This Month’s Tips 

• Prepare and prime irrigation system for summer.
• Use a soil thermometer to help you know when to plant vegetables. Wait until the soil is consistently above 70 degrees Fahrenheit to plant tomatoes, squash, melons, peppers and eggplant.
• If needed, fertilize rhododendrons and azaleas with acid-type fertilizer. If established and healthy, their nutrient needs should be minimal. Remove spent blossoms.
• Plant dahlias, gladioli, and tuberous begonias in mid-May.
• Plant chrysanthemums for fall color.
• If an unknown plant problem occurs, contact your local Master Gardener hotline or plant clinic, for identification and future management options.
• Leaf rolling worms may affect apples and blueberries. Prune off and destroy affected leaves.
• Monitor aphids on strawberries and ornamentals. If present, control options include washing off with water, hand removal, or using registered insecticides labeled for the problem plant. Read and follow all label directions prior to using insecticides. Promoting natural enemies (predators and parasitoids that eat or kill insects) is a longer-term solution for insect control in gardens.
• Spittle bugs may appear on ornamental plants as foam on stems. In most cases, they don’t require management. If desired, wash off with water or use insecticidal soap as a contact spray. Read and follow label directions when using insecticides, including insecticidal soap.
• Monitor rhododendrons, azaleas, primroses and other broadleaf ornamentals for adult root weevils. Look for fresh evidence of feeding (notching at leaf edges). Try sticky trap products on plant trunks to trap adult weevils. Protect against damaging the bark by
• Control slugs with bait or traps and by removing or mowing vegetation near garden plots.
• Monitor blueberry, raspberry, strawberry and other plants that produce soft fruits and berries for Spotted Wing Drosophila (SWD).  Learn how to monitor for SWD flies and larval infestations in fruit. 

Calendar September 2019