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To control White Flies,
those stubborn, white "webby" pests that stick to the undersides
of leaves, use Bayer's Rose & Flower Insect Killer. This
product comes highly recommended as an effective exterminator of these
"life sucking" pests.
| Fertilize
& Disease Control |
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Roses
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Water,
water water! Roses need lots of water now to get the stalks
and leaves going for the blooms that are coming. Continue to
fertilize roses this month. See Pat Welsh’s Southern California Gardening Book for
details about method options. Last month you marked the calendar
when you began feeding. Feed again on the same date this and next
month. Fertilize just before a heavy rain or irrigation. If there
isn’t enough rain, keep roses irrigated.
Continue to control fungus with
Bayer Rose and Flower or Fungicide Plus by Spectracide mid-month. Mix them both using the amount of
water indicated for one of them if you’re showing roses. For each
gallon, add a small amount of dishwashing liquid to help it
adhere better. Either wash off aphids with a hose or control them
with systemics such as Bayer Rose and Flower Care, Insect
Concentrate or Ready-to-Use, which are safer than sprays if roses aren’t near
food plants. Follow all safety instructions when using any
chemicals.
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Permanent Plants
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It’s time to fertilize the areas you prepared last month around
bushes, ground covers, lawns and most ornamental trees. Heavy rains
wash away nutrients, so use a granular fertilizer high in nitrogen.
Water well or apply when rain is coming. Flowers such as azaleas,
begonias, camellias, epiphyllums, ferns, fruit trees, fuchsias,
roses and vegetables have special requirements, so follow directions
carefully. Feed plants showing signs of slow or stunted growth, disease,
yellow leaves. If you garden is overgrown, feeding will just make it
flourish, so clean up the area first.
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Cool-Season
Flowers
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Your
planting efforts in October should be paying off by now with
beautiful cool-season blooms. Keep calendula, cineraria (tall
varieties), Iceland poppies, linaria, snapdragon and stock blooms
deadhead or picked to promote blooming.
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Warm-
and
Cool-Season
Lawns |
All established warm- and cool-season
lawns will benefit from a complete fertilizer now. The nitrogen
will give results you can see – growth and green – while the
potassium and phosphorous will last in the soil and feed the roots.
After this complete feeding, use pure nitrogen once a month for the
rest of the season. You’ll need ¾ to 1 pound of nitrogen per
1,000 sq. ft. of soil depending on the type of grass. Apply
fertilizer to a damp ground with dry grass then water deeply so it won’t burn. You can use a slow-release fertilizer on
warm-season lawns which will last approximately three months. Keep
cool-season grasses cut
1½" to 1¾" now. If there is little rain, water often and mow weekly.
If you had
a problem last year with crabgrass it may be too
late to use a pre-emergent. Pre-emergent herbicides should be applied when
the soil temperature is 63° to 65°. There are several products available,
both in dry and spray form. Treat a second time two weeks after the
first application. Follow package directions and
keep an eye on the weather, some of the directions may focus on
colder climates. |
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Citrus
Trees |
If
you are in a coastal area you should have begun feeding citrus trees
in January and continue monthly through June. If you are in
an interior zone, start feeding them mid-month when frost is no
longer a threat. The amount of fertilizer depends on the
maturity of the tree and the composition of the soil. Don’t spray
with malathion when in bloom -- you'll have flowers,
but no fruit.
Pests are getting active now. Beware
of aphids, mealy bugs, rust and silver mites and wooly whitefly. You
may need a magnifying glass to see them and if necessary, consult a
book about controlling citrus pests.
Washing citrus trees can help prevent
or rid them of pests. Use an insecticidal soap. The
leaves can be hand-washed with ultra fine oil in extreme cases. Cut the tips of any
branches that touch the ground to help prevent ants. Don’t cut too
much, the trunk needs the branches to protect it from sunburn.
Regular commercial spraying is best to get rid of ants.
Water deeply every two to three
weeks. To avoid fungus disease (gumosis) be careful not to water the
trunk. Let the hose run slowly on the ground about a third of the
way from the trunk to that far past the drip line.
Check for snails, they especially
like orange trees. Remove them and clip off any leaves touching the
ground.
Tip: putting a copper band around the
tree trunk prevents snails from crawling up. |
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Alder,
Ash and Sycamore Trees |
Ash
trees can become infected with anthracnose, a fungus that causes new
growth to die and leaves to brown and drop off. Clean up under the
tree and cut out dead branches. Spray with Spectricide Fungicide when
the leaves unfurl, two weeks later and then again in two more weeks.
Fertilize prior to leaves emerging. Anthracnose can also affect sycamore trees. Spray at the same
intervals as above with a fungicide containing chlorothalonil.
Sycamore scale live on the bark during the winter then begin feeding on the
leaves in the spring. They weaken the tree causing limbs and twigs
to die back. Check for cottony masses in the cracks and crevices of
the bark which protects the eggs that over-winter in the tree.
High-pressure spray the tree thoroughly with dormant oil using two
gallons of oil to 98 gallons of water with a surfacant mixed into
the spray to remove the eggs if the tree is dormant.
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Avocado Trees
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Nitrogen
is the key word when fertilizing avocado trees. The amount of
nitrogen needed is in direct relation to the age of the tree. A mature tree
(8-10 years old) requires about two pounds of nitrogen per year
along with various amounts of other nutrients whereas a tree five
years old needs half that amount. Consult a book or nursery for
specific details. If you live on the coast, divide the amount needed
by five and apply equal amounts once a month from February through
June. In inland areas, divide by four and feed monthly March through
June. If you use slow-release, half should have been applied in February and
the second half half in
June. Avocados require rich soil, excellent drainage and a thick
layer of mulch over the roots.
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