As most gardeners have marveled, we’re having one of the earliest “spring” seasons this year, with woody plants and herbaceous perennials three to six weeks ahead of “normal.” And then, perhaps inevitably, “normal” spring frost and freeze visited. Being so much further along in their development, plants are quite vulnerable to damage. […]
The following new publications about tree selection, planting and diagnosis might be of interest to you. See below for more details. Why is My Tree Dying? (FNR-FAQ-11-W) https://mdc.itap.purdue.edu/item.asp?itemID=20568 This publication explains how trees can be injured and die from damage suffered during construction projects. Author: Lindsey Purcell, Urban Forestry Specialist. Tree Installation: Process and Practices […]
April was a wet month in Indiana with rainfall totaling 2-10 inches more than normal in April for areas of Indiana (see precipitation map below). Heavy rainfall can cause flooding stress on turf. Flooding reduces oxygen to the plants from the soil and could ultimately lead to plant death without oxygen. If water saturation is […]
Though flooding damage so far this year is not as bad as last year, a number of areas have been hard hit with rainfall the last week (see the photo of Lafayette Municipal Golf Course). We don’t expect damage to be as extensive as last summer given the slightly lower temperatures, but some areas will […]
A research study was initiated at Purdue University to evaluate two sand topdressing products for their ability to enhance creeping bentgrass spring green-up. Treatments were applied at three application rates in the third week of January 2004 to a ‘Crenshaw’ creeping bentgrass stand being grown on a native soil rootzone. Observations to date indicate that […]