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THE BERNARDS-RIDGE CONNECTION
FEBRUARY 2013
We Pay Upfront - Best Selection
186
Mt. Bethel Road, Warren Twp. 908-647-9009
www.greatandsmall.com
Text RESALE to 42828 to join email list
Kid & Mom-to-be
Resale for the Well Dressed
908-236-7997
Fax: 908-236-7686
1260
Rt. 22 West • Lebanon
(
only minutes off Rt. 31, 78, 287, 202 & 206)
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JERACO, ACCESS & OTHER QUALITY BRANDS
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Michael Haskell
Plant Solutions
Crabgrass just can’t take a
hint. No matter how much work
we put into keeping it out of our
lawns, you can be sure that it will
stage a comeback every year. This
is a very aggressive annual weed,
and just one crabgrass plant can
produce thousands of seeds in a
season.
The seeds germinate in the
late spring and early summer.
Once crabgrass plants start grow-
ing, they expand outward in cir-
cles that can reach 12" in diame-
ter. The plants eventually die off
in the fall, leaving behind dead
areas in the lawn where new
crabgrass seeds are likely to ger-
minate again during the next
growing season.
Crabgrass can make a mess of
your lawn as it out-competes the
good grass you want to have
growing on your property. It is
lighter green in color and coarser
in texture than desirable lawn
grasses, so it can seriously
detract from the uniformity of
your lawn if it’s allowed to gain
a foothold.
DEFENDING YOUR LAWN
Crabgrass has a harder time
getting established in a thick,
healthy lawn. In fact, lawns that
are under-watered, under-fertil-
ized and growing thinly provide
ideal growing conditions for this
opportunistic weed. That’s why
proper lawn care practices are
especially important.
Regular fertilization and suffi-
cient watering (1" to 1 1⁄2" per
week) will encourage a denser,
more vigorous lawn that is less
prone to crabgrass invasion.
Mowing the lawn high (removing
no more than 1⁄3 of the grass
blade each time) will be helpful
too. This works against crabgrass
by keeping the soil shaded (crab-
grass seeds germinate more suc-
cessfully in sunny conditions).
For an extra measure of pro-
tection, pre-emergent herbicides
can be used to hinder crabgrass
seed germination. By interfering
with a key enzyme during the
germination process, pre-emer-
gents make it much more difficult
for crabgrass plants to grow. For
best results, pre-emergents
should be applied in the early
spring before crabgrass seeds
start sprouting. And if you’re
planning on seeding your lawn,
it’s a good idea to wait six to
eight weeks after pre-emergents
have been applied. Otherwise,
they can prevent your new grass
seed from sprouting as well.
TREES HATE DIETING
YOUNG AND OLD, TREES
AND SHRUBS NEED NUTRIENTS
Your trees and other ornamental
plants may not need to be fertil-
ized as often as your lawn, but
don’t put them on a forced diet.
Over the last several years,
we’ve had both too much water
and too little at different times.
We’ve also seen some severe
temperatures. All of these things
take their toll on your landscape.
On large (and more valuable)
landscape plants, you won’t see a
quick, immediate response to
these kinds of stress. The effects
are slower and can stretch out
over several years. If a tree or
shrub goes through enough of
this “rough weather” without
help, you’ll start seeing a general
decline of the plant’s vigor and
growth. Plants under stress (or in
decline) also fall prey to disease
infestations much more easily.
Healthy trees and shrubs are far
better able to get through all
sorts of difficulties.
Regular root injections of bal-
anced fertilizers and micro-nutri-
ents help plants recover more
quickly and completely from any
kind of stress or disease damage.
Your trees and shrubs represent a
large investment that will keep
adding value to your property if
you keep them in good shape.
Annual or semi-annual feeding
goes hand-in-hand with regular
disease and insect management.
Give
Plant Solutions
a call
with any questions about what
your landscape needs for good
growth.
MAKE YOUR PLAN, THEN WORK YOUR PLAN
www.theconnectionsnj.com
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