Gardening

With recent drought conditions persisting, many South Dakotans are reporting patchy areas of dead grass in their lawns. Many lawns consisting of cool-season grasses like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or fine fescues are turning brown and going dormant.

Now is the time when those pesky weeds are really coming up full force in many gardens around the state, particularly if you have had rain in your area lately or have been sprinkler watering your garden. The easiest time to control them is while they are still young plants.

There are a number of weeds that pop up very early in the spring and even start flowering before most other plants have shown any signs of growth. Most of these are spring or winter annuals that come back from seed each year. Spring annuals germinate early in the spring while winter annuals actually germinate during the previous fall, overwinter then resume growth the following spring, flower and die. In most cases, these cool season weeds are more prevalent in waste areas, growing on bare soil.

Quackgrass and bromegrass are often two of the worst weeds in perennial flower gardens and in perennial vegetables like asparagus. Kentucky bluegrass and other lawn grasses can also be a problem. Perennial broadleaf weeds are also other common weeds among flowers and perennial vegetables. They are both aggressive plants that can grow among other plants so tightly that it is difficult to get them out. In addition, plants like quackgrass, bromegrass, creeping jenny and others produce creeping, underground stems called rhizomes that allow the plant to spread a foot or more in a season, producing new plants as they grow.

When it comes to landscape design many people often think of pretty flowers and lush green gardens. Though this is probably true in many cases, plants have a lot more to offer than just looking pretty. A thoughtful design utilizing herbaceous plants can make a site sustainable by providing habitat to animals, protecting water quality, increasing biodiversity, as well as adding social benefits like minimal maintenance and increased property value.

Sod webworm moths are emerging throughout South Dakota. Although these pests are common during the fall, the number of moth sightings and population densities in the Western half of the state are higher than normal. The particular species being found is the vagabond sod webworm. Unlike several other webworm species found in the United States, vagabond sod webworms rarely cause much damage and the adult moths are no more than just a short-term nuisance.

Drought is a common concern across the region this summer affecting landscapes in many ways but probably most noticeably in its impact on lawns. Cool season grasses are particularly vulnerable to drought stress when it is accompanied by high temperatures, as we have often had since late spring and into the summer. Watering restrictions have already been imposed in many communities which limit some of the options that home owners have who want to keep their lawns green.

Dry conditions last fall coupled with a lack of snow this past winter and a dry spring could mean many people will notice that their lawns did not green-up like they normally would and then quickly turned brown following the exceedingly hot temperatures earlier this spring and again during the first part of the summer. Particularly if they mostly have a cool-season grass like Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass or fine fescues. Many of these lawns dried out last summer and fall, did not recover in the fall, and never had the chance to adequately prepare for the winter.

The leaves have fallen off the trees and the frost has hit the garden. Before the snow falls, a few tasks can help make for a healthier yard and garden next year. If you have a mulching lawnmower, instead of raking up your leaves, you may be able to run over them with the mower, returning all that organic matter directly to your lawn. If the layer of leaves is too thick, it may be possible to spread them out and then mulch them with the mower.

We often think of trees as providing our primary source of fall color, or perhaps it might be the colorful Indian corn or pumpkins that come to mind. But there other sources of fall color too, in our perennial flowers. This goes beyond the hardier flowers that can withstand some frost and still retain their flowers with little damage but rather I am referring to the plants and their foliage itself.