Water Deeply   

• ​1" or water each week would be fine for hot summer days.  Try and apply this in two separate applications of 1/2" each time .

Water in the early morning,

• By doing this you will reduce the chance for fungus growing and attacking your lawn.  If you water in the evening you increase your risk for lawn fungus problems in the middle of the summer.

The Number 1 Thing You Can Do ....Mow At a High Level

• Set your mower at a high setting, at least 3 inches but 4 inches is better.  You will have a taller leaf blade which allows the grass to bring in more nutrition from the sun, which in turn, gives the grass deeper roots and also helps choke out possible weeds that will sprout if sun reaches the dirt.  An additional benefit is your grass will stay greener in drought conditions because the taller leaf shades the soil and reduces evaporation.

Is the site: 

• Sunny or Shady
• Wet or Dry
• Hilly or Flat

Each of these conditions will help you decide on plants you want to pick.  Plant labels will tell you if the plant is suitable for the conditions you have.

Size of Plant
Decide on a layout of plants that provides taller plants in back and shorter plants in front.

Color and Texture
Pick plants that have color provided by leaves or flowers.  You don't want everything blooming in the spring so pick carefully.  Also you don't always need color.  Texture like Oakleaf Hydrangea leaves provide wide areas that turn a crimson color in the fall and then plants with grassy like leaves such as Arkansas Bluestar have a whispy look and it turns a beautiful yellow in the spring.

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There are lots of fungus types.  How do you know you have them.  They usually seem to rear their ugliness in the warm days of spring or hot days of summer and usually when the low temperatures at night are above 70 degrees.


Here are couple easy ones to find
One easy type has a pinkish color and is called Red Thread or Pink Patch.  Another easy one to find is most of the grass is green but you have some spots about 6 inches to a couple feet in diameter.  This could be dollar spot or brown spot disease.


Basically if you lawn isn’t green it is probably because it needs to be watered or has a disease issue.


What can you do?
Water it correctly, 1 inch of water a week and only in the early morning.  If you have identified a fungus issue then apply a fungicide.  Most of these provide protection by keeping the fungus from spreading so once it is there the grass has to grow out of the brown spots.


Another Option?
You can do nothing.  A lot of the fungus issues will go away and the grass will grow back when the cool, rainy weather of fall arrives.


Grass seems to grow anywhere and under the right conditions.  Keeping it looking its best in the summer is challenging but remember how much you have to mow in the spring?  The grass always seems to grow like crazy under the right conditions.

Summer-bearing (1 crop per season)​
Ever-bearing (2 crops per season)
​Nova, Killarney Raspberry, and Fall Gold Raspberry plants can be Summer-bearing or Ever-bearing based on how you care for the specific plant.  Read below to find out how to care for each type of raspberry plant.

​Planting and Support

Raspberries require full sun, well-drained soil, and good air circulation.  They also do best with a soil pH of approximately 5.5 to 6.5.

Raspberry plants should not be planted where eggplants, peppers, potatoes or tomatoes have been grown within the past 3 years.

Add well-rotted manure or compost to improve the organic matter content of the soil where you will do your planting.

Plan for 2-3 feet between plants.  As plants mature they will fill in this open area.

Fertilize

Fertilize raspberries in the spring and then again in late July or August but not while picking.

Watering

Water 1 ½ to 2 inches a week just as the berries start ripening.

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​Summer Bearing Raspberry
In late winter cut all canes down to the ground.  The new growth that comes up in the spring will have berries on it in late summer or early fall.

Ever Bearing Raspberry
Remove the spent floricanes (growth from last year)of summer-bearing varieties by cutting them off at the ground after they bear fruit. You will know which ones are spent because they have a grey almost dead look to them.  Living canes usually have a light brown color to them.  Dispose of the canes you prune-- they often harbor insects and disease.

During late winter or early winter do more pruning, thin the resulting collection of canes so that you leave five to six of the strongest canes per linear foot. The hedgerow should have at least 6 inches between canes at the ground level.

This type of pruning provides berries in late spring and then again in late summer or early fall.

For the information in this article we will concentrate on 4 types of hydrangea.  These 4 types grow very well in in Indiana.  With a little knowledge about the 4 types you will be an expert and have beautiful flowers every year.

Oakleaf Hydrangea known as Hydrangea quercifolia.  This variety has a large leaf about the size of your hand.  The leaves resemble an oak leaf.  They also get a beautiful shade of red in the fall.  

Hydrangea aborescens is another variety.  A common name for one type is Annabelle.  This gets a large, 6 inch round flower in the spring.  The flower is white and then changes to a lime green.

Hydrangea paniculata is a hydrangea that produces flowers in the middle of summer.  The flowers are easy to identify because they are cone shaped, usually about 6-8 inches long.  Also most of the flowers begin white but fade to various shades of red to pink.

Hydrangea macrophylla are another type of hydrangea we grow in Indiana.  These usually have pink flowers in the early summer.  Sometimes people can adjust the soil to cause the flower to be blue, but here in Indiana the flowers are usually pink.

Hopefully you have an idea of the type of hydrangea you have.  Listed below are the ways to prune them.
​Hydrangea quercifolia- Blooms on wood that grew last year.  Only prune this right after it blooms in the summer, no later than August.  So don't prune this in the spring or you'll cut the flowers buds off.
​Hydrangea aborescens - Blooms on new wood, meaning wood that begins to grow in the spring.  Prune this in the early spring before the leaves come out.
Hydrangea paniculata - Blooms on the new wood, meaning the stems that begin to grow in the spring.  Prune it in the spring before the leaves begin to grow.
Hydrangea macrophylla - Blooms on old wood but new types of this hydrangea bloom on new wood.  It's a good idea not to prune these at all.  They can be a little challenging to grow so I suggest not pruning until after they bloom in the summer.  Don't prune after August and don't prune this one in the spring or you risk cutting flower buds off.
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