Carrie Barre-LiBaire's Gardening Column

Down to Earth Gardening

As you've walked through your landscape you may have noticed some areas could use a little brightening. These usually stick out against an otherwise lush, flowering landscape this time of year. Consider adding a summer flowering shrub, which are usually quite the bargain this time of year. Everyone likes a bargain, but purchasing a plant that is in dismal shape is not always the best idea. When you are shopping at a garden center, feel free to pull that plant out of its pot and check out what's going on down there. Most plants at this stage of life in a garden center will have some circling roots, but if it's a dense mat you can't loosen easily, or it has encased a branch, you should probably pass on it. The shrub will need to establish itself before winter comes in order to survive. Most places offer a one year guarantee, so you may think that you'll give it a try and if it doesn't survive, you can just go back and get another one. Come spring, that replacement plant will be full price, and that's only if you have saved your tag and your receipt. That's a lot of effort that a little root investigating can alleviate.

You can also fill in some bare areas with your own established plants. If you have some Hosta that have become bionic, or your daylilies aren't blooming as well as last year, you can start digging and dividing them when they are done flowering. Don't divide fall blooming plants such as Sedum (Stonecrop), Chrysanthemums and Ornamental grasses until next spring. Generally, if you dig out the whole plant and shake it, it will separate itself into smaller clumps without much effort. Hardier plants can take a hacking with a trowel or spade to get it divided. Dividing plants controls their size, increases air circulation and rejuvenates tired plants-and it's free!

Go ahead and use up all of your opened liquid fertilizers. Then stop fertilizing everything but annuals for this year. Late season fertilizing stimulates new growth that will inhibit the plant from preparing for winter survival. It will spend energy on producing new growth when it should be using energy to prepare for winter. Wait until later in the month or in September to fertilize an established lawn.

Prune the side stems off tomatoes so more light gets to developing fruit. This especially helps the larger tomato varieties in hastening ripening. I'm close to panicking that mine won't beat the frost this year. Good thing I like fried green tomatoes! Keep watering your tomatoes deeply so that they don't crack. And please, if you have zucchini, keep them to yourselves.

It's August and that means it's time for the fair! The Douglas County Fair is August 14-17 this year. The Douglas County Master Gardeners will be in the Crops & Horticulture/4-H Building with our "Ask a Master Gardener" Booth. Bring your gardening questions and we'll be happy to help you out. See you at the fair!

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