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About Hermiston herald. (Hermiston, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2015)
PAGE 10 • HERMISTONHERALD.COM SATURDAY, APRIL 18, 2015 HOME & GARDEN MISTAKES: continued from page 5 should have between six to 12 inches between them to allow for air to move in between them. If they grow too close to each other, air cannot move through the foliage, and the plants may get mildew. 4. Pruning weak, making them suscep- tible to breaking, especially in high winds. “Proper pruning is im- portant,” Dochnahl said. Gardeners should prune trees and shrubs, however, because, properly done, it can reinforce their structur- al integrity. Pruning dead or diseased plant parts can also reduce the spread of disease to healthy plants. Pruning trees, shrubs and HYHQ ÀRZHUV HOLPLQDWHV overgrowth or propagation. &HUWDLQ ÀRZHUV ZLOO SURS- agate themselves, and will then start to grow in clumps, such as black-eyed Susans. Roses, he said, will also bunch, which reduces the DLU ÀRZ DPRQJ WKH SODQWV The same concept, he said, applies to edible gardens. Dochnahl said improper pruning is another mistake. “Some people will prune too far,” he said, such as when people decide a tree has grown too much so they “top” it by cutting off the uppermost branches and stem, leaving stubs at one height. That, Dochnahl said, is a mistake. If too much a tree is topped, it may die or weaken it to such an extent 5. Plant health Dochnahl said the last LWFDQQRW¿JKWRIIDQLQVHFW infestation. Also, to survive, major mistake is gardeners trees will reproduce branch- do not regularly check to es that grow quickly but are make sure their plants are healthy — even those that are disease-resistant. “Whether it’s a tree, whether it’s a plant or a lawn, you need to make sure they’re healthy,” he said. “It’s like if you have children or domestic dogs and cats.” Some of the things people should watch for, he said, are brown spots or leaves that are curling. Dochnahl said fruit trees are also susceptible to certain types of insect infestation — apple trees, for example, are prone to apple maggots DIWHUIUXLWÀLHVOD\WKHLUODU- vae on the tree. As soon as a problem is spotted, people should take action. “There are things you can do if you catch it early enough,” Dochnahl said. “If people don’t watch, then all of a sudden it’s, “My plant’s dying,” and, by then, it’s probably too late.” ECOSYSTEM: continued from page 6 vention. Follow the “four Ds” to protect yourself: Drain standing water; Stay indoors at dusk and dawn; Dress in long-sleeves and pants; and use DEET-based mosquito repellent. • Poison ivy, poison oak, and poison sumac ALBUS: continued from page 4 drove a screw through two pieces with a hammer. The slat didn’t split and the screw just bored a hole. Perhaps a third reason of its popularity is the price. Grade one Albus wood, which doesn’t have any knots or rot and the grain is attractive, sells for $2.75 per board, while grade one F 541-992-4043 can lurk in backyards. Al- most 85 percent of people develop a rash when they come into contact with these weeds. Control poi- sonous weeds long-term by carefully digging out the plants while wear- ing waterproof gloves or treating with a pesticide. Defend your local eco- system by identifying ex- otic plants in your garden or yard. Spot invasive weeds and insects in your area? Let your county ex- WHQVLRQRI¿FHNQRZZKLFK may have a monitoring and management program in place. For more lawn and gar- den tips, visit www.De- bugTheMyths.com. — Jade McDowell, EO Media Group, contributed to this story Western red cedar sells for $3.50, with the price ris- ing to $3.75 soon. Albus is $1 less because of its manufacturing proximity: just a handful of miles. According to McKamey, customers have enjoyed the quality, price and lo- cal availability of the new building material, especial- ly since good, old growth grade one cedar becomes tough to acquire beginning in early spring. “With cedar being as hard as it is to get, it gives us another alternative other than the incense ce- dar (and other woods),” McKamey said. “I’ve sold that stuff in the past, and I just don’t feel comfort- able selling stuff that I don’t feel is gonna last for people, and I really think this one here, I think they got something. It’s a sus- tainable product that we can actually help preserve forest for future genera- tions.” f o G s r d e l e n e Commercial i Grounds Maintenance and Window Washing • Wallpaper Install/Removal • Interior & Exterior Painting • Wall Texturing Serving Pendleton & Hermiston Larry Oliveira Gary Stuart, owner LIC#202233 541-519-5207
