The crocus in our office garden began blooming last week!

Well, it looks like spring is really here so it’s time to think about cleaning up those gardens.  The weather last weekend was glorious, and if you haven’t done so already, there are a few things you can get out there and do.

• Remove any burlap from evergreens
• Uncage & remove mulch from any tender perennials you added extra protection to over the winter
• Cutback perennials left up for winter interest
• Remove any matted leaves from the lawn – you may have more “leftover” leaf litter than normal since we had such a late leaf drop in the fall

Get out there and enjoy our unusually warm spring!

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New in 2012, Field Outdoor Spaces will be partnering with Blue Thumb – Planting for Clean Water.  Blue Thumb is a collaborative program originally developed by the Rice Creek Watershed District, bringing together a group of professionals from local governmental agencies (watershed and conservation districts, cities, counties); non-profit and community organizations; and nursery and landscape professionals, all with the goal of working towards clean water through landscaping and planting.  The Blue Thumb program promotes the use native plant gardening, raingardens, and shoreline stabilization to reduce runoff from home and commercial landscapes in an effort improve water quality.  Blue Thumb received national recognition in 2010 when they were featured as the first stop on the National Geographic Blue Legacy Tour.  We at Field are excited to partner with Blue Thumb and to join in the initiative to improve our water quality through landscaping.

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By Jason Rathe

Leaves can provide additional winter protection for the garden

Customers often ask us when they should do garden cut-backs and general clean-up – spring or fall? Well… there are compelling reasons on both sides.

The arguments for spring clean-up:
* Many perennial garden plants offer structure and interest in the winter – especially ornamental grasses and plants with dark seed heads like black eyed-susan.
* Insects use the plant stalks and stems for habitat in the winter and early spring.
* Birds eat the dried seeds from plants like echinacea and black-eyed susan.
* The leaf-litter left on the beds provides insulation for the plants and the stems give plenty of nooks and crannies for the leaves to get caught it.
* Plants seem to overwinter more successfully with the stems on. Having cut stems close to the crown can lead to more drying out (this is probably really minimal).

On the other hand fall is a good time for clean-up, because…

Cleaning up fall leaves can make cleaning up around spring bulbs much easier

* Let’s face it, there is something really great about being outside in the fall doing work.
* It is easier to do the work in the fall when things are dried rather than in the spring when everything is mushy and soggy.
* If you have bulbs coming up, it is nice to not have to do a lot of work around them.
* Come spring you are really happy you don’t have all that work left to do.

In the end, if you have the time it is probably best to do a little bit of both. In the fall, clean-up anything mushy, mangly, and unsightly, but leave up the grasses and plants with structure or seed heads. Be sure to clean-out areas where bulbs will come up so that doesn’t need to be done in the spring. And in the spring clean-up the rest.

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Running a thin stream of water from the hose is a good way to water new trees

The calendar has turned to September and the air is getting cooler.  It’s easy to think that your “work” in the garden is done but don’t put those hoses away yet!!!  Providing adequate water into the fall is a critical piece in assisting plants to prepare for our tough, Minnesota winters.  Continuing to water until the ground freezes increases plant survival as well as improving year round plant health.  Although Mother Nature often helps us out with rain in the fall, sometimes you will need to do a little supplementing to ensuring that your plants get 1-1.5 inches of water every seven to ten days.  With that said, it’s important not to over water.  Over watering can cause plants to send out new growth resulting in tissue that won’t be hardened off for winter.  It also can simply result in too much moisture in the ground, causing the roots to rot.  This is especially true in heavy, clay soils.

All of the plants in your landscape will benefit from fall watering, but it is especially beneficial to evergreens as well as trees and shrubs planted with in the last five years.  Because plant roots cannot extract water from the frozen soil, helping them to be retain moisture in the fall will help prepare them to survive whatever Old Man Winter throws their way!  So keep an eye on the weather and make sure your landscape gets that 1-1.5 inches of water per week.  Next season your plants will thank you for it.

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By Carolyn Johnson

Summer is finally in full swing.  It sure feels like it with all this heat, doesn’t it?  We are now noticing in the garden, the effects of our cool and rainy spring.  Some things to watch for right now in your garden include magnolia scale, Japanese beetles, and cutworm on creeping jenny.

"Wooly" covering of the magnolia scale

Magnolia Scale:  We have seen evidence of scale on magnolias recently.  The scale is shiny and smooth, and often covered with a white, waxy coating.  Branches can become heavily infested which results in weakened or dead wood.  Scale creates a substance called honeydew which is excreted on the plant’s foliage and branches.  Sooty mold, a dark fungus, then develops on the honeydew on the leaves, thus detracting from the ornamental value of the tree.  You can rid the plant of scale by scratching them off (though you would have to remain diligent about this practice), applying horticultural oils in late August, or systemically spraying in late August or early September.

Japanese Beetles: We have begun to spot these insects on ornamental

The Japanese beetle up close and personal

plants in the past week.  The beetles are shiny, metallic green insects with tufts of white under their wing covers.  Most beetles tend to congregate and can do large amounts of damage by chewing on leaves and flowers of your prized roses.  Don’t think they are limited to roses for feeding, however.  Their taste palette includes more than 300 species of plants ranging from trees to shrubs to non-woody plants, including annuals.  The most effective method of controlling Japanese beetles is to hand pick them off your plants and drop them into a container with soapy water.  There are some contact sprays out there, like insecticidal soap, but if the beetle isn’t hit directly with the spray then it will not be controlled.  If you notice a large infestation of Japanese beetles, you may want to check your turf.  The beetles start as grubs in your turf and can cause the turf to die.

Cutworm and feeding damage on creeping jenny

Cutworm: We have been noticing a lot of cutworm damage to the creeping jenny ground cover as well.  It’s seems to be worse this year than in the past and possibly due to the wet spring we’ve experienced.  The leaves are practically chewed to nothing leaving the stems of the plant looking very sad, indeed!  We spread a natural product called Diatomaceaous Earth that you can find at your local garden center.  The product has an abrasive feel that when the exoskeletons of pests, such as cutworm and slugs, cross over the product it causes the insects to dehydrate and die.

We hope this gives you a few things to be watchful for in your gardens.  If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us.

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By Ann Davenport

Chickweed's "daisy-like" flower

At first glance, I wouldn’t call chickweed a horribly offensive weed.  In fact, it is kind of cute…in small doses.  However, this year it seems as though there are no “small doses” of chickweed.  Everywhere I turn, I see it forming a groundcover-like mat in the garden.

Common chickweed, Stellaria media, is an annual weed that produces thin, long stems that sprawl along then ground.  It is a weed with shallow roots, making it easy to pull.  However, when pulled, the stems appear to stretch a little than easily break.  Kind of an annoying habit when you think about it!

Despite its annoying habits, common chickweed is relatively easy to control by hand pulling or cultivating.  Get out there in your garden and go after it when you are feeling patient and wanting to pay attention to the small details.

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By Ann Davenport

May and June is the time to get out into your garden and take a look at your pine trees.  Do they look like they are losing their needles?  Take a closer look.  Do you see little worms on the old needles?  If so, you are likely looking at European Pine Sawfly.  European Pine Sawfly are part of the wasp family.  It is the larvae stage that eats your pine needles.  The larvae are about an inch long with a black head and a gray-green body.

Sawfly larvae feeding in groups

They feed in groups on the previous year’s needles.  Mugo, Scotch, Jack, and Red pine are favored by European Sawfly.  White and Austrian pine are less susceptible.

Early detection is the best method of control for the European Pine Sawfly.  Begin inspecting your evergreens in early May for signs of feeding.  If caught early, they can easily be removed by hand.  You can blast them off with a hose or spray with an insecticidal soap (you can purchase it or make your own with liquid dish soap).  You may need to spray a couple times a week during the feeding season.  As larvae mature, insecticidal soap becomes less effective and you may need to step up to an insecticide containing pyrethrin.  This can be found at a hardware store or garden center.

Close up of European Pine Sawfly

To make your pines happier and healthier and less attractive to sawfly, water them regularly throughout the summer and up to the first frost.  One to two defoliations won’t kill an otherwise healthy pine.  The new growth isn’t affected and barring no other disease or insect factors, the plant should recover.

For additional information about European Pine Sawfly as well as other Sawfly species found in Minnesota take a look at this University of Minnesota Extension publication.

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By Carolyn Johnson

Mulching Provides a Clean, Finished Look to the Garden

Spring clean ups are wrapping up and our next focus at Field will be composting and mulching.  This is the perfect time of year to apply compost and mulch because the plants are just now starting to poke their little heads up.  It’s easier to work around the plants in the garden now rather than when they are fully-leafed out.

The benefits from compost and mulch are immense.  Compost and mulch can do the following:

• Conserve moisture, reducing watering needs
• Prevent weed germination
• Regulate soil temperatures
• Improve the condition of the soil by adding nutrients
• Reduce compaction
• Provide a ‘finished’ look in your landscape.  Should I keep going?

We recommend applying new mulch and compost every two to three years to help your garden stay healthy and look its best.  Please call me, Carolyn, at 612-554-8179, if you would like to schedule our services.   You can reach me at fieldcare@fieldoutdoorspaces.com as well.  We would be happy to help you strive to have the best looking garden on your block!

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By Ann Davenport

Pagoda Dogwood in Bloom

I love a good Pagoda Dogwood (Cornus alternifolia).  Its defined shape adds an element of architecture to the garden.  White flowers and bluish berries on red stems provide multiple season interest in our outdoor world.  Sadly, this great shrub/small tree is susceptible to a disease know as golden canker.  Upon first look, infected branches are a not entirely unpleasant orange-yellow color in contrast to the dark reddish-purple healthy bark.  A closer look at the yellow branch will reveal hundreds of tiny, blister-like orange spots.  A distinct line marks the area between healthy and diseased tissue.  Any branch that has turned completely yellow is dead and will not leaf out.

Golden Canker is caused by the fungus Cryptodiaporthe corni.  Very little is known about this fungus other than that it only affects Pagoda Dogwoods, especially those which are heat and drought stressed.

Blisters & Line Marking Healthy From Diseased Tissue

It advances within the plant while the plant is dormant.  Any branch that is completely encircled by the fungus will die and if the fungus reaches the main stem of the plant, the entire canopy may die.

If you have a Pagoda Dogwood in your landscape, there are several things that can be done to either reduce the risk of acquiring golden canker or help control the disease in already infected plants.  It is important to visually inspect the dogwood in the spring before new growth begins.  Any infected branches should be removed several inches below where the infected bark meets the healthy bark.  The fungus travels in advance of that “dead” line so cutting farther back into healthy tissue increases the chance of removing all of the infected tissue.

Infected Branches

It is also important to sterilize your cutting tool between cuts so as not to transfer fungal spores to uninfected tissue.  Any infected branches should be disposed of (not composted) and removed from the area.

Providing optimum growing conditions for the plant can reduce the chances of it becoming infected.  Pagoda Dogwood is native to our region and is typically found as a small understory tree, preferring shaded to partially shaded areas.  Providing a similar environment in the home landscape will help reduce stress to the plant.  Also, mulching around the base of the plant will help keep roots cool and retain needed moisture.  During dry periods supplemental water should be provided.

With a little bit of care and a few extra steps, pagoda dogwoods can thrive in our landscapes.  They add a unique quality that is difficult to replicate and well worth that little bit of extra time.

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By Shannon O’Halloran

A "Carolyn Original" Annual Design

Who really gets things done around Field Outdoor Spaces?  Meet Carolyn Johnson.  If you haven’t talked to her about any of your existing garden needs and you never knew who to contact, then we are sorry we’ve kept you in the dark!

Carolyn's Skillful Hand in the Residential Setting

2011 will mark Carolyn’s third season with Field.  She is a talented horticulturist and an organizational wonder. If you need winter pruning, want help with annuals, or any spring projects in your garden Carolyn is your “go to gal”.  Contact her at:

carolyn.fieldcare@gmail.com

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