How to Get Pampas Grass to Produce More Plumes

0:00You've tuned into the mountain gardener where your host can lane, gardening, it can be challenging. But with these simple insider tips, you'll reap huge rewards. Now, let's tune into today's mountain gardener with Annalisa. And we are back in the studio. We've got Lisa Waters Lane. What is going on there? The giggles are all hard. I just saw myself on the camera. Oh, don't look. It's not pretty. We've got faces for video. So they say, no, they can't hear. If you've been working in the yard, we're at the garden center. We've got a studio here. And so we've been working it. You know, you jump on a semi-al day. And then you jump on here to read it to be fresh and entertaining. Exciting. It can, can wear on you, too. I would tell you about the, so we have this really nice customer. Wonderful man comes in. And usually people get used to seeing me at the garden center and they don't see me at other places. And he happened to see me at an event we were at. And I said, hi, you know, and he's,

1:02I could see him trying to place me. And processing. He goes, you look so much nicer when you're away. That's awesome. We drove something nice. So yes, it's two different looks. It's a small town. And so you tend to see people at restaurants or churches or, you know, kids soccer games or at the end or you just seem around the community because it's a small town. And it's hard to go. Okay, where did, where did I see them? You're trying to see them everywhere. So that's good. That's fun. So yeah, anyways, I don't grasp silly story. But yeah, this is our question and answer segment. Yeah. What kind of questions and answers do we have? Well, let's get started. So Patty says she has a beautiful, campus grass that seems to have never really put out a whole lot of plumes. The grass part is pretty, but not a lot of plumes. So her question is how can she fix that? Yeah, that's pretty easy, Patty. So, uh,

2:02campus grass, you know, they're gonna, they've grown at least six feet or more up and wide, maybe even wider. So they put on tremendous foliage growth. And so it takes a lot of energy to pull that off. It's not like they're just growing. You got to fertilize and fertilize a lot and fertilize often. Here's the insider tip. So, campus grass needs to be fertilized at least three times in a year. So, Patty, you're gonna fertilize that Easter in the spring. At fourth of July, it's probably really important for campus grass because they're feeding off that rain and all that new growth. They just go into supercharged mode. So feed them at the Independence Day and then fall. Feed them at that Halloween stage. So Easter, Independence Day, Halloween. Feed them then. But in addition for you, because you've had struck, you know, you're struggling, get a, you're gonna fertilize with all purpose plant food. 744, it's gonna take in that cotton seed meal of bird one. I'll just go, I am so hungry, get me more, see more. And so, but in addition to that, give it a handful of super phosphate,

3:100800. That middle number, that's what causes plumes, especially on grass, flowers or fruits. Sprinkle some of that at the same time, every time you fertilize with the all purpose plant food, give it a handful of super phosphate and you will have some of the nicest, biggest, I mean, the whole plant is gonna be covered in these beautiful fluffy plumes. For you, those are you that don't know what campus grass is. It's the tall grass, at least head high. And it puts on these gigantic white plumes over the top of the plant. If you don't do what I just described, you'll get thin, wispy plumes. If, if any, it'll just stop blooming if you don't fertilize enough. And so, that's kind of the secret, the insider tip on that. So just fertilize more often. Easter, Independence Day, and Halloween. At the same time, give it all purpose food and super phosphate and you will have, and Patty, you still have time. I always say come in and get, get a bag of all purpose and super phosphate now, because they're starting to plume. You're starting to see that flower show

4:14hover above the full. There's still time. Then it will keep that those flowers on there until sometime in January when the snow kind of really beats them up and start laying down, then you gotta cut them back, back to the ground or close to it. And you start all over again. All right. Watering helps too. Like, good consistent watering is, a lot of people think they're just really, and they are drought hearty. But when you want those pretty plumes, you need the increase your wildfire. Mostly I see folks that just, you'll drive down a neighborhood, go, oh, they fertilized. Oops, they didn't. Oh, they got it. They've got the flowers with the real thin. They're neat. They should be fluffy as big as your head or bigger or bigger. All right. Next question is from Paul. He says he shut down his irrigation because it seemed like they were getting so much rain. He goes, he's thinking about turning, getting ready to turn it back on because we've dried up some. His question is, do you keep the same watering schedule that you did earlier in the summer? Good question, Paul. So turn it back on because rain is very

5:21inconsistent right now. We'll see some more rain, but it won't be that three inches of, you know, three inches we had last month, a month before. So it's going to need watering. Yes, you do water the same amount. You never play with how long the irrigation runs. It always runs the same length of time that just take that variable out of your brain, out of your thinking. What you're playing with is the frequency. How many days can I go before I have to redo it again? So trees and shrubs, you're probably watering right now through, I don't know, through October. Probably once a week. Good deep soak. Once they drop their leaves for autumn, then you kind of throttle it back to a couple of times a month. So but right now, you're probably once a week is good. Then you go to every other week once they lose their leaves. For flowers and things, it's probably more often. So there you can tweak it. We've got to hand out here at the garden center, ask for it. It just tells you exactly how to water lawns, vegetables, flowers, trees, shrubs, roses kind of breaks it all down for you.

6:24Hopefully that helps a bit. Paul, yes, turn on your irrigation. It's you need a lot of water. Don't get don't let you sacrifice your fall color. If you don't do that, definitely. All right, next question is from Jack. He has a maple tree that is very has very yellow leaves, very chloretic. He's hit it with iron and he's hit it with our seven four four. Still pretty yellow wants to know does he have enough time in the season left to turn it around or is this kind of going to be yet this year and work on it next year? Yeah, Jack. So maybe you got plenty of time. You're going to start turning the end of this month really October. So you got you got a month to really turn it around. And what's happened is when those maples get really yellow, they or they start turning fall color too early before everyone else in the neighborhood, that's usually a pH thing. So your pH is crept up too high. And it's locked up all the minerals. So the the iron is there that you gave it the seven four four. It's there, but the plant can't get to it because it's so alkaline. So it's like you sitting

7:28in a hot tub and the pH is way too high. What what happens when you get out? It's like your skin wants to itch off. You just want to take shower. That's how your plant feels right now. So it gets busy trying to itch itself and not not that's a bad analogy. But anyway, pH went up too high. Yeah, well, it's called soil sulfur is your friend or your plants friends get a bag of soil sulfur. It's just what it is sulfur and sulfur hits the water hits the rain and it lowers the pH and makes things more acidic. You have to dramatically make that soil around that tree acidic. And so what it is your water is very alkaline. And that's what's causing the issue. So as as soon as you give it some some sulfur lower that pH all that iron and food you had in there will start activating like now. And so it will bring out more color for this fall. Will it bring out 100%. I don't know, but we're just trying to get this garden. It's a living breathing thing. You're

8:28you're making a difference. You're trying, but you will see a difference. But if you keep, yeah, I would do that again every time you fertilize that sulfur and that will turn that thing around for next spring at least to really be thick, rich and green. Yeah, I've noticed a lot of things are getting is what colors are a little washed out this time here. Even some of the pines, the deodoris cedar is just not showing that real dark green color right now. So it's definitely getting time to feed them again. If they're yeah, if you've got off color fertilize, I mean, do it. Don't wait. Usually say fertilize in October. Okay, we're three weeks away. Just do it now. Do it early so you can take advantage. You can get that color out of those plants. You take advantage of our most spectacular season autumn brings out all that rich aspen goals and the the the reds, the purples of ash. You want to bring that out. It takes more acidic type of soil and some food to pull that off. And so if your plants are talking to you

9:30and saying, you know, I don't feel so well. And you know, do something. I'm going to go to sleep right now. And I'm not going to show off any fall color for you until next spring. And so you just kind of it's just there. You're picking up on that. Take advantage of it and try to turn it around. So go ahead and fertilize it. But if you've got any kind of off color right now, fertilizer, the all-purpose food and soil, sulfur at the same time, that'll help you that'll that'll really bring out and kind of correct this thing. Water's garden companion plants for a Russian sage, Pampus grass, honeysuckle, and Raywood ash. Raywoods are superior shade trees for wind and drought locations. Plant is a single specimen or any grove for more widespread shade on hot, south, and western exposures. Dark green foliage forms the perfect round head with leaves that turn a magical wine red through autumn. We sell only the prettiest shade trees at Waters Garden Center, shop in store or online at watersgardenscentre.com. For a more fruitful garden, increase success in the landscape that just feels better than

10:34tuning in daily to the Mountain Gardener podcast. Subscribe to your favorite podcast streamer or visit watersgardenscentre.com. Better yet, visit me directly right here at Waters Garden Center. Thanks for tuning in.