LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, March 10

Substitute economical tomato cages for expensive flower cages. Cut a 3-tier tomato cage in half HORIZONTALLY, yielding one 2-ring cage and one 1-ring cage. Make cutting easy by snipping the heavy wire with bolt cutters.

In Early Spring, locate emerging peony shoots, chrysanthemum tips and clumps of yarrow and place the cages over them so they can grow into their "girdles" and remain upright without flopping.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Feb. 3

Wait until possible damage shows up before cutting back Cast Iron Plant or pruning back Gardenia branches that may be winter killed. Then cut or prune back only to fresh buds and new growth, always keeping in mind the overall shape of the plant.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 27

When there is a break in the weather and temperatures rise above freezing and get into the 40s and 50s, check hoses and pipes for breaks. Water plants that were newly transplanted this past fall.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Jan 20

Need pots for seedlings? Try an economical pack of waxed paper cups from the grocery or party store. Punch some drainage holes in the bottoms or use a 1/4 inch drill on the entire stack at once.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 13

January and February are great months to prune roses or shape woody ornamentals before deciduous leaves return in the spring. Crabapple LandscapExperts can see the structure of leafless trees and shrubs and are ready to eliminate winter kill, crossing or rubbing limbs, or maintain overall shape through expert pruning now. 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, January 6

With the extremely cold temperatures of a polar air mass arriving in Georgia this week, one method of protecting low-growing plants or nursery stock is with evergreen boughs. 

• clip off branches from discarded Christmas trees (plentiful this week) 
• lay over the tops of low-growing perennials, annual beds, nursery flats or pots 
• bury the whole area in fallen leaves

(Do not cover with plastic, because direct sun hitting the plastic the next morning can steam-cook the plants.) 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 30

Have a care for the overall shrub when clipping camellia blossoms, holly berries, witch hazel or forsythia branches to bring indoors. Crabapple's tip is to strike a balance between length of stem needed for your floral arrangement and the overall shape and structure of the plant left in the landscape.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 23

Keep cut Christmas trees watered in order to keep the needles hydrated and slow down needle drop. Add a little bleach to slow bacterial growth, and some corn syrup to make up for sugars lacking due to decreased photosynthesis, plus a little vinegar to buffer the solution.

  1 gallon water

  1 Cup corn syrup

  4 teaspoons chlorine bleach

  4 teaspoons lemon juice or vinegar

Adding a cartoon for dog lovers: 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 16

Garden Tools make G-R-E-A-T gifts, or put tools that you have been meaning to try on your own Wish List. Choose some ratchet loppers or try a bulb-planting trowel or new snips or a turn table for floral arrangements from the garden.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 9

Cut red berried branches of Holly and shiny Magnolia leaves to add to Holiday wreaths and mailbox swags. Keep in mind not only the branches but the shape of the remaining plant. Prune to an outward facing bud, and try to choose branches that are crossing and rubbing other branches, thus both 1. harvesting berries for holiday trim and 2. shaping up the plant for good growth in 2014.  

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, December 2

It's not too late!
Take advantage of end-of-season markdowns on Spring-flowering bulbs. While the ground is frozen in the whole Northern U.S., metro-Atlanta soils are cooling down to the perfect temperatures for bulb planting. Be sure the bulbs you purchase are firm, solid, seem heavy for their size and have no spots or fungus lesions, then plant, with the depth corresponding to their size.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, November 25

Let your neighbors do the work, then collect those paper recycle-bags filled with pine straw from the curb and use the FREE MULCH to protect your perennial beds. Collect paper bags full of leaves to make leaf mould -- turns into rich, dark brown woods soil and is ready in a year.

More about Leaf Mould here: http://apps.rhs.org.uk/advicesearch/profile.aspx?pid=478 

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Nov. 18

Squirrel-proof a post-top  bird feeder by removing the top and bottom lids of an extra-large juice can, slipping it over the pole and wiring it in place. The blasted squirrels cannot get their arms around the can or get a grip on it. If the squirrel does stay on the post it ends up inside the can.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Nov. 11

Add a post-top bird feeder to the patio. To create a removable, winter-only, pole-mounted bird feeder that can be easily be removed in the summertime, first create a telescoping base. Select a 2-foot length of galvanized pipe wide enough to accept the pole for the bird feeder. Install the pipe vertically in the soil next to the patio and fix it solidly with poured concrete.

During the feeding season, the pole-mounted bird feeder is slipped into the pipe base in the ground. When summer comes, remove and store the pole feeder but keep the pipe clear with a rubber bathtub plug over the opening.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, November 4

As the autumn leaves begin to show color, then "rain down" from the trees on a windy day, be sure to rake and compost them. This recycles the nutrients captured inside the leaves and returns the nutrients, along with decomposing organic matter, to the soil for good plant growth and friable soil texture.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, October 28

If you have not bought spring flowering bulbs yet, hold off another couple of weeks, because they will soon go on sale.

Metro-Atlanta benefits from a long growing season, and the ground seldom freezes in our area, so homeowners can take advantage of End-of-the-Season clearance sales, both locally and mail order from national companies long after northern gardens are covered with snow.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Oct. 21

An adjustable ironing board can act as a "movable windowsill" to add extra room for overwintering house plants in south-facing windows. The narrow ironing board fits in, is easily wiped in case of spills, and is adjustable to windowsill heights.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Oct. 14

When planting edible tulip or lily bulbs, plant a few cloves of garlic among the other bulbs to repel chipmunks, voles, squirrels and mice, keeping the bulbs safe.  Although the garlic cloves will sprout and grow, their narrow leaves will not interfere with the color display next spring.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, Oct. 7

Do  you forget where groupings of bulbs are planted after their foliage goes dormant for the summer? Use inexpensive grape hyacinths to mark the position of your other bulbs and avoid over-planting or slicing into them. The leaves of grape hyacinths (Muscari armeiacum) emerge in late summer or early fall and act as markers alerting you to the position of previously-planted bulbs.

LandscapExperts Tip of the Week, September 30

September and October are typically dry months in metro-Atlanta. Just because our area has had a wet summer does not mean we will let up on watering vigilance this month or next. Crabapple makes sure that new transplants or plantings receive at least 1 inch of "rain" or irrigation water per week.