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Plant – Pumpkins for a Halloween harvest, tomatoes, sweet potatoes.
Iron chlorosis – Trees planted in soil whose pH is too high may be suffering from iron chlorosis. This is the time to treat it. You can do it yourself with a home injection system such as Medi-Caps and NutriBooster if the tree is small, or it will be easier to have a professional do it if the tree is big, extension agent Bob Neier says. Or apply a sulphur-containing fertilizer such as South-West Green Maker at a rate of 5 pounds per 1,000 square feet to the entire lawn, not just around the tree, in spring and fall for a few years.
Scale – There has been a moderate amount of Lecanium scale on plants, Neier says. Crawlers were out about a month earlier than normal this year with optimum treatment time being early and mid-May this year, he says. Scale does not kill trees but is a nuisance and can weaken the trees. Horticultural oil that is refined also can be used in the summer when the temperature is high, Cathy Brady of Brady Nursery says. Otherwise, dormant oil next early March or a soil drench containing Imidaclorid in late February can be helpful, Neier says. For now keep the trees adequately watered. Be sure to follow label guidelines for the weather and rate of application.
Dill tip – When growing dill in a container, use a pot that is at least 10 inches deep to accommodate the taproot, the National Garden Bureau says.
Bagworms – Search conifers for bagworms. Treat for them after all eggs have hatched and worms are still small, says Bob Bauernfeind of K-State. Apply thoroughly for good control.
New director at Dyck Arboretum – Scott Vogt, longtime horticulturist at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston, has been named its director after a nationwide search. “Scott’s commitment and passion for the arboretum and his years of knowledge about the community, the plant world and the intention of the Dyck Arboretum’s mission made him the best candidate to lead the arboretum into the next phase,” Christine Downey-Schmidt, arboretum board member and co-chair of the search committee, said. Vogt has a bachelor’s degree in horticulture from Kansas State University. Dyck Arboretum, one of the largest native-plant gardens in the region, is run by Hesston College.
Garden gallery – We’d love to see photos of your garden this spring and summer. Do you have a favorite combination of flowers in a pot, a cute fence for your vegetable garden, a new way to trellis the cucumbers? Upload your photos at www.kansas.com/upload along with a brief description of what is pictured. See photos in a gallery on Kansas.com.
Garden events
Daylily show and sale – The Wichita Daylily Club will have a show and mini sale from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday at Botanica. Admission is free (unless you go into the gardens). The show’s theme is "Summer Sky."
Tuesdays on the Terrace – 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Tuesday at Botanica. Theme: Marigolds & Margaritas, featuring the music of RKO Blues.
Butterfly talk – Jim Mason, naturalist at the Great Plains Nature Center, will be at Botanica on Wednesday to talk about his new pocket guide to 61 Kansas butterflies. Copies of the guide will be available for free. The lunchtime lecture, from 12:15 to 1 p.m., is included in Botanica admission.
Project Beauty dedication – Project Beauty will dedicate the “Peerless Princess of the Plains" statue on the median in front of Century II that Project Beauty tends. The public is invited. The ceremony will be at 9 a.m. Thursday on Kennedy Plaza in front of Century II on Douglas and will include Augusta artist Frank Jensen, who made the artwork, and Mayor Carl Brewer.
Butterfly walk – Botanica will have the first of three butterfly walks this summer at 10 a.m. Thursday. It’s included in admission.
Picking blackberries – and other goodies – Every Saturday until early August, Elderslie Farm in Valley Center is offering blackberry picking from 7 a.m. to noon and from 7 to 11 a.m. Mondays and Thursdays. On Saturdays the farm also offers coffee, blackberry lemonade, iced tea, scones, cinnamon rolls, mini blackberry cobbler and homemade gelato. Visitors are welcome to wander around the farm, visit goats, pigs, chickens and horses, or go for a hayride. On weekdays it offers coffee, scones and gelato. The blackberries are $8 a pound. To register to pick, e-mail eldersliefarm@gmail.com. The farm is at 3501 E. 101st St. North.
