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A. First of all, keep the grass away from the tree. Mulch 2 feet wide, preferably to 5 feet. Competing grass can slow down your tree as much as 50 percent. Also, making a wide berm of mulch prevents trunk damage from the mower and trimmer.

Do not pile mulch around the base of the tree. Keep that area open to light and air. Fertilize in small doses: a cup per 1 inch of trunk, with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 blend. Do not use weed and feed products! Apply now, again in two months, and another dose two months after that. This summer, keep it watered, but avoid over watering. This simple maintenance can speed up your tree’s growth by 200-300%.

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Coral Honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens)

Coral honeysuckle is a versatile plant with many great attributes. Less rampant that some of the other honeysuckles on the market, this native Texas vine is very suitable for a porch post or small trellis.

You’ll need to help it get started by tying the vines to the post or trellis as the vines lacks tendrils or other means of attachment.

It is tolerant of a fairly wide variety of soils and will grow in sun or a bright shade.

Coral honeysuckle may also be sheared periodically into a mounding shrub form. It puts on its best show in early spring, but will continue to bloom sporadically until late fall. The long tubular blooms attract hummingbirds and butterflies, and birds prize the red fruits that follow. The common form sports beautiful clusters of coral/orange/red blooms, but a yellow form is also available.

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• This is your last chance to start lettuce and spinach before it gets too hot.
• It’s also your last opportunity to prune oak trees. Be sure to seal the cuts with pruning paint.
• Keep adding compost to vegetable and flowerbeds, as well as to the lawn (no more than ¼” on the lawn). The time spent now will reward you this summer.
• Composting the lawn now is great, but don’t fertilize yet. If you do it now, you’ll just be feeding the weeds.

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