Lawns, Gardens & Landscapes

Though December traditionally brings weather conditions during which outdoor plants enter winter dormancy, there are still many considerations to act upon in the landscape. Due to the diversity of plantings and locations in the state, some of the following will apply now and others in future years.

Fall is a good time to incorporate organic matter like compost into soil. Increasing soil organic matter improves soil structure and adds nutrients. This in turn improves plant growth, efficient use of water, and water infiltration into soil to reduce runoff.

‘Right Plant, Right Place’ is a very important aspect of planting and it is never too early to start thinking about landscape changes for next year. As you clean up and refresh mulch or water, start assessing your landscape and what did and didn’t work. There are some very important plant requirements to keep in mind when planning a new garden or adding to an established garden.

Compost is used as a soil amendment to improve the physical, chemical and biological properties of soils. Over time, yearly additions of compost will improve your landscape or garden soil in many ways including the water holding capacity of sandy soils and water percolation in clay soils. 

As we move into the heat of the summer, we need to remember proper irrigation practices for our plants. It is just as easy to overwater as it is to underwater plants. And remember that irrigation practices differ among all different types of plants.

Wildfires were headline news in 2023, including the Lahaina, Hawaii fire and scores of fires across Canada and Nebraska. It’s comfortable to think a devastating wildfire can’t happen in your area, but it’s better to be aware of the possibility and be prepared. Learn the aspects of Fire Smart Landscaping including creating a defensible space, planning ahead for a fire event, and management of the surrounding landscapes to decrease potential fire damage.  

Mulching landscape beds and gardens is a waterwise practice. Conserving soil moisture, controlling weeds, mitigating soil temperature extremes, and improving soil health are key benefits.

Caring for a lawn and landscape is a lot of work! Mowing, fertilization, seeding and weed control in a lawn, along with planting, pruning and pest management in trees and landscape areas requires more time than many homeowners have available or the equipment to accomplish. Plus, the identification of weeds and pests often needs a professional’s knowledge. If you would rather not perform any or all of these tasks, you have the option to hire a professional to do the work for you. How can you evaluate services offered by professionals or hire a good professional to work in your landscape? Below are two important aspects of professionalism to be aware of when hiring a landscape professional.

Fungi can be very problematic for our plants, and there are a lot of different fungi. In plants, there is a disease triangle that leads to plant diseases. For disease to develop, you must first have a pathogen, a susceptible host, and a favorable environment. Pathogens are common in the environment and just waiting for the right weather to occur and a susceptible host to infect. The environment can sometimes be altered by our plant management practices, such as overwatering or underwatering and improper irrigation practices can lead to more disease problems. That’s why it's so important, whenever possible, to choose disease resistant plants for our landscapes – both turf, fruits, vegetables and ornamentals.

With ongoing drought, conserving water in home, business and public landscapes is important. One way to conserve water is selecting drought tolerant plants. As a rule, a drought tolerant plant is one that can survive on average rainfall with little or no supplemental water once established.

As we are ending 2023, the temperature high and/or low could be consistently at or less than 32°F with a possible chance of snow precipitation. For turfgrass areas in December, the process of dormancy for both warm and cool-season grasses has already occurred. In regards to water use in dormant lawns in cooler temperatures, December is not the time to use irrigation in grass areas. The Photo above is from Pioneer Underground Lawn Sprinklers. https://pioneerunderground.net/sprinkler-winterization-omaha/

Leaves. Useful to the tree. Great for jumping in. Not much fun to clean up. Find out what you should be doing with those fallen leaves to let them help you and your landscape in the long run.

I often hear from vegetable or flower gardeners who are unhappy with their soil quality. They routinely incorporate organic matter in the soil each fall, but are still disappointed with their heavy soil. Why aren’t they developing beautiful crumbly dark brown soil that’s easy to plant and great for vegetable root crops? Routinely tilling your garden soil each fall and spring could be the culprit.

Mulch is very important to the overall health of our plants, but are all mulches created equal? Some may have more benefits than others and some may not be as helpful as we think they are. Benefits of Mulch Mulch, when properly applied, can provide a lot of great benefits to our plants, including:

Drought conditions have led to stress in established trees and difficulty starting young trees. With the need for supplemental watering, correct irrigation practices are important to tree health and efficient water use. Fall is tree planting time and an important time to water established trees in the absence of adequate precipitation. Whether a new tree or an established tree, correct watering is important. Too little as well as too much water can lead to tree stress, a decline in growth, and water waste.

Many urban landscapes have a forlorn narrow planting strip between the curb and sidewalk, otherwise known as a “hell strip”. Healthy curbside plantings help filter and absorb rainwater, preventing landscape fertilizers and other pollutants from entering storm drains.

Tall fescue tolerates dry periods better than KBG due to a deeper root system that uses moisture deeper in the soil. However, it does not have the physiological ability to go dormant to avoid dying from drought. If tall fescue begins to turn off color from a lack of water, it requires irrigation.

Warm summer temperatures prompt vegetable crops to grow and thrive. Keeping garden vegetable crops hydrated is crucial for these plants thriving as water is essential to the photosynthesis process, plant growth, and production. When water availability is reduced, carbohydrate production in the plant, the building block of plant nutrition, decreases significantly. That decrease leads to reduced growth, vigor, and crop production potential. Here are some very simple tips to help provide the needed moisture levels in vegetable and fruit crops.

One of the most important factors in getting plants off to a good start is watering. Overall, the best guidance is to water to the bottom of the roots and to keep the roots of new plants moist, not soggy or dry. Inserting a screwdriver into the soil will help with determining the moisture content by gaining a sense required to push it in and also to feel the soil particles that stick to the blade. If they feel muddy, then water is likely being applied too often; if it’s dry and powdery, then it needs to be applied more frequently.

There are so many decisions to be made when it comes to vegetable gardening. Selecting the right location, determining what to plant, even how many plants you might need. One topic that might not have crossed your mind is how to make the vegetable garden more water conscious. Conserving water in the vegetable garden may sound more difficult than it really is.