Wichita gardener’s almanac for April 23, 2016
The gall of cedar apple rust — Signs of cedar apple rust, a disease that is a nuisance, are starting to show up. The symptom shows up on cedar trees as orange jelly-like masses when the trees get wet. This happens until around June 1. On cedars, pick them off to make the trees look better. A yellow orange spot is the symptom on apple and crabapple leaves. In the future, if you have susceptible varieties of apple or crabapple, you can spray Immunox labeled for fruit at 10-day intervals from April 1 to June 1 for prevention. If you are preparing to plant an apple or crabapple, plant a resistant variety to avoid the need to spray.
Plant — Collards, chard, carrots, broccoli, melons, lettuce, potatoes, radishes, onions, spinach, beets, sweet corn.
Weeds in strawberries — Because strawberries grow in a mat, it can be hard to weed arond them, Upham says. But in small plantings, the weeds usually get shaded out anyway, he says. Hand weeding in that case is best. In larger plantings, no weed preventers are available for non-professional use on strawberries, but you can use the grass-killing herbicide Poast (sethoxydim) when grassy weeds emerge. Just don’t apply it within seven days of harvest, Upham says. You can find Poast in Fertilome Over the Top II, Hi-Yield Grass Killer and Monterey Grass Getter, he says.
Garden events
FloraKansas continues — You can buy native plants, including those to host and feed bees and butterflies, this weekend at the FloraKansas native plant sale at Dyck Arboretum of the Plains in Hesston. Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Sunday, and 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday. To see a list of the plants that will be for sale and for other information, go to the website dyckarboretum.org. The arboretum is at 177 W. Hickory St. in Hesston. Phone: 620-327-8127.
Iris show on Sunday — The Wichita Area Iris Club will have its first show of the season Sunday at Botanica. Different colors and varieties of irises that have been blooming in members’ gardens will be on display. The show will be open to the public from 1 to 4 p.m. Admission to the show is free; Botanica admission will be charged if you want to go out into the gardens, which are open from 1 to 5.
Classics concert at Bartlett Arboretum — A blend of genres and styles of music will be presented Sunday at Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine by a string quartet from the Wichita Symphony Orchestra along with Kentucky White on guitar. John Harrison, Evgeny Zvonnikov, Susan Mayo and Ramiro Miranda from the symphony and White will perform at 4 p.m. Luciano’s Strada Food truck will have food for sale, and picnics also are welcome. The cost is $10; doors open at 3. More info: www.bartlettarboretum.com.
Program on container gardening — Butterfly-gardening expert Lenora Larson will be in Wichita on Monday to give a program on container gardening at 7 p.m. at Botanica. Larson is a Miami County master gardener who lives on a farm in Paola and combines science with entertainment in her presentations. She will be the guest of the Prairie Winds Daylily Society. The program is free and open to the public.
Program on composting with worms — The Wichita Organic Garden Club will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Botanica, and Donna Taylor will talk about composting with worms. She will have examples with her. The meeting is free and open to the public.
Talk on Kordes roses — There will be a lunchtime lecture on Kordes roses by Marcee Suderman on Wednesday at Botanica. The hardy roses will be among those for sale by the Wichita Rose Society during Herb Day at the Extension Service on May 7. The lecture will be at 12:15 p.m. and is included in Botanica admission. Lunch will be served from 11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. for $8.
Annie Calovich
This story was originally published April 21, 2016 at 4:24 PM with the headline "Wichita gardener’s almanac for April 23, 2016."