Pear slugs and fall web worms, 

Don’t worry, it will be fine. 

The season is winding down and while there are indeed certain things we need to attend to, there are a heck of a lot of other things we just don’t need to get our feathers all ruffled up about.  So it seemed like a good idea to list some things that we might encounter this time of year and let you know what I think you should be doing about them.  Here goes nothing.

Lilacs—you will find leaf miners, mildew and/or some late blight on the leaves of lilacs now.  Just try and look the other way.  These problems will have absolutely no effect on next year’s blooms and the leaves are going to fall off soon anyway.  Instead, spend your money on some lime and scatter it under the plants.  They will love you for it next spring.

Roses—this is a tough one since we are having such a nice fall and it could continue into October for all we know.  If your roses are still healthy and blooming then you should be on the lookout for mildew and take action to control it.  On the other hand, if you’ve lost interest in these fragrant beauties then it’s best just to let them wind down for the season and go dormant.  For that matter, most shrubs and vines that get mildew this time of year can be ignored. 

Trees—fruit, flowering or shade trees can all be attacked by bugs late in the season.  I have seen a few nests of fall webworms in both my weeping birch and my fragrant snowbell this year.  I could have taken early action and simply cut out the nest but by now the worms are probably gone and it would be a waste of time and money to spray them.  These bugs are never terminal to a tree.  I have seen trees completely defoliated twice in a season and come back the next year just fine.  I just discovered a bad infestation of pear slugs on my espaliered pears.  The leaves have all been skeletonized and while it looks unsightly it’s just not a big deal for the tree.  In another month the leaves will be falling off so don’t worry, it will be fine.  What you will need to do is after all the leaves are off be sure and clean up underneath very thoroughly and then apply a dormant spray but we are talking November most likely so I will revisit this later in the year.

Lawns—with all the rain we had in August lawns have perked up and now that it is hot and dry again you should be back on a watering program to keep them growing.  Fertilize them as well so they will be healthy going into the winter.  September is the ideal month to overhaul a lawn if it really looks like hell but don’t dally.  By mid October it is usually too late.  About the only fungus problem for lawns around here is red thread and if fertilizing and improving drainage doesn’t take care of the problem then you should apply a fungicide.  This is also about the last chance to kill out any weeds like clover and dandelions.

Vegetables—here again this year makes it a little hard to orchestrate a fall garden because I still haven’t harvested my corn or beans.  But if you’ve got some space then pick up some seed packets of lettuce, carrots, radishes, beets or green onions and get them started.  You can also buy transplants of cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, cloves of garlic and several types of lettuce and get a jump on next season.  If you are done with vegetables them either throw some lime and compost over the soil or plant a cover crop and call it good for the year.

Weeds—this is the last chance to chemically remove difficult perennial weeds that need roots and all killed deader than a door nail.  You can also try your hand at physically removing these thugs but either way, once they are gone you need to get a weed preventer and/or some mulch (compost) on the soil or Mother Nature will quickly undo all your hard work.  Chick weed and shot weed are two prolifically growing weeds that come up this time of year.  An application of Preen or Corn Gluten now will save you hours of weeding next February.  If you forget then you better make sure you own a Hula-Hoe, it’s the only expedient way to rid yourself of weeds.  So the message here is if your garden looks like hell and is full of weeds you best clean it up or it will be three times as much work next spring.

Containers—if your container plantings have petered out then it is too late to save them.  Rip out the old stuff and plant some new winter hardy plants.  Just so you know, if you had fertilized your containers in August they would be fabulous now.  Make a note on next year’s calendar to goose them in August.

More next week, I’m out of space.