Blog Post: http://www.ksuhortnewsletter.org
Video of the Week: Dividing Daylilies
https://kansashealthyyards.org/all-videos/video/dividing-daylilies
UPCOMING EVENTS
This Week’s K-State Garden Hour Webinar: Gardening with Beneficial Insects
Wednesday, August 4; Noon – 1:00pm CST
Presented by: Pam Paulsen, Reno County Horticulture Extension Agent
Join this free gardening webinar the first and third Wednesday of every month. Recordings are made available online, and a one-time registration is required participate in the live webinar series. To register, see upcoming webinars, and view previous webinars, visit: http://ksre-learn.com/KStateGardenHour
REMINDERS
1. Avoid fertilizing ornamentals now so they harden off before winter
2. Take cuttings from geraniums and begonias for wintering indoors. See https://kansashealthyyards.org/all-videos/video/cuttings-to-grow-inside-for-winter
3. Turn compost pile and add water when dry
PESTS
Oak Lace Bug
We often associate lace bugs with sycamores and cotoneaster, but oaks can be affected as well. Actually the lace bugs that affect these three plants are separate species. Lace bugs are true bugs and therefore feed by sucking sap through straw-like mouthparts that pierce the leaf. These three species also are similar in appearance due to the lacy quality of the wings that lie flat over the back.
Though lace bugs are found on the bottom of leaves, the symptoms will become apparent on top. Damage appears as a stippling effect from white to yellow spots. From a distance, the oak leaves often appear bronze. Even if you don’t find living specimens, their presence is given away by small, shiny dark spots of excrement on the undersides of leaves.
Lace bugs do not cause significant damage to oaks this late in the season, and control measures are not recommended. (Ward Upham)
TURFGRASS
Fall Armyworms on Turf
We are seeing numerous reports of fall armyworm especially in southeast and south-central Kansas. Though we have had fall armyworm outbreaks in the past, this is earlier than usual.
Armyworms are so-called because they invade fields or landscapes as large groups and can cause a lawn to turn brown seemingly overnight.
Young worms are ½ to 3/4 inch long. Mature ones are 1 ½ inches long. Body color may vary from green to almost black but light stripes will be visible along the length of the body. Look for a whitish inverted “Y” on the top of the black head. It normally takes 2 to 3 weeks to progress from egg to pupa. The adult is a moth.
Armyworm damage can resemble drought damage but close inspection of the turf will reveal the larvae. Look for active feeding during early morning or evening hours or on cloudy days. Larvae feed on foliage and the resulting dehydration causes to turf to quickly brown. Normally, armyworm damage does not kill established turf but may if populations are high enough. Thick infestations of fall armyworm can damage turfgrass crowns which will kill turf.
Acephate (Orthene, Acephate), spinosad (Conserve; Natural Guard Spinosad, Captain Jack’s Deadbug Brew; Monterey Garden Insect Spray) and other insecticides are effective caterpillar killers. Treat in late afternoon, when the caterpillars are likely to begin feeding. Do not mow for 3 days after treatment. (Ward Upham)
For Seeding Success, Pay Attention to “Other Crop” on the Seed Label
Fall planting time is close at hand, so it’s time to talk about grass seed. Many people have the idea that all grass seed is basically the same. Big mistake! Choosing quality seed is one of the most important steps in successfully planting or overseeding your lawn. If you don’t know what to look for, you may be introducing unwanted intruders into that new stand. In particular, we are concerned with seed contaminated with orchardgrass and/or rough bluegrass (also known by its Latin name, Poa trivialis, or Poa triv for short). These are both perennial grassy weeds that cannot be selectively controlled once they are in a lawn.
Orchardgrass is a problem because it is faster growing and lighter green than our turfgrasses. It is a bunch grass and so doesn’t spread, but infested areas are still unsightly due to small tufts of this species pockmarking the lawn.
Rough bluegrass is fine-textured and forms circular patches in the lawn. It blends in fairly well until summertime heat causes it to turn brown rapidly. If the rough bluegrass would just die in the heat, it would only be a temporary problem. Unfortunately, it usually just goes dormant, turning green again with cooler temperatures and rain.
Buying quality seed starts with knowing how to decipher the seed label. One of the most important things to look for is listed as percent “Other Crop Seed” or “Other Crop.” “Other Crop” refers to any species that is intentionally grown for some purpose. That would include turfgrasses (those species other than the one you are buying) and pasture grasses.
Orchardgrass and rough bluegrass both are listed as “Other Crop” seed. Seed labels are required by law to show the percentage (by weight) of “Other Crop Seed” in the bag, but unless a species constitutes 5% or more, the label doesn’t have to list each species by name.
How much “Other Crop” is too much? That’s a difficult question to answer, but the tolerance is very low. It depends on what the “Other Crop” actually is, and the quality expectations of the buyer. In practice, “Other Crop” may refer to something relatively harmless, like a small amount of perennial ryegrass in a bag of tall fescue, or it may refer to something bad, like rough bluegrass or orchardgrass. The homeowner really has no easy way of knowing what the “Other Crop” is, although there are some hints. If it is something bad, less than ½ of 1% can result in a lawn filled with hard to control weeds. . Obviously, if your expectations are high for the area you are planting, you would want the “Other Crop” to be as close to zero as possible. Good quality seed will often have 0.01% “Other Crop Seed” or less.
Another line on the seed label is “Weed Seed.” It should also be 0.01% or less. (Ward Upham)
FRUIT
Are Crabapples Safe to Eat?
Crabapples are safe to consume as long as you don’t eat too many of them. Actually, the only difference between crabapples and apples is the size of the fruit. By definition, crabapples have fruit that are 2 inches or less in diameter, and apples are more than 2 inches in diameter. By this definition, most of the apples grown from seed will be crabapples. The fruiting apples are grafted.
So did people ever plant crabapples from seed? Of course they did. Just think of Johnny Appleseed. But those apples were normally used for jelly, applesauce, and cider and not for fresh eating. Even in Johnny Appleseed’s day, dessert apples were grafted.
There is one other caveat with using crabapples from a tree in the landscape. Make sure the tree hasn’t been sprayed as an ornamental with a pesticide that isn’t labeled for fruit tree apples. If it has, then the fruit should not be used. (Ward Upham)
ORNAMENTALS
Dividing Daylilies
Daylilies need to be divided every three to four years to maintain good flower production. Though they may be divided in early spring before growth starts, it is more common to divide them in September. Many gardeners cut back the tops to about half their original height to make plants easier to handle.
Daylilies have a very tough root system that can make them difficult to divide while in place. Dividing in place is practical if it hasn’t been long since the last division. In such cases, a spading fork can be used to peel fans from the existing clump. If the plants have been in place longer and are well grown together, it is more practical to divide them after the entire clump has been dug.
Use a spade to lift the entire clump out of the ground. Although it is possible to cut the clump apart with a sharp spade, you’ll save more roots by using two spading forks back-to-back to divide the clump into sections. Each section should be about the size of a head of cauliflower. An easier method involves using a stream of water from a garden hose to wash the soil from the clump, and then rolling the clump back and forth until the individual divisions separate.
Space divisions 24 to 30 inches apart, and set each at its original depth. The number of flowers will be reduced the first year after division but will return to normal until the plants need to be divided again. (Ward Upham)
Spring Flowering Shrubs
August through September is the time period our spring-flowering shrubs set flower buds. Therefore, watering, as needed, at this time can help with next spring’s bloom. Also avoid pruning at this time of year as it can reduce bloom for next spring.
Examples of spring-flowering shrubs include Forsythia, Flowering Quince, Almond, Beautybush, Deutzia, Pyracantha, Lilac, Mock Orange, Cotoneaster, Weigela, Viburnum and Witchhazel. (Ward Upham)
MISCELLANEOUS
Composting: What to Add
For fastest composting, alternate layers of “greens” and “browns.” Greens are materials with a high amount of nitrogen as compared to carbon. Browns have less nitrogen as compared to carbon. The mixture of the two produces the “just right” amount of carbon and nitrogen to give the microorganisms just what they need to compost quickly.
The most common greens are fresh grass clippings, coffee grounds, small weeds, fruit and veggie scraps, plant trimmings and animal manure. The browns would include shredded leaves, sawdust, wood chips, hay, straw, dried grass clippings and prunings from small branches. These materials can be mixed together at the start or layered. If layering, alternate layers of brown materials (6 to 8 inches deep) with green materials (2 to 3 inches thick) until you reach a height of 3 to 5 feet. If green materials are in short supply, add 1 to 2 cups per square yard of a commercial garden fertilizer in place of the green material layer. (Ward Upham)
Contributors: Ward Upham, Extension Associate
Division of Horticulture
1712 Claflin, 2021 Throckmorton
Manhattan, KS 66506
(785) 532-6173
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