"Can I plant in this?"

                   ...continued

Check out the answer below.  

Healthy Turf 8-1-9 is a product with great benefits  for turf but is often overlooked. It contains a number of rhizosphere bacteria that improve the soil's eco-system benefiting overall plant health. The nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium are derived from natural sources and as such, are non-burning because the nutrients are slowly released through decomposition. In addition I like Healthy Turf 8-1-9 with its 9 % potassium going into the winter. This helps to thicken the plant cell wall increasing disease resistance and increasing winter hardiness. Most grass around here will stop picking up fertilizer in mid-December, depending on weather, so this still leaves enough time to get some Healthy Turf 8-1-9 down and get your turf off to a healthy, winter and spring season!  

Tete-a-Tete Narcissus make a nice choice for rock gardens or forcing.

Here's a tried and true dwarf daffodil that welcomes spring year after year. Growing only about 6" tall, 'Tete-a-Tete's have a sweet, buttercup yellow flower, long trumpet and narrow foliage. They usually bloom 3 per stem. Plant in full sun, well-drained soil in rock gardens, front of the border, window boxes and containers.

They're also a good choice to force indoors for a late winter pick-me-up. Plant in a deep pot in gritty, well-drained soil just below the soil line. Water them in well and keep in a cool place like a garage for 10-15 weeks.  Bring inside to a sunny location and keep moist. Enjoy cheery fragrant blooms starting late January if planted now.

"Can I really plant in this?" (continued from last week)

 Mark answers: Last week's topic dealt with a "topsoil" (seen here) that had a high clay content that was put in a front yard, then had sod placed on top. A year and a half later the lawn is struggling even though the pH is 6.1. Clearly the problem is the compaction that does not allow for roots to spread along with a lack of oxygen because the small capillaries are filled with water displacing any oxygen. Last week I talked about amending the soil before planting, but in this case it was hoped something could be done without tearing up the sod. There had also been an attempt to aerate but the tine would not penetrate any further than the sod layer.

Even though it seemed like an impossible task I turned to two products; gypsum and mycorrhizae fungus. Gypsum improves sodic and or compacted soils and helps with a number of soil enhancing characteristics. Check out the benefits of gypsum.

The next product I turned to was Espoma's Biotone Starter Plus.  This product contains two forms of micorrhizae fungus, both endo and ectomycorrhizal fungi. The reason for using mycorrhizae fungi is that not only do they provide moisture and nutrients to the plant, these fungi are also able to grow into the small capillaries of the compacted clay soil where the plant roots can't. This effectively expands the grass's root system to where they previously couldn't go which is a real big deal in this situation. I applied gypsum at a rate of 50 pounds per thousand square feet and the Espoma Biotone plus  at 25 pounds per thousand square feet. I also applied these just before it rained which probably aided the mycorrhizae and moved it into the root zone. It has been 5 weeks and now the lawn looks great!  Having said that, this lawn will continue to need diligent care as the gypsum does improve the soil compaction it is not a magic wand. However both of these products have had a great impact and saved the day in this case!     

Submit your landscaping question via email to sbarbier@planterschoice.com and you'll be entered in a monthly drawing to receive 10% off your next purchase (pick up only, does not apply to deliveries). Please use "Question of the Week" in the subject line and let me know if you want your name and business mentioned. 

Take advantage of 30% off the potted fruit trees. There's still a nice selection left including Asian Pear, Methley Plum and Cherries. Get them in the ground now for spring bloom and the promise of delicious fruit!  

Continued Specials On:  

20% off these beautiful specialty conifers!

Beautiful evergreens for accents and screening!

Picea pungens (Colorado Spruce) assorted sizes 

Inkberry 'Shamrock' 3 gal.

Add interest with Sedges and Sweetflag!

Cabbage and Kale

Annual Color