War on Weeds: Spotted Spurge

Spurge

Spotted spurge is a low-growing summer annual weed with prostrate stems that radiate outward from the center, and small, oval leaves that have a small reddish spot. It can grow to be as much as two feet across. It grows very quickly in warm temperatures, and may only take about five weeks from germination to flower and produce seeds. The flowers are small and inconspicuous, and one plant can produce several thousand seeds. Because the seeds are sticky when wet, they can cling to animals' feet, birds' feathers, or shoes, and be spread widely. You can end up with two or three generations of spurge over the course of the summer.

Favorite Flowers: Morning Glories

"Carnival" morning glory

Allergy Index Scale:  4
Annual
Full sun, 6-12' tall

Morning glories grow pretty quickly, so they're great for covering a lot of the homely chain link fence around my yard every summer. Mine usually start flowering in July, and continue through the rest of the summer.  The flowers may be white, blue, pink or purple, and may have stripes or splashes of color, or picotee edges. Each flower lasts only a day. They attract both hummingbirds and butterflies.

Soil Drainage

It's been raining again this evening; just light showers at this point, but the soil is already saturated, and water is standing in the yard in places. In part, this is simply because we've had so much rain over the last couple of weeks that there's a flood watch in the area. But it's also because the soil in my yard tends to be a heavy clay, that doesn't drain very well.  I've observed that lower-lying areas in my yard, water pools up after heavy rains.

Are you unsure of how your garden soil rates on drainage? Sometime when it isn't rainy, try this test. Dig a hole about a foot deep, and about as wide as your shovel. Fill the hole up completely with water, and leave it to drain out completely. The next day, go back and fill it up completely again. This time keep an eye on it to see how long it takes for all of the water to drain away.

Summer Rains

As forecast, it drizzled rain off and on all day today.  I'm sure glad I mowed yesterday. We've had a surprising  amount of rain over the last couple of weeks for this time of year, and it looks like it's not done yet.

Mowing the Lawn

One of my tasks today was to mow the lawn. It needed it more than usual, since we've had quite a bit of rain recently.  The forecast tonight and tomorrow includes more rain, so I really needed to mow today.

Since I am allergic to grass, I try to take a few precautions when I mow. Grass pollen is one of the primary causes of allergies during the summer.  People can also have problems while mowing from exposure to mold spores and other allergens being stirred up by mowing.

Angel Wing Begonia

Angel wing begonia

One of the house plants I cherish most is an angel wing begonia that was given to me years ago by my grandfather.  Since I need to keep the humidity in my house so low, to control mold and dust mite allergies, the begonia was having a hard time.  Once I put in a glass watering bulb, which helps keep the soil more evenly moist, and began misting it with water once a week, it started doing a lot better.

Cutting Back Chrysanthemums

This evening I cut back all my chrysanthemums.  If mums are allowed to do so, they'll bloom in mid-summer instead of in the fall. By pinching or trimming back the plants, they are encouraged to grow back thicker than ever, and will put off blooming. When you cut back one stem, the plant will grow back with two. So you end up with a bushier plant, with more flowers.