August 2013 News
The effects of the 2012 drought on trees, shrubs and perennials
The Morton Arboretum's plant clinic is receiving reports of trees, shrubs and even perennials that seem to be declining in general . Our pathologist has examined a number of lilacs that are showing twig die back. Many have stems that have no leaves, but are still alive. She has not found any pathogen on these plants, so we feel that the decline we are seeing may be due, at least in part, to environmental stress.
Why are we seeing these symptoms now? For some plants, last week's heat wave may have been the stress that pushed them over the edge. Many plants flowered and fruited heavily this season. That activity takes a lot of stored food, and some plants may have been over-extended by the heavy flower and fruit production. Other plants may have already been weak from other problems, and the stresses finally piled up to a critical level.
What can we do at this time? If there are stems that are truly dead, remove them as they can attract additional problems. For perennials that look bad, the first instinct may be to cut them down now instead of waiting until fall. While that gets rid of a plant that looks bad, it may lead to re-growth now at a stressful time (the heat of summer). Consider cutting perennials back in fall as usual. Water when needed. While we have had a very wet year this year, rain is becoming more sporadic and there may be some areas where supplemental watering is needed.
This is an excerpt of the Plant Health Care Report that is prepared by Sharon Yiesla, M.S., Plant Clinic Assistant from the Morton Arboretum.
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Post-emergence Crabgrass Control with Drive®
Drive has shown to be a good-excellent post crabgrass herbicide. The recommended label rate is 0.75 lbsai/A. Lower rates may work on non-tiller crabgrass. Drive also exhibits some broadleaf activity, especially on legumes like black medic and clover. Drive activity is very rapid, with crabgrass kill occurring within 1-2 weeks after herbicide application. Young (non-tillered) crabgrass may brown & die in less than one week. Also available in generic.
For more information contact your sales rep.
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Dylox® Grub Control - the Standard for Curative Grub Control
DYLOX® provides fast-acting control of surface-feeding and soil insects, including white grubs, mole crickets, sod webworms and cutworms. Not wasting any time, Dylox works immediately after irrigation or rainfall, and penetrates thatch up to 1/2-inch thick when watered properly, providing grub control within 24 hours. Under normal conditions, Dylox controls the pest and then degrades quickly. There are no Dylox restrictions regarding turf species or sites for landscape and recreational-area uses.
For more information contact your sales rep.
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Tree Injection Systems
Both Mauget and Brandt en-Tree injection systems are an environmentally friendly way to apply pesticides and fungicides to trees to control damaging insects and diseases. The Brandt system is loaded with Tree-age which provides two years of protection from the emerald ash borer. No need to worry about drift, because of the closed systems, the chemical is contained entirely within the tree. This gives the applicator the opportunity to treat trees in adverse weather conditions.
For more information call your sales rep or visit www.treecarechicago.com
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Contact your sales rep for more information:
Tom Breier: tom.breier@natseed.com #630-417-9054
Tim Breier: tim.breier@natseed.com #630-417-9056
Dan Breier: dan.breier@natseed.com #630-417-9055
Mark Breier: mark.breier@natseed.com #630-417-9057
Kevin Spiller: kevin.spiller@natseed.com #630-903-5240
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