Garden Speaker Available

How to Have a Beautiful Garden that is Easy to Maintain Without the Use of Chemicals is my number one topic when I give garden speeches. I have delivered remarks at the Philadephia, Boston, New York, Cincinnatti, Hartford, Albany and many other flower shows. I also give speeches to local garden clubs and garden groups. I've written Beautiful Easy Flowers Gardens, Beautiful Easy Herbs, Beautiful Easy Lawns and five other books on gardening, all with the environment in mind. I am the longtime co-host of award-winning The Natural Gardener on Northeast Public Radio. I have a few dates open for 2009. If you or your group would like me to come and give a speech, contact me at lsombke@beautifuleasygardens.com.

Endless Summer Hydrangea Blooming Tips

Over the last two years, Bailey Nurseries, has heard some reports of inconsistent flower production, especially in cooler climates. Although a number of factors may contribute to the consistency or inconsistency of blooms, there is no simple answer to this matter. Here are some steps consumers in cooler northern climates can take to help ensure beautiful blooms.
Location Location, location, location! Yes, that old saying is true. In Northern climates, the location of your hydrangea in the garden will have the largest impact on bloom production. The farther north you are, the more sun your plants can tolerate. In zones 4-5a we recommend planting your Hydrangeas in a location that enables them to receive at least 6 hours of sun with some dappled shade in the afternoon.

Pruning Don’t treat your Endless Summer Hydrangeas like an Annabelle Hydrangea by cutting them back in the fall or early spring. By cutting to the ground or within a few inches of the ground, most if not all of the buds on old wood are being removed. In addition, the old blooms of Endless Summer add to the winter interest of your garden. Endless Summer Hydrangeas certainly do bloom on new wood, but it may take longer for flower buds to develop on the new growth of a young plant.

Winter cover Protection for plants in the first few years is important, as is protection from spring freezes. Since Hydrangea buds emerge early in spring, late freezes may damage bud development as well as any new growth. Keeping the crown of plants covered with mulch through May helps protect these buds and any soft new growth from late spring freezes. Feeding you plant Fertilization is also an important factor in flower production of Hydrangeas. A good quality, slow-release fertilizer applied once in spring or early summer should suffice for all but the most demanding locations. Look for an NPK ratio of 10-30-10. Container plants may need an additional application of liquid fertilizer during the growing season. Remember, if you over-feed your Hydrangeas, the effect is more dark green leaf production with fewer flower buds. In the North (zone 4) we recommend no fertilization after August 15th, as plants need to slow down and acclimate for winter.

Watering The amount you water is one more factor you can regulate to ensure beautiful blooms. Although Hydrangeas are named after “Hydra”, Greek for water, your hydrangeas will form large leaves, lots of green growth and few flower buds if over- watered. Over-watering may slow the formation of flowers considerably. It’s normal for plants to wilt for a short time in the heat of the day. You’re better off to water well and less often, than giving a little all the time.

For more info on Endless Summer Hydrangea visit the Web site http://www.endlesssummerblooms.com/

Money for Community Gardens

Public and Community Gardens are Invited to Apply for
Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards

The Nature Hills Nursery Green America Award, a new award program to give national recognition and $5,000 in plants to community groups and organizations who are improving their local environments, has been announced by Nature Hills Nursery. The award will be presented annually, beginning in April 2009, to groups and organizations that are literally “greening” their communities, parks, schools and public spaces by planting trees, shrubs and other plants.

The winners of the inaugural Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be those nonprofit groups and organizations that truly are making a difference in their local neighborhoods. The Grand Prize winning garden project will receive $2,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery. The First Prize winner will receive $1,500 in plants from Nature Hills Nursery, and the Second Prize winner will receive $1,000 in plants. The plant materials can contain any combination of trees, fruit trees, bushes and shrubs, perennials and vegetable seeds that Nature Hills Nursery offers.
The award winners will be chosen from those groups who submit a local community gardening or “greening” project that makes best use of the trees, bushes and shrubs that Nature Hills Nursery will award. Potential Nature Hills Nursery Green America Award winning projects could be:

· Creating or refurbishing the landscape in a community park.
· A local soil erosion control plan that utilizes plants to stabilize steep hillside slopes or river banks.
· The reclamation of an abandoned lot with the creation of a fruit orchard that will provide much needed fruit to nearby low-income residents.
· Creating a wildlife habitat for birds or animals on donated land that is (or has been) abandoned or neglected.

Based in Omaha, Nebraska, Nature Hills Nursery is a website-only retailer that sells trees, shrubs, perennials and other plants. The company created the Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards as a way to give back to the communities and people who have contributed to the success of the seven-year-old company.

Applications for the Nature Hills Nursery Green America Awards will be accepted nationwide from October 15, 2008 until April 1, 2009. The winners of the 2009 Nature Hills Nursery Green America Award will be announced on April 17, 2009. To apply for the 2009 award online, visit the website at http://www.naturehills.com/green_america_awards.aspx.

Susan and Larry: Reunited and it Feels so Good

Susan Arbetter and I will be reunited again this Saturday, September 27th at 11:00 a.m. at the "Come Grow with Us Day" sponsored by the Women's Club of Albany at 725 Madison Avenue in Albany. NY. Everyone is invited. We will talk about how to have a beautiful garden that is easy to maintain without the use of chemicals. As many of you know, Susan and I were radio partners on WAMC's Vox Pop for more than ten years and we were the winners of the Best Radio Personalities Golden Trowel award from the Garden Writers' Association of America.

Goodbye WAMC

As of today, WAMC and I have parted ways. I will no longer be a guest on "Gardening with Larry Sombke." The station management decided that it was time to bring in some new voices. I've had a wonderful ten years and I enjoyed speaking with you the listeners, especially when I have been invited to speak at your club or event, even when you ask me questions in the supermarket aisle when you recognize my voice. It has all been great. But I won't disappear. I have a new online garden opportunity that I am pursuing and I will keep you posted on that. And you can always ask me questions here at my blog, or at my Web site www.beautifuleasygardens.com or by email at sombke@beautifuleasygardens.com.
Let's keep in touch.

Organic Lawn Weed Control

Organic lawn weed control is always a challenge for the environmentally-friendly homeowner. Now there is a new product widely available at your favorite lawn and garden center that is going to make organic lawn weed control a lot easier. Concern All Natural Weed Prevention Plus is a pre-emergent herbicide plus organic fertilizer. Sounds too good to be true doesn't it? But this product is made from corn gluten meal, an animal feed by-product from the manufacture of corn starch. A scientist at Iowa State University discovered that corn gluten meal spread on your lawn will prevent the growth of dandelions, crabgrass, quackgrass, purslane, plantain and many other common lawn and garden weeds. I hope it works on ground ivy, a.k.a. creeping Charlie, too. Concern corn gluten is dry, granular and very yellow. Apply corn gluten with a drop spreader at about the same time as the daffodils or crocus are in bloom in mid-spring at the rate of 15 pounds per 1000 square feet of lawn. Apply just before a steady rain to get best results. Children and pets can play on the lawn after application, but don't inhale the light dust of the product because of potential allergic reaction. Do not use corn gluten on a newly-seeded lawn until after the first mowing. I have heard about this product for a couple years but this is the first time I am giving it a full test on my own lawn. I will keep you informed about how well it works for me. For more information about Concern Weed Prevention Plus visit www.concerngarden.com.

Garden Consultation with Free Book

Anyone who books me for a garden consultation this year will receive a complimentary copy of my book Beautiful Easy Flower Gardens. A consultation consists of me coming to your home, walking the grounds with you, looking at the landscape, giving you specific ideas of how you can solve your landscape problems. I will give you suggestions of trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs you can plant so you, too, can have a beautiful easy garden. If you are interested in a consultation (fee is $150) contact me a lsombke@beautifuleasygardens.com.
Hope to hear from you!

Tulip and Daffodils Popping Up

Sara from Greene County writes:
I just heard you say on Vox Pop that it is not good to have things popping up at this time of year. My snow drops are in bloom and my daffodils are over 1 1/2 inches up and the tulips are about 1 inch up. Should I be concerned?
Answer:
No you should not be concerned. This is normal. You just don't want to see a full-scale thaw at this time of year followed by below freezing temperatures that could nip the buds.

2008 Spring Speaking Schedule

I will be out and about giving speeches and offering garden advice at a variety of places this spring. I hope you can drop by and say hello:

April 9 at 7 pm at the Charlton Garden Club;

April 19th 11 am at the Village of St. Johnsville Sesquicentennial;

April 26th (time TK) at the Annual Garden Day at the Ulster County Community College;

May 14th (time TK) at the Hudson Highlands Nature Museum.

I will post more details as they come in. See you there!

93 Year Old New York City Arborist

Times ran a great story yesterday about 93-year-old New York City arborist Larry Borger.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/05/nyregion/05about.html?scp=2&sq=jim+dwyer&st=nyt

WAMC Back on the Air

After a winter of waiting, I am back on the air on WAMC Northeast Public Radio starting this Friday, March 7, 2008 at 2 p.m. Joe Donohue will be the host and I will be joined by arborist Fred Breglia from the Landis Arboretum. Please tune in and have your questions ready. I can't wait!

Lawn Soil Made Better

Perry from Rexford asks:
I have a question about how to improve the soil in my lawn. I moved into a new house that has sandy soil. I have been putting mulch, peat moss and compost into my garden soil, but, short of stripping off the grass, how do I improve the soil in my lawn?

A: You can improve the soil of your lawn in a number of ways. First, get a soil test done to check for a pH level that is between 6.0 and 7.0. In most cases, lawn soil here in the Northeast needs applications of lime. Next, always leave the grass clippings on the lawn because clippings are a good source of nitrogen, moisture and organic matter. Let the grass grow three inches tall. Tall grass promotes the growth of deeper roots which helps keep the soil better aerated. You can also top dress the lawn with a 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick layer of sifted compost, peat moss or dehydrated manure. Use organic fertilizer instead of chemical because organic fertilizer helps promote the growth of beneficial organisms in the soil. All of this may take a year or two before you get the improvements you want, but the work and the wait is worth it.

Endless Summer Hydrangea

Many listeners are complaining that their Endless Summer hydrangea shrubs are not blooming. These are the shrubs that bloom more reliably in the north. I just spoke with Peggy Anne Montgomery, horticulturist for Bailey Nurseries in St. Paul, the company that introduced Endless Summer. Here are some of her tips:

Keep the shrubs watered for the first couple years while they get established;

Do not add any fertilizer to the new shrubs. Fertilizer will promote leaf formation at the expense of blooms;

Dump a bushel basket of leaves over the shrubs in October for winter protection for the first couple years;

Be patient, hydrangea take a couple years to get established.

Also, people want to know if they can change the color of the bloom from blue to pink by adding chemicals.

Peggy's advice is don't fight with Mother Nature. It doesn't work. But if you really must, read the instructions on the packaging carefully. Best advice. Leave the shrub alone!

For more on these wonderful shrubs, check out the Web site http://endlesssummerblooms.com/en/home

Free Book with Garden Consultation

Anyone who books me for a garden consultation this fall will receive a complimentary copy of my book Beautiful Easy Flower Gardens. A consultation consists of me coming to your home, walking the grounds with you, looking at the landscape, giving you specific ideas of how you can solve your landscape problems and then suggestions of trees, shrubs, flowers and herbs you can plant so you, too, can have a beautiful easy garden. If you are interested in a consultation (fee is $150) contact me a lsombke@beautifuleasygardens.com.
Hope to hear from you!

Mole Max and Deer Stopper

MoleMax is an effective organic product that I have used to control moles and chipmunks in my garden. It is an easy-to-apply granular product that is derived from castor bean oil. Castor bean oil has long been cited as a deterrent to moles, but this is the first time I have seen an easy-to-use product in my local lawn and garden center. Package says it is effective against moles, gophers, voles, armadillos, skunks, rabbits, ground squirrels and other burrowing animals. For more information see the Web site: http://www.bonideproducts.com/products/molemax.htm

Deer Stopper is an organic product that I am using to deter deer. It is derived from putrescent whole egg solids mixed with rosemary and mint oil to improve the fragrance. So far it is working for me. For more information visit the Web site: http://www.messinawildlife.com/

If you try these products, drop me an email and let me know how it is going.

White Vinegar, Poison Ivy and Weeds

White vinegar straight from the bottle is an effective way to kill weeds. Simply fill a spray bottle with white vinegar right off the supermarket shelf and spray it on the offending weed. Be sure not to spray plants you want to live because vinegar will kill them, too. This is particularly effective with weeds growing in your brick sidewalk. Most of the prepared organic weed killers have white vinegar in them mixed with a citrus scent. All are effective.
To kill poison ivy, mix a gallon of white vinegar with a pound of table salt and three tablespoons of liquid dish soap. Spray that on the poison ivy. You may have to spray more than once because poison ivy is tough stuff.
If you try these remedies, send me an email and let me know how it goes.

New Side Garden at My Home

My wife and I have been planning to replant a five by 20 foot half-day sun garden on the side our house all summer long. This garden has had plants in it sinced we moved here five years ago, but it was mostly a holding garden, meaning we plopped things in there until we could figure out what to do with them. This area is along the walkway people take to get to the back of our house and it is really an area that needed a solution.
Step number one was to hop in the Windstar and head to the wholesale perennial grower we like to go to in Columbia County. (We buy from Behn's in Old Chatham and you can ask your local garden center or landscaper to order your plants from him, too, if you want the same selection and quality we get)
We found some neat plants at Behn's including: Aster laterifolorus 'Lady in Black' a dark-leaved aster with red flowers; Hemerocallis 'Stella d"Oro, a short day lily with bright yellow flowers; Malva alcea fastigiata, a somewhat invasive plant but one that reminds my wife of her mother's garden; Sedum spectabile 'Frosty Morn', one can never have too many sedums.
Then I was in charge of digging up all the other daylilies that were in the bed along with the spiderwort, mums, daffodils, hosta and euphorbia. We replanted the daylilies nearby and incorporated the euphoribia, echinacea, and hosta in the garden and planted all the new perennials from Behn's. We covered the entire area with compost from the town compost center, watered the area, and by golly, it looks pretty good.
Now is an excellent time to remodel your beds. The garden centers still have good selections of perennials and shrubs and the weather will not cause any problems for planting. Just remember to keep everything watered.
Keep planting!

Natural Weed Killers

I've been receiving a lot of email questions about natural weed killers. The best solution I have found, and one we used at New York State Parks, is to spray white vinegar on the weeds. Just use the white vinegar you buy at the supermarket. I used this last week on grass growing in between the bricks in my walkway and it worked just fine. The sprayed weeds were dead in one day. By the way, I've found that most of the prepared natural weed killers are based on white vinegar with clove or some other fragrance added. Not a bad idea if you don't like the smell of vinegar.
For poison ivy, make a solution of one gallon white vinegar, one pound of table salt and three tablespoons of liquid dish soap. Spray this on the leaves of poison ivy. It may take repeated applications to kill this devil, but many of my WAMC listeners say it works for them.

Cemetery Plants

John in the Bronx asks:
I am looking for suggestions of plants for a cemetery plot. The conditions are full sun all day. As you might realize one cannot get to the cemetery everyday to tend to our plants. Can you suggest something that can put up with the conditions for a week at a time without any human intervention. I am interested in something flowering as well as an attractive non-flowering plant.
Answer: Planting something in a cemetery usually means you need something small that can take some challenging conditions. A small rose "The Fairy" has pink flowers all summer long, grows to no more than two feet tall and wide and is very tough. Another plant you might like is Spirea japonica with the word golden in the title. Unlike the usual Spirea that grows five feet tall and wide, these golden-leafed shrubs grow no more than two feet tall and wide and have lovely golden yellow leaves. Be sure to check with you cemetery for rules about plants on grave markers.

Grub Control

It is not necessary for the anyone to spread potentially hazardous toxic chemicals on their lawn to try to stop the spread of grubs in the turf. Milky Spore (Bacillus popilliae) is an environmentally friendly alternative that is easy to apply and does not pose any harmful threat to children or pets. According to Cornell University, between 1939 and 1953, over 100 tons of spore powder was applied to turf in over 160,000 sites in the U.S. as part of a government program. Larval numbers in the turf decreased 10- to 20-fold and the population stabilized at this new low level with corresponding reductions in the levels of adult beetle damage.
http://www.nysaes.cornell.edu/ent/biocontrol/pathogens/
bacillus_popilliae.html
According to the U.S EPA, spores of Bacillus popilliae infect larvae (grubs) of Japanese beetles, eventually killing the larvae and preventing their development into adult beetles. As a pesticide active ingredient, the spores of this bacterium are approved for use on lawns and ornamental plants around residential areas. The spores also infect larvae of some closely related beetles, but do not infect other non-target organisms, such as other insects, birds, mammals, earthworms, and plants. No harm is expected to humans or the environment from use of pesticide products containing spores of B. popilliae.
http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/biopesticides/ingredients/
factsheets/factsheet_054502.htm
Before you jump to a potentially hazardous conclusion, I urge you to take a look at the Web site of the maker of Milky Spore, St. Gabriel Laboratories at http://www.milkyspore.com/milkyspore.htm and consider using this product.
Milky spore is widely available on the Internet and in many better-quality lawn and garden centers.