Turf rust

- by Debra Anchors

Turf Rust / Grass Rust

Does a walk on your lawn turn your feet and pant cuffs dusty orange?  Is the grass yellow-brown, thin, and declining?  A disease called rust may be devouring your lawn.  This fungal pathogen steals nutrients from the plants, causing them to lose vigor and even die.





Airborne rust spores are easy to see when stuck to humans and pets.  Occurring in mid- to late summer, infected leaf blades and stems show yellow, orange, or brown spore-producing blisters.


Although not a human health threat, rust weakens a lawn, making it more susceptible to even worse pests such as grubs and chinch bugs.

Unlike most other plant diseases, rust likes dry weather.  Water lawns early in the day and allow time to dry overnight.  Fertilize to promote strong active growth, and over-seed with rust-tolerant grass varieties such as Kentucky blue grass or perennial rye grass.  Rust can usually be managed; only in extreme cases are fungicides needed.

If you enjoy this website, you might like my magazine, Gardening Life.

Thank you for stopping by to spend time in my garden.  If you liked the article, please take a moment to let me know. I will be delighted if you would suggest Gardens Inspired to your friends, follow me or subscribe to my Blog.

Leave a legacy, but garden like you’ll live forever! 
-Debra

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Charming Hollyhocks

- by Debra Anchors

Hollyhocks

Hollyhocks are nothing less than gorgeous.  Planted against a fence or a wall, these stunning six-to eight-foot plants in captivating pastels and enchanting reds have few equals.  But they are not just a pretty face.  Hollyhocks link those who plant them with England’s early cottage gardeners who knew the plants as ‘hock leaf’, due to their soothing use on the swollen ankles (hocks) of workhorses.  Over time, gardeners turned to hollyhocks to camouflage everything from outhouses to cracks in the cottage walls.

Anyone in USDA Zones 3 – 10 can enjoy most species of hollyhocks. Plants need full sun, average soil (no feeding is required), and staking where winds are high.  If they are happy, hollyhocks will dependably self-sow; seedlings can then be transplanted to new locations for bloom the following year.

Troubleshooting

Spots on hollyhock leaves – Keep a clean garden.  Leaf spot and hollyhock rust are caused by fungi that overwinter in the soil.  In late autumn, cut back plants and burn or dispose of all foliage (don’t add it to the compost pile).  When watering your plants, avoid splashing the leaves.

Hollyhocks least susceptible to rust – Look for ‘Fig’ Leaf or ‘Antwerp’ Hollyhock if you are troubled by unsightly foliage.  The perennial strain ‘Antwerp Mixed’ has single flowers in pastel shades.  This charming six-to eight-footer flourishes in well-drained soil.  Consider also ‘Summer Carnival’, a biennial strain that blooms its first year.

If you enjoy this website, you might like my magazine, Gardening Life.

Thank you for stopping by to spend time in my garden.  If you liked the article, please take a moment to let me know. I will be delighted if you would suggest Gardens Inspired to your friends, follow me or subscribe to my Blog.

Leave a legacy, but garden like you’ll live forever! 
-Debra

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