40 November 11, 2006

I would guess that this is going to be the fall that we do not have to worry about watering our trees and shrubs. Mother Nature seems to be providing the trees and shrubs with the inch of rain that the plants need each week. This rain will allow the trees and shrubs to take up the moisture they need to help the plants to survive the windy winter.

If you are one of the people who brought houseplants back inside, then you should take some time this month to check those plants for signs of insect infestation. Even if you treated the plants with an insecticide before you brought the plants inside, there is still a chance that the insects may not have been killed. If you see tiny webs on your plants or if you see bumps on the stems or leaves, then insects have probably started to multiply on your plants. An application of an appropriate insecticide should be applied as soon as possible. It will be a good idea to check your plants each month to see if there are any signs of insects. A regular examination of your houseplants will allow you to catch a problem before it gets out of control.

I have had a few people looking for specific varieties of tulips and daffodils. We do sell the bulbs in our store, but we do offer more varieties of bulbs on our web site. These bulbs are shipped directly from a bulb importer. Our web site is www.harborgardens.com.

There still seems to be some confusion over what things can still be done in our gardens. There is still time to fertilize and lime your lawn. You can still plant winter rye as a cover crop for your vegetable garden. There is still time to plant tulip and daffodil bulbs. There is still time to fertilize trees, shrubs and perennials with superphosphate.  There is still time to apply winter mulch around your trees, shrubs and perennials.

This is not the right time of the year to prune back shrubs that flower in the spring. If you cut back azaleas, rhododendrons, forsythia and other spring flowering plants; you will be removing many of the flower buds. If you take off the flower buds, then you will not have any flowers in the spring. Spring flowering plants should be pruned back as soon as they are done flowering in the spring.

Well, that’s all for this week. I’ll talk to you again next week.