New Single Roses
Single roses have only five petals (sometimes up to seven). Compared to hybrid teas, which can have over 60 petals, single-flowered roses have a completely different look in the garden. The flowers are open-faced, more like those of a dogwood than what you normally think of as a rose. They are usually born in clusters and tend to be less upright so that you get more of the flower and its color looking directly at you, so to speak. The result is that single roses are very showy plants and some of the best choices for landscape purposes. Favorite single roses include "Starry Night," "Knockout," "Carefree Delight," "Betty Prior," "Dainty Bess" and "Baby Love," but the last few years have given us some exciting new ones. Here are a few:
"Home Run" bears deep red blooms with bright yellow stamens in the center. A shrub rose with rounded bushy form, it has excellent disease resistance.
"Pink Knockout" is an excellent landscape shrub with beautiful pink blooms and excellent disease resistance.
"Happy Chappy" is a ground cover rose with apricot-pink flowers with a yellow eye. A spreading shrub, it is easily maintained at two feet high by three feet wide.
"Rose of Picardy" is a unique new David Austin rose with single red flowers centered with yellow stamens. The blooms have a light fruity fragrance and are born in abundance. The plant is compact and perfect for landscape use.
"Soaring Spirits" is a climber bearing stunning multi-colored flowers with swirling stripes of ever-changing pastel pink, yellow and cream.
To get your new roses off to the best possible start, plant in full sun and well-drained soil. To fertilize and protect from insects and disease, use Bayer Advanced™ All-In-One Rose & Flower Care Concentrate. One application feeds and protects for up to six weeks.
White Grubs
White grubs are a serious lawn pest, especially in the Northeast and Midwest. White grubs are larva, or "juvenile" stage, of various breeds of scarab beetles including Japanese beetles. They are typically .5" to 1.5" long, milky white with a brown head and almost always are curled into a C shape. White grubs live in the top few inches of soil and feed on the roots of lawn grasses.
There also are some simple but effective ways to identify white grubs. Look for the following symptoms:
- A general thinning and weakening of the lawn.
- A wilted or dried-out look to your grass, even when soil is moist.
- Large, brown, irregular patches of grass.
- Large patches of dead turf that can easily be pulled up in one piece, much like a piece of carpet. You'll find the C-shaped grubs underneath.
Moles, birds or raccoons digging in your grass; these animals love to feed on grubs, so frequent visits could be a sign of white grubs.
Caring for Newly Planted Trees
Young trees require special attention if you want them to become long-lived landmarks in your landscape. First, make sure they get proper water. After planting, construct double, concentric watering basins. The first should be just outside the rootball and the second about two feet outside that. Fill the inner basin with water to wet the rootball and use the outer one to wet the surrounding soil. Until the roots of the tree extend into the native soil, the inner circle will have to be filled with water most often, possibly more than once a week in hot weather. The outer circle can be filled less often. After the first year the inner circle can be taken down. When you water, make sure the water penetrates the entire rooting area. This means filling a 6- to 8-inch-high basin two or three times.
Remove any tightly attached stakes that came with the tree from the nursery. If the tree can't stand upright on its own (an unstaked tree develops a stronger trunk) or if it needs protection, pound in two sturdy stakes on opposite sides of the trunk but outside the rootball. Secure the trunk to each post with flexible ties (cloth or plastic). The tree should not be tied so tightly that it can't sway somewhat in the wind.
To protect young trees from insects, including borers and scale, apply Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Insect Control Concentrate. One application protects for up to 12 months. To feed and protect, use Bayer Advanced™ Tree & Shrub Protect & Feed Granules.
Bayer Advanced
