Growing Tips

As winter loosens its grip on South Dakota after a long, cold season, many gardeners are anxious to start working outside. We have compiled a handy list of garden to-dos to get your lawn and garden ready for the coming warmer weather.

Shrubs and Trees

• Shrubs and trees can be pruned, shaped and thinned of older growth to allow new young growth to appear.
• Remove debris from around plants.
• Use a fertilizer with a good dose of iron between spring ground thaw and the first week of June and should be watered in well to get healthy growth and good color. Jirdon Tree, Shrub Fertilizer and Super Iron work well.
• In areas where rock or wood mulch and fabric has been used, fertilize as usual over the surface and around the drip line of the plant and water in well.
• Most trees in lawn areas will receive enough nutrients from your lawn fertilizer application and will require no additional fertilization.
• When shopping for a good lawn fertilizer buy a product high in iron and formulated for the soils in our area.

Perennial Gardening and Flowerbeds

• Remove all the old leaves and dead plant material
• Sprinkle a balanced flower garden fertilizer, in granular form, over the soil or mulch around the plants.
• Take care in not placing granules on the crown of the new growth, as it will harm the plant. Use a garden cultivator or hoe to lightly scratch the granules into the surface regardless of mulch.
• Loosen the mulch in perennial areas to aerate the soil.
• Use wood chips or cedar mulch to help retain moisture. Try to keep a good two to three inch layer over all.
  

Fertilizing

After a thorough spring cleanup of the front and back yards, it's time to nourish your plants. Jolly Lane Greenhouse is proud to carry a line of fertilizers by Jirdon Inc., of Nebraska, which are especially formulated for the soil conditions of western South Dakota, eastern Wyoming and western Nebraska. These fertilizers have high iron content and trace elements of which soils in the Black Hills lack.

When plants are low in iron, the leaves may turn a pale yellow color, where the leaf vein is much darker green than the surrounding tissue. In severe cases, the edges of the leaves can become brown and appear to be burned. This also holds true of evergreens.

Plants placed in soils that stay too wet will exhibit these symptoms. With proper fertilization and Super Iron Green, most of the harm can be reversed within one year. It does take several months for the plant to show an improvement. The most noticeable signs of recovery will appear the following year when the plant flushes out with rich green foliage. For the best results, apply fertilizers before June 15, and always water it in well.

Many homeowners prefer to fertilize their own lawns. It is best to fertilize at ground thaw, late June and finally early September with a Winterizer applied right before the soil freezes.

A healthy lawn should be watered deeply and requires about 1 inch of water per week. Daily, shallow watering promotes unhealthy shallow roots and a less healthy lawn. Proper fertilization and watering will ensure you have a beautiful lush lawn this season.

Jolly Lane Greenhouse has a complete line of fertilizer, weed-n-feed, crabgrass treatments and liquid herbicides to treat those pesky weeds mixed in the lawn to ensure proper care of your landscaping. Applicators can also be checked out from the Greenhouse at the time of purchase.