Last week, I quickly mentioned flies. They are gross! With
all the outdoor (and sometimes dog friendly) sitting areas to restaurants now days
the flies seem to be coming in more contact with humans and humans’ food. Flies
spread disease. Flies walk around on some spoiled food in the dumpster, then
fly over to some dog poop, land on it, and the next thing you know they are on
your food. Gross! Not to mention the nuisance of “shooing” the flies away from
your food.
Gray Leaf Spot on St. Augustine grass was something I
mentioned last week. If you missed the article and would like to read it, go to
possumsupply.com and look under the Horticulture Hotline tab for archived
articles. When writing about the cultural practices to minimize Gray Leaf Spot,
I failed to mention that you should mow with a sharp mower blade. Some of the mower
blades that started the year off sharp are not so sharp anymore. You want a
clean cut on the grass blade. Not blunt force trauma.
One more item from last week. Saturday at the radio show
John Quincy (producer of “The Garden Clinic”) brought to Paul (Super Garden
Hero) Mulkey and my attention that mosquitoes kill over 1,000,000 people a
year. The deadliest insect in the world. Protect yourself!
Indian Hawthorn (AKA Raphs) have long finished blooming and
can be pruned as needed. Watch out for the leaf spot disease that attacks these
plants. If your plant’s foliage is thinning and it has spots on its leaves,
there is a good chance your plant is under attack. Honor Guard does a good job of keeping this
fungus in check; however, this disease will always be out there so regular
spraying is a must. Also, when spraying fungicides, it is important to switch
chemical classes to avoid resistance. If they do not need pruning, hold off,
because pruning encourages new growth and the disease likes new leaves.
If you are taking a vacation this summer and have St. Augustine grass, be sure to put out an insecticide to
protect your lawn from ‘the nasty rascal, the chinch bug’. Chinch bugs can do
serious damage in a very short period of time. They love and multiple greatly
in hot, dry weather, so this year has been a very bountiful year for them. Bug
Blaster, ECO VIA (National Organics Program compliant), or Allectus (a newer
product with some long-term control) should help you manage this lawn
terrorist.
Azaleas are getting ready to set their flower buds for next
year, so it is very important to do any pruning on these plants right away.
Even if you pruned them hard right after they bloomed, you can still do any
touch up pruning to manage any growth that might have occurred since the last
pruning. An application of KeyPlex or Mighty Plant should help them set more
blooms for next year. Watch out for lace bugs sucking on your plants.
Any of the repeat blooming azaleas (Encore, Red Slipper)
should be pruned right after they flower. If you prune fairly hard, you will
likely lose some of the next flush of blooms; however, they should get back in
sync fairly quickly, providing you multiple blooms.
A general rule of thumb is to be sure all your spring blooming
plants have been pruned. Gardenias (unless they repeat in August), Camellias,
Spirea, Forsythia, flowering quince …
If you haven’t fertilized your lawn, shrubs and trees, a
midsummer feeding is a good idea. With the heavy rains and all the growing they
have been doing, some food would be a great idea. I’m seeing a lot of yellow
grass in my travels. A soil test is always the best guide for fertilization.
Snakes, Japanese Beetles, baby mole crickets killing, ants,
aphids, chiggers, fleas, roaches and rats are all hot topics at Possum’s.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
