Easy Ways to Conserve Water
Water only early in the morning and after sundown.
Most lawns get too much water: Visit
www.watersaver.org to
determine how much your lawn really needs.
Cut your watering time by 10 percent and lighten up on the
fertilizer.
Tune up your automatic sprinkler system. Minor adjustments may make
it work better for you.
Use mulch in planter areas to help retain moisture and fight weeds.
Winter Watering
Don't forget to water if we go three weeks
without precipitation. You may want to wait to turn on your
sprinkler system. Weather here is fickle and you run the risk of
pipes freezing if we have a hard freeze. Our average last frost free
date is about May 15.
Fertilizing
Allow the yard to green up on its own before fertilizing this
spring. The brown turf is busy developing deep roots. Once nitrogen
is added, grass changes its focus to developing the green top and
you will get yourself into the "fertilize, water, mow" cycle much
earlier than necessary. You will appreciate the deep root system in
the hot days of July.
Ornamental Grasses
If you have not already done so, cut back all ornamental grasses to
allow the new growth to come through. Once the new growth has
developed, it's extremely difficult to cut back the grasses without
mutilating the plant.
Roses
Do NOT prune roses yet. Pruning stimulates plants to grow, and we
are still susceptible to a hard freeze which would kill the new
growth.
Bark Beetles
update
Bark beetles normally become a problem in
forests when trees are growing under less than optimum conditions.
This makes it desirable to keep trees in a healthy and vigorous
condition, by providing growing conditions that reduce competition
among plants for available moisture, nutrients, sunlight and space.
Selective thinning that improves spacing is key to keeping trees
healthy, and is recommended where acceptable such as open space
areas or portions of lots where privacy and aesthetics are not
compromised.
In lieu of thinning, additional practices can be implemented, more
to protect individual trees than to protect the forest as a whole.
Preventive spraying helps keep bark beetles from attacking trees in
the short term, and must be applied yearly to be absolutely certain
attacks do not occur. Carbaryl (Sevin) applied at the proper time of
year will prevent bark beetle attacks.
Mountain Pine Beetles, Ips Beetle, and Red Turpentine Beetle require
different application timing and techniques. Preventive for Mountain
Pine Beetle should be applied in late June to early July before
emergence begins around July 15. Trunks need to be treated their
entire length to a 5 inch top diameter. Trees greater than 8 inches
diameter are most susceptible. Spraying smaller trees is not
necessary for MPB prevention.
Ips Beetle preventive should be used to protect young transplant
trees or smaller trees otherwise stressed. Transplant trees should
be sprayed beginning in April with additional applications made
around June 1 and again around September 1. Branches and trunks
should receive application. Transplants should be treated from 2-3
growing seasons or until vigorous new candle growth is observed.
Preventing Red Turpentine Beetle involves spraying the lower trunk
area from ground level to about 4 feet. Trees damaged by fire or
construction are particularly vulnerable.
Prevention treatments should be used to protect trees that are ‘key’
to the landscape, during periods of epidemic outbreaks, or when
known stressors have affected the tree. Spraying well established,
vigorous trees that are not stressed is not considered necessary
since healthy trees are rarely successfully attacked.
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