Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, March 13, 1994 TAG: 9403140246
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: B-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: John Arbogast
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
A: It is my understanding that rolling a bluegrass or fescue lawn is not recommended as a turf-maintenance practice. So, all your questions about lawn rolling can be answered by saying that I wouldn't do it.
If your lawn is slightly uneven, be sure to set the cutting height on your mower at 3 inches or higher so that certain areas are not scalped.Making a couple passes over a slightly uneven lawn with a core aerator in early spring also might be helpful, especially if you need to do spring overseeding.
If your lawn has major uneven spots that have brought rolling to mind, the solution in early spring would be to cut off and remove the sod from low areas, add good top soil to bring the level almost up to grade, replace the sod firmly, and then be sure to water those areas regularly.
Q: I read with great interest your column in the Feb. 20 newspaper concerning the "cropping" of white pines to thicken the growth. Last summer I instructed the person who does our yard work to cut in half the top "sprout" of my 3-4-feet-tall white pines. Unfortunately, he was over zealous and cut every one to the bottom of the top "lead branch." All winter I've been concerned about the effect it would have on my trees, and from your answer I'm lucky that they are all alive. I'm expecting that the branches will all be competing to be the top lead. What should I do to help my trees along to good health? Mrs. I.O.F., Rocky Gap
A: You can help your white pines by giving each one a new central leader. To do that, in early spring take a sturdy side branch in the top ring and bend it carefully to an almost upright position; there still will be a curved appearance, which is to be expected because the branch could break if too much pressure is applied to make it totally vertical.
Use a sturdy 3-4-foot-long stake tied at different locations to the central trunk of a pine, as well as to the former side branch which is to be trained to be the dominant leader. Use expandable fabric, such as old nylon pantyhose legs, to tie the stake to the trunk and leader. Prune a little greenery from the side branch ends in the top ring if necessary to maintain somewhat of a cone shape for each pine.
Probably for the next two or three years you will have to check and retie those flexible ties that hold the stake against the trunk and the new top leader. After a few years, the new central shoot should be practically in line with the old trunk and the stake can be removed.
During the years that the pines are staked, it will be all right to remove part of each new growth shoot on all branches of each pine in mid-June, pruning when the new needles have formed but are not yet their full length in order to promote a dense appearance.
Q: I have a lot of moss growing in my yard. What can be done for it and what causes it? Also, I have a lot of mulch from pine limbs. Can it be used around blueberries and azaleas now, or what can it be used for? V.D.A., Willis
A: Eliminate moss in the lawn just before sowing grass seed by physical means, such as by hoe or rake and a lot of effort, or by chemical controls.
Then, understand that moss grows in a given yard because conditions there are not favorable for vigorous turf growth.
So, to keep the moss from coming back, correct problems that either by themselves or in combination will cause moss in lawns. Refer to the "Dear John" column from Nov. 7, 1993, for details on both moss elimination and control.
Shredded pine prunings can be used for mulch around blueberries, azaleas and most landscape plants. However, the answer to your question depends on whether you mean fresh branch parts that were shredded after falling or shredded pine branch parts that have been dead for a long while.
Shredded mulch that may be considered "green" because it is from recently living wood should be allowed to age in piles that are turned frequently. This will help ensure that the fresh mulch doesn't cause an imbalance in nutrients once it is placed over the soil. Shredded mulch from dead pine branches should be OK to use right away. Pine needles also can be used as a mulch right away around blueberries and azaleas.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants, or insects to Dear John, c/o the Roanoke Times & World-News, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered each week. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples or pictures.
Gardeners' checklist
(Jobs to be done the third week of March:)
Apply pre-emergence crabgrass killers, which may be known as crabgrass preventers, to turf areas now. These chemicals work by killing young plants just as the seeds germinate. Crabgrass is an annual weed, meaning that it must come back from seeds each year. Examples of pre-emergence herbicides are Siduron (Tupersan), which can be used where spring seeding of good grass is planned; Balan; and Dacthal.
Take soil test from the lawn and garden if not done in the fall; this should be done at least once every three years and on soil where plant problems have occurred.
John Arbogast is the agricultural extension agent for Roanoke.
by CNB