Author Archives: GCS Dev

Nursery Selection In April

Kevin: It’s a fun time in the nursery at Dill’s Greenhouse, because our nursery is as full as it probably will ever be, in the month of April.

We receive trucks daily, sometimes multiple trucks daily. In addition to the stuff that we grow on site. If you’re kind of walking around and see some spots in your yard, and you’d like to kind of see a tree there, or a shrub, or maybe a screen (you got one of those neighbors that you’d rather not have), we can give you a number of suggestions. It’s all there on site to see. You can window shop.

If it’s something you don’t see, we work with at least a half dozen or more local nurseries that I can source material in and turn it around. Because of the time of year we can get those trucks in very regularly and probably turn your order around in a week, at the most.

Garden Tool Prep and Ornamental Grass Trimming Tips

Kevin: Well, when it comes to March, I like to get my to do list going. I do better with lists. So one thing I like to put on my list is getting my tools ready. Making sure my pruners are sharp. My springs are oiled and when it’s ready to need them, they’re ready to go. So a lot of things I’m looking to do in my garden in the spring is perhaps if I didn’t get to my ornamental grasses last fall or late winter, I can get those trimmed up. I like to cut those down, discard all that top growth before I see new green growth emerge.

Alan: Speaking of pruning your ornamental grasses, a good method that I learned was wrap it with duct tape. And then you can just cut that off about four to six inches above the ground. And you don’t have the pieces of grass flying all over in the wind. Just comes off in a bundle.

Kevin: I learned that the hard way.

Alan: Most of us have.

Kevin: Clean up your grasses. If you haven’t cleaned off the tops to some of those old perennials and they’re mushy on top or dry and crusty, it’s time to rake those off and make way for the new growth to come out. It’s also a good time to if you had some trouble areas last year with stuff getting too big, you can dig that up while it’s dormant. Divide it. Transplant it, replant it, give it away, throw it away, whatever you need to do to maintain that certain area of space that you’ve allotted for that plant.

Timing For Crabgrass Prevention

Crabgrass prevention is important in lawn care, and timing is key to ensuring success. Knowing when to apply pre-emergent herbicides and other products can help you prevent crabgrass from taking over your lawn. Understanding the best times for application will also help you save money by avoiding unnecessary treatments.

The time for crabgrass prevention is late April and early May. Dill’s Greenhouse carries the Preen and GreenView lines of crabgrass herbicide and fertilizer. The most important thing to remember about timing for crabgrass prevention is that if you wait too long, you may end up with a new crabgrass season.

Crabgrass is an opportunistic annual weed that will grow in your lawn’s thin and bare spots. The first crabgrass to germinate is going to be the seeds that are laying on a south-facing slope, next to the house or next to a sidewalk where the reflection of the sun has heated up the soil to such a point where the crabgrass is ready to germinate. And then it’s going to continue to germinate, kind of like waves hitting a beach, all the way into the early part of the summer.

Crabgrass can take over your lawn, but a little action controls it. Learn how to get rid of crabgrass and how to prevent crabgrass from returning by asking the knowledgeable staff at Dill’s Greenhouse.

How To Determine Your Grass Type

Spring is a great time to reseed your lawn. And most homeowners like to match the grass type that is currently growing.

Lawns and in central Ohio, as well as most of the state, are a combination typically of Kentucky bluegrass, perennial ryegrass, fine fescue and turf type tall fescue. So it’s usually not just one single type of grass.

The only thing that’s going be a lot different than texture is a fine fescue, which has a very small diameter blade.

Another situation could be that your established lawn has become more shaded because of tree growth over the past 20 to 30 years. Your grass type has maybe shifted more towards the fine rescues that probably were there to begin with.

Grass varieties that we have today are so much better than the ones that were around 30 years ago. One of the things you’ll notice when you put down new grass seed, those newly seeded areas will look dark green, and may even start look better than what your existing lawn looks like.

Blueberry Bush Care

Plump, juicy berries are now easy to grow in your backyard on bushes that are resistant to most pests and diseases, and can produce for up to 20 years.

How to plant blueberry bushes.

  • Select a sunny, sheltered spot.
  • Blueberries thrive in soil that is acidic. The soil pH should ideally be between 4 and 5.
  • The blueberry is a shallow-rooted plant, so it requires a soil that holds moisture, but also drains well and doesn’t stay wet. Watering needs fill the surface pockets that are minute in size, and the soil needs to hold the nutrients and water.
  • Mix organic matter into the soil before you set your blueberry bushes.
  • Bushes should be planted as early in the spring as possible. If available, 1- to 3-year-old plants are a good choice.
  • Dig holes about 20 inches deep and 18 inches wide (about twice as wide and twice as deep as the roots of the plant).
  • Space bushes about 5 feet apart in a row, with at least 8 feet between rows.
  • Set the bush in the hole with its roots spread out. Don’t plant the bush any deeper than it grew in the pot.
  • Pack the hole tightly with soil.
  • Apply fertilizer one month after planting, not at the time of planting. Apply ½ ounce of a 10-10-10 fertilizer in a band around the plant 6 to 12 inches from the crown.

Do not let them go dry in the middle of summer. They just they will not put up with that.

Humans aren’t the only fans of blueberries. Blueberries are a favorite snack of hungry birds, so it’s recommended that you protect blueberry bushes ahead of time with netting or other methods.