There are a number of wonderful perennials that grow and bloom in early spring and then go dormant in the heat of summer. Unfortunately, when they go dormant, they leave an unattractive hole in the garden. To solve that problem, plan to plant annuals in their place. Just placing a few cosmos seeds in late spring near these summer dormant perennials will fill in the holes and produce a sea of color the rest of the summer. Some summer dormant perennials include fern leaf peonies, bleeding hearts, Oriental poppies and grape hyacinths.
Seeding the lawn
If you have lawn areas that are thin on grass, this month is an ideal time to get grass seed to germinate. The following chart shows how many square feet can be covered with a pound of grass seed.
New lawn
Over-seeding
Bluegrass
500-600 sq. ft.
1000-1200 sq. ft.
Other grasses
300-350 sq. ft.
600-700 sq. ft.
When purchasing grass seed make sure it is a mix of many kinds of seed. Choose mixes that have bluegrasses, perennial rye grasses and fescue grass seeds. The more variety, the less likely it is that a disease will take out the whole lawn. If you have areas that get salt damaged, use Boulevard Mix, a grass mix that tolerates salt more than other grass mixes.
Before you mow
If you didn’t sharpen the blade of your lawn mower last winter, get it sharpened now, before you mow. A dull blade rips the grass blade, and as a result, the end of the blade turns brown giving your lawn a yellow cast. Sharp blades cut the grass and cause less leaf damage and
minimum yellowing. Set your lawn mower at a height of 3” for optimum results. Like
all plants, the top growth has a direct correlation to the depth of the root zone. Keeping grass at 3” provides enough food producing green growth to maintain a healthy lawn.
Taller grass cools the soil, conserves water and, best of all, chokes out weeds. Mowing should be done often and no more than a third of the grass blade should be removed. If you have a healthy lawn and
mow it often, don’t bag the clippings. Left on the lawn, they provide nutrients and lots of organic material
Container success
For the best results when planting flowers in pots, always use fresh potting soil, never soil from the yard or garden. Garden soil is simply too heavy for most plants. The soil in container gardens gets watered more often than soil in the garden. That compacts the soil and drives out the air the plant roots need. Good potting soil (like Bachman’s brand) contains peat moss, which doesn’t compact during the growing season. It allows air to get to the root zone and healthy roots means healthy top growth and more blooms. Over time, even great potting soil tends to compact, so change the soil every season. You don’t have to dump the soil in the trash. You can put it in the garden if you haven’t had any disease problems.
TIPS
Cool season vegetables need to be planted now.
Prune roses back to a strong outward facing bud.
Use a soil thermometer to check soil temperatures. Warm loving plants, like impatiens, do better when planted in soil temperatures of 62° or higher.
Flowers and gifts from Bachman’s make any day a special one. When you order your flowers or gifts online, you know you’ll be getting a beautiful fresh floral arrangement from a trusted florist known for outstanding floral design, plus quality and service.
If you’re sending flowers or gifts out of town, you can rely on us to choose the best florist from either the FTD or Teleflora nationwide flower network. Florists who can be counted on to deliver the best fresh floral arrangements and gifts, even when doing a same day delivery.
