GARDENING CALENDAR

TEXAS AGRILIFE EXTENSION SERVICE

BEXAR COUNTY BY DAVID RODRIGUEZ

August 6, 2011

Symptoms of chinch bug insect damage on turf grasses appear as a dry, burned-looking patch in the hottest part of the lawn. Control with a listed contact insecticide. If left unchecked, these sucking insects can annihilate large patches of turf.

If you have brown patch-like symptoms in the heat of the summer, this is possibly referred to as Take-All Patch. Unlike brown patch that is normally a circular area with the edge of the circle having browning or yellowing grass and the interior of the circle having a more healthy green appearance, this patch disease symptom has brown, dead grass throughout the circle.

Bougainvilleas love the heat. If they’re root bound in the pot, even better. Wait until they just start to wilt before watering-this could be every day depending on the pot and individual plant. Also, consider top-dressing all container plants now with a time release fertilizer to make up for depleted and lost nutrients in the soil.

If your watering bill is getting you down, it’s the lawn watering that’s doing it. You may want to consider removing several plots of grass and replace them with low-water-use ground covers or just plain organic mulch. Later you can plant shrubs or trees in the mulched areas.

David Rodriguez is the County Extension Agent-Horticulture with the Texas AgriLife Extension Service in Bexar County. For more information, call the Master Gardener “Hotline” (210) 467-6575 or visit our County Extension website at http://bexar-tx.tamu.edu.