:::The Best of the Net:::

This is a copy of a newsletter from Connon Nurseries in ON.  So full of info I had to pass it on!  Enjoy!

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Spring has been a long time coming;tempting us with warm sunny days and then shocking us back into sweaters and jackets! With its prolonged arrival, we can enjoy long lasting blooms from tulips and many other spring bulbs. Lilacs are giving us a show to remember -enjoy Spring’s Tapestry of Colour.

Planting ANNUALS!!! Remember to break-up tight roots, encouraging roots to spread into surrounding soil. Also use a transplant fertilizer, which helps plants to establish quickly, so you can enjoy an abundance of bloom all summer long. WATCH OUT for late frosts!! Cool Spring temperatures are holding on; when weather forecasts lows of 5C(or less) and clear nights, cover your tender annuals to protect from damaging frosts and dreaded cold shock which can stunt growth.

LAWN CARE: Looking for a dark green lawn? Here’s the best kept secret in lawn care that’s never been shared. K-Mag contains MAGNESIUM, which is a major component of chlorophyll – the green colouring in plants. Using any fertilizer spreader, apply K-Mag 0-0-21 now to obtain a richer, green colour in your lawn. Be the envy of the neighborhood.

LILACS enjoy a good pruning! Take time to prune some blossoms and take them indoors. Pruning lilacs while in bloom or immediately after will allow the lilac to set bloom for next year's show! Fertilize lilacs with a high phosphorus (high center number)product mid to late summer to encourage bud development.

PERENNIAL CARE: After the first bloom of many spring flowering perennials, remove the spent blooms and prune back the plant. This results in a stronger, thicker plant, and quite often, you’ll benefit from a repeat bloom! Summer and fall blooming perennials may still be divided in the cool weather. Remember to use a transplant fertilizer, encouraging strong root growth, helping to re-establish newly divided perennials.

Check your EUONYMUS for scale. (Often white and usually present in large quantities; it looks like part of the bark.) The young are now hatching (always when lilacs bloom!) and are very susceptible to an application of Horticultural Oil. Prune out severely affected areas and apply horticultural oil to the rest of the stems, deterring the scale from infecting the whole plant.