Don Davis: New weather brings new gardening questions

Ticks and other spring concerns were on the minds of gardeners in recent days. Their questions were focused on yard maintenance.

Q. Our lawn is a mess. The grass was half dead when we bought the house. It was brand new and not landscaped. Now I am ready to plant some grass and do some gardening. Is it too early to plant grass? — F.L., Lynchburg

A. Spring is the second best time of the year for planting grasses such as fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass. Plant grass seed any time from now until April 15. If your efforts to establish a new lawn in spring do not succeed, try again between Aug. 15 and Oct. 15.

Q. This month I would like to feed my lawn with urea instead of the ammonium nitrate I was able to purchase from the Royster plant in Lynchburg a number of years ago. Do you have any suggestions as to where I might be able to purchase bags of urea in the Lynchburg area? — B.P., Lynchburg

A. You can find urea at farm supply stores and perhaps hardware stores. It is the strongest nitrogen fertilizer you can get at 46 percent nitrogen, and urea is hazardous in the hands of inexperienced users. Most of the stores selling lawn fertilizer do not sell urea, except in very small containers. Fescue, bluegrass and ryegrass are cool-season turfgrasses which grow best when most of their nitrogen is applied in the fall.

Q. I have a large princess tree growing in my yard. The roots are beginning to come to the surface of the ground and are growing toward the house. Should I be worried about the roots causing a problem for the foundation/basement of my house? — B.S., Forest
A. Princess tree, also called paulownia and royal paulownia, is nothing more than a huge imported oriental weed like paradise tree. Definitely remove the tree before its roots cause trouble for your house.

Q. I heard you are the one to talk to concerning a question I had about controlling ticks. At my church we have 18 acres of property that is full of ticks. Any suggestions on getting rid of them? — M.S., Lynchburg

A. Ticks are now looking for a blood meal and many of them are perched on vegetation that is up to waist high. Cutting back weeds and other plants along paths, trails and the edges of your property will help, as will mowing the grass regularly. Also important is removing piles of rocks, wood or other debris which harbor rodents that carry ticks. Fencing in the whole property to exclude deer would be helpful, though the cost may be excessive. You could warn people about walking in the parts of your area where ticks seem most abundant and also recommend using insect repellent containing DEET. If the tick population is extreme and you need to spray, try products such as permethrin and Sevin.

Davis is an Extension Agent for the Virginia Cooperative Extension. He can be reached by calling 455-3740.