Control the Spread of Emerald Ash Borer

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Apr 282012
 

John HenningBy John Henning, Buyer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

 

Hello again!  I hope the change to normal spring temps has not discouraged anyone from continuing to enjoy your yards and gardens.

Something we should remember to do again this spring is to try and control the spread of Emerald Ash Borer.  We don’t hear much about it in the news during the winter, so we may tend to forget about it until we have more infestations reported.  This borer is not going to go away.  Just ask the people in states like Michigan, Ohio, Illinois, Wisconsin and others who have lost millions of Ash trees since the discovery of the borer in 2002.

We here in Minnesota have been able to slow the spread so far, because we have been proactive on removal or treatment of infested trees.   Preventive measures are a better and cheaper way to control the infestations.  The cost of removal and replanting other varieties of trees is expensive, plus you lose the beautiful trees that you watched grow and shade your yard over the years.

Prevention Tip #1  We need to remember not to transport wood from one area to another even if it we intend to be burn it.  This insect may have originally arrived in the USA in packing material from Asia.  That tells me that the insect is willing to travel any way it can and as far as it can.  State parks and many private campgrounds will not allow you to bring your own firewood anymore.  Don’t take the wood “up north” to burn at the lake home.  You may unwittingly be transporting the Emerald Ash Borer to a new location.

Prevention Tip #2  If you have not treated your Ash trees for the Emerald Ash Borer yet, or do not remember when you last applied treatments, it is time to get started.  Once you do, mark it on your calendar to remind yourself to do this again next year.  That’s right – just once a year is all it takes.  With the new products on the market, home owners can treat their own tree in about 5 minutes with no spraying.  Bayer, Bonide, Fertilome, Optrol and others package a concentrated formula that you only need to mix in one to two gallons of water and pour around the base of the tree.  If you have rock, wood mulch and fabric at the base of the tree you will need to pull it back before applying the chemical treatment.  Be sure to follow each product’s instructions to determine the proper amount to use, because each product may have different concentrations of the active chemical (imidacloprid).

Don’t be fooled by the cost, those with the heavier concentration require less actual product.  In the long run, you use less and pay less per tree.

Hey, if you do not want to do it yourself, there are many companies out there that will do it for you with different techniques and some treatments only need to be done every 2 years.

I hope this helps you.  For more information stop in and see me or other members of the staff.  You can also learn more by checking out our Dundee Fact Sheet on Emerald Ash Borer.

Now get back to the your yard and enjoy what this spring has to offer.

Prevent Crabgrass – When to Start

 Garden Center  No Responses »
Apr 142012
 

John HenningBy John Henning, Buyer, Dundee Nursery and Landscaping

 

Hello. My name is John Henning, and I have been working for Dundee Nursery for over 25 years.  In all that time I have not seen a spring thaw like this year.

With an early warm up like we are having this year, one of the most frequently asked question is “When should we apply our crabgrass controls?”  It is a common question every spring but is asked even more often this year.  The answer will vary a little from year to year.  When we have an average spring we tell people to apply it during the first two weeks of May.  However, this is not the average and I think now is a good time to start putting it down.  Keep in mind that most controls are effective for around 8 weeks in the soil, and if we have a long cool spring, crabgrass seeds may still germinate into June.  To insure the best results it may require a second application in around 6 to 8 weeks.

Soil temperatures, not the air temperatures, play the biggest role in determining when the crabgrass seeds start to germinate.  Even though it may be hot during the day, the evening temps may keep the soil from rising too fast.  The cool nights are what may lengthen our spring season.  This is why I would recommend the second application of your controls.

There are two ways you can get two applications on your lawn.  You can apply a crabgrass control with fertilizer now and the follow up application may just be crabgrass preventer alone -OR- you can apply the crabgrass preventer in late May when you apply a weed-and-feed for broadleaf weeds like dandelions and thistle.

If you feel that you missed the prime time for best control there are other pre-emergent controls that can be put down up to 4 weeks later and still give you great results.  Look for a product containing “Dimension” (dithlopyr) as this will also prevent some broadleaf weed seeds from germinating.

One last way to determine the prime time to apply your preventers is to look around your yard and neighborhood to see if the lilacs are starting to bloom.  The lilacs tend to bloom at the time soil temps are prime for seed germination.  Areas that warm up quicker, like along streets, may need the application a week or so sooner.  I hope you can use this information to prevent crabgrass from becoming a problem in your yard.

crabgrass