Horticulture Hotline 06/24/19
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
With the rain came the mosquitoes. Most of us that work
outside like to get out early in the morning or late in the evening; unfortunately,
that is when the mosquitoes are the most active. Cover up and protect yourself!
Fleas have become a leaped into full swing. Big Palmetto Bugs (roaches) have
moved into the house where the air conditioning is. Lace Bugs have shut down
the blooming on the Lantana in several cases I have seen. Chinch bugs and gray
leaf spot are making their perennial attack on St. Augustine (Charleston)
grass. MOLES are very active as mole crickets just had babies, so there is
plenty of sweet little baby mole crickets to feast on in your yard.
Something else that the rain ‘brings’ takes me straight to
the first myth:
1.
Myth – “the rain brought fire ants to my yard. After
the rain, I now have fire ant mounds everywhere.”
The fire ants have always been in
your yard. In a super drought like we had there is not enough moisture in the
soil for the ant to build the above ground mound that we are all use to seeing.
Did you feel how dusty dry our soils were getting before the rain? Ants are still below ground and they are still
foraging for food above ground. Many people get stung when there is not a mound
formed because the mound indicates there are ants in the area.
2.
Myth – “I’m not going to feed (fertilize) my shrubs
because I don’t want to have to prune them.”
This is not a good idea. It would
have been like my mother saying when I was 16 that she wasn’t going to feed me
anymore because I was 6’4”, and she was tired of buying clothes and tennis
shoes!
Plants need food to recover from
insect damage, prevent disease, and to stay healthy. If you don’t want to
prune, look into growth regulators that will help you manage the height of your
shrubs. Also when designing your landscape, try to put plants in areas so they
do not require much pruning. For example use a dwarf gardenia if you want a
plant to mature at 3 feet instead of a regular gardenia that you will need to
prune regularly.
