K-State Research and Extension

So, in the past 9 months we’ve had a late hard freeze, little rainfall, and before this was the driest six month winter period since 1936?  That is a lot of stress on plants!

This stress can take its toll.  Environmental stressors such as drought, heat and cold are cumulative. In other words, trees can gradually weaken under continued stresses such as drought until they reach a point where significant damage or even death can occur quickly. Damage that occurred earlier may not appear until summer weather arrives. Plants may wither seemingly overnight.  These trees probably died earlier but had enough food reserves to put out leaves and even to grow for a period of time.

When the food reserves became depleted, the plants died suddenly.  Be careful not to confuse this with feeding damage from May beetles or other insects.

May beetles will strip a tree of leaves rather than leave them wilted and dead on the plant. Healthy trees will easily recover from May beetle damage by throwing out a new set of leaves. Before any tree is cut down, check the twigs. Dead trees will have brittle, dry stems that snap. Live stems may break, but they won’t be dry. If the tree is still alive, give it time to put out a new set of leaves.

Recommendations: Trees that lose individual branches should have those branches cut out. Trees that are slow to leaf out need to be given extra care so that further stress is avoided.

If you suspect you have plants under stress, try to water them every few weeks if there is no rainfall. Trees should be watered to a depth of 12 to 18 inches if possible. Water from the trunk out to the edge of the branches. Though this will not reach all the roots of a tree, it will reach the majority of them. Trees normally have at least 80 percent of their roots in the top foot of soil. Use a dowel or metal rod to check the depth of water. The rod will penetrate moist soil easily but will stop when dry earth is reached.

Shrubs should be watered to a depth of 8 to 12 inches. Check the depth of watering by pushing a wooden dowel or metal rod into the soil. It will stop when it hits dry soil.

Be sure to check out these great landscapes during the Second Century Library Foundation Flower and  Garden Tour in Newton this weekend!  The times are: 9 AM to Noon on Saturday, June 9 and 1 to 4 PM on Sunday, June 10. The homes on the tour include:  2413 College Ave. North Newton; 2913 Bluestem Court, North Newton; 314 Glendale, Newton; and 1704 Cypress Lane, Newton.

This tour garden tour helps the library raised funds for the Newton Public Library.  Suggested donation is $8.00.  Admission brochure available at the gardens on the tour and the Newton Public Library.

Now on to grubs!

You don’t have to treat for grubs most of the time.  Sometimes the damage they do does warrant treatment to prevent damage to your lawn.  If you plan on using a grub preventative on your lawn, the first half of July is a good target date for most products. Preventatives are normally used on areas that have had a history of grub problems.

Traditional grub insecticides such as Dylox or carbaryl (Sevin) are normally applied in late July after grubs are present or as a rescue treatment once damage is seen. Products that contain Merit (imidacloprid) are considered grub preventers. Actually, these products do not prevent grubs, but rather kill grubs when they are quite small, and long before they cause damage. Merit is safer to use around pets and humans than traditional grub killers. Merit can be found in Bayer’s Season-Long Grub Control, Grub No-More and Grub Free Zone. Another grub preventer with the trade name GrubEx contains chlorantraniliprole. Though this product is very effective, it is less water soluble than imidacloprid. It should be applied earlier, preferably April or May, but applications through June should still be effective.

Remember, all grub products should be watered in soon after application.