A mysterious strain of downy mildew has been killing one of the home gardener’s favorite annual flowers, Impatiens walleriana, up and down the East and West Coasts, in the Midwest, Texas and Ontario.
“We saw it here in 2011 in the fall, and it was really dramatic,” said Margery Daughtrey, a plant pathologist at the Cornell University extension center in Riverhead, N.Y. “Gorgeous plants, flowering two feet tall, and then the flowers start disappearing and leaves drop and stems fall over and then the stems disappear.”
Since then, it has only worsened. Lois Carswell, the co-chair of the Brooklyn Botanic Garden plant sale, which has been held in Click Here for More
Happy Easter and Happy Passover from all the employees at In the Green Landscaping
A Garden of Delights, Mapped Out in Your Hand. The sun and the earth have revolved to the relevant positions in space and spring, ladies and gentlemen, has definitely sprung. While I have the opposite of green thumbs, I now have a handy arsenal of gardening apps to help me in my springtime garden. Read More
If your lawn had waves of coastal water pouring over it, the best management practice for those flooded lawns is to leach salts through the soil and away from the roots. All of the rain following Sandy has been very helpful. High salt levels in the soil solution draws water out of germinating seedlings and the roots of plants, causing desiccation.
Gypsum (Calcium Sulfate) application removes sodium from soil, by calcium ions displacing the sodium ions. The sodium ions are then flushed through the soil, and out of the rooting zone. Therefore, following a broadcast application of gypsum, the area must be irrigated to leach the sodium through the soil. Gypsum is usually added at 46-138 lbs/1000 square feet. Gypsum is much more effective for silt and clay soils then for sandy soils. In clay soils, the excess sodium leads to deflocculation and destruction of soil aggregates causing a “chemical compaction.” Thus the addition of gypsum to clay soils will also help improve the soil texture.
The addition of compost will help improve the soil and mitigate salty or brackish water effects on soils. Do not use manure, sewage sludge, or any other compost that may have high salt content.
If you want a quick test to check the health of your soil, try sprouting (indoors under houseplant conditions) a few tomato, cucumber, lettuce, or clover seeds in affected soil and also, as a control, sprout some seeds in soil that you know was not exposed to extra salt. If the seedlings in the affected soil do not grow or begin to be sickly at the two leaf stage compared to the ones in the unaffected soil, then you know there are salts in the soil.
Test the soil for pH and salts before reseeding in the spring to be sure the soil is viable. Autumn is the best time for renovation, but if necessary renovation can be done in the spring. Cores aerate to improve the soil, along with the addition of compost, followed by seeding
Cornell University
Cooperative Extension
Nassau County
The common bedding impatiens walleriana, have been getting a new downy mildew, that makes the plant look like green sticks.
We recommend not to plant these common bedding impatiens for several seasons until hopefully a cure is found.
New Guinea impatiens are not affected.
Deciduous Trees:
After Super Storm Sandy it is important to recognize symptoms of flood stress which can include:
You need to be patient until mid to late spring to assess your plants. As spring progresses watch for signs of die-back but don't rush to cut dead branches!!!When branches have lost leaves does not mean they are dead. There may be buds that will re-leaf in the spring or early summer. Live stems will have green tissue visible. Remove only those limbs that appear dead.
Well the good news about this bone chilling winter weather is that it will lead to a great spring and summer season. The reason is simple, when you have a sustained deep freeze as we have been experiencing, as the smart farmer knows, the freezing temps will lead to a better soil for spring planting. Also Mosquitoes and other pests are in hibernation now and the deep freeze will help decrease the population and the spread of West Nile virus. Now all we need now is a below average rainfall for the spring and we will be lined up for a fantastic summer with less pests attacking us and our plantings. Sooooo…. bundle up and enjoy the cold winter weather and remember the benefits are just around the corner !!
