or
comments in regard to this column.
Question:
I went out to get into my car and found white grub worms all
over the floor of our carport. What are they and where did they come from?
Answer:
In the last week I have received lots of calls about wayward
grubs. They have been found in garages, on sidewalks, in the streets,
and even in the lawn where they originated. These are the larva of
Green June beetle. The adult stage of this insect is the large metallic
green winged beetle that emerges from the lawn in early July. At this
time of the year, the grubs can be found burrowing near the surface of
lawns or crawling on their backs on hard surfaces. Since they feed on
dead organic matter, they are really no threat to anything. But I will
say that their burrowing in the soil of newly emerging grass will cause
the grass to die. To stop their wandering and burrowing you can spray
the soil in your lawn and flower gardens with liquid Sevin. You can
also apply a grub control insecticide that is available at local garden
centers. Granular grub control insecticides must be watered in to
become activated. Liquid Sevin does not need water activation.
Question:
My new lawn is really growing fast. When can I mow it and
should I remove my bagger?
Answer:
Mow your new lawn (fescue or ryegrass) as soon as it reaches
about 4 inches in height. Be sure you mower is set at the highest
elevation or at least 3 inches in height. Bagging is not necessary
unless your grass is 5 to 6 inches in size. You don't want the grass
to clump up when it discharges. Mow the grass when dry. New grass is
very succulent and full of water. Be sure your mower blade is sharp. I
would definely bag if there are tree leaves falling on the new grass.
Too much organic matter, whether it be grass leaves or tree leaves, can
smother new grass. Mowing twice a week is not unheard of. Don't let
falling leaves destroy your new lawn.
Question:
I over seeded my lawn with fescue and it is doing great.
However, there are a lot of other green plants that have appeared from
nowhere. They could have been in the grass seed. What should I do?
Answer:
Whenever the soil is disturbed from plugging, aerovating,
tilling, or hoeing, you will encourage the germination of winter weeds
that have been laying there all summer. This soil disturbance
encourages their germination. Despite what many people think, these
seeds where not in the bag of grass seed. Every lawn is filled with
millions of weed seeds just waiting for the opportune time and event to
allow their germination. At this time of the year you can expect dead
nettle, henbit, and chickweed. After your new grass has been mowed 3
times it will be tough enough to treat with a broad leaf herbicide.
Products such as Ortho's Weed B Gon and others will not harm your new
fescue. One spraying is sufficient.
Question: I have removed all the shrubs from around my home's foundation. I am ready to plant all new shrubbery. Is there anything I should add to these beds before I plant?
Answer:
If you have the availability of a tiller, I would definely add
lime. The only exception would be if you are planning to plant
rhododendrons, camellias, or azaleas. These plants prefer an acid soil.
If these are not part of the new plan, then spread dolomitic lime in
the powder form (not pellitized) over the entire planting area. You can
use pelletized lime but you must water it after application or wait a
day for it to dissolve. Powdered dolomitic lime can be turned in
immediately after putting it down. Lime at the rate of 4 pounds per 100
square feet of bed. Till the lime into the soil for maximum
effectiveness. If you have compost or composted manure at your
disposal, you can incorporate that into the soil at the same time.
Most shrub beds don't need additional fertilizer unless it is a new bed
that has never been fertilized before. In that case, add super
phosphate to the bed prior to planting in addition to the lime and
compost. This must be tilled into the soil to. Do not add peat moss to
clay soils.
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If you have any horticultural questions, please direct them to Rett Davis