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When the soil around your home or getaway cabin is less than ideal, you can fight it by planting trees and shrubs that aren't well adapted to the site or select plants that do well in the conditions your landscape provides. Although many locations in Nebraska have clay soil, sandy soil is also very common... Continue Reading →
This spring, some of our lawns look beautiful and others are showing some winter damage. The dry conditions we experienced from September through March have caused patchy grass death in some locations, as in the picture above taken the first week of May 2022 near Hastings. Damage is especially common on south or west facing... Continue Reading →
In any discussion of ‘bulb’ plants, the most important distinction to make is between hardy and tender bulbs. Hardy bulbs, including tulip, daffodil, crocus, etc., are planted in the fall and can be overwintered in the ground. Tender bulbs, like gladiola, dahlia and canna, are planted in the spring and must be dug up each... Continue Reading →
Transplants are the way to go with tomatoes, peppers and dozens of other vegetables, as well as many of the annual flowers common in Nebraska gardens. Transplants give long-season crops a head start before being put out in the garden and a chance to produce before fall frost. Annual flowers grown from transplants begin blooming... Continue Reading →
Many Nebraska soils have high clay and silt content making them prone to compaction. Foot traffic from both human and pets, equipment and vehicles are all common causes of soil compaction. Look for the following as signs of potential soil compaction in your landscape. Areas where water puddles after rain Tracks or pathways where grass growth is sparse Hard packed soil at garden gates, edges of driveways... Continue Reading →
The Perennial Plant Association (PPA) is a professional horticulture trade organization dedicated to improving the perennial plant industry by providing education to enhance the production, promotion and utilization of perennial plants. The 2022 perennial of the year is little bluestem, Schizachyrium scoparium, and its’ ornamental cultivars. For those who enjoy the subtle beauty of Nebraska’s native grasses,... Continue Reading →
Warm temperatures in March have had many homeowners wondering about this year’s first spring preemergence (PRE) herbicide application. When is the right time to apply in spring? If you've waited, that's good. PRE Herbicide Residual PRE herbicides act by killing newly germinated weed seedlings; they come in contact with the herbicide as they grow their... Continue Reading →
What’s the difference between a new gardener and an experienced one? The experienced gardener has killed way more plants - or so the saying goes! Even armed with a substantial amount of knowledge, gardening is still a highly trial-and-error venture. Sometimes that’s on purpose, as gardeners try new plants in their gardens. Sometimes it’s... Continue Reading →
If you haven’t pruned the trees in your landscape yet, now is a good time to get it done. Today, let’s look at the differences between pruning fruit trees and shade trees. Our end goals and pruning strategies are very different between these two tree types. Apple trees in an orchard demonstrating standard central... Continue Reading →
Last week we looked at winter drought and watering. But many gardeners also have questions about spring pruning. Specifically, is the time to prune affected by warm winter conditions? Here are a few pruning -related questions I have received lately. Will early pruning cause fruit tree leaf and flower buds to develop earlier and... Continue Reading →
Most of this winter’s conditions have been abnormally warm and dry, and at times very windy. Lack of snow or rain is resulting in winter drought conditions for much of the state - for a look at current drought conditions, visit drought.unl.edu. In the Lincoln area, soil did not freeze until late December and only... Continue Reading →
This article is provided by All-America Selections, including pictures and plant information. Visit them at all-americaselections.org for additional information and pictures. All-America Selections (AAS) announces six flower award winners this year, including two Gold Medal winners and four National winners. Gold Medal awards are reserved for breakthroughs in plant breeding, signally a plant with a completely unique feature not previously found in similar plants. So Gold... Continue Reading →
Acreage Life - Nebraska 