May 2008

Add colorful Heuchera varieties to the shady areas in your home landscape.

• ‘Lime Rickey’ has chartreuse ruffled foliage and grows best in light to full shade.
• ‘Green Spice’ has dark gray-edged silver leaves that have dark red veins. Does well in full shade.
• ‘Peach Flambe’ has glossy peach-colored leaves. Grows best in shade.
• ‘Midnight Rose’ has wine-red leaves with pink spots. Does well in sun to light shade
• ‘Amber Waves’ has ruffled gold foliage. Does well in semi-shade.

Watch for ants in your home. They are the number one urban pest. Indoor ants are more of a nuisance pest and cause little damage. Large carpenter ants can weaken wood in structures. Small, one tenth of inch long, brown to dark brown ants are odorous ants. They emit an unpleasant smell when crushed. They will nest in wall voids, but do not cause structural damage.

Water vegetable transplants with a starter fertilizer. This should be a water soluble, high phosphorus (N-P-K) mixed fertilizer. Phosphorus helps to promote root growth.

Remove spent flowers from spring bulbs. Allow bulb foliage to dieback naturally. Leaves make food resources which are stored in the bulbs for a repeat showing next year.

Keep lawns green by watering once or twice a week, instead of every day. Apply a total of 1-1.5 inches of water per week. As temperatures warm, make a decision to let your lawn go dormant or keep it green. Each time a lawn is brought out of dormancy, it uses stored nutrients.

Mow lawns at a height of two to three inches. Mowing at two inches is OK when the turf is growing rapidly, but as temperatures warm and growth slows, raise the height to three inches. Mowing too short is an open invitation to weeds.

Move houseplants outdoors when night temperatures are above 55 degrees. Place the plants in areas with dappled shade and that offer some protection from hot summer winds. Sinking the pots into the ground will keep roots cool and will help to reduce watering.