NEWS for North Dakotans
Agriculture Communication, North Dakota State University
7 Morrill Hall, Fargo, ND 58105-5665
May 11, 2000
Ron Smith, Extension Horticulturist
North Dakota State University
Q: I planted a large area of new lawn last fall, including an area where a new shelter belt is planted. The grass is coming up but so are the weeds. In some areas there is shepherd's purse growing so thick that I am sure it is competing too much with the grass. What can I do about the weeds? There are too many to pull out by hand. At what point can I apply a broadleaf weed killer? Do I need to fertilize the new lawn this spring?
Every year I put down pre-emergent crabgrass herbicide, and every year I have tons of crabgrass. I will try again this year, but would like to know when I should put it down. Can you give me an approximate date?
Is it OK to cut potentillas way down, maybe a foot above the ground? I have some that seem so overgrown.
I am planting dahlias in my garden for the first time this year. Can I plant them now or do I need to wait until the frost free date?
Sorry I have so many questions, but it seems like every time I go outside, I think of something else! (Fargo, N.D.,e-mail)
A: You can apply the broadleaf weed herbicide to your new lawn when the weeds are actively growing. It is best to get them in the juvenile stage, as control is much more effective. It would do the lawn good to receive some fertilizer this spring about mid-May.
Are you sure you are fighting crabgrass and not quackgrass? Many people get the two turned around. In many weed-and-feed products on the market, the concentration of the herbicide is usually lower than it is when purchased straight without any fertilizer included. The active ingredient (AI) in crabgrass control products is usually pendimethalin or oxadiazon, and in some cases, siduron. All of these are pre-emergence materials that have to be applied BEFORE germination takes place.
Another point of confusion for consumers is the fact that some weed-and-feed combinations go after the broadleaf weeds, such as dandelion and broadleaf plantain, and are post-emergence materials that are effective only AFTER the weeds have emerged. Neither of these has any effect on quackgrass, which is a cool-season, rhizomateous, perennial grass. There is no selective product on the market for controlling this weed. Crabgrass starts germination about the time the lilacs are beginning to bloom. Any pre-emergence herbicide needs to be applied just prior to that time, or about when the forsythia stop blooming in your area.
Yes, cut the potentilla back as far as possible. We did it to ours this year, as they have just become a tangle of unattractive branches. Better to have attractive fresh-looking foliage and growth rather than something that looks like it was used for mortar practice!
With the arrival of May, I would say you can put your dahlias out anytime now. Just keep an eye to the weather, in case a cold snap hits and the tubers have begun to emerge succulent growth. Just toss a sheet or newspaper over the new growth.
Q: Last fall I took a slip from an impatiens flower, rooted it and it grew! My mother's plants always grew long and spindly, so about December I pinched out the heart. It is still alive with five leaves (two dropped) and looks healthy. It never grew any more shoots or leaves since I pinched the heart. I had planned to take slips this spring, but there aren't any. What should I have done? (Jamestown, N.D.)
A: The best thing you could have done was to root the slip that you cut off from this plant. Next, use only florescent lights or genuine Gro Lights for plants (they are more expensive, but have a better light spectrum). Be sure the lights are close enough to the plant to allow for non-spindly or stretched growth.
Q: Will it hurt to transplant my Christmas cactus? It has a few buds on it, and one is a pretty good size where you can see the color of the flower, but it has a way to go before it opens up. Should I transplant it into fresh soil? I have been told not to repot it because it won't flower again. Is this true?
I also would like to get a banana tree again. Is it too early to get one yet? (Carrington, N.D.)
A: Go ahead and repot it--now is the time, and yes, use fresh soil. You might also want to summer it outdoors as well. Locate it in a shady spot and be sure to bring it in well ahead of the first fall frost. Don't worry. It will bloom again for you!
As long as you are not planning to place it outside, it is not too early to get a banana tree.
Q: I would like to learn how to grow ferns from date pits. Any other information on growing plants from food products and seeds, I would like too. (Peterson, Iowa)
A: Refer to the following extension publications: "How to Succeed at Seed Starting" (H-1139) and "Home Propagation Techniques" (NCR-274).
Q: I have a great opportunity to take every bulb and plant I can get my hands on before a historic Newak, Del., farmhouse is completely redone and relandscaped. So far I've gotten iris, roses, tulips, daffodils, phlox, narcissus, grape hyacinth--wow! My greed has reached new proportions! There are some beautiful lilac bushes there on the property, but I'm not sure how to transplant a bush. I don't even know how to get it out of the ground.
I am 5 feet 3 inches tall, and the bush is a little taller than I am. Do I need to take all the root, or can I be a little selective and cut it down a bit? How do I get the bush home? Wrapped up? Or, do I just throw it in the van and drive like crazy until I get there? Do I need to prepare the area where it will go first, and put it in immediately? Also, how do I keep the bulbs that I'm digging up until I can plant and mulch in the fall? None of the bulbs are in bloom anymore, but the leaves are all still out of the ground. Should I just plant them now and be done with it until next year? (Newak, Del., e-mail)
A: If the lilacs are not yet in leaf (I'd be surprised if they were not) you can cut them back by about one-third and dig up as much of the root ball as you can handle. Wrap it in moist burlap for transport and plant ASAP. If they are already in leaf, your chances of successfully transplanting are essentially nil. If they have already begun leafing out, then all you can do is wait until this fall to remove them for replanting.
With the bulbs, do the same thing. Dig, wrap in moist burlap and plastic, transport, and plant ASAP. Expect some loss, but most should survive.
Q: An idea I've heard about driving nails into apple trees to stimulate them to bear fruit is very interesting. How do you do it and how does it work?
Can coffee be used to stimulate any plant, or just certain types? Do you dilute the coffee, or use it full strength? Are coffee grounds good to put around plants in a flower bed?
Are there any colored flower varieties of crabapples that are fruitless, or just the couple white varieties? (e-mail)
A: Yes, driving nails into trees may stimulate them to bear fruit, but it is also quite injurious to the tree, so I don't really advise it. Girdling branches also does the same thing, but then the branch dies! A less traumatic practice would be the take a square-tip spade and drive it into the soil out around the drip-line of the tree (the outer edge of the canopy) to sever some of the roots. This usually makes a pretty clean cut, which heals faster, and often results in the tree bearing fruit the following season.
Coffee is a complex compound, in addition to caffeine, coffee contains nearly 400 other chemicals, including trace amounts of vitamins and minerals, tannins and caramelized sugar. It has an acidifying effect on the soil, and the used grounds tend to enhance the tilth of the soil. I have known many people, and perhaps you have too, who say all they have done for so many years is dump their old coffee on their house plants. I don't know of a plant that would be harmed by coffee.
The only crabapple I know of is Spring Snow, which is white.
Q: I raise apples, grapes, cherries and plums in my orchard but no pears. My pear trees are growing well, but they do not blossom out nor set fruit. Can it be a soil pH problem, mineral deficiency or what? I have about 12 trees altogether so please help me if you can. (Burlington, N.D., e-mail)
A: Pear trees are a slight frustration for many gardeners, including yours truly. I gave up years ago!
Here are some reasons why pear trees may not bloom or bear fruit:
- Wrong cultivar. Some will grow and survive, but not flower or bear fruit in your climatic zone. Summercrisp, Parker and Gourmet are the only three possibilities for North Dakota.
- You are too good to them. If they are growing well and not producing, perhaps your soil is being kept too fertile for fruit bearing, especially in reference to nitrogen levels.
- Wrong location. Since pears bloom before apples, they need special consideration when being located in a particular site. In even a slightly lower part of the terrain, cold air accumulates and can keep the pears from bearing fruit.
- The pH is too high. Pears are a little fussier than apples, as far as pH goes. Apples will bear over a wider pH range than pears. They ideally like it a little on the acid side--at pH 7 or lower. Most soils in the state test out to be quite alkaline--pH 7.8 to pH 9--enough to make a difference, since this is a logarithmic scale. It is tough, if not impossible, to permanently lower the pH in our region.
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Do you have a gardening or houseplant question? Write to Hortiscope, Box 5051, NDSU Extension Service, Fargo, ND 58105 or e-mail to Ron Smith at ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu.
Source: Ron Smith (701) 231-8161
ronsmith@ndsuext.nodak.edu
Editor: Dean Hulse (701) 231-6136