FEBRUARY 2008
Community Paper

FEBRUARY IN THE GARDEN
by Nick Francisco, Blodgett Gardens
3821 Edgewater Drive, 407-295-2363
See this month's ad!


ROSES
Avoid the Spring chill at home with some awesome Roses for Valentines day! She will enjoy roses all year when you plant your roses with Espoma Biotome, in at least six hours of sun, and feed them monthly with Espoma Rose tone. Problems with your roses or just need some suggestions. Stop by Blodgett's for your gardening solutions.

Natural Weed Control is relatively easy by choking out weeds with vigorously growing turf. By using the "GoldiLocks principle" not too much nor too little, JUST THE RIGHT amount of water & correct nutrients we can have a pesticide free landscape. Need help stop in and we can show you how. Impatient? Want weeds gone as quickly as possible! Weed control in your landscape depends upon the type of weed growing in your yard. Confused? Most of us are, so bring in some samples of your weeds for an accurate ID and prescription for eradication of these troublesome pests. Not all weeds can be chemically controlled at this time of year so ID is as important as proper application of the right product.

Crabgrass a problem in your landscape? The January freeze should have killed off existing crabgrass (that's the small leaved dead spots in your turf). Apply Hi Yield Dimension to kill off weed seeds as they begin to germinate keeping your lawn free of invading crabgrass seedlings (and many other weed seedlings). This new formulation of preemergent weed control may be used in flower beds as well as in your turf. It will need to be reapplied every four months to keep the protective vapor barrier (killing action) intact for a crabgrass free landscape all year.

Broadleaf weeds in turf are best controlled with Fertilome Weed-n-Feed containing Atrazine. The active ingredient 'Atrazine' is absorbed through the foliage (DO NOT irrigate for 48 hours after application as the chemical will be washed from the weeds leaves) as well as the roots of the weeds killing them in about 4-6 weeks. Fertilome Weed'n'Feed for St. Augustine may be reapplied after 45-60 days for complete eradication of listed weeds. Spot treatments may be made with Hi Yield Atrazine concentrate per label directions for effective control of broadleaf weeds.

Frost cloth will hold 4-12 degrees of heat around our plants as well as insulating them from those ice crystals (frost) that form as the temperature drops below the dewpoint. These few degrees of trapped heat should be enough to protect most tropicals from freezing temperatures. Didn't cover your tropicals in the January freeze and have some damage? Delay pruning damaged plants till mid February then have at it for best spring growth. The damaged plant material will help insulate the regrowth from any more cold till Spring actually comes. Delaying pruning also delays new growth which is very susceptible to low temperatures. If you've already pruned and have new shoots forming, watch the weather mid February for a potential freeze and protect those tender new shoots with frost cloth.

Blodgett Gardens is now channel 9's local garden expert. Channel 9 has a forum through their website where individuals may ask specific questions to their problems and we (the experts) will answer their specific questions rather than having to come into the store. Of course visual ID is required for some solutions but many may be answered without seeing a sample.
http://www.localsolutionsnetwork.com/expert/expert.cfm?cfapp=11&from=1&expert=96&eid=12969&specialID=1