THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 10, 1996 TAG: 9603080104
SECTION: HOME PAGE: G5 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: Robert Stiffler
LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
NOW IS THE TIME to get your lawn mower ready for the season ahead. Before you try to start it, drain out the stale gas and oil and refill with fresh. Then go over your lawn with a grass catcher attached to your mower and pick up leaves, twigs, etc. that accumulate during winter. It will really brighten up your yard. Later, don't use the grass catcher, because allowing clippings to fall back on the grass provides additional plant food.
If you need a new mower, I'm starting my third season with a Husqvarna and can't say enough good things about it. After yanking the cord on hard-to-start mowers for 30 years, this one is a gem. MISTLETOE AND PECANS
Someone asked me at a recent gathering if I had ever seen mistletoe growing in a pecan tree. Virginia Tech experts say that any deciduous tree can be a host for mistletoe. Its favorite tree is the native red maple, but you can see it in many species. Supposedly mistletoe seed must go through a bird's gullet before it will germinate. COLD AS ICE
A story about the recent ice storm gave inaccurate data. Although ice acts as an insulator to plants, it often is far below the freezing temperature of 32 degrees. An authority pointed out that ice takes on the temperature of where it is, which usually means the local air temperature. In Antartica, it can get down to 80 degrees below zero. One of the greatest benefits of ice - and there are few - is that it prevents dessication, or drying out of the plant. Plants give off water through their upper portions and ice prevents that. As you know, the weight of ice causes many tree casualties, especially to loblolly pines. DOWNY MILDEW IS BACK
The horrible disease, Downy Mildew, is again a problem. In shipments of 1997 All America roses just received, both Jackson & Perkins (Bear Creek Gardens) and Weeks Wholesale Growers included bulletins that read like this: ``The re-emergence of an old disease, Downy Mildew, has been observed. Do not confuse with Powdery Mildew. Downy Mildew is an entirely different fungus with symptoms in March and April. Overnight, healthy looking plants wilt, drop green leaves, develop chlorotic leaves and new growth is burned. Within three days, the plants may look as though they have a severe burn. Spores germinate or flourish when leaf surfaces are damp and there is little air movement. The best control is prevention. Treat with fungicides by drenching with Subdue and spray with Dithane, alternating with Aliette and Funginex. Copper-based sprays are also effective. Be sure to spray from the bottom up because the disease is on the bottom sides of leaves. Cut back defoliated stems to half their length and destroy infested leaves and stems.'' A cool, moist spring is what Downy Mildew likes, so be on guard. MAKING MOLE-MED WORK
The manufacturers of Mole-Med have issued some tips on making the product work best:
If the area to be treated is dry, water before application.
Make sure the entire area to be treated is thoroughly covered with Mole-Med.
After application, water for 25 minutes.
Should heavy rainfall occur right after application, it may be necessary to repeat application. NIGHT-BLOOMING CERUS AT ITS BEST
Brian O'Neil, owner of Southern Meadows Landscapes, provides this advice on night-blooming cerus: ``It blooms much better, young or old, if it is kept cool and dry the winter before blooming. In their native South American forests, there is a rainy season and a dry season. I always keep mine in a cool room or cool greenhouse (night temps of 50-55 degrees) and maybe watered not more than once a month during December through February. Spectacular blooms always appear the following summer.'' PULL HONEYSUCKLE NOW
Dot Wilbur at the University of North Carolina Botanical Garden says: ``Now is the perfect time to pull up that dreaded Japanese honeysuckle. The ground is moist now, and their roots are not vigorously growing, so pulling is at its easiest - not that it is ever really easy. This time of year, however, you can see where you're going and can easily grab those long, trailing vines that quickly cover the ground and climb into trees and shrubs.''
Roundup is supposed to kill this pest, but I've had trouble getting good control. So get out and start pulling. Make sure to get all the roots, for any part left in the ground will throw up a new shoot and grow again.
KEYWORDS: WEEDER'S DIGEST by CNB