3 Tips for Making Your Garden Gorgeous

Dogwood

Forsythia

 

It's June. Summer is almost here, bringing the longest day of the year. Following are 3 tips for sprucing up your gardens now that spring blooming bulbs, shrubs, and trees are done and have shed their blooms. 

1. Prune shrubs that are no longer in bloom. Many spring blooming shrubs set their blooms for next year at the end of this summer. So you don't want to wait to long to do your pruning or you will prune the buds that would bloom next spring, ruining your 2014 spring display. Shrubs that should be pruned now include viburnums, dogwoods, lilacs, and forsythias to name a few.

Lilac

Viburnum

2. There is a tendency to over-water early in the season and under-water later in the season. Irrigation should be varied based on the amount of rainfall as well as daytime AND nighttime temperatures.This spring has provided cool nighttime temperatures even when the daytime highs have been 80 degrees or above. The rate of evaporation varies and so should the amount you water.

3. Now is still a good time to replace or transplant any plants in the garden that didn't survive the winter or need to be moved to a more appropriate spot in your garden.

As always, call Buckeye Landscape for all your landscape needs!

614-866-0088

Ash Trees Disappearing

Ash trees in Ohio are being destroyed by the Emerald Ash Borer at an alarming rate. Ashes are a common and important tree in Ohio forests as well as both urban and rural landscapes.

The Emerald Ash Borer is a beetle from Asia that has killed millions of ash trees in Canada, the Midwest, and Mid-Atlantic since 2002. The adult beetle itself causes little damage to the tree. However, the larvae feed under the bark, interrupting the movement of water and nutrients. Most trees die within a few years of infestation.  All Ash trees in Central Ohio are at risk for infestation and we are beginning to see many trees declining and dying.

There are treatments available, although no cure for a tree that is infested. Once treatment is started, it must be continued on an annual basis to save the tree. So, before beginning treatment, first consider the importance of each Ash tree in your landscape. Trees that are still healthy (no infestation or showing no signs of decline due to infestation) are good candidates for treatment while trees that have a significant infestation and have begun to decline may need to be removed and replaced with another specimen. 

If you have Ash trees that need to be evaluated and/or removed, Call Buckeye Landscape for professional advise

614-866-0088