Retired Horticulturalist Dave Decock brings some late spring planting, transplanting, fertilizing and weeding wisdom to the listeners of KFGO. Whether you need some information on your established flowering crab tree or a new rhubarb plant you put in – Dave has you covered. Plant Talk is LIVE every Thursday from 1pm to 2pm during It Takes Two with Amy & JJ on KFGO-AM.
ON THIS EPISODE:
Dave gets a few calls about how to keep a flowering crab tree from producing fruit. A lot of flowering crab owners do not care for the mess, but love the blooms on these Midwest favorites. Here is the advice. 10 days, very important to wait 10 days, AFTER full bloom, use the Sevin brand spray on the flowering crab. Then, wait another 10 days (mark it on the calendar or set an alarm on your phone) and give it a second application of Sevin. NOTE – This will kill bees, that is why you wait 10 days after full bloom and the bees have had a chance to do their business with the flowers. Being respectful to the bees in your neighborhood will pay off as they pollinate other plants and flowers in your yard.
Another KFGO listener was curious about fertilizing strawberries and June berries. You can fertilize now and you are looking for a fertilizer that is high in phosphorus. A quick rule of thumb for choosing a fertilizer for vegetables/fruit is look on the back. You will see three numbers, these indicate the levels of certain elements. For this particular job you want the MIDDLE number to be the highest of the three.
What about transplanting? Hearty plants like day lilies or rhubarb can be split and moved – but make sure you water them in well when moved. Other plants, shrubs and trees are best to leave until the Fall. Early Spring and Late Fall are the best times to make those major moves. It is not impossible by any means, but it will definitely be harder on the plants and they will require extra care when being moved during peak growing season. A great conversation about splitting up and moving an asparagus patch this week!
Speaking of growing season – let’s talk weeds. Dave gives some great advice on how to kill weeds. The best time to kill weeds is when they are actively growing. Think of your lawn. After a few days of rain and then warm sunny weather – your lawn grows like crazy. But when it is overly hot and your lawn starts to shrivel a bit, the active growth isn’t working. That lawn is in survival mode instead. Treat weeds the same. When you are applying an herbicide, make sure that the weed will absorb the poison and send it to the roots. Actively growing.
Plant Talk with Dave Decock brought to you by…
Dave’s West Fargo Tire and Service
–Additional Content–
Plant Talk: Lilacs, Animal Damage to Plants and More!
Plant Talk: Protecting Against Frost, Replanting Grass Seed and More!
Plant Talk: Fertilizers, Moving Plants and Garden Prep!
Plant Talk: Sap Suckers, Weed Killing 101 and More!
Plant Talk: Trimming Trees in the Spring, Earthworm Damage and More
(Amy Iler & JJ Gordon are talk-show hosts at 790 AM KFGO in Fargo-Moorhead. “It Takes 2 with Amy & JJ” can be heard weekdays 11am-2pm. Check out the show page on FACEBOOK. Follow Amy on Twitter @AmyKFGO . Follow JJ on Twitter @JJGodon701 .)
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