April Horticulture Newsletter

Washington County Cooperative Extension Service

HORTICULTURE April 2020 Volume 16

ATTENTION!!!

Inside this issue:

Wheelbarrow Series

2

Try Blue Flowers

3

To Do’s

4

Try Blue Flowers

5

Wheel bugs

5

Plant Of The Month

6

Mowing

7

Recipe of The Month

8

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Washington County Extension Service

Those that register for classes (and you still can) will receive a one call to let you know how and when to pick up plants and seeds for those particular classes.

Gardeners Wheelbarrow Series 2020 Call the Extension Office to register at 859-336-7741 February

13

February

20

Climate Change And Its Affect On Fruit Production In Kentucky Starting Plants From Seed Indoors

February

27

Bountiful Blueberries

March

5

Heirloom Tomatoes

March

26

Growing Asparagus In Kentucky

April

16

Queens Of The Garden….Hybrid Tea Roses

April

23

Lovely Lilacs

April

30

Beans, Beans, The Magical Fruit

May

7

How To Develop Monarch Butterfly Habitat

May

14

Perennials For Late Summer And Fall Color

May

21

Hosta's….Not What You Think

May

28

Sensational Sunflowers

June

4

Growing Hardy Figs In Kentucky

June

11

Growing Flowers For Drying

June

18

Easy Orchids

June

25

Growing Lavender In Kentucky

August

13

Aloes….Not Just Vera

August

20

Growing Great Greens In The Fall

September

3

Composting 101

September

10

New And Interesting Shrubs

September

17

Reblooming Bearded Iris

October

1

Vivacious Viburnums

October

15

Naturalizing With Hardy Bulbs

October

22

Holiday Cactus (Thanksgiving, Christmas, Easter)

October

29

Putting The Garden To Bed Basic Registration For Any and All Classes Total From Above Minus Discount of $10.00 if Doing Entire Series And Paid In Full By 2-13-2020 TOTAL

$5.00

X

Try Blue Flower Color to Convey Calmness The Pantone Color Institute named Classic Blue the color of 2020 to convey calmness and tranquility. Blue is a great choice for UK fans, but it will not be calm during games. There are several perennials and annuals available with blue or hints and tones of blue to enjoy in your garden and to support UK. ‘Johnson’s Blue’ Geranium (Geranium) forms a spreading mound about 12 inches in height and 24 to 30 inches wide. The blue flowers appear in late spring to early summer. This perennial prefers morning sun and afternoon shade. It grows best in well-drained, moist soil.

False indigo (Baptisia australis) grows erect with stalks of blue, lupine-like flowers in spring. After the flower has faded, the seed pod becomes an inflated charcoal-black seed capsule. The pods are Johnson’s Blue Geranium desirable to use in dried flower arrangements. This plant was used by early Americans as a substitute for true indigo in making blue dyes. Use it as a specimen plant to display its clover-like, blue-green leaves. False indigo prefers full sun.

‘May Night’ (Mainacht) meadow sage (Salvia X superba or Saliva nemerosa) has deep violet-blue flowers produced on a stalk. The perennial plant reaches 18 inches tall, blooming in the spring. It prefers well-drained soil and full sun.

‘May Night’ tolerates heat and drought conditions.

Plumbago (Ceratostigma plumbaginoides) is a low-growing, 10-inch tall perennial. It has a central crown, making it ideal for a ground cover to help control erosion in small areas. Morning sun and afternoon shade show off the marine blue, phlox-like flowers. It blooms in late summer through the fall, when the foliage becomes a beautiful bronze red. This plant needs well-drained soil.

Blue My Mind® (Evolvulus hybrid) has silver-green foliage with blue flowers throughout the summer. The attractive annual reaches 6 to 12 inches in height and spreads up to 24 inches. It is easy to care for and grows best in hanging baskets or containers. It prefers full sun and tolerates heat.

Surfina® Sky Blue Petunia (Petunia hybrid) has beautiful sky blue flowers with a hint of lavender. The fast-growing plant reaches 6 to 10 inches in height and spreads 8 to 10 inches. This annual plant tolerates heat and is a beautiful addition to patio pots. The flowers do not need to be removed after blooming to keep the plant looking nice.

Evening ScentsationTM Petunia (Petunia x atkinsiana) has indigo blue flowers that are fragrant with hints of hyacinth, honey, and rose. The fragrance becomes more noticeable in the afternoon and evening. This annual blooms throughout the growing season. The plant reaches 5 to 8 inches tall and 30 to 35 inches wide. It prefers a moist, well-drained soil.

Salvia Victoria Blue

The summer snapdragon Angelface® Dresden Blue (Angelonia angustifolia) reaches 18 to 24 inches tall and spreads 18 to 24 inches wide. The lavender-blue, 1-inch flowers are bicolor with a single white, angel-shaped petal on the downside. Flowers are produced on spikes.

Continued Page 6

April To Do’s If you haven’t cut your perennials back, do it before the new growth starts.

Pinch off the spent flowers from spring bulbs before they make seed heads. This will cause more food storage in the bulb and increase flower size and productivity for next year.

Don’t cut spring flowering bulb foliage back until it turns completely yellow or brown.

Plant trees and shrubs now, spring rains will help them to get established before hot dry weather sets in.

Save money on fertilizer by adding organic matter to your flower and vegetable gardens.

You can plant tender bulbs such as canna, calla, and dahlia later in the month. Apply slow release fertilizer at planting.

If you haven’t planted your spring vegetable garden due to the wet weather you still have time. You can plant potatoes, onions, Cole crops, lettuce, peas, carrots, beets, etc. now.

If you started seedlings indoors

gradually acclimate them to the outdoors. They will sun and wind burn easily. Give them 30 minutes to an hour the first day outdoors and gradually increase it in 30 minute to an hour increments for a week or so until they have toughened up.

Uncover your roses! Keep the mulch handy in case we have an extreme late cold snap like last year.

Prune out any dead, damaged or diseased tissue.

the oil in you mower before making your first cut of the season.

After flowering spray fruit trees with an all purpose fruit tree spray. Never spray while in flower you will kill the bees that you desperately need for pollination.

Apply a fresh layer of mulch to your landscape beds.

Plant your mail order or bare root plants as soon as possible.

If you haven’t cut your blackberry canes that fruited last year back do it Spray your lawn for now before the new growth begins. broadleaf weeds.

Depending on the Raspberries you For more information stop by the are growing you should cut back the Extension Office and pick up the canes that fruited last year. If you publication AGR-78. are growing the varieties that fruit on new and old wood cut them back to the ground if you didn’t do it last fall.

Don’t apply nitrogen fertilizer to These will grow all summer and give your lawn in the spring. you a large crop in late summer and fall.

Sharpen mower blades and change

Try Blue Flower Color to Convey Calmness This annual flowers all summer long with little care. Deadheading old flower stalks is not necessary. It prefers to grow in full sun and well-drained soil and tolerates summer heat.

Mealycup sage (Salvia farinacea) is an annual in our area but can reseed itself and come up next year. ‘Fairy Queen’ has dark blue and white bicolor flowers on spikes. The plant reaches 18 inches in height and 14 inches in width.

‘Victoria’ has deep violet-blue to deep blue flowers. The plants are compact, reaching 16 to 18 inches tall. They grow best in full sun and tolerate heat and drought. The flower spikes can be used in fresh arrangements. Butterflies and hummingbirds are attracted to the blossoms.

Summer Wave® Large Blue torenia (Torenia hybrid) grows best in shade to partial shade. The large tubular-shaped flowers are two toned with darker blue and lighter blue petals. The carefree annual plant is covered with flowers all summer. The plant reaches 8 to 10 inches tall and 10 to 12 inches wide.

‘Best Bet’ tall bearded iris (Iris germanica) blooms in the spring and may re-bloom in the fall. The large flowers have light blue standards, which are upright petals, and dark blue falls, which are downward bending petals. It prefers to grow in well-drained soil and full sun. The plant reaches 16 to 18 inches wide and 30 to 40 inches in height with the flower stem included.

Submitted by Annette Heisdorffer, Agent for Horticulture, Daviess Co. Cooperative Extension Service

Wheelbugs When one studies insects he or she will quickly discover there are several beneficial insects. Yes, we all have heard of the praying mantis, but does the name wheel bug ring a bell?

Wheel bugs get their name from a cog-like wheel looking structure on their back. They are very aggressive looking and they should be, because they are a predator. Adding to that, wheel bugs belong to a group of insects called assassin bugs. The wheel bug is actually the largest assassin bug in KY. Wheel bugs feed on several soft body insects such as sawflies, aphids, brown marmorated stink bugs, moths, and caterpillars (which could be either good if the caterpillars are causing harm to your plants, or bad if you have a butterfly garden). However, sometimes there will be a few good guy casualties along the way, such as honey bees and lady beetles.

Wheelbug (Arilus cristatus)Phot Joseph Berger Boodwood.com

Wheel bugs can be found in fields, gardens, and in the landscape. They have one generation per year. In the fall, the female lays several dozen eggs in a cluster on a small twig of a tree or shrub. In the early spring, the eggs hatch and small red and black nymphs emerge. Don’t be scared when you see them. They will try to avoid you. However, don’t pick one up to hold it. It can deliver a painful bite. Their beak like feeding structure enables them to pierce their insect prey.

This spring keep an eye out for these amazing insects. You just may have a few protecting your vegetable garden and you didn’t even know it.

Submitted by Kara Back, Agent for Horticulture, Taylor Co. Cooperative Extension Service

April Plant of The Month - Sunsation Magnolia General Information

Elegant, creamy yellow blooms with a hint of pink grace the Sunsation Magnolia in late spring. With this late blooming beauty, the worry of early frost damage is a thing of the past! The abundant blooms begin showing themselves when the Sunsation is still young, sometimes even the first or second year. The uniform, pyramidal habit requires no pruning. It is a hybrid cross of M. ‘Woodsman’ and ‘Elizabeth’. Wonderful specimen plant for your landscape. This eye catching beauty will take front stage. Use the flower stems in cut flower bouquets. Beautiful planted in mass for a cheerful border.

Additional Information Magnolia x ‘Sunsation’ grows best in Full Sun to Part Shade. It will grow 20 to 25 feet tall with a 12 to 15 foot spread. Plant in zones 4 to 9. Heat and humidity tolerant. Cold tolerant. Deer resistant.

Bloom time Color Wildlife

Spring Pink, Yellow Deer Resistant, Insect Resistant

Clay Soil, Disease Resistant, Heat Tolerant, Mildew Resistant, Needs No Deadheading, Rust Resistant Mature Width 12 to 15 Feet Tolerances

Mature Height Light Planting Zone

20 to 25 Feet Full Sun to Part Shade 4 to 9

Information from https://www.grimmsgardens.com/shop/sunsation-magnolia/

Mowing Most Important of Year Long Lawn Duties It’s difficult to envision mowing your lawn this spring when frost or snow greets you nearly every morning.

Yet that first spring mowing, usually in late March, begins your most important annual lawn duties.

The first mowing makes the lawn look spring-like and very attractive. Subsequent regular mowing hardens the grass for drought and heat stresses later on.

So when the first clump of grass grows above the mowing height, mow, even if a lot of the yard doesn’t need to be mowed yet.

Not all grasses start growing at the same time.

Grass on northern slopes, or in heavy clay soil, will start growing several days later than normal. Grass that wasn’t fertilized in the fall or early spring also has a delayed growth.

Following recommendations for mowing height and frequency will make your lawn-care duties easier and result in a more attractive yard.

If your mower has a fixed, all-year height, set it at 2.5 inches.

However, if you can easily vary the height, set it at 1.5 to 2 inches for the first several times you mow this spring. The shorter mowing height will help remove a lot of the winter-burned, brown leaves. And by exposing more dark green growth, it will transfigure your lawn into the most uniform, attractive in the neighborhood. Move the height up to 2.5 inches after you mow the grass several times.

To protect your grass from summer heat and drought injury, raise the mower height to 3 or 3.5 inches.

However, remember that high grass, especially tall fescue, tends to fall over and mat down during hot summer weather causing increased summer disease problems. In the fall, lower the mowing height to 2.5 inches.

For the winter, you might want to lower it again to 1.5 to 2 inches. This shorter height improves the turf’s winter and early spring color.

Never let grass go through the winter at a height of 4 or more inches, because it will mat down and become diseased.

Generally speaking, mow often enough to remove no more than one-third to one-half of the grass height. If your mower is set for 2 inches, mow again when grass height reaches approximately 3 inches. Be sure not to scalp the lawn by mowing off most of the green leaves.

For tall fescue lawns, a rule of thumb is to mow at five-day intervals during the spring, and at seven-day intervals the rest of the year. If you have a Kentucky bluegrass lawn, a seven-day interval usually is sufficient at a 2.5-inch mowing height. You probably can extend that interval during hot, dry weather.

Don’t mow by the calendar. Instead, watch the grass grow, and mow frequently enough to remove no more than one-third to one-half of grass height. By Gregg Munshaw Turf Specialist U.K.

Washington County Cooperative Extension Service 245 Corporate Drive Springfield KY, 40069 Office 859-336-7741 Fax 859-336-7445 Email dennis.morgeson@uky.edu

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April Recipe of The Month: Tex-Mex Quinoa Salad Ingredients: 2-3 ears shucked corn 1 cup quinoa, uncooked 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 cup fresh spinach, chopped 1 cup cilantro, chopped 1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved 8-10 green onions, thinly sliced 1/2 cup feta cheese crumbles

Ingre-

Dressing: 1/2 cup lime juice 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon chili powder 1 teaspoon honey Salt and pepper to taste Directions: Fill a large saucepan with water and bring to boil, add corn and cook for 5 minutes or until tender. Cool. Cut corn from cob using a sharp knife. Cook quinoa according to package directions. Whisk together dressing ingredients in a small bowl. Set aside. When quinoa has cooled, add dressing and stir to coat. In a large bowl combine remaining ingredients and add to the quinoa mixture. Cool in refrigerator and serve.