Beat the Weeds
A Summer Game Plan
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All the recent rain and warm weather hasn't just been good for your tomatoes. If you've got monster weeds rising among your prized perennials, we're here to help! Now is the time to get ahead of them, before they set seed and multiply into an invading army.
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Top left: Selfie of Kelly in front of our centennial prairie
Top right: Piles of vanquished weeds
Bottom left: Moist-but-not-soggy soil is perfect for getting out the roots
Bottom right: If you plant it they will come: our first prairie monarch!
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Here at Hoerr Nursery, we've been heading out early to beat the heat, weeding the plants that we're growing for sale, watering, fertilizing, and tending to the landscape. The ground right now is soft enough that if you have the right tool for the job, you can take out weeds roots and all. Kelly was out weeding our new prairie this week, and she admitted to actually enjoying herself. She had her trusty weeding sickle, but if bending over isn't your favorite part of gardening, a stand-up weeder like the Weasel Garden Claw pulls weeds, roots and all, without you ever getting on your knees.
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Armed and dangerous! Pictured from left to right: Organic chelated iron weed killer, Weasel Garden Claw, the Super-Cushy garden kneeler, Over-the-Top II grass killer, a Swiss hori-hori knife, Weed-Out Crabgrass Killer, and Weed-Out Nutsedge Control. We've also got Kelly's prefered weapon: the weeding sickle.
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Starting From Scratch? Let the Sun Do the Work
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If you have a large area infested by weeds or a patch of difficult invasives and you just want a clean start, this is the season for solarizing. Here's how:
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1. Whack the weeds down short if necessary
2. Spread a sheet of clear plastic over the area.
3. Weigh down the edges so it stays put
4. Leave it in place for a couple of months while temperatures are at their hottest
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The plastic traps heat in the same way that a car windshield does on a hot day, heating the soil underneath until the weeds are dead. Solarizing is especially effective against spreading invasive plants like crown vetch.
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When You Need to Spray:
Matching the Product to the Problem
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Unfortunately, there's no magic herbicide that knows the difference between weeds and your landscape plants. If you have to spray close to a desirable plant, a sheet of cardboard, held up as a shield, can protect it from overspray, but that's not always a great solution.
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There are herbicides that can select between grass and broadleaf plants (which are pretty much everything except grass.) If your lawn is invading your perennial bed, we offer a product called Over the Top II that kills grass and only grass. Just be sure to keep it away from lawns and ornamental grasses.
One product for broadleaf plants that we've been trialing in our sales yard over several years is iron HEDTA, an organic option that has visible results within hours. It works well and won't damage your lawn grass, although like most herbicides, it may take a second application to get full coverage.
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Certain weeds are especially tough to kill, making a targeted product more effective. For example, nut sedge, ground ivy, and crabgrass. But regardless of what you're spraying, there are a few rules to keep in mind:
- Most herbicides work best between 65°F and 85°F, (so you'll want to wait until the current heatwave passes.)
- Well-watered weeds (which we currently have, thanks to all this rain) absorb herbicides more readily than drought-stressed ones.
- To avoid damage to landscape plants, don't spray on a breezy day.
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Whatever's coming up where it shouldn't, we've got what you need in our Plant Pharmacy, whether it's tools, targeted herbicides, or top-notch advice. And if you're struggling with something you can't identify, or a weed that's gotten the better of you, just bring us a photo or a clipping. We've been helping Peorians with their plant problems for a century now, and chances are that we've fought that monster weed before.
Happy gardening!
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A Second Chance for Your Spring Garden
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If your spring garden didn't come together the way you pictured it, there's still plenty of growing season left. Our brand new crop of summer annuals is available now, and all remaining spring annuals, tropicals, herbs, and vegetables are 50% off. Hybrid tea roses, floribunda roses, and grandiflora roses are 33% off.
The weather that's working so well for the weeds cuts both ways. Take them home, keep them watered, and your new plants are liable to give the weeds a run for their money.
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America's 250th
Hoerr Nursery's 100th
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This year's landmark Independence Day celebration is extra meaningful to us. As our nation celebrates its 250th anniversary, we are proud to be celebrating our 100th! Hoerr Nursery has been rooted in Peoria since 1926, and we're grateful for all the neighbors who have grown with us along the way.
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If you'd like to refresh your patio pots or get that last bed mulched before the weekend celebrations begin, stop in on Friday, July 3rd. The Garden Center is open 9am–5pm and Stone Market is open 7am–5pm. We'll be closed Saturday, July 4th, so that our team can celebrate too.
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We're celebrating our centennial this year, and we have a special giveaway this July as part of the celebration: a free rain gauge with every tree purchase of $200 or more, while supplies last, all month long. A rain gauge is one of the most useful tools you can have in your garden. It tells you exactly how much rain fell in your exact location, so you know when to water and when to let nature handle it.
Come pick out a tree! We'll send you home with a little something extra.
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Twenty years ago, for our 80th anniversary, we placed a memorial stone in honor of our founder and his wife, D.A. and Rose Hoerr, and the generations that have followed in their footsteps. Although our long-time staff remembered that it was there, visitors rarely noticed. Ernesto thought that it needed a more prominent place in the landscape, so last week, as part of his renovation project in the front garden, he moved it right out in front of the store. Now it's one of the first things you'll see if you park in front of the store, a reminder of where we started and everyone who's helped us grow since.
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Thank you, Ernesto, for giving it the spot it deserves. And thank you to everyone who has been a part of Hoerr Nursery over the past hundred years, visitors, family, and employees alike.
Wishing all of you a wonderful 4th of July filled with family and friends!
❤️🤍💙
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