We’re due for some cooler weather this week, and that should be a reminder to get your pansies in the ground ASAP. They’ll take all the cold weather to come, and by planting them before the worst of the winter cold, they’ll have a chance to get the roots developed so they’ll perform better.
Remember that pansies require a very rich soil. It’s best to add rich composted manure and/or alfalfa every time you plant them. Then fertilize them regularly with Fertilome Premium Bedding Plant Food or Nelson’s Color Star plant food.
If you get them off to a good start, your pansies will bloom from now until hot temperatures hit next May or so.
What a relief to get some good rain this weekend. It was enough to fill up some stock tanks and give our plants a good soaking.
It won’t be enough to carry us through the winter, unless we have more showers on a regular basis. That’s why our seminar scheduled for Oct. 22 is still relevant.
We’ll talk about how to plan and plant for the scenario of extended drought. This summer was a wake-up call. Our water resources, even in good years, are very limited. We must make the most of them. We can still have beautiful yards. We must just do them in the right way, so we can sustain them in dry times.
The seminar is free — just sign up by going to the Calendar link from our home page.
And remember to continue to monitor your plants through the winter. Feel the soil, and when it is dry, give them a good, deep, soaking water. Freezing temperatures are especially hard on plants when they are dry.
We thought it would never end! We have been known to complain in the past that we’re having the worst summer ever. This year, it was true, and the statistics prove it!
All over the area we see trees and shrubs that are dead or close to it. If you have plants that are still clinging to life and you want to try to save them, here are some things to try right now:
1. Fall fertilizer will be very important for your trees and shrubs this year. If they are still alive, that means you watered themheavily – and that means all the nutrients have been leached out of the soil. Give them a treatment with Ferti-lome Tree and Shrub food or Smith’s Premium fertilizer. They are already stressed – give them all the help you can to help them face the winter. Continue deep watering every couple of weeks, if we don’t have significant rainfall.
2. Try some Super Thrive. This is a great vitamin and hormone treatment to perk up most any plant. It’s not a fertilizer, so it’s fine to use both a fertilizer and Super Thrive. This product has been around for a long time, and we should use it more.
And if some of your plants are down for the count, we are restocking with fresh trees and shrubs, so come in for help in reviving your landscape.
