Pansy, a member of the violet family, is a cool-season crop that may be grown in borders, edging and window boxes. It can even be used for cut flowers. Pansies are considered a perennial plant, which means they live longer than one growing season. This makes them ideal for planting in the spring and fall. Pansies may be used as understory plantings for spring bulb gardens. They also make perfect massed plantings. You can start pansies from seed, but most gardeners purchase them in packs. When planting them outdoors, make sure they are hardened off. This means plants won't sustain damage from the cold temperatures and limited available sunlight that often accompany the spring and fall seasons in Colorado. Growing compact, free-blooming pansies is easy. Just be sure to choose a site that receives some sun during the day. Pansies do best in loamy soil that is rich in organic matter, but they also do well in the heavier clay soils found in Colorado. Increase the organic matter in clay soils to improve drainage and aeration for the plants. Canadian sphagnum peat moss and well-rotted compost are good sources of organic matter. If possible, incorporate two to three inches of organic matter into six inches of soil. Water plants thoroughly after transplanting and mulch lightly with leaf mold or bark mulch. Pansies thrive when given a complete fertilizer such as 5-6-5 analysis.
Weedy grasses can give lawns an unsightly appearance. The difference in growth, color and texture of weedy grasses may give an otherwise neat lawn an unkempt look. Grasses such as crabgrass, foxtail and quackgrass are often a problem and are difficult to eliminate in lawns. The best way to control weeds in your lawn is to maintain a dense, healthy, vigorous stand of lawn grass. Good practices of seeding, mowing, watering, fertilizing and judicious use of herbicides, can help achieve a healthy lawn. To keep weeds from becoming established, avoid frequent, shallow watering and mowing too short, which decreases the vigor of the lawn. The most important part of any effective weed control program is identification of the weed, which will help determine whether the weedy grass is an annual or perennial. Herbicides affect both lawn and weedy grasses similarly. Roundup® is an effective grass killer, although it will kill both lawn and weed grasses. It can be used to spot-spray individual patches of undesirable grasses. Pre-emergent herbicides prevent weed seed germination and control crabgrass. In most parts of Colorado, apply these herbicides between April first and fifteenth, before seeds germinate. Eliminating weedy grasses in established lawns can be difficult. Hand pulling or digging after moistening the soil may be the most practical method. Renovating a lawn severely infested with perennial grass weeds can begin by spraying the entire lawn with Roundup®. About three to four weeks later, work the area by plowing or tilling, then either seed or sod. For more information, see the following Colorado State Extension fact sheet(s). Lawn Care Control of Weedy Grasses in Home Lawns For more information, see the following Planttalk Colorado™ script(s). herbicides: pre-emergent
Any plant residue can be composted, including weeds, lawn clippings, spent plants, leafy prunings and clippings, vegetable tops and vines, manure, sawdust and non-glossy newsprint. Composting materials are divided into two types, green and brown. Green materials include green leafy plant residues like weeds, grass clippings, vegetable tops and flower clippings. Brown materials include fall leaves, straw, sawdust, wood chips and shredded newspapers. To speed up decomposition, use two-parts green material to one-part brown material. Grass clippings can be composted, but it's best to mulch them and leave them on the lawn. This recycles nutrients and decreases the amount of lawn fertilizer needed. If you compost your grass clippings, mix them with brown materials to prevent over-packing, which leads to obnoxious odors. Brown materials composted alone require supplemental nitrogen to feed the decomposing bacteria. Add one-quarter to one-half cup nitrogen fertilizer per bushel of brown material. Woody materials also require extra composting time. It's probably easier to suggest materials you should NOT compost. Don't use meat, bones, cooking-oil products, eggs and dairy products. These materials slow decomposition and may attract rodents and other animal pests. You also should not compost pet feces, as they may spread diseases. It's also inadvisable to compost diseased plants, insect-infested plants, and weeds loaded with seeds. These pest problems may survive the composting process and cause problems in the garden later.
Landscape weed control requires a three-pronged approach: prevention, cultural and chemical control. Weeds are opportunists. If there is an area in the yard with little or no vegetation, or if the vegetation is highly stressed, weeds will flourish. Their adaptability to difficult growing conditions is what makes us call them a weed. Prevent weeds by encouraging the rapid establishment of ornamental plants or a dense, healthy lawn. Keep large areas of your yard free of weeds through the use of weed barriers and mulch. Another basic is to identify the types of weeds present in your landscape. Is the weed an annual, biennial, or perennial? Annuals may be summer annuals such as crabgrass. There are also winter annuals that germinate in fall and live over the winter, such as blue mustard. Biennials like common burdock, houndstongue, and musk thistle require two seasons to complete their growth cycle. Perennials that grow every year are common dandelion, Canada thistle, and field bindweed. With this prevention and identification knowledge, you are well on your way to getting landscape weed problems in hand.
Annuals are the "color stars" of the Garden. Plant them where you want easy-care flowers to bloom all summer long. Annuals are plants that grow and bloom for one season. Some of them -- like marigolds -- grow, bloom and go to seed all in one season. Others -- like geraniums -- are really perennials that just aren't hardy enough to survive the winters. The delightful colors of annual flowers are enhanced by Colorado's warm days and cool summer nights. This combination of unique weather conditions gives us a huge range of types and varieties of annuals to choose from. You can plant most annuals any time during the spring, summer or fall, and they'll bloom continuously until the first frost. Most annuals are planted after the last frost. Of course, the time the first frost occurs varies within Colorado, but it generally occurs between the tenth and fifteenth of May along the Front Range. By learning a little about different flowers, you'll find that some--like petunias--tolerate cool conditions better than others, and some--like pansies--even survive frost. Some pansies can be planted in the fall to achieve color all fall, winter and spring. Others -- like vinca -- are heat lovers only. When you go to the Garden center or nursery, or look through a seed catalog, you'll see there are hundreds of annual flowers from which to choose. Some annuals that do well in the sunny areas of Colorado are cleome, zinnia, marigold, flowering tobacco, sunflower and snapdragon. Annuals of medium height that perform well in sunny locations are dahlia, geranium, marigold, snapdragon and Victoria salvia. Some short, sun-loving annuals include petunia, marigold, vinca, verbena, gazania, alyssum and portulaca. Some shade lovers include impatiens, begonia, lobelia and coleus. All come in several colors and heights. Be sure to read the labels or ask a salesperson if you're unsure whether a particular plant is right for your situation. When you want to brighten up that dark corner or just put some pizzazz in your landscape, annual flowers are stars that will shine all summer long!
Regardless of where one lives, growing conditions are bound to be different from the conditions described in most gardening books. To plan a successful garden, ask some questions. Which vegetables grow well in this area? What soil types are common? Are there unique conditions in the garden to consider, for example, high winds, compacted soils, poor drainage and wet spots? Finally, what are the first and last frost dates and the growing season?Veggie garden Plant 100 square feet or less per person in a household, and grow the easiest crops the first year. Later, as skills develop, add more difficult crops such as small fruits and perennial vegetables, and add more area to the garden's size. When selecting plants of a first garden, keep in mind several suggestions. Plant bush beans for early pods, or pole beans for a later crop with more flavor. Early cabbage varieties produce small heads that taste great cooked or in salads. Try purple or one of the new white cauliflower varieties that don't require blanching. In heavy soils, try half-long varieties of carrots. Grow the disease- resistant long, slender cucumbers for salads. Plant both leaf lettuce and head lettuce for a season-long crop. Plant onions from seed in mid-March using long-day yellow or red varieties. For peas, try the early, dwarf Alaska variety and the later, rambling, sweet type. Plant summer squash on the edge of the garden so it can spread on uncultivated ground, or grow bushy winter squash that take less garden space. Give plants plenty of room to grow so they are not crowded. Grow corn in square blocks rather than in rows and try hand pollinating so all of the ears develop well. And, plant half a tomato crop in an early variety and the other half in later maturing variety for continuous harvest. For more information, see the following Colorado State Extension fact sheet(s) or Master Gardener Garden Notes. * Vegetable Planting Guide * Vegetable Garden Hints * Block Style Layout in Raised Bed * Sweet Corn for the Garden * Leafy Vegetable Crops * Leafy Vegetable Crops * Cucumbers, Pumpkins, Squash and Melons * Xeriscaping: Trees and Shrubs * Onion and Related Species