Blue mustard is a winter annual that germinates in late fall or early winter. It overwinters in a rosette and resumes active growth in the spring. Mature seed is produced by early summer. Blue mustard has bluish-purple flowers that leave small bean-like seed pods. The best time to control blue mustard with herbicides is in…
Gardeners often ask why they have so many weeds. The answer is quite simple, we plant them! Weed seeds can blow in, wash in with surface water, or be introduced with the application of soils and organic matter, like manure. Birds and other wildlife also distribute weed seeds. However, the majority of weeds come…
Cultural weed control methods include mulching, mowing, hand-weeding and cultivation. Mulching suppresses annual weeds by limiting light required for weed establishment. Mowing is an effective method to limit seed production. Mowing must be done when flower heads are produced- April for winter annuals and summer for summer annuals. Frequent hand removal of annual weeds is…
As people encroach further into deer habitat, deer naturally wander into lawns and Gardens. While deer resistant plants are helpful, if deer persistently browse your landscape, you may need to use fence or deer repellents. Wire mesh fences are more effective than wood, although not generally 100 percent effective. Vertical wire Garden fences should be…
When food sources dwindle, voles (small mouse-like animals, 4 to 8 inches long) damage woody plants by chewing on the bark layer of a tree which interferes with the tree’s flow of nutrients. This girdling damage can be identified by gnawed strips of irregular, clearly defined tooth marks, about 1/16 to 1/8-inch wide. Occasionally stems…
Woodpeckers, primarily sapsuckers, occasionally damage trees by boring a series of 1/4- to 3/8-inch closely spaced holes in the limbs or trunks of healthy trees. They feed on sap oozed from the holes. The tree wounds may attract insects, squirrels, or porcupines and can serve as entrances for diseases and wood decaying organisms. Occasionally, girdling…
Rabbits often ravish trees and shrubs in many Front Range gardens during the winter. The deep snow covers normal food sources and provide a platform for rabbits to reach the bark high on woody plants. Win the bunny battle by excluding them from desirable plants. Place chicken wire or rigid polypropylene plastic tubes around tree…
Squirrels can cause a lot of damage in the Garden. This is especially true in years when untimely spring frosts cause poor Crops of crab apples and other fruits. In the summer, a squirrel normally eats fruits, berries and succulent plants, and, when available, fungi, insects, animal matter and corn. During the winter, when stored…
Use seed tape for uniform spacing. Experienced gardeners know that the quality of veggies you get out of the ground is directly related to what you put in it. Everything that happens down in that dirt is what makes plants grow–or not! So starting from the ground up, get the real scoop on your soil–and…
As the growing season progresses into late summer, leaves on many plants begin to exhibit tip burn or more significant scorch. When a plant has been scorched, the veins in its leaves remain green and the tissue between the veins turns brown and brittle. A plant can scorch when something interferes with the tree’s complex…
Sunscald often is called southwest injury because it most often occurs on the southwest side of young tree trunks. In Colorado, it primarily occurs from December through March on young, thin-barked, deciduous trees. Sunscald occurs less frequently in other parts of the country where winter temperatures remain cold and where cloudy, sunless days prevail. A…
Typical Front Range winters include periods of warm, windy, low-humidity days with no snow cover and extended dry periods. Needled and broadleaved evergreens, especially last year’s transplants, are very prone to winter desiccation (“winterburn”) under these conditions. Transpiration from needles or leaves occurs during warm, dry winter periods. Small “hair roots” may die in dry…
