Tom MacCubbin: Your crape myrtles need pruning.
Question: Some of our crape myrtle limbs have grown quite long. Can they be pruned at this time of the year?
Answer: Winds and rains often cause vigorous new crape myrtle growths to droop down and cause landscape problems. Use pruners or loppers to remove or shorten limbs that may be in the way of landscape chores, buildings, drives or pathways. At this time of the year you can also remove portions of stems with forming seed pods to encourage more growth and flowers. It is also a good time to remove entangled limbs within the canopy and sprouts from the base of crape myrtle trees or shrubs.
Q: Our squash plants have looked great and produced lots of squash that suddenly have borers in the remaining fruits and plants. What should I do?
A: Sneaky little melon and pickle worms appreciate your squash, melon and cucumber plantings. When they get established there is not going to be much left for you to harvest. These larva stages of small dingy brown moths fly into lay eggs that begin fruit infestations.
Gain control by first removing all affected squash fruits and then apply one of the natural sprays of Thuricide or a spinosad containing insecticide. The latter is usually available at independent garden centers. Repeat applications are likely to be needed, following label instructions.
Q: Some blades of grass in our bahia lawn and that of a neighbor are turning blue. Is this a problem?
A: Neighbors may start talking about you, but one way to eliminate the blue look is sweeping slime mold off your home lawn with a broom. This fungus lives in the soil and slimes up and over the grass blades during hot, wet weather to produce dusty spores. The mold that affects turf is usually blue in color but yellow and pink forms may cover the stems and leaves of lowgrowing ornamentals.
Slime mold does not seem to harm turf and can be brushed, raked, mowed or hosed off the grass. Fungicides do not appear to reduce the fungal activity and are not recommended for this common lawn problem.
Q: I have moths in the backyard and I am afraid to open the door as they might sneak indoors. What can I do?
A: Break out the fly swatters and butterfly nets, as there are no reliable controls for moths returning to local landscapes. Most of these small, light-brown insects are the adult stage of sod webworms flying about to lay eggs in lawns. There is no need to get too excited until the larva, which are often referred to as worms or caterpillars, are found feeding in the lawn.
When sod webworms are noticed chewing on grass blades, a general lawn insecticide can be applied following label instructions. As for the moths, you either have to tolerate their usually short visit or try one of the flying insect sprays to gain temporary control near entrances.
Q: Slugs and snails are going across our walkways and up the side of the home. Are they going to cause problems?
A: Gliding over concrete, pavers and mulches, slugs and snails are looking for their next meal. They have become quite evident as the wet weather makes it easier for them to travel across hard surfaces. They are looking for organic matter, which could include soft leaves of your ornamental plants and vegetables. Some minor feeding can be tolerated, but when slugs and snails become a problem select one of the natural baits labeled for these pests found at your local garden center. These baits normally contain iron phosphate, a low toxicity product, to apply as instructed on the label.
Q: We had an oak tree removed and the stump ground down. Can we use the wood chips as a mulch around landscape plantings?
A: Since you sort of paid for these wood chips, let’s put them to good use as mulch but don’t create too thick of a layer near plantings. Wood chips, sawdust and similar fresh tree products bind up nutrients needed for plant growth as microorganisms start to break them down into a compost-like material.
About a 1-inch-thick layer of wood chips could be used near plants. You may need to apply extra fertilizer for the plantings as the chips utilize the available nutrients. Keep the wood chips a foot or more away from the home as they could harbor insects. Some good uses for the chips as thick as you like, would be for walkways and creating organic matter layers in compost piles.