‘Spring of all seasons’ produces challenges
Truly, this is shaping up to be a season of all conditions. Many folks who put their warm season vegetables out had to replace, due to late frosts, or the plants are stunted and just sitting there. It should be OK to finish planting your vegetables now. Our last frost date is May 10.
Nymph stages of four-lined plant bugs love mint and perennials like phlox. Their damage to plant leaves shows up as dark brown or blackish crumpled areas.
Personally, I have loved the long spring. We had plenty of soil moisture from the winter snows, and pretty good rainfall. Many plants responded by blooming better than they have in years. Plants damaged by the snow have needed some help to recover. If you have not tended them, you will want to before they develop growth that is at the wrong angle because the plants have flopped open. Loosely tie them up if you need to, so the sun will right those stems again, or prune out bad sections. The lack of humidity most days has kept early spring diseases down. I think most grasses were really happy with the cooler weather and the wiregrass has been delayed a little. It has seemed a carefree spring in which we could really enjoy the fruits of our labors and see our plants at their finest. Weeds have been as happy as weeds always are, but we just have to deal with them. Some things never change!
Just because we have had it easy so far though, does not mean we can become complacent. I have noticed things like bearded iris, which have been beautiful, suddenly start flopping. We have had lots of wind lately, but they might be flopping because they are dry. Yes, if you look around, you may notice that some of the lawns are starting to either yellow or get dull green. We need rain. If your lawn is new, you need to irrigate. Your roots will not have established yet, even if it looks OK right now. How about newly planted trees and shrubs? Has it been more than a week since they had a good soaking? Did you plant some annual seeds but they refused to come up? Are your peas looking a little peaked and you lettuce looks like it might bolt? How long has it been since you scouted for insects and disease?
Various plants bugs are hatching and are at the nymph stage. They look different than the adults you may find pictured in references. Four-lined plant bugs are reddish, with some banding on their backs. They love mint, perennials like phlox, and others. They leave little brown spots with a dot in the center and those coalesce into big dark brown or blackish crumpled regions. An outbreak of these is a sign of poor fall sanitation, as they carry over in plant debris. Control can be difficult, but there is one generation per year, so all is not lost. You may try to spray with a garden insecticide labeled for the host plant and for plant bugs, then cut the plant back a week or so later. It may not be necessary to cut the whole plant down. If just the top is affected, remove just that portion.
One thing that will bring out aphid attacks is a damp spring. They love the extra plant juices. Look for ants farming aphids on your plants. Most aphids can be controlled with an insecticidal soap. Some, like the ones that hide in crinkled leaves of birch, may require a systemic insecticide. A spray will not control them if it cannot reach and effectively cover them.
We have had a few humid days thrown into the mix. For some plants, that has meant that powdery mildew has raised its ugly head. Mildew does not discriminate.
It likes trees and shrubs as well as it likes herbaceous plants. Prevention with a broad spectrum fungicide is the best control on susceptible species. Consider replacing species which are repeat offenders, for the sake of protecting less affected varieties. There are so many good looking plants available, why struggle with difficult ones?
