(NAPSA)—Americans love their "| al flower gardens and want to keep those flowers as pretty in the yard as they looked at the gardenstore. “Many gardeners carefully budget, plant and water,” says Bayer Advanced” Garden Expert Lance Walheim, who wrote the best-sell- ing book “Roses for Dummies” and is a regular contributor to Sunset magazine and books. But diseases, insects and mites can attack flowering plants. For example, spider mites can literally suck dry the leaves of flowering plants, especially roses. These close relatives of spiders, daddy longlegs and ticks are smaller than the head of a pin. Spider mites use a pair of needlelike stylets to rupture leaf cells when they feed, and then suck cell sap from the torncells. “You can have thestart of a spi- der mite problem and not know it because the pests are so small,” says Walheim. “Preventing the problem is the key to success after all of the money, care and emotional energy you've given to your flower beds.” Ways to help flowering plants thrive include: 1. Choose flowers adapted to both your climate and to the con- ditions of your garden. 2. Position your plants in the appropriate season. For example, impatiens thrive in shady areas. Marigolds like full sun. 3. Check the sprinklers to make sure they reach the flowers and are left on long enough to thoroughly wet plant roots. attack flowering plants. It’s a smart idea to prevent problems with insect, disease and mite control products. 4. Removespent flowers (called deadheading) to channel plant energy into more blooms. \. Fertilize to keep plants erowing vigorously and blooming. 6. Prevent problems with Bayer Advanced” 3-in-1 Insect, Disease, & Mite Control, which protects from insects, diseases and mites. It contains two-way insecticide action and a fungicide that kills many types of insects on contact, including spider mites, and prevents and cures diseases. The spray is rainproof and provides up to 80 days’ protection. And it comes in two formulas: a premixed ready-to-use for a few plants or a concentrated version for bigger jobs. You can learn more by visiting www.bayeradvanced.com or by calling (877) BAYERAG.
