Mulch

      Mulch

     I see it every year, time and time again. Too much mulch around trees and plantings. Higher is not better. Wider is the protocol here and if possible your mulch should be out to the drip edge of the tree. Mounding up mulch around trees and shrubbery will girdle the root system and ruin expensive plant material and cause problems for the plant for years to come. Our crew spreads over 500 yards of mulch each spring, and while doing that we remove old and excess mulch so the root ball is level with the existing grade. On trees you should locate the flare prior to planting. This means opening the burlap all the way around the leader and plant so it is just above the soil surface. I see te classic mounding technique all over, and mostly done by professionals. Please do not follow what they are doing. It is wrong and will only cause a lot of headaches down the road. The flare is just that, looks just like a flare at the base of the tree. After you have mulched, a good Pre M can be put down like Preen or Snap shot.

     Annuals

      Our annuals arrived today and we started with a couple of small areas. A mix of Begonias, Salosia and Coleus put n automatic dress up to the area. By this time next week we will have full color of all our annual beds. Again it is important that the plants are in the ground correctly. With annuals I prefer a little deeper on single stem items such as Marigold, while impatient and begonia can be level with he surface yet not to deep.

     If I could Talk to the Animals

     One set of mother duck and ducklings made it safely across Wilbraham Rd. yesterday morning thanks to yours truly. I happened upon them will they were trying to cross a as luck would have it they made their way towards the cross walk in time for me to push the button to stop traffic. Glad I could help. May-be my luck is changing.

     Plant of the Day

     I noticed the large leaf Rhododendron starting to bloom so that will be the plant of this post. There are many varieties of the Rhododendron and a lot of different locations these plants can go. Be sure you read the label and instructions when purchasing. Groupings of them in shaded areas puts a touch of class to the landscape.


     Sports

    I would really like to see Calvin Borel and SuperSaver win the Preakness at Pimlico on Saturday. As I said before, If any jockey can win the triple crown it is Calvin.So again I will try and put Supersaver in a trifecta some where. As for where I will put my money, well I think I will let some ride on Jackson Bend. This is the second best horse I saw all spring and I think the Derby might have been his throw out race. So Across the board with him, Caracortado and my true long shot Yawanna Twist.

    Fineto

    I added a link to a catalog that can help you identify plants and trees that I talk about in this blog. We will be planting annuals for the next several days, these will be the last swaths with the landscape brush. Our canvas is the earth.


                                                             Good Luck Eddie Pags

P.S. Don't forget to clip your fingernails or they will be loaded with dirt from planting annuals.
What happen to Fred Lynn?