One of My Tea Olives
Horticulture Hotline 09/16/25
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Yesterday morning, I smelt the sweet fragrance of a group of my tea olives. I love that smell! The smell is great and it usually indicates that cooler weather is here and I survived another hot Lowcountry summer!
Did you put out a preemergent product to your lawn and beds for winter annual weed control in August? If yes, depending on the product and the rate you used, remember to reapply. If no, now is the time to get it spread onto your lawn and beds. Preemergent products control weeds as they germinate making your life and your plants’ (including grass) life easier. It is never too late to put out a preemergent product because weed seeds germinate all year here in the Lowcountry. Once you get it out, new weed seeds will stop germinating. Although many winter weeds have already germinated, they will hide in your green grass until it goes dormant. Once your grass goes brown, the green winter annual weeds will be very visible. Avoid the competition, use a preemergent product now!
Winterizing trees and shrubs with either a few products individually or as a multi prone approach will help insure the health of your landscape investment. Beware of products that are designed to “winterize” cool season grasses (fescue, blue grass, rye) that are marketed to the consumer here where we have warm season grasses (centipede, St. Augustine, Zoysia, Bermuda). It can be very confusing!
A witch’s brew is a good liquid fertilizer for trees and shrubs this time of year. Mainly reserved for the hard-core gardener (boat engine in the shop, football team is not living up to expectations, last time you played golf you threw your clubs in the water) and the professional. You can always add SuperThrive, SeaHume, Fish / Seaweed blend, Vermaplex, Yucca Wetting Agent … “The Brew” will promote good root growth and fast spring green up without stimulating soft growth that is susceptible to cold damage. A professional’s machine will add some hydraulic aeration and other benefits. The hydraulic aeration is a huge benefit. Just writing about this project makes me want to get some out on my yard!
If you prefer a granular, SeaHume G, 00-00-25, Cotton Burr Compost, Nature’s Blend, 04-00-10 (trees only), Possum’s Minors are a few products that will benefit your lawn, trees and shrubs this winter. If you haven’t fed your trees and shrubs in a while 17-00-09 might be appropriate. Like people, trees, grass, and shrubs, like to have some nutrition, so they do not go to bed hungry. Ornamentals usually have a nice flush of growth at this time.
For trees and shrubs, you can get ahead of the insect battle by using Neem oil or Horticulture oil. Neem oil has some fungicide benefits also which is a bonus. If you have a tree or shrub with a history of scale (Crepe Myrtle scale is here), twig borer, aphids, white flies …, apply a drench of Dominion Tree and Shrub now to protect the new growth next spring.
The cool weather does bring about large patch fungus on turf. A yearly event that is best controlled preventatively. The recent high tides have triggered an outbreak of those mean and nasty, blood-sucking mosquitoes. Try Mosquito Pro, with it’s two growth regulators, you will like it (check the label, it might help you with many more issues than the name implies).
Want a better yard in 2026? Now is a great time to take a soil test (Possums) get on a Custom Program. Transplanting on you winter project list? Stay tuned.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is a Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply (follow us on Facebook). Possum’s has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum’s location, or visit us at possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM, or listen to the replay of Saturday’s show, Sundays from 11:00 to noon on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.