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| Q. My lawn has yellow
patches. What is wrong? |
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A. Mainly, itís been a long hot summer
with extended periods of drought. Then, we had times when it rained
and rained. So, there can be several things going on in addition
to natural stress.
First, this has been one of the worst years for chinch bugs. Chinch
bugs literarily suck the life out of turf and cause it to turn from
green very quickly through yellow and on in to brown. If youíve
had chinch bug problems, thereís no sense treating them now,
since by fall their numbers are declining. For areas that have been
damaged, you can plant plugs in the next few weeks.
The more common cause of yellowing turf in summer is take-all patch.
This fungus kills the roots. You can see the difference between
it and brown patch (a spring and fall fungus) because with take-all,
you can easily pull the rotted stolons right out of the ground.
One combat is to spread a thin layer of peat moss across the area,
about one bale per 1000 square feet. Build up the area with healthy
turf management, aeration, and avoiding too much water or fertilizer.
What we often see is iron chlorosis. You can identify this by holding
up a grass blade against the light. It will have streaks of yellow
and green through the blade.
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<<view past Questions of the Week |
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 Flowering
Senna
(Cassia corymbosa)
Flowering senna, also called Argentine senna, makes a great
shrub or mini-tree reaching 6-8 feet tall and wide. Its dark
green foliage makes an attractive shrub, but it can also be
pruned into a mini-tree form.
In late summer through fall, the plant is covered with yellow
flowers for a stunning show. It is also a larval food for
sulfur butterflies. Deer reportedly do not prefer this plant.
It is hardy in all but an unusually cold winter. Avoid pruning
from late summer through winter to maintain optimum hardiness.
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<<view past Plants
of the Week
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- This is prime time for planting all those cool season crops,
like Chinese cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi and collards.
You can also plant beets, carrots, and radishes as well as mustard
and chard. Mustard likes cooler temperatures, but try earling
planting to see how they do.
- If you have warm season flowers like petunias, feed them and
cut them back for renewed blossoming until the first frost.
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<< more Planting Tips |
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