Your home outside the city limits.
With winter coming sooner than we want, our trees are starting to go into their dormant state. One tree that tends to confuse people with the manner in which it goes dormant is Bald Cypress. Bald Cypress, Taxodium distichum, is a deciduous conifer that has needles that look like most other conifer trees, but looses... Continue Reading →
Winter is a difficult season for roses. Rapid temperature changes, sometimes as much as 20-30° F degrees in 24 hours, is very hard on plants. Unseasonably warm temperatures in January and February, along with repeated freezing and thawing of the soil can do a lot of damage. What can you do this fall to help your roses... Continue Reading →
Planting flowering bulbs is a fall tradition for many gardeners, and there is still plenty of time to get your bulbs in the ground this fall. In eastern Nebraska, bulbs can be planted from late September through the end of October, ideally when soil temperatures are below 60°F degrees. This allows the root system to develop before the ground... Continue Reading →
Garden professionals often talk about sanitation as a way to manage insect and disease problems in a garden or landscape. But what exactly is garden sanitation and how does it help with pest problems? Pest Overwintering Strategies Many disease organisms carry over from one season to the next on infected branches, leaves or fruits. Diseased... Continue Reading →
At this point in the fall, leaves are probably dropping all over your yard, and blowing in from the neighbors. What to do with all these leaves?
It's been hot! And windy. In unwatered portions of the landscape you may be seeing cracked soil - a good indication conditions are dry. In fall, warm dry days with cool nights usually lead to great fall leaf coloration, but dry fall conditions have a downside, too. Fall is a time for plants to replace the moisture reserves lost... Continue Reading →
Fall Lawn Fertilization Fertilization is a critical step in maintaining a healthy, vigorous turf. Applying nitrogen (N) fertilizer in fall promotes turf recovery, but the type of fertilizer used – quick release vs. slow release - should change based on when your applications are made. Early Fall Fertilization From late August to late September, evapotranspiration, or water loss through the grass leaf surface, is still high.... Continue Reading →
Every summer an unusual type of insect makes an appearance in many landscapes. Actually, there is a small group of insects, called twig girdlers or twig pruners, that cause similar damage in a variety of trees. But fortunately, these insects are not a serious problem and their activity doesn't have serious consequences for the trees. But... Continue Reading →
Viruses represent some of the toughest diseases to manage in cucumber, squash, pumpkin, and melon plants. Often the disease doesn’t kill but does reduce the size and number of leaves, which in turn decreases fruit production. Cucumber mosaic, cucumber green mottle mosaic, watermelon mosaic, zucchini yellow mosaic, and squash mosaic are some of the viruses... Continue Reading →
Fall leaves will soon be coming down, providing gardeners with an abundance of organic matter. Why not put these materials to good use this fall and start a home compost pile? Composting is easier than you think and finished compost is an excellent soil amendment to improve the growth and health of your garden or landscape plants. Here are five... Continue Reading →
Let’s face it – most of our flowering shrubs are showy in spring. In order to avoid the lack of color, interest and appeal, incorporation of summer/fall flowering shrubs such as rose of Sharon will infuse color as well as an interesting arching architectural structure to the landscape.
The summer months are great, but they can be hot. Being outdoors in the summer months is preferred, but when it gets too hot, it can be difficult to sit outside. Shade trees can really relieve the heat of outdoors. Temperatures underneath the shade of trees can be 10-15 degrees cooler or more, according to... Continue Reading →
