Now’s the Time to Plant Flowering Perennials

 

Whether you’re planting to fill in a spot in the landscape or replace a plant, now’s a great time to plant perennials. Planting perennials in the spring offers the advantage of a long growing season, encouraging the plant to set roots and establish well.  

 

 

Two important factors to consider are matching the plant to the right light conditions and taking time to improve the soil. While many perennials come with an information tag, don’t hesitate to ask one of our staff members about planting location and plant care. We’ll be glad to help you.  

Once the site is selected, it's time to prepare the soil.  We stock locally produced bagged soil amendments such as Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat, and Compost. Bagged amendments are convenient and easy to transport. Rich in trace minerals, organic material and beneficial microbes, Earth Essentials Sheep, Peat and Compost improves the soil’s physical and biological health, essential for initial planting as well as sustained growth.  

 

Adding this organic amendment will allow our typical clay soil to drain better and the plant will be able to take up water and nutrients more effectively.  

Dig a hole twice as large as the container your plant came in and half again as deep. Now mix the Sheep, Peat and Compost at a ratio of one-third to 50:50 with the existing soil. Once the hole is dug and amended, fill it with water and let the water drain. 

Repeat this step, this time adding three and a half tablespoons of ferti•lome Root Stimulator to a gallon of water. Slip your new plant out of its container and loosen the root ball.  Place the plant in the center of the hole and backfill with the amended soil, using enough to create a shallow basin to facilitate watering.

 
It's important to keep new plantings evenly moist. This is best done by checking each plant daily and hand watering as necessary. Fill the basin you built around each plant and let the water slowly seep in. Don’t rely on automatic irrigation.  

 

Applying mulch to new plantings is an effective way to conserve water and reduce heat stress on your plants.   

 
 

Even though our perennials are hardened off, plan to plant on a cloudy day or plant in the evening. This will give the new plant some 8 to 10 hours to begin acclimating to its new location without the stress of direct sun and high temperatures.   

 

There are many varieties of blooming perennials available now, many of these perennials will attract and support pollinators. With good soil preparation and the right amount of water, your new plantings will establish quickly and provide color and interest through the season.    

Spring Lawn Care Tips 

 

As your lawn begins to wake up this spring, there are four things you need to do to get it started right. At the top of your list should be a spring lawn aeration. Aeration is one of the most important steps in maintaining a healthy lawn.

The most effective aeration involves removing plugs or "cores" of soil from the lawn. Core aeration reduces soil compaction and allows air, water and nutrients to reach the root area of your grass. We do not recommend "dethatching" a lawn.  

 

Once the lawn has been aerated, the next step is to work on improving the soil your grass is growing in. Start out with an application of ferti-lome HuMic, a highly concentrated soil conditioner. HuMic contains humate, a product that helps improve clay soil structure, enhances nutrient uptake and encourages soil microbial activity.  

 

Once HuMic is down and watered in, treat the lawn with Revive®. Organically based Revive® reduces compaction and optimizes water utilization, encouraging irrigation water to penetrate deeper, with less runoff. Once you've aerated your lawn and conditioned the soil, it's time to feed the grass. 

 

If you’re interested in reducing the number of weeds in your lawn this season, choose ferti•lome For All Seasons II. This product fertilizes your lawn and acts to prevent germination of any seed that may have wintered over in your grass. It's important to note that For All Seasons II, just like every weed prevention product acts the same with all seeds, not just crabgrass and other annual and broadleaf weed seeds. If you’re planning to over seed your lawn this spring, don’t use a weed preventing product on your lawn.  Weed prevention products – called pre-emergents need to be applied before the ground temperatures get warm enough for seeds to start sprouting.  

 

If you’re looking for a good lawn fertilizer without weed control, choose Richlawn Pro-Rich. Made in Colorado, organic based Pro-Rich will provide the nutrients your lawn needs this time of year.   

 

Animals, both domestic and wild, can cause considerable damage during the winter. Applying Dog Spot treatment or liquid Revive will often restore the damaged turf. If after a couple of treatments, the turf has not started to green up, then it’s time to consider reseeding.  

 

When it comes to seeding your lawn, turf grasses are divided into two categories: cool season grasses and warm season grasses. Cool season grasses include Kentucky Blue Grass, Perennial Rye Grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue.  Cool season grass seed can be sown now and will begin to germinate as soon as the soil temperature reaches 50 degrees Fahrenheit.  While Kentucky Blue grass is the predominate turf grass in our area, many lawns are combinations of blue grass, Perennial Rye grass and Turf Type Tall Fescue.  

Choosing the right grass seed is the first step to getting your lawn in shape for the coming season. We carry a variety of turf grass seed, and we can help you select the right seed for your lawn situation. 

 

Finally, know what you're dealing with. Coarse grasses you may see in your lawn right now isn't "crabgrass", so products labeled for crabgrass control won't work on them. If there are large patches of dead grass in your lawn, it could be from insect activity, winter kill or fungus.   

 

The point is whether it's weeds, diseases or insect damage, correctly identifying your lawn's problem is key to picking the right solution. Bring a sample of your lawn into our Diagnostic Center for an analysis.

Lawn samples should be about as big as a sheet of typing paper with 2" to 3" of soil and include a portion of healthy lawn along with the problem area. After a thorough examination of your lawn sample, we'll be able to recommend solutions to your problem. We do not charge a fee for our diagnostic services.