For the new readers of the Horticulture Hotline, my To Do
Lists are designed to help you target a few activities in your yard and in your
home that will benefit you in the future.
These lists are not designed to interfere with high school, college, or
professional football games, sunset boating, shopping, shrimping, fishing,
hunting, golfing, eating chicken wings at a local sports bar, oyster roasts,
collecting oysters or clams from the local waters, or watching NASCAR on the
couch with closed eyes! This is not
designed to be a “honey do” list.
Apply a preemergent herbicide to your lawn and beds NOW. Get
the weeds before they germinate. Why wait? “Get er done!” Stop the weeds now
and you will have more time for the activities in the first paragraph.
Planning to transplant plants in the fall? Begin root
pruning now. Go out 12 inches for every inch in diameter of the tree and push
the shovel straight down. Do not pry with the shovel, just severe the roots.
Root pruning now will help the survival rate of the plant when you do decide to
move it.
Look out for moths flying around and sod webworms munching
on your grass. The fall is when these little chow hounds show up. 2012 was the
worst breakout I have ever seen, so you are probably familiar with the little
beast. The moths fly in a zig zag pattern across the lawn laying eggs. The worm
(larva) emerges from the egg and eats up the grass. The damage looks like
someone mowed the lawn very low with dull blades at a slow speed. You can see
their bite marks on the grass blades.
Mosquitoes!
Many of you will be changing out annual color or your
vegetable garden in the next few weeks. While the beds are empty, you have to
chance to amend your soil for better flower and vegetable production and
address any drainage problems. If the bed stays wet, this is a good time to
raise it with the addition of soil or amendments (Turface, Mule Mix). You can
also crown the bed so it drains off to the sides.
Back To Natures’ Flower Bed Amendment has proven to do a
superb job in our Lowcountry soils. The special blend of composted cotton
burrs, composted cattle manure, feather meal, cottonseed meal, and alfalfa meal
has the best of gardeners coming back for more. Alfalfa contains Triacantanol,
a natural growth enhancer, and is high in organic Nitrogen to get your plants
growing. Flower Bed amendment may also help in the suppression and control of
certain fungal diseases.
Here is what Dr. Herman Daniell had to say about his
experience with the product, “The cotton burr flower bed mulch with amendments
has been a superior product for my rose garden. I have had healthier bushes
with more blooms since I began using this product.”
Many of you will also be changing out containers, hanging
baskets and potted plants. If your plants are in an exposed place requiring
daily watering, consider adding Soil Moist, Hydrostretch or other water holding
gels to your soil. These gels and the use of a wetting agent can make your life
much easier. If you go away for the weekend, your plants will hardly miss you.
