ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Sunday, August 25, 1996 TAG: 9608270004
SECTION: HOMES PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
COLUMN: Dear John
SOURCE: JOHN ARBOGAST
The best time of year for making improvements to the lawn is quickly approaching. To help inform homeowners of Virginia Tech's recommendations, the Roanoke Extension Office, with assistance from Landscape Supply Inc., will offer a program on "Residential Lawn Care" Sept. 7, at 10 a.m. at Green Hill Park shelter No. 2, rain or shine.
Preregistration and fee payment are required by visiting the Roanoke City Extension Office (857-7915) in Suite 317 in the Jefferson Center, 541 Luck Ave. S.W. Roanoke, by Sept. 4. The $10 registration fee includes a free soil test by the Soil Lab at Virginia Tech.
Lawn care work that is critical for the late summer and fall to be covered at this program includes seeding thin lawns, bare spots, as well as big areas, which must be accomplished in our area by the end of September; and fall lawn fertilization. Research has shown that the period of September through November is the best time of year to provide nutrients for blue grasses and fescues.
If you are disabled and need any assistant devices, services or other accommodations to participate in this activity, please contact the extension office at 857-7915, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., to discuss accommodations seven days prior to the event.
Q: Is it all right to trim lower branches off a dogwood tree? If so, when should it be done? D.W., Lexington
A: Lower limbs can be pruned if the work is done in the spring or early summer. Pruning in late summer should be avoided except for removal of dead or dying parts. Please note that if you have several limbs that you'd like to remove, cut off no more than one-third of the tree's leaf-producing parts per growing season so that the tree will have enough leaves to produce an adequate amount of food.
Q: When is the best time to cut iris back? Should they be left at about 6 inches high? Also, when is the best time to transplant iris? Mrs. M.L.H., Roanoke
A: Iris foliage should be cut back only when it turns brown. The cutting back height is not precise, because the suggested procedure is mainly to remove the brown tips and not much of the green parts that are still manufacturing food. Irises can be transplanted anytime after they have bloomed.
Q: We purchased an older house with several established beds of Lycoris squamigera. The bulbs send up plenty of foliage in the spring but few flowers. Do the bulbs need to be divided? If so, when? If not, how can I get them to produce more blooms? A.W., Christiansburg
A: This summer-flowering bulb might be better known to many by the common names I've heard for it, which are Hardy Amaryllis or Magic Lily, the name given because this bulb sends up shoots of foliage in the spring that die before the leafless flowers appear in summer. Abundant spring foliage but sparse summer flowers could indicate that your Magic Lilies need more sun (light shade is OK); or that, as you asked, the bulbs should be dug and divided this month; or that the soil in their locations has developed a fertilizer imbalance with pH problems, which means you need to take soil tests.
Q: I have a Deodar Pine tree that is dying from the top down. Is this caused by a disease that can be helped by spraying? H.L., Roanoke
A: Top-down dying of an evergreen tree can be caused by some site-related cause, such as freezes or wind, rather than a disease that could be sprayed away. Also, this injury could possibly be caused by some insect pest. Your situation is difficult to diagnose by phone or mail, so I would suggest that you arrange for a couple of tree experts, such as certified arborists, to see your evergreen and make an on-site diagnosis. Helpful information for the diagnosis will include: when the die-back occurred, whether it happened progressively over different years and the care and age of the tree.
Send short questions about your lawn, garden, plants or insects to Dear John, c/o The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke, Va. 24010-2491. We need your mail, but this column can't reply to all letters. Those of wide appeal will be answered during the weeks the subject is timely. Personal replies cannot be given. Please don't send stamps, stamped envelopes, samples, or pictures.
Gardener's checklist
Jobs for mid- to late August:
Take soil tests to check for needed pH adjustments, especially from areas like azalea beds where the leaves are light green between the veins.
Reduce the number of pests on your fruit trees for next year by removing all fallen fruit from the area.
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