Gardening tips for watering new plants and controlling weeds
I plant all summer long. Be sure to keep plants moist before planting to minimize stress on the new plant material. Containerized plants can sometimes be difficult to remoisten if they are planted too dry. Plants that are grown in containers have a lighter growing medium that generally dries more quickly than garden soil. This medium needs more frequent watering until the plant roots grow out into the surrounding soil.
Newly installed balled-and-burlapped plants need about 1 inch of water a week delivered to the root ball zone. The amount and frequency of watering varies depending on the soil conditions in your garden and weather conditions. Sandy, well-drained soils dry out more quickly than heavier clay loam soils.
Snipped by squirrels
Squirrels have been clipping branches on my oak tree and leaving lots of 12- to-18-inch branch tips on my lawn. The cut ends of the branches look smooth — as if they were cut with a pair of pruners — when squirrels are causing the damage. I also noticed that some of the branch tips broke off from cicada damage from last year. There is nothing to worry about if you have the same thing occurring.
Weeds in the cracks
Weeds growing between cracks in brickwork or sidewalks are unsightly but easy to eliminate. Treat them with a nonselective herbicide when they are small to avoid having to pull them out by hand. You can also use a weed whip to remove the weeds at ground level and quickly neaten up your patio.
Grubs like it wet
Grubs can be a problem in lawns some years and are not something I worry much about. I do not water my lawn at home and have only had very minor grub damage in one year out of 35 years. Adult beetles are attracted to irrigated lawns (especially those that are surrounded by dry lawns) for their egg laying in early summer. If the season is dry and you are the only one watering the lawn in the immediate area, you will have a greater chance of having grubs.
If you have not had grub problems in past years, consider skipping any grub control. There are options to choose for quick kill of grubs in late summer or early fall when they reach a population threshold that causes damage.
• Tim Johnson is director of horticulture at Chicago Botanic Garden, chicagobotanic.org.