News Article for February 18, 2008:
A few days of warmer temperature has added some color to the landscape.
I have seen the swamp red maples, tulip magnolias and azaleas all showing color.
This tells us the plants are beginning to wake up from their winter dormancy.
Now would be a good time to evaluate your ground cover. Look for foliage that looks ragged from exposures to sun, drought and freeze damage.
I would prune based on the quality of the foliage. The key is to clip the ground cover just before it begins to put out new growth.
In a large planting you may want to use a lawn mower. Set the mower to its highest setting and roll it over the top of the plantings slowly, cutting a small strip at a time. Mowing the area twice and in opposite directions will give a neat appearance. Clip to a height of approximately 3 inches. You can also use your string trimmers for border planting and smaller jobs.
If cutting is done just before the new growth begins, the planting will have a “clipped” look for only a short while. When clipping liriope, be sure not to cut any of the new emerging leaves in the center of the clumps. Liriope should be fully recovered in about 10 days to two weeks. The recovery of monkey grass is much longer because of slower growth. Monkey grass usually does not need to be clipped.
Asian jasmine may be difficult to mow. A weed trimmer may be used successfully to take growth down to the desired height.
Some ground covers, such as English ivy and junipers, need little or no clipping
Immediately following the clipping and cleaning operation, fertilize the ground cover with about two pounds of all-purpose garden fertilizer such as 8-8-8 per 100 square feet of planting areas.
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If you are not a long time resident you may not know that Livingston Parish used to be a huge producer of string beans. They were shipped out by rail daily during the growing season.
There are still a lot of people around who remember the tradition and will tell you that the first planting was made on George Washington’s birthday which is February 22nd.
Farmers are risk takers by nature and sometimes they lose that early planting to a freeze but they also produce a lot of early beans. Plant every 2 weeks for a continuous supply.
Recommended bush snap bean varieties would include: Ambra, Bronco, Contender, Dusky, Festina, Hialea, Lynx, Magnum, Shade, Storm, Strike, Provider and Bush Blue Lake 274. Roma II is a flat, Italian pod bean. Royal Burgundy is a purple pod bean. Yellow wax beans varieties are Golden Rod Wax, Goldmine and Golden Improved.
Pole snap bean varieties will produce more beans than the bush varieties and over a longer period of time. Try Kentucky Blue, Blue Lake and McCaslin. Yard Long Asparagus Beans set well in the heat and are harvested at 18 inches long.
For more information on these or related topics contact, Kenny at 686-3020.