At Least The 12th Lawn Thread

[backedgeapproaching]

Its been like a decade with Lava lawn drama....its one of life's great mysteries.

[Lava Rock]

Its been like a decade with Lava lawn drama....its one of life's great mysteries.

Time flies but I'm determined. Here's the funny thing, I threw down the same seed last Nov around the shed we had delivered and the grass is coming in pretty nice and it's all backfill and dirt.

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[dendrite]

27 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

Time flies but I'm determined. Here's the funny thing, I threw down the same seed last Nov around the shed we had delivered and the grass is coming in pretty nice and it's all backfill and dirt.

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More shade? 

[tamarack]

27 minutes ago, dendrite said:

More shade? 

And extra water off the roof?

[backedgeapproaching]

3 hours ago, dendrite said:

More shade? 

My first thought was more shade..and maybe less ledge underneath since its all fill dirt.

[Lava Rock]

1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said:

My first thought was more shade..and maybe less ledge underneath since its all fill dirt.

 

1 hour ago, backedgeapproaching said:

My first thought was more shade..and maybe less ledge underneath since its all fill dirt.

Good point. Some of the dead areas on the lawn near the driveway have granite just below the surface.

[mreaves]

17 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

 

Good point. Some of the dead areas on the lawn near the driveway have granite just below the surface.

That's a killer during any stretch of hot dry weather.  A couple of the fairways at the golf course have that problem and we end up with dead spots most summers.

[DavisStraight]

1 hour ago, mreaves said:

That's a killer during any stretch of hot dry weather.  A couple of the fairways at the golf course have that problem and we end up with dead spots most summers.

Before the rain yesterday the fairways were like pool tables with the golf balls bouncing and rolling like a super ball.

[Chrisrotary12]

Just finished mowing ahead of this weekend's rain....its nearly a hazard to mow without a mask on.

[TauntonBlizzard2013]

Does anyone here have experience with what to do with tulips once they have flowered to get them to come back the next year?

I had planted like 150 bulbs last fall and almost all of them came up and they looked awesome.

once the flowers started to look spent, I cut the head of the flowers off, and left the stem and the rest of the plant. Do I just let them die back now? Or should I cut them to the ground at some point?

[Chrisrotary12]

Suppose I should probably empty the gutters of all the spring oak tree litter just in case before we get 2-3" this weekend.

[backedgeapproaching]

4 hours ago, TauntonBlizzard2013 said:

Does anyone here have experience with what to do with tulips once they have flowered to get them to come back the next year?

I had planted like 150 bulbs last fall and almost all of them came up and they looked awesome.

once the flowers started to look spent, I cut the head of the flowers off, and left the stem and the rest of the plant. Do I just let them die back now? Or should I cut them to the ground at some point?

I think you are suppose to leave the stems and leaves for a bit so they can store some energy for next year.   I don't know the exact timeline, I usually leave them until they become more yellowish then will cut them all the way down.

Also, remember that not all 150 will come back next year no matter what you do.  A bunch will just come up with just the leaves and no flowers, you will still get a decent amount that return, but they are not stable perennials that come back year after year after year.  By the third year it will be even less.

Most of those public gardens where you see thousands of perfect tulips are planted every fall and dug up every spring after they bloom.

[backedgeapproaching]

Guess even the Eco ferts aren't eco friendly..

‘Forever chemicals’ found in home fertilizer made from sewage sludge | Environment | The Guardian

[tamarack]

11 minutes ago, backedgeapproaching said:

I think you are suppose to leave the stems and leaves for a bit so they can store some energy for next year.   I don't know the exact timeline, I usually leave them until they become more yellowish then will cut them all the way down.

Also, remember that not all 150 will come back next year no matter what you do.  A bunch will just come up with just the leaves and no flowers, you will still get a decent amount that return, but they are not stable perennials that come back year after year after year.  By the third year it will be even less.

Most of those public gardens where you see thousands of perfect tulips are planted every fall and dug up every spring after they bloom.

Leaves yes, stems no - cut the top part off as soon as the blossom is done.  That keeps the plant from diverting energy into seed production.  My dad used to dig up the bulbs in midsummer and replant in early spring (in NNJ) but I don't think those gorgeous hectares of Dutch tulips aren't dug/replanted annually.

[backedgeapproaching]

6 minutes ago, tamarack said:

Leaves yes, stems no - cut the top part off as soon as the blossom is done.  That keeps the plant from diverting energy into seed production.  My dad used to dig up the bulbs in midsummer and replant in early spring (in NNJ) but I don't think those gorgeous hectares of Dutch tulips aren't dug/replanted annually.

I saw some little 7 minute clip about one of the bigger Tulip tourist attraction places in Holland, can't remember the name of the place.  Anyway the owner said they plant something like 5 millions tulips every fall, dig up, compost them and them replant new again the next fall.

[Damage In Tolland]

Late Mayorch is when lawns are at their best. It’s all downhill from here. Happy Mem Day weekend all.

[Lava Rock]

Major breakthrough in the neverending lawn saga....grubs. I've checked for these many times before but it was long after the damage was done and I saw none. I started raking a small section with my dethatcher and turned up a bunch of these fawkers. I had put down grubex about 6 wks ago too. Going to spread more tomorrow, but not sure why first treatment didn't work. Is it too late to try again?
I've got this huge sense of relief finally knowing what did all the damage over the years. I suspected grubs couple years ago but like I said, never saw them, so thought it might be chinch bugs. Please tell me it's not too late in season to whack them again.

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[SJonesWX]

On 4/21/2021 at 7:51 AM, SJonesWX said:

being able to pull it back like that is a solid indication that you have grubs.

 

1 hour ago, Lava Rock said:

Major breakthrough in the neverending lawn saga....grubs. I've checked for these many times before but it was long after the damage was done and I saw none. I started raking a small section with my dethatcher and turned up a bunch of these fawkers. I had put down grubex about 6 wks ago too. Going to spread more tomorrow, but not sure why first treatment didn't work. Is it too late to try again?
I've got this huge sense of relief finally knowing what did all the damage over the years. I suspected grubs couple years ago but like I said, never saw them, so thought it might be chinch bugs. Please tell me it's not too late in season to whack them again.

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interesting 

[DavisStraight]

1 hour ago, Lava Rock said:

Major breakthrough in the neverending lawn saga....grubs. I've checked for these many times before but it was long after the damage was done and I saw none. I started raking a small section with my dethatcher and turned up a bunch of these fawkers. I had put down grubex about 6 wks ago too. Going to spread more tomorrow, but not sure why first treatment didn't work. Is it too late to try again?
I've got this huge sense of relief finally knowing what did all the damage over the years. I suspected grubs couple years ago but like I said, never saw them, so thought it might be chinch bugs. Please tell me it's not too late in season to whack them again.

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Just curious, do you put Grub X every year? I was told to alternate between Grub X and Merit to avoid them becoming resistant to it. I think I'd try Merit at this point and see if that gets rid of them. There also some other pesticides on the market to use, I've used Demon WP and gets rid of anything that crawls, I've spot sprayed the Demon and had good results.

[dendrite]

You could try the beneficial nematodes as well, but you’ve never shied away from chems. It may be worth trying a two pronged attack though…not sure what the chems would do to the parasitic worms.

[Lava Rock]

Just curious, do you put Grub X every year? I was told to alternate between Grub X and Merit to avoid them becoming resistant to it. I think I'd try Merit at this point and see if that gets rid of them. There also some other pesticides on the market to use, I've used Demon WP and gets rid of anything that crawls, I've spot sprayed the Demon and had good results.

I never used grubex in the eight yrs we've lived here until this year. didn't know there is a difference between curative (contact) treatments vs preventative. I need curative at this point , but larvae will be soon transitioning to pupae than jap beetles which will lay eggs in late summer and start cycle over again.

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[DavisStraight]

2 minutes ago, Lava Rock said:

I never used grubex in the eight yrs we've lived here until this year. didn't know there is a difference between curative (contact) treatments vs preventative. I need curative at this point , but larvae will be soon transitioning to pupae than jap beetles which will lay eggs in late summer and start cycle over again.

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You can try spot spraying Neem oil , the Demon I have works and there's another one I can't think of that we can buy without a license that's pretty good, if I remember it I'll post the name.

[DavisStraight]

I also read somewhere that you can mix Dawn with water and spray to kill grubs, I never tried it so don't know how effective it is.

[Lava Rock]

You could try the beneficial nematodes as well, but you’ve never shied away from chems. It may be worth trying a two pronged attack though…not sure what the chems would do to the parasitic worms.

Honestly, I really don't like putting chems on the lawn, but now that I know what's been causing this I want something fast acting. I am looking into milky spore as tuna had suggested for more long term control.

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[dendrite]

So what am I looking at here with this apple tree? Fireblight? Lack of water? Maybe just root rot? It’s leaves/fruit are wilting and dying…mostly on the new growth. It’s gone downhill since I got it. Agway had the pot out in full sun too with a continuous drip keeping it moist. My honeycrisp next to it seems fine. 
 

I should’ve gotten them in the ground, but I wanted to protect them from deer first. 

[tunafish]

On 5/29/2021 at 7:11 PM, Lava Rock said:

Honestly, I really don't like putting chems on the lawn, but now that I know what's been causing this I want something fast acting. I am looking into milky spore as tuna had suggested for more long term control.

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Nematodes are fast acting, they'll kill them within a day or two.  I might have suggested Milky Spore a few years ago, but found it to be be ineffective.  

 

@dendrite that looks like root rot to me. sucks.  The only way I've been able to keep deer off mine is by fencing them off.  overkill but i'm tired of losing all the new growth to deer.

[Lava Rock]

26 minutes ago, tunafish said:

Nematodes are fast acting, they'll kill them within a day or two.  I might have suggested Milky Spore a few years ago, but found it to be be ineffective.  

 

@dendrite that looks like root rot to me. sucks.  The only way I've been able to keep deer off mine is by fencing them off.  overkill but i'm tired of losing all the new growth to deer.

where can I get these?

[mreaves]

38 minutes ago, tunafish said:

Nematodes are fast acting, they'll kill them within a day or two.  I might have suggested Milky Spore a few years ago, but found it to be be ineffective.  

 

@dendrite that looks like root rot to me. sucks.  The only way I've been able to keep deer off mine is by fencing them off.  overkill but i'm tired of losing all the new growth to deer.

[tunafish]

1 hour ago, Lava Rock said:

where can I get these?

These will go after Grubs and a few other things. https://www.amazon.com/Bug-Sales-Million-Beneficial-Nematodes/dp/B012TYT37K/ref=sr_1_8?crid=1TNKZ6VBF7W9Y&dchild=1&keywords=beneficial+nematodes+for+grubs&qid=1623159785&sprefix=beneficial+ne%2Caps%2C350&sr=8-8

They have a "triple blend" version that goes after even more pests, but I'd go with this.  The expensive part is really from the shipping.  Make sure you're not on vacation when they're set to arrive, they need to stay cold.  A few hours on the porch they'll be fine.

[dendrite]

On 6/5/2021 at 7:50 PM, dendrite said:

So what am I looking at here with this apple tree? Fireblight? Lack of water? Maybe just root rot? It’s leaves/fruit are wilting and dying…mostly on the new growth. It’s gone downhill since I got it. Agway had the pot out in full sun too with a continuous drip keeping it moist. My honeycrisp next to it seems fine. 
 

I should’ve gotten them in the ground, but I wanted to protect them from deer first. 

It got a lot worse and I think it’s fire blight. This is an empire which is supposed to have some resistance to that. Oops. It seems to be entering in via the flower blossoms and wiping out the tree from the new growth down to the branches. I tried pruning back all infected areas the best I could and used a clorox wipe to clean my pruners before each cut. If it does, it dies. The next attempt will be an enterprise apple tree to be my honeycrisp pollinator. Those are supposed to be very disease resistant…especially to fire blight. My honeycrisp looks fine though.