AUGUST 2010 CHECKLIST

Mark your calendars: The event of the fall season, Gethsemane’s Annual Sidewalk Sale will be held on Saturday, September 11^th and Sunday, September 12^th. Don’t miss it!

The Gethsemane Garden Series continues this month. Join us Saturday morning at 10am in the Tree & Shrub lot for these interesting & informative sessions. Topics for the month of August include:

August 7th:    Plants for shade besides Hosta

August 28th:  Common insects and diseases

 ANNUALS: It’s never too late to add beauty, color and texture to your balcony, patio and backyard. The 

 Annuals department is overflowing with beautiful and well cared for flowers, plants and grasses.  Stop in

 today to replenish your garden, replace faded or spent blooms or get your late season containers started this

 month.      

 A recommendation from the Annuals staff: If you like the way your summer containers are looking, we 

 suggest that you take a few pictures of them now, while they are in full bloom. This way, when you bring the

 photos in next year, our Annuals staff will be able to help you reproduce this summer’s dazzling containers.  We know that it’s difficult to remember all of the specific plant names, from one summer to the next, and

 photographing them will allow our Annuals staff to better assist you, and to make recommendations based on

 how your plants performed.  A picture really is worth a thousand words!

 In August, it’s important to fertilize your annuals, if you haven’t already started, especially those growing

 in containers. Annuals planted in containers are in need of additional nutrients as the summer heats up. We

 recommend ‘Blooms Plus’ to provide the optimal mix of nutrients and fertilizers to keep your Annuals blooming 

 all summer long.  Also, continue to deadhead regularly, cutting off spent blooms, and allowing your plant to

 direct its energy to new growth and flowers. 

 For instant blooming color, we just received large pots of petunias, million bells and zinnias. They’ll make

 great summer hostess gifts, or to add some instant color in a  pot for your enjoyment.  

 PERENNIALS:  Perennials can be safely, and happily, planted in your garden through October. Take time now,

 while your garden is in full bloom, to assess any holes, bare spots or underperforming plants in your

 landscape  and garden, and stop into the Perennial department to choose from a wide variety of healthy

 plants. Truckloads of fresh perennial plant material arrive weekly, allowing you to select from the freshest

 plants all season long for your garden.  

 Planting perennials now allows the plant the fall, winter and spring to establish their root system and you will

 have a well established perennial in your garden next summer! Freshen up your containers with our wide 

 selection of heucheras and grasses. 

 Continue watering your perennials as necessary. Non-drought tolerant plants may need about 1” (one inch) 

 of water each week. A rain gauge will help you monitor rain amount and the need for supplemental watering.

 In August, you can safely divide your Iris. Dig the clump out and separate the rhizomes. Replant new clumps

 and cut leaves to about one-third of their original height. Cut back your yarrow, catmint, coreopsis and

 veronica when plants stop flowering by 1/3 or more. New foliage and blooms will occur after you trim your

 plants back.    

    TREES AND SHRUBS: Don’t forget your late blooming shrubs for late summer and fall interest. We have lovely

   varieties of Rose of Sharon, hydrangea tree form and clethra (summer sweet), a fragrant, butterfly attracting

   shrub.       

 Pest problems to be on the lookout for in August include Japanese Beetles, which eat the leaf tissue of your

 woody plants, ornamentals, flower buds and fruit, but leave the veins behind. The attacked leaves look like

 lace which will soon wither and die.

 Your plants will not be permanently harmed by adult beetles, however, grubs, which are the Japanese beetle 

 larvae can do permanent damage on small seedling plants and turf. 

 We recommend using an insecticide, such as Bonide Eight insecticidal spray.  If you would like to schedule an

 appointment with our Tree & Shrub diagnosticians, please call, (773) 769-8217, to schedule an appointment

 with John or Fran. They ask that you bring in samples of the diseased and healthy branches or leaves, in a

 Ziploc bag for their review and diagnosis.

 We are now seeing signs of powdery mildew which has been developing on woody and herbaceous plants. 

 Come in and talk with our Tree & Shrub staff members who will discuss options in treating the disease.  We 

 have been searching for organic solutions for fungicide and pesticide problems and have found an organic 

 pesticide, Green Cure, which we have had great results with to date. This pesticide will provide you with an  

 alternative to the more toxic fungicides currently on the market.

 In August, you should be deadheading the expired flowers on your woody plants, like rhododendrons and

 hydrangea. By deadheading the spent blooms, you redirect the plants energy to push out more foliage.           

GREENHOUSE: Let the Greenhouse staff cure your fears of killing plants, stop in and meet with our Tropical plant experts, who will walk you through plant care, plant maintenance and give you valuable care instructions to ensure that your plants thrive!  Talk to a live person, not a recording or web blogger, our Greenhouse staff is ready to unearth your green thumb. 

There’s a wide variety of blooming plants available in the Greenhouse this month, which make beautiful hostess gifts, check out the eye catching and colorful greenhouse grown hydrangea and the best assortment of orchids that you’ll find in the Chicago area.

Mario has a wonderful sale going on in August that you will want to take advantage of.  The August Foliage Sale!  15-50% off Select Varieties.  10" Tropical houseplants, 15 varieties to choose from.  Come see for yourself!

August helpful hints:  In this heat be sure to water your outdoor plants enough.  You may have to do it daily in order to keep up.  But be sure you're not letting your plants stand in water.  This will cause root rot (it will look as thought it's wilted and not being watered enough).  Always water your plants so you see water coming out the drainage holes.

  Be sure to fertilize your blooming plants as well.  Flowers take energy and you will need to feed them regularly.  Read the directions and follow them.  Too much fertilizer can also cause damage.

STATUARY:   August is “Treat your Fountain Water Month”, as temperatures and humidity continues to climb, this is premium algae forming conditions. Green or brown algae may gradually cover the wet surfaces of your fountain.  Some people love the aged look it gives their fountains, others don’t care for it.

If you are the latter, we recommend using Jungle Products, “No More Algae”, or “Fountain Clear”, which has been tested safe for pets and plants. Do not use chlorine bleach. It is harmful to water plants and animals and will leave a blue/green chemical stain. It may also damage your pump. String algae are the stringy, mossy gunk that drapes from the surface of the fountain. 

HERBS & VEGETABLES: Most gardens are in full bloom at this time of the summer with herbs & vegetables going strong. Edible gardens generally require full sun, which translates to 6-8 hours of sun shining directly on them. Herbs like full sun as a rule, but tend to be far more forgiving of less than perfect sites.

Make sure your tomatos are getting enough to drink. Container grown tomato plants need far more watering that those in the ground. They also require calcium in the soil, which is only accessible to them through the intake of water. If the calcium is not available when needed, or the plant is allowed to become dry, the resulting conditions could cause ‘Blossom End Rot’. Throw away spoiled fruit and going forward, water consistently.

Victoria’s favorite book for tomato related topics in called, “Tomato, a Guide to the Pleasures of Choosing, Growing and Cooking” by Gail Harland & Sofia Larrinua- Craxton.  We carry this book in our shop and it covers the symptoms of pests or diseases along with detailed advise on every aspect of growing tomatoes.           

ROSES:   Victoria is very excited to announce the debut of the Gethsemane Roses blog.  This blog will serve as an expansion of the rose care emails she has been sending out, with handy links and so many more possibilities!!  Please, please check it out and subscribe.  She will continue the emails for now, but is hoping that the blog can replace them eventually.  

Here's the link:  http://gethsemaneroses.wordpress.com/

To subscribe, click on "About" and scroll down to where it says "subscribe by email to this site."

Now for the fun part:  Send those photos of your roses!!  Victoria would love to include them on the blog!!  Let her know if you'd like her to include your name or not.

Also, please send Victoria any questions you may have, so she may address your rose concerns on the blog, to everyone's benefit!!

Thank you in advance for your support.  We love hearing back from you about the emails and I hope this blog will be even more helpful!

GARDEN BASICS: This time of year it is essential to focus on the continued care of your yard and plants. Here are some recommended solutions for problems you may be experiencing.

Summer Lawn Application: It is time to fertilize your lawn, use our Espoma Organic Lawn Food. It’s safe around kids and pets, reinvigorates your lawn, thickens and greens your lawn.

Do you have lots of crab grass, broadleaf winds, chickweeds or other creeping charley? We have the Bonide line of products that will help your lawn thicken up and eliminate your weeds. 

Grubs & Japanese Beetles: Now is the time to apply the Milky Spor of grub Beater products to disrupt the life cycle of grubs. We also have Beetle Bags for catching the beetles.    

Organic Solutions: At Gethsemane we are proud to carry more than fifty (50) organic solutions for insect control, fungicides and fertilizers. Come in and talk to our experts for your organic solutions.

With all of the rain this year, it’s been a tough year for fungus, powdery mildew, black spot and other garden nuisances. We have solutions to address these plant problems.

Annuals, herbs and vegetables not performing or producing as you had expected? Try our “Potent” liquid concentrates from Fox Farm. We have “grow Big”, “Tiger Bloom” and “Big Bloom”. These liquid concentrates act fast and produce great results for annuals, herbs and vegetables.