6 Things You Can Check Off Your Garden To-Do List

Spring is closer than you think and February is a great month to do some preparation, clean-up, and planning. Here are a few items to check off the garden to-do list and get your yard ready for spring!

Watch out for strong winds. 

Spring often comes early to the Desert Southwest. Winds can stress new plantings and burn young leaves. 

Water deeply and make sure all new trees are STAKED PROPERLY. Use multiple poles and soft ties to keep trees from breaking or blowing over.

Finish planting Dormant Pot Roses and Fruit Trees.  

All planting should be completed by Valentine’s Day or the plants may not survive the coming summer heat.

“Wake up” Established roses.  

About 3 weeks after pruning, get roses ready for the spring blooming period with the “Star Potion” discussed in StarNote 605, Fertilizer Mixture for Established Roses. 

Fertilize fruit trees and grapes early in the month.  

The greatest need for nitrogen is about 6 weeks before and after bloom. Proper feeding during this period helps ensure the highest quality fruit. The use of a soil alkalinity modifier like Con-Gro can substantially enhance your plant's uptake of nutrients. The “Star Potion” for fruit trees is discussed in StarNote 610, Fertilizer Mixture for Established Fruit Trees. 

Frost-damaged plants.  

If damaged by a freeze or hard frost, leave plants unpruned and undisturbed until later in spring. Pruning or transplanting after such damage may further weaken or kill the plant. When new growth emerges, you’ll see where to prune it.

Prevent spring lawn weeds 

An application of a granular pre-emergent weed control product, like Amaze® or Bonide Crabgrass and Broadleaf Weed Preventer, give excellent pre-emergent control in tree wells, shrub and flower beds.

5 Easy Maintenance Tips To Transition Into Fall

Summer's coming to an end and there's a to be done in the garden in preparation for the

cooler days ahead. 

These few basic chores will help you to maximize the time you spend outdoors whether you're planning on adding some trees and shrubs to your landscape or simply planning on dining and entertaining on the patio in the cool evenings. 

Reset sprinkler clocks to match requirements of the Southern Nevada Watering Authority Drought Watering Restrictions Guide if drought conditions are in effect. Get a copy from any Star Nursery. Inspect your irrigation system for correct water delivery to all plants.

Cool season vegetables.  Turn your vegetable beds and amend with organic material like Paydirt™ Planting Mix. Begin to plant cool season vegetables from transplants available at any of our stores. Sow seed directly in the ground to start carrots, radishes, lettuce, peas, onions or spinach. Feed monthly with Dr. Q’s® Tomato & Vegetable Food (6-10-6).

For More on Cool Weather Vegetables, Check Out Star Note #200.

Kill unwanted Bermuda grass that has appeared this summer. Use Remuda® or Round-up® for effective control. It’s your last chance to control before the dormant period sets in. Once dormant, Bermuda is unaffected by herbicides.

For More Information on Weed Identification and Control, Check Out Star Note #625.

Give fruit trees a final feeding with low nitrogen, high phosphorus fertilizer to stimulate fruit buds for next spring. Feed shrubs and trees with complete, organic-based fertilizers from the Dr. Q’s®fertilizer line to help them recover from summer stress and get ready for the winter.

For More On Fruit Trees, Check Out Star Note #500.

Clean and feed roses to bring them from the summer blahs to the fall color show. Prune dead wood, spindly twigs and lightly shape the bush. Remove and discard all old leaves and other debris to prevent insect and disease problems. Feed with Dr. Q’s® Rose & Flower Food (6-12-4) and enjoy the blooms. 

For More On Roses, Check Out Star Note #520.

For More Seasonal Gardening Information, Check Out Our Star Notes!

One Step To Healthier Plants, Better Soil And Less Water!

Would you like to have healthier plants, better soil and use less water? Regular use of mulches can give you all this and more.

What, exactly, is mulch? Mulch is organic or inorganic material that is used as a protective covering placed around plants to prevent evaporation of moisture, insulate roots, and prevent weed growth. It can be coarse or fine and even consist of rocks in some landscapes. “Compost” is mulch that had completed the composting (or decomposition) process. Mulch is for surface applications only, while compost can be used as a mulch or planting mix.

Regular use of mulch also helps drainage and improves the soil. Most mulches release natural humic acids when broken down by soil microbes. These acids neutralize alkali deposits frequently found in our native soils and make nutrients more readily available to plants. Mulch also cools the soil while reducing water use during the hot summer months. Some mulches like bark and rock are highly decorative in the landscape. Others can also be used as amendments to improve soil at planting time. Here are examples of the most common mulches normally used in our area:

Dr. Q’s®Paydirt™ Premium Planting Mix and Mulch is a peat moss based, a fully composted product with a small charge of long-lasting organic fertilizer added. It is free of sewer sludge and adds to soil structure, over time, when used as surface mulch. Best when applied as a 1 or 2-inch layer twice a year in spring and fall. Specially formulated for our tough desert soils, Paydirt™ is also the best soil amendment available! Mix it with landscape soil to get all your plants, flowers and vegetables off to the best possible start.

Humus Gro and Top Dressing are fully composted, humus-based products that give a rich color to the soil surface when used as mulch. They also break down naturally when used as surface mulches and release beneficial humic acids. These products can also be used as seed covers and soil amendments. Apply 1 or 2-inch layer in spring and fall to provide maximum benefit to plants.

Bark mulches insulate the soil from heat and cold as well as control evaporation. Coarse, medium and large bark mulches are especially useful in high-wind areas since they aren’t likely to blow around like fine-grained products. Apply a 2-inch layer around plants and in shrub beds. Do not mix bark mulches into the soil. They remove nitrogen during the composting process and can cause plant stress if used incorrectly. Scatter fertilizer on top of the bark when feeding your plants. It will speed composting while providing proper plant nutrition.

Bulk or bagged rock is a decorative landscape product that doubles as mulch by reducing evaporation from the soil in covered areas around desert shrubs, trees and cactus. Rock is normally applied in 1 to 2-inch layers. Since it is highly heat-reflective, be careful when using it around traditional plants. Leave a 2 or 3-foot circle around those plants and use bark or humus-based mulch instead. If using rock over a large surface area, keep in mind that sandstone rock decomposes into the soil rather quickly, while quartz rock does not.

Grass clippings and leaves are frequently used as mulches by the home gardener. If using these materials, do not mix them into the soil as they remove nitrogen while undergoing the natural composting process. This can cause severe plant stress. Consider building a composting bin (wire fencing works well). Add the leaves and clippings, sprinkle with a high nitrogen fertilizer like Ammonium Sulfate (21-0-0) or a commercial compost starter product. Water and turn the pile over every 2 weeks or so. You’ll have a fully composted mulch in about 6 weeks which will be fine to use around your flowers, trees, and shrubs.

For more information on keeping your plants healthy, check out Star Note 900A!

Here Are 5 Super Sweet Ways To Celebrate Mom!

Nothing warms a mother's heart more than a thoughtful and personal gift!

Here are some ideas that are sure to be a hit:

The Herb Garden

Give her the herb garden of her dreams in an assortment of pottery to suit her style. 

A Hanging Basket of Flowers

An easy way to dress up any outdoor space without taking up a lot of room.

A Succulent Planter

Succulents are so trendy and so easy to care for that it makes a perfect gift for even the not-so-green-thumbs!

Roses

Why not trade in your traditional gift of cut roses for roses that she can plant in her garden? 

A Houseplant

To elevate her style and air quality. Add a pretty decorative to give it your personal touch!

For more great Mother's Day Ideas, visit your local Star Nursery!

3 Foolproof Valentine's Gifts That Are Way Better Than Cut Flowers

Real Roses

Ditch the long stems in a vase for stems with a root base!

Cut roses will only last a few days, but rose bushes last forever.

Flower Seeds

What better way to show how much your love continues to grow?

You can watch your futures bloom together!

Succulents

Easy enough for even the not-so-green-thumbs to take care of.

Add a cute personalized touch to the pot to make them even more special.

www.starnursery.com

Wake Up Those Roses With This "Star Potion"

Coming Up Roses!

Most people that don't already grow the flowering shrubs are surprised to learn that roses do really well in our climate. They are drought tolerant when established and are a rewarding way to add bold color to your landscape.

Ketchup & Mustard Rose

Floribunda

With the hundreds of varieties available to plant, it can be overwhelming to pick the right ones.

Here's a basic breakdown of five of the most common categories of roses that you'll find while shopping. Knowing how a rose is going to mature will help you put the right plant in the right place. 

Opening Night Rose

Hybrid Tea

Hybrid Tea are the world's most popular roses. They grow to 4-6 feet in height with a 2-4 foot spread and produce large well formed blooms atop long straight upright stems. They are excellent for cutting and arrangements.

Chicago Peace Rose

Hybrid Tea

Grandiflora, Latin for "large-flowered", are the largest of the shrubs getting up to 8-10 feet in height.

The blooms cluster in threes or fives and are also featured on long stems.

Dick Clark Rose

Grandiflora

Floribunda, Latin for "many-flowering", is a cross between polyanthas and hybrid tea to produce a large number of high quality blooms. This bush stays in the 3-4 foot range in height with a 2-4 foot span. The flowers are typically smaller than a hybrid tea, but bloom in larger clusters. The Iceberg roses are also in this group and are very prolific bloomers.

Coral Dawn Beauty 

Climbing Rose

Climbing roses grow very long (15-30 feet with a 10-15 foot spread) with more flexible canes than the shrub or bush varieties.

These are not to be confused with vines that can cling to walls or trellises by themselves, climbing roses need to be trained on to support structures.

The blooms are varying forms of small and large flowers and some can be repeat bloomers.

Don Juan

Climbing Rose

Miniature Roses are dwarf mutations of other shrub varieties. They stay relatively small growing only 6 inches to 2 feet in height with a span of about 2-4 feet. This makes them excellent for growing in containers or also in a bright spot indoors as houseplants.

Miniature Roses

All roses grown in our desert climate require some hard pruning in the dormant season (winter) to thrive. There is an art to pruning so don't miss our Seminar this Saturday at all Star Nursery Locations at 10am and 2pm!

Pruning is well worth the time and you'll see the flowers of your labor in the spring, possibly all summer, and again in the fall.

Knowing the growing habit of a rose makes it easier to plan for its place in your garden whether you're looking for a more formal rose garden or just looking to add some color to your already drought tolerant landscape.

Check out our Star Notes on Rose Selection, Care, and Planting!