If you have children on, in or around your property, growing the lawn organically is the only safe method.

This is a re-post of an article written by Paul Tukey of SafeLawns.org. He recently was keynote lunch speaker at Houston's first ever Organic Lawn and Garden Fair, hosted by the Organic Horticulture and Business Alliance, OHBA, a committee of Urban Harvest.
WITH THE LAWN CARE NATION fixated on the so-called four-step plan perpetuated in the past generation by the chemical fertilizer and pesticide industry, one of the most common questions we receive is: “How many steps is your organic plan?”

In its purest form, organic lawn care doesn’t really follow a “step” program. Success is based on three general factors: 1) Observation, 2) Evaluation and 3) Action. Whereas the four-step plan is based on four blanket applications of chemical products on a calendar-guided basis, the organic program requires a more cerebral approach. As I often tell people in my speeches across North America, organic lawn care is ultimately less work and less expensive, but it does require you to think more.

I heard another way of describing this phenomenon this past weekend during my appearance at the Houston Organic Gardening Fair. Chemical lawn care was termed the “Moron Approach” . . . as in just put more and more stuff on the lawn. More fertilizer. More weed and insect killer. Probably more fungicide. The Moron Approach is a bit crass, to be sure, but it gets the point across.

The holy grail of organic lawn care is when you create a beautiful lawn, yet apply few, if any, supplemental products. Having said that, many organic products are useful, especially during the transition years, and we’ll provide links to some of those here as we review the three keys to organic success:

OBSERVATION & EVALUATION

STEP 1 — Assess the appearance of your lawn and, most significantly, your feelings about it. Is it lush and green with mostly grass? Or is it comprised of mostly weeds and a few clumps of grass here and there? Or is it somewhere in between? If you’re not doing anything other than mowing the lawn and you’re happy with that, be comfortable with it. If you feel something needs to be done to improve your lawn, move to step two.

STEP 2 — Obtain a soil test and check your soil depth. Soil has three primary properties — physical, biological and chemical — that can be measured in a laboratory by trained scientists. Grass has certain specific soil needs and, without those needs in place, your lawn will struggle. Think of the lawn soil test as the recipe for a delicious cake vs. cake that is dry, crusty and flavorless. Most state Cooperative Extension Services in the United States offer soil testing for anywhere from $10-$18. These tests usually provide a measure of the chemical properties of the soil, including available macronutrients of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, as well as calcium and magnesium. The tests usually measure pH and cation exchange capacity, as well as a percentage of the organic matter of the soil. The ideal organic matter is around 5 percent. When you send in your soil samples (according to instructions on the soil test kit), be sure to write “grass” under the intended crop. The results will make certain recommendations.

Topsoil depth is an easy visual test you can do with a shovel. The goal should be 6 inches of topsoil that looks dark and “friable” or crumbly. If you have less than that, your lawn will struggle. You should either be prepared to add more soil or compost or both, or develop a plan to add these a bit year by year by top-dressing — meaning raking in a half-inch layer in spring and fall right over the existing lawn.

STEP 3 — Consider the best grass for your lawn while evaluating your climate and growing zone. Not all grass species are created equally. Some grow well in the North and others grow well in the South. Some tolerate foot traffic, while others don’t like to be walked on, but do well in the shade. In most cases it’s possible to introduce new grass varieties directly into an existing lawn by over seeding; yet in other cases you may want to amend the soil and start over. Some of our how-to videos at SafeLawns.org demonstrate these techniques.

Sources: Here is a link to a blog about seed companies that offer “low-mow” grasses: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2011/02/low-mow-no-mow-seed-a-rundown/. You can also try GardensAlive, which includes several grass seed mixes among its wide range of mail order lawn care products that includes fertilizers and weed killers.

ACTION

Once you have assessed your soil and picked a lawn grass, it’s time to take action and begin your lawn renovation or outright makeover. We’ll also review some basic maintenance techniques as well — because how you mow and water your lawn will have a major impact on its ability to survive and thrive in an organic system.

STEP 4 — Apply your soil amendments to the lawn. In organic lawn care, these can be either foods such as organic fertilizers, or minerals, such as calcium and gypsum, organic matter such as compost, or biology such as compost tea, mycorrhizal fungi or bacterial boosters. These do not need to be applied all at once, but can be started any time of year the ground isn’t frozen. When you receive the results of your soil test and develop your recipe for lawn success, you can implement that recipe over time — unless you’re starting your lawn from scratch, in which case it’s best to get all the soil amendments down at the same time. Mechanical aerators cut plugs of soil and turf out of the lawn. Leave these in place and they'll quickly break down back into the lawn.

Mechanical aerators cut plugs of soil and turf out of the lawn. Leave these in place and they'll quickly break down back into the lawn.

NOTE: If you’re planning a lawn renovation that includes over seeding, it’s best to do it as early as possible in the late winter or spring, or wait until after Labor Day. Mid-summer renovations will make you a slave to watering to keep that new grass seed alive in the heat. (Having said that, you should always overseed any thin, bare areas of the lawn no matter what time of year to keep opportunistic weeds, especially crabgrass, from sneaking in). Lawn amendments such as compost, gypsum and calcium are best applied after mechanical aeration so that the products an infiltrate down into the root zone.

Sources: For natural fertilizers, check out GardensAlive and Gardeners Supply, as well as Milorganite. For the best calcium and gypsum sources in North America, visit Natraturf. East Coast Organics makes excellent soil amendments, including granulated compost and ready-made compost tea. To make your own compost tea (watch the video at SafeLawns.org), you can purchase brewers from True Brewer, or construct your own.

STEP 5 — Adjust your watering pattern so that you apply the water once a week at most. Water for as long as it takes to get the soil moist well down into the root zone of the grass, six inches or deeper. If necessary, water for a while in one area and — if the water begins to run off or puddle — stop and come back later in the same day. The goal should be to train the roots of the grass to grow down into the deeper soil to find the water, not stay near the surface waiting for the next drink. Always water in the morning before 9 a.m. if possible and avoid evening watering, especially in the humid days of summer.

STEP 6 — Adjust your mowing so that the grass is always at least three inches high from early spring until after Labor Day. In the spring, the tall grass shades the surface of the soil so that weeds like crabgrass don’t germinate. In the summer, the tall grass shades the surface of the soil so it doesn’t dry out. Also, always keep your mower blade sharp; that means you should sharpen it every eight to 12 hours of use. Never cut more than one third of the grass plant at any one time if possible because it stresses out the grass too much if you do. Finally, always recycle your grass clippings by, preferably, leaving them on the lawn where they’ll return nutrients to the soil. If you do rake the clippings in high traffic areas, be sure to compost these. And you may need to compensate for removing the grass clippings by adding 25-50 percent more organic fertilizer in those areas.

SOURCES: We recommend human-powered “reel” mowers wherever practical. We like the Momentum mower from Fiskars because the blades can be raised to 4 inches: http://www2.fiskars.com/Products/Yard-and-Garden/Reel-Mowers/Momentum-Reel-Mower. We also still use our battery powered mulching mower from Black & Decker in some areas of our property: http://www.blackanddecker.com/outdoor/CMM1200.aspx.

STEP 7 — Carefully consider any action against weeds, insects and fungal diseases. Understand that all three of these so-called lawn problems should really be seen as educational opportunities. They are messengers, sent by Mother Nature to tell us something about our soil. In other words, if your lawn is mostly weeds, it’s because the soil beneath the lawn wants to grow weeds and not grass.

Our book, The Organic Lawn Care Manual, contains a listing of the 40 most common lawn weeds and what they indicate about the soil. Many weeds such as dandelions indicate, for example, a lack of available calcium at the surface of the soil. This can be corrected with the application of high calcium limestone. Other weeds such as plantain indicate soil compaction, which can be corrected with mechanical aeration, with the addition of compost or compost tea to the soil, or with the application of gypsum. Often, the addition of these soil amendments is completed in the autumn after the core aeration.

Soil modifications do take time to have an impact on the plant profile, anywhere from a few weeks to a year or more. Sometimes, when the weed situation is so bad, you may want to take action to kill the weeds before replanting the grass. Weeds can be dug out, cut out, burned up, smothered or sprayed. We are big proponents of smothering the weeds with a rubber roofing underlayment or pond liner, especially in the case of poison ivy or other invasive species. The black heavy rubber will usually bake the weeds to death within a few weeks in the summer. Other folks like to torch weeds with a propane torch.

Sprays come in two types: selective and non-selective. The selective weed killers allow the grass to grow, but kill the weeds. Non-selective products kill the grass and the weeds; the most common non-selective herbicide is Roundup, but as we’ve been demonstrating in our blogs in the past month, this is a lethally toxic product. Many organic alternatives exist.

WEED SPRAY SOURCES: GardensAlive sells a non-selective herbicidal soap: http://www.gardensalive.com/product.asp?pn=8206. Gardeners Supply sells non-selective Burnout: http://www.gardeners.com/Natural-Weed-Control/PropertyMaintenance_Weeding,33-504,default,cp.html. EcoSMART sells its own proprietary product: http://www.ecosmart.com/products/weed-and-grass-killer/. For selective herbicides, we have been blogging about this product for the past year or so: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2010/06/the-party-lives-on-for-fiesta-weed-control/. If you’ve heard about corn gluten meal as a pre-emergent weed control, be sure to read this before you rush out to purchase anything: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2010/04/corn-gluten-meal-as-weed-control-20-years-later-the-jury-is-still-out/. Insects and diseases are also messengers in that they typically prey on only weakened grass or landscape plants. Appearances of insects such as chinch bug should be considered an indication that the lawn is probably too dry or perhaps over fertilized with nitrogen. Brown patch and many other fungal diseases, on the other hand, are often caused by excess moisture. Simply by changing these bad “cultural” watering practices, you can avoid many problems.

INSECT AND DISEASE PRODUCT SOURCES: One of the best lawn disease products on the market is Actinovate from Natural Industries in Houston. For insects, EcoSMART’S lawn product kills or repels Ants (including Carpenter, Red Harvester, Pavement and Argentine), Aphids, Caterpillars, Centipedes, Chinch Bugs, Crickets, Cutworms, Earwigs, Fleas, Japanese Beetles (adults), Millipedes, Mites, Mosquitoes, Spiders, Ticks, Whiteflies and other lawn and landscape insects: http://www.ecosmart.com/products/lawn-insect-killer/.

ORGANIC LAWN CARE, AN OVERVIEW: If it were me, in the first year of transitioning from chemicals to organics in my landscape, I’d keep it simple. Here’s an example of what I mean.

1. Get the soil test as soon as the ground thaws.
2. Assess my sunlight and pick the right grass seed and get some on hand, with the amount depending on whether I planned a full renovation, an over seeding of the existing lawn or just spot seeding.
3. Learn how to brew compost tea and plan to apply it every three or four weeks during the growing season at the rate of one gallon per thousand square feet.
4. Find a local source of bulk compost; make sure it’s a good source: http://www.safelawns.org/blog/index.php/2010/07/getting-started-with-lawns-and-compost/. Then, purchase enough to rake in a half-inch layer across the lawn, or at least the areas you care most about. We have a video about this at www.safeLawns.org.
5. Evaluate the soil test and add soil amendments, if necessary, to raise (or lower) the pH to 6.5-7.0. If the weeds and soil test indicates low fertility, add organic fertilizer.
6. Water and mow according to the tips, above, throughout the season.
7. Over seed anytime thin or bare areas appear.
8. Apply weed, insect and fungal controls only as necessary, and only after a proper diagnosis of a problem has been made by you, a trusted neighbor or friend — or a knowledgeable professional.
9. Wait until fall for aeration, but if thatch is a big problem, take action on that in the spring.
10. Take photos, notes and mental assessments throughout the season. Remember . . . we told you that organic lawn care doesn’t mean you have to work harder, but you do have to think more!

Labels: Lawn Care, Natural Fertilizers, Organic, Organic Products

Baby It's Cold Outside!

Well, at least for a southern gal living on the upper Texas Gulf Coast. For most of us who deliberately moved to Houston, we came for the almost year-round sunshine, warmth and humidity. So, when temperatures drop into the low 40's, upper 30's, you'd think we were living through a 'Nor-Easter'.

There's unseasoned firewood to be had almost on every street corner, and most of us give up our flip-flops and shorts for tennis shoes, and at least a hoodie. In our own southern way, we bundle up to protect ourselves from the damp and bone chilling coastal winter winds.

Bundling up landscapes and gardens for a winter chill and getting a head start on Spring are both important to Texas Winter Gardeners. The almost cliché phrase that we all hear the weather forecasters say during a cold snap is, "protect your pets, pipes and plants". So, wrap and insulate exposed, outdoor pipes which include protecting irrigation systems.

To combat an irrigation system freeze there are some basic things that need to be done. First turn off water to the irrigation system at the back flow device. There will be a lever that turns off water to the back flow and not the water to your entire house. Second, turn on one zone at a time to drain the excess water from the lines. Then turn the system off at the controller. If there are screw bleeds on your back flow device, unscrew them to bleed air out of the system that can expand upon freezing. Remember to turn the screw bleeds back on. If not turned back on, when you start your irrigation system in the spring you will have water everywhere.

Bring the pets indoors, or give them a warm dry shelter outside protected from the wind, and blanket or cover tender plants. And please, don't forget to feed the birds!

This is where I sort of laugh due to the assortment of 'dirty laundry' in the form of miss-matched sheets and towels we all hang out to protect our plants. Although we all lost a garden plant, or a perhaps a palm tree or two in the winter of 2010, protecting plants is a way to preserve your investment of time and money, and that is nothing to laugh at. Do cover tender tropical and sensitive plants and winter vegetables with floating row covers or Plankets during extreme cold and hard freezes.

What can kill most landscape plants during a Texas size freeze isn’t the cold temperatures in and of themselves, but the desiccating or freeze-drying affect of the whipping, gusting winds. To avoid desiccation, deeply spot water potted plants, dry beds and plant/tree areas in advance of the approaching freezing winds. The water acts as an insulator for the root systems, leaves and branches alike.

After the cold snap, if the plant appears to have died, be patient. Wait until the last freeze of the winter season, usually the latter part of March, at the latest the first two weeks of spring to cut back. Then and only then, trim the dead branches, limbs or fronds, and feed with a good organic fertilizer. Plants that most homeowners thought were long gone, and pulled up too early,bounced back with new growth and flowers for those that were willing to wait for the warm, life giving rays of sunshine.


Kathy Vosburg
aka Design-n-Dirt Girl


www.landescapedesigns.com
www.naturallygreengardens.com

Labels: cold snap, Houston, protect plants, winter freeze, winterizing gardens, winterizing irrigation system

School is back in session. The days are shortening. But the dog days of summer still linger. With intense heat and high humidity hanging around, it's hard to think about cool weather turf grasses. But it is that time of year.

You can have a beautiful, lush green lawn in time for the holidays by laying down rye grass seed.

The best varieties for the Houston region are Froghair Intermediate, Intercross Intermediate, and Sunbird 3 Way Perennial. Don't let the perennial name fool you; all of these grasses are considered annuals, some are forage grasses and some turf grasses.

Froghair and Intercross are easier to establish in St. Augustine turf, and Sunbird 3-Way is a slower growing dwarf, best applied to Bermuda and Zoysia lawns and landscapes. A single 50 lb., bag of rye seed will properly cover 7,500 to 8,000 square feet of turf, if properly applied and watered in. Over applying seed will actually over grow and choke out warm weather St. Augustine grass.

In our area, seed is best spread from mid-October through early November, that is if you want a nice stand in time for Thanksgiving.

If you are a DIY-er, you will first want to almost scalp St. Augustine down to the runners with a lawn mower to allow seed to contact soils. Good seed-to-soil contact is VERY important.

Secondly, you will want to use either a broadcast spreader with side deflector or a drop spreader. Calibrate your spreader exactly. The key to disbursing seed is to make sure that no seed lands in flower beds. The grass will love you for it, but you won't be loving yourself for having done so.

If your broadcast spreader doesn't have a side deflector, grab a large piece of cardboard and have someone stand between flying seed and the beds with the improvised deflector.

Broadcast one-half the seed in an east to west direction and the other half in a north to south direction. As all rye grasses are bunch grasses and do not spread by runners. Good seed distribution is critical.

The same day you seed, fertilize as well. Use a low salt, organic fertilizer with a 3-1-2 or 4-1-2 ration. You do not need a lot of fertilizer but you will need some in order not to drain fertilizer reserves from the soil.

Next, in order to germinate in a timely fashion, seeds will need to be wet for two to three weeks. This is more easily accomplished with an irrigation system set to water every other day with more frequent shorter watering cycles. Some professionals recommend watering both in the morning and evening every other day.

The turf or lawn should not be mowed for two to three weeks. The seed needs time to germinate, establish roots, and to take hold of underlying soil. If you run a lawnmower beforehand, seed will be blown out of place, and single blade grasses will be uprooted. The goal is to wait and look for 'tillering': established single seed that has grown multiple blades of grass.

At about three weeks, there should be a solid expanse of fresh green rye grass. If there are any gaps in the turf, now is the time to touch up with with additional seed, after mowing the initial stand at about 3" height.

Rye grass offers great benefits to clay soil. When the extensive root system of rye grass decays, it breaks up soils through wholly natural organic matter and by adding essential nutrients. Besides, it makes your property look sensational during the holidays and through Wintertime.

Kathy
aka Design-n-Dirt Girl

landescapedesigns.com
naturallygreengardens.com

Labels: rye grass, winter grass

More often than not homeowners have an idea of what they'd like to have in their outdoor space. And surprisingly many have a vision. But the challenge is having an overarching vision which organizes the needs, wants, and personal desires and tastes into an integrated whole. The solution to the challenge is a comprehensive landscape design plan created in partnership with a landscape designer.

• It establishes the vision, the theme and design direction.
• It defines outdoor spaces by use and need.
• It creates design and construction cohesiveness between each disparate element.
• It marks the traffic pattern or flow from one area to the next, maximizing each space.
• It maintains a systematic or phased approach to building,installing and construction.

The design plan is the roadmap or compass to follow to achieve the outdoor room or landscape you desire.

The value of a landscape designer is also five-fold.

• They are professional,listen to your vision, interpret your ideas, and translate your needs and wants into a tangible plan.
• They are creative and innovative, staying abreast of the latest trends in design, color, technology, materials and cultivars.
• They know and understand construction and installation order, processes and procedures, saving the homeowner money in the long run.
• They assemble, manage and oversee the key craftsmen, artisans, and professionals to execute the work.
• They communicate each phase, manage expectations and walk with you every step of the design, build, install and maintain process.
  

Irrigation on the other hand needs to be designed with conservation and the plant material to be installed in mind. An irrigation plan shouldn't be designed without having previously selected plant material. Plant material has to be selected by size, location, theme or color palette, and overall garden design, which needs to be established as part of the landscape master plan. And, outdoor lighting can't be designed or demonstrated without the size, dimension and location of garden elements and plants to be highlighted being in place.

In essence, one landscape element impacts another. If you are a DIY-er, invest the time and money and hire a landscape designer to create a plan and phased installation process for you to follow. If you are not a DIY-er, but are thinking about hiring different contractors for different amenities you want in your landscape, think again. Money invested in a comprehensive landscape plan and construction management by a landscape designer, will not only save you time and money, but will prevent you from having a disjointed landscape, installed by different contractors who point fingers at each other when a problem arises.

Kathy Vosburg
aka Design 'n' Dirt Girl

Labels: landscape design, landscape designer, plan

Don't let the dog days of Summer stop your landscape and garden plans and projects. Even with 100+ degrees in the shade there's a lot to consider, think about and actually get done.

Firstly, make sure your turf grass survives drought by implementing a few simple practices.

1. Do not cut the lawn any shorter than three inches. Scalping the turf and cutting away more of the blade exposes the root system and soil to extreme heat, and limits the blade surface available for photosynthesis.


2. Do not just pour on the water. Turf grass does not live by water alone. Rather apply organic fertilizer in the form Black Worm Castings at a rate of 5 pounds per 100 square feet of turf and garden beds. Castings are all natural and will never burn plants. Optimally water in worm castings with organic liquid fertilizer such as VermaPlex, that contains, seaweed, molasses and liquefied castings. Your grass and plants will love you for establishing and maintaining beneficial living soil biology


3. When you do water, water deeply but less often as possible. Lawns and gardens will require more water in August than usually any other. Make sure sidewalks, drives and patios aren't being watered, and limit irrigation runoff as a conservation measure. Potted plants and hanging plants need water daily and keep an eye on azaleas and other thirsty plants. Provide water for the birds, too!

Secondly, prune and deadhead flowering plants to encourage further blooming, as well as dead and damaged wood from shrubs and trees. And mow weekly, leaving clippings on the lawn. If you pick up clippings, put them in a compost pile and turn the pile.

Thirdly, zap weeds in the cracks of walks, driveways, and terraces spraying with 10 percent vinegar or 100 grain vinegar with 1 oz. of orange oil, 1 tbsp of liquid soap and 1 tbsp of molasses per gallon. This is the most natural, organic and sustainable way to eliminate weeds.

Last but not least, is planting. Yes, you can plant in stifling heat. Select plants that will last into Fall such as Copper canyon daisy, marigold, zinnia, ornamental grasses, salvia and wildflowers plants and seeds.

Kathy
aka Design-n-Dirt Girl

Labels: heat, landscape, summer

Without Chemicals & Less Water

It isn’t any secret that chemicals are not good for the environment. Yet, many of us have literally bought into the deception that applying chemicals and more water to our landscapes is what will make the ‘grass greener’ on our side of the fence.

The answer. Care for your lawn and garden organically, from the soil up. Without question you will save time, money, and begin a lifestyle of stewardship. Here’s how to simply have a more lush lawn for less.

Re-establish ‘live soil’. Feed compacted ‘dead dirt’ one or all of the following natural nutrients. Top dress lawns with one-half inch of compost annually. Inoculant lawn and bed soils with microbes and beneficial fungus. Inoculants are available as dry, granular Black Castings™ and for watering in VermaPlex® liquid. ‘Live Soils’ contribute to healthier, drought tolerant, disease resistant landscapes.

Let it grow, let it grow, let it grow. Allow turf grass to grow tall – taller grass encourages a strong root system. Combined with ‘live soil’ microbes and beneficial root fungus, lawns with thick and deep root structure are less vulnerable to drought, disease, weeds and insect infestation. Blades should be 4 ½” tall before cutting back to 3”. The taller thicker turf protects and shades the soil, thus reducing water loss through evaporation.

Compost the clippings. Two choices here; gather clippings and compost them to use as the one-half inch lawn top dressings OR leave them on the lawn to return nutrients like nitrogen and phosphorus to the soil.

Minimize or eliminate turf. Seriously consider reducing the grass coverage to 20% or less of your total properties square feet. Opt to replace with native or near native trees, plants and shrubs that are drought tolerant and require little water once established.

Capture rainwater and water for free without restrictions. One inch of rain on a 2,000 square foot residential roof generates 1,250 gallons of water. Capturing rainwater with a rainwater harvesting system for later use reduces water bills, reduces city waste water charges, alleviates demand on the municipal system, and reduces runoff that causes Houston’s flash flooding. In addition, you’ll avoid community watering restrictions.

Use smart technology for irrigation. Water is a non-renewable resource. Right now, the planet has all the water it has had or ever will have. In Texas, 30 percent of all water used in summer is used in landscape irrigation. To use the resource more wisely, replace your older irrigation controller or install a new system using a smart controller, low output heads, bubblers and drip irrigation.

Conservation is the goal. To stop wasteful runoff, water loss due to excessive evaporation, and irrigating before or after it rains. AND to put the right amount of water, in the right place, at the right time, always.


Kathy
aka Design n Dirt Girl

Labels: Green Gardens without Chemicals and Less Water

I'm not sure exactly when this dastardly crime first came into evidence. But it is one of the greatest wrongs committed to Crape Myrtles and other trees every Spring.

Since when are the tops of trees supposed to be whacked off to the point of severe "knuckling" year after year? I suspect some uninitiated grounds worker at one time thought, perhaps, by topping out a Crape Myrtle that it would flower more or sprout leaves faster and sooner. Another work crew must have gazed across the neighborhood to the esplanade where the tree was being 'professionally trimmed', and saw the tree being cut back with loppers and figured, 'well if they're doing it, it must be the right thing to do'. So, the cycle began in the Houston region of disfiguring the beautiful flowering perennial lagerstroemia indica, the Crape Myrtle.

Crape Myrtles bloom on new wood or the current season's growth encouraged by trimming. I prefer pruning over 'whacking'. That is to say, leave the top branch structure alone. Prune suckers, weak inside and crossing branches, dead limbs, and perhaps last year's dried flower clusters from the canopy.

Myrtles will survive, rebound and even bloom after severe pruning. But that whacking can exacerbate disease and insect problems.

Crape Myrtles originated in Asia, but our hybrids are naturalized in the south and southeastern U.S. Tree-form myrtles have long arching and cascading branches in the canopy.

If you feel you must touch the canopy branches, prune these back to the point where the young branch is one-fourth inch in diameter. All the dry flowers will be gone but you should have a fluted-shape tree canopy. Shrub-form Crape Myrtles can be pruned sensibly to the shape desired.

Frankly, Crape Myrtles do not HAVE to be pruned at all. They will still bloom. I say go for natural, with perhaps just a bit of clean up and shaping. Go for a fully flowing fountain of flowers, unscarred, unmarred - the way God intended for Crape Myrtles to be in the first place.

Kathy Vosburg
aka Design-n-Dirt Girl

Labels: Pruning and Trimming