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Community Corner

Cranford Agriculture Expert Speaks to Westfield Gardeners About Perennial Care

Dreyer addresses Garden Club to give advice.

Caring for perennials is a perennial concern for gardeners. From keeping the soil well and dealing with weather conditions, gardeners want to make sure their flowers keep blooming year to year.

Jessica Dreyer, the fourth generation of her family to run Dreyer Farms in Cranford, spoke to the Garden Club of Westfield this week, outlining a month-to-month approach to the subject. Dreyer, the current president of the Union County Board of Agriculture, is a graduate of the University of Massachusetts where she studied plant and soil science.

March: When the weather becomes warm enough to work outside begin by cleaning up and removing dead leaves and winter cover mulch. This is also a good time to use PREEN, a bi-monthly weed killer that prevents weed seeds from germinating without harming your other plants.

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April: Begin to clean out your garden (rake leaves and break up soil). At this time you also can add any organic matter from a compost pile. This is also time to start fertilizing, use a slow release fertilizer such as Miracle Grow and be sure to follow directions carefully.

May: This is your main time for perennial gardening. Grab your favorite pruners and cut off any bad looking flowers or flower stalks. At this time you can also start to trim back early bloomers.

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June: Continue regular garden routine, pinch back mums to six inches.

July: Make sure to irrigate during the hottest month of the summer. In order for best watering results use a soaker hose, it reduces runoff and maximizes water intake.

August: Maintain cutback growth, continue regular gardening.

September: Begin to cut back your perennials. Cut back anything that looks to be dying or anything with mildew on it. You can also begin to clean up your garden.

October: Garden clean up and maintenance.

November: Around Thanksgiving you can apply winter mulch if desired. Mulch is not necessary but is reccomended if you have moved any plants. The mulch will help to secure the newly rooted plant. Reccomended amount of mulch is 3-4 inches.

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