Could your lawn be dead?
By ROBERT KESSLER Penn State Cooperative Extension Franklin County office

COMING EVENTS

Aug. 19 to 25 - Franklin County Fair, Chambersburg Rod and Gun Club, 3725 Warm Spring Road, Chambersburg.

Sept. 8 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Turfgrass Establishment, Lawn Care & Renovation, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Chambersburg, Call 263-9226.

Sept. 15 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Backyard Habitat Workshop, Horticulture Gardens, Franklin Farm Lane, Chambersburg.

Sept. 22 - 9:30 to 11:30 a.m., Preparing Yard for new year, Franklin County Cooperative Extension, Chambersburg

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PLANT TAGS

If you buy a plant at a greenhouse, have you looked at the plant tags recently? They may have a lot more valuable information today than they did five years ago. They can be a big help to you when you are plant shopping.

First the tag will have the botanical name of the plant and a common name. The tag will tell you whether the plant likes full sun, partial sun or shade.

The tag will tell you about the water requirements of the plant plus what soil type it prefers. Most tags will give you planting suggestions and maybe other information about the plant. One thing it will give you that you should always look at is the size that the plant will reach when it is full grown. This should help prevent you from putting the eight-foot high plant in from of the windows that is four feet off the ground. Look at the plant tags carefully when you purchase your next plant, shrub or perennial and know for sure that you are getting the correct plant for the site you want to put it in.

IS YOUR

LAWN DEAD?

If you are wondering if your lawn is dead from the drought, the recent rains will have helped it start to grow again. But if it is like mine, it still has a lot of brown grass. You have to look closely at the brown areas to see if the green grass is starting to show up. Some of the new growth is so small that it is hard to see the new grass blades. Some of the new growth is actually coming from the base of the plant. If you can see any of this, then be patient. You can add about one-half pound of nitrogen per 1000 square feet to help restore your grass's vigor. This would be about just slightly more than one pound of urea (46% N) per 1000 square feet of turf.

If you search and search the brown spots and you can't find any sign of green blades or green coming from the base of the plant, then you will probably need to do some type turf renovation.

IS YOUR TREE A HAZARD?

How do you know if your tree in your yard is a hazard or not? Many times you can tell by looking at it and knowing some of the signs to look for. You need to take a step back from your yard and look at your trees.

Do you see any fungal bodies on the tree or around under the tree? Fungi usually means that the tree has some type of disease that can result in the tree becoming a hazard. Topping trees or injury to the trees are ways that fungi can enter a tree and start to develop. Over time the internal wood can lose strength or the tree can even become hollow or a limb could become weak and fall. Fungi around the base of a tree can indicate that there is a root rot problem, which can weaken the support structure of the tree and the tree can blow over. Don't ignore this sign of a potential problem with a tree. Get a professional to check out the health of your tree. They are trained to know what to look for.

Do you see cracks in the tree, especially in the trunk of the tree? Cracks that are deeper than just in the bark are a sign of weakness of the tree and should be checked out. Look for weak branch unions when branches are not strongly attached to the tree. Sharp angles are not strong and can cause a weak branch union.

Look closely at a tree that suddenly starts to lean and the ground around the tree rises up. This tree is ready to blow over or just pull over. Get it removed professionally.

Some problems with older trees could have been prevented if corrective measures were taken when a tree is young. Poor branch unions could be avoided if the bad branch was removed when the tree was younger. When you step back and look at the trees in your yard, look at the younger trees to spot potential hazards and have them corrected now.

GARDENING TO DO

Sometimes we get so busy we forget to do a few things in the yard or all of a sudden we realize its getting too late to order something we wanted. Here are some suggestions of things you need to think about in your yard and garden over the next month:

o Order your spring bulbs now or start watching the garden centers to get the best selection. Often you can get a better selection early. They will store okay until you are ready to plant them.

o Make a compost pile or compost bins. You need to build compost bins soon for the bountiful supply of leaves this fall. When you clean up your yard, all of your leaves, grass clippings, spent garden plants; tree and shrub prunings, frosted annuals and perennials can all go into your compost bin. If your neighbor bags his leaves, ask if you can have them for your compost bin. Next year you will have great compost to use in your yard.

o Take a soil sample now. This is especially important if you are going to create a new flower bed or if you have turf you will need to establish this fall. We have the soil test kits in our office or you can go on line to www.aasl.psu.edu and click on submitting samples to get the information and forms to send your soil sample directly to the lab for testing. The cost is $9.00 and you will get the results in time to incorporate lime if needed this fall.

o Check the depth of your mulch. The heat of the summer can break down the mulch so you may want to add mulch this fall to your beds to get the proper depth of two inches. Most places still have mulch for sale so it is easy to get it yet.

o Keep harvesting your vegetables. Don't let produce go to waste. If you have excess, donate it to the food bank.

o Keep weeds from setting seeds. If you can't get the time to get the weeds removed, go out with a pruner and snip off the seed heads.

o Add fertilizer around your annual flowers. Fall is when your annuals always look their best. Side dress with a fertilizer now. It will help them look their best for the next couple of months