So, Your Friend Has Roaches and Drought Continues

 

                                            We Need One!

                                            Enough Said

                                            Great Growth Regulator - Bedbugs and Roaches

Horticulture Hotline 05/26/2026

 

I still hear that we are 6.5 to 8 inches in deficit for rain in the Lowcountry, depending on where you are located. Not good! Extreme Drought conditions! I’m seeing some trees that are weakened and being attacked by secondary invaders. Most plants and turfgrass like moist soil (not soaking wet) 6 inches deep. Roots do not grow in dusty dry soil and I think everyone likes deep roots for many reasons. I know we sell moisture meters (less than 10$) so you can check the moisture in your soil, rain gauges, wetting agents, biostimulants that encourage root growth, mulches, and Cotton Burr Compost that help manage water; however, you still need water!

 

This week I am going to try to cover the dreaded cockroach. The cockroach always wins the most called about / asked about insect award, and is second to the mole in the overall called about / asked about pest. The person asking about roaches is never the person with the issue. They are always asking for their brother, mother, cousin, friend, …

 

There are many different species of roaches (at least 69). I’m going to concentrate on the most common roaches that dwell in the Lowcountry. To most people the roach is like a snake – the only good one is a dead one. Roaches can cause disease (walk around in a trash can or dumpster and then on your food – nasty! Asthma trigger).

 

For controlling roaches, you want to think like a roach, monitor the situation, employ non-chemical strategies, and use control products (organic, Green, conventional) if needed.

 

The German cockroach is the small roach that likes kitchens and bathrooms. These roaches like to live inside and can be introduced to your house from boxes or containers that are carried into your house. Boxes are like a hotel for roaches, and more and more boxes are coming to our homes. German roaches multiply very quickly once inside.

 

The American cockroach AKA “water bug”, “Palmetto bug”, and “South Carolina state bird”, is the other main cockroach in this area. These roaches like to live on boats, in sewers as well as in your house. Yes, sewers!

 

Brownbanded cockroaches are also common to this area. These roaches like to live up high in cabinets, high shelves in closets, pantries, desks, bookshelves or other areas away from the kitchen. The Brownbanded cockroach can live in drier areas than the German roach and usually will inhabit these areas, so it does not have to compete with the German roach. The American and German cockroach will out compete the Brownbanded cockroach.

 

There are other species of cockroaches in this area, and if you control the above three species, you will most likely control the others as well. Asian cockroaches in mulched beds are becoming more of an issue. First, you will want to monitor and identify which species is bothering you. There are glue boards you can put out in areas you have seen them. You can look for fecal pellets and egg casings – “Honey, what are you doing?” – “I’m looking for roach fecal pellets and egg casings” - “No football on today?” ….  We also sell these aerosol “flushing agents” that you can spray in areas that you suspect activity, and the roaches will quickly come running out of hiding, giving you the opportunity to personally smack them.

 

If you have roaches, sanitation is important. Keeping dirty dishes, garbage and sources of water to a minimum will help limit the population of roaches. Even clutter in a house provides harborage sights for the roach. Caulking cracks, weatherproofing windows and doors, sealing pipes and eliminating other entry points will also help with roaches as well as other pests.

 

For control products the bait inside the house do a very good job. These baits exploit all the bad habits of roaches. Baby roaches eat the fecal pellets of adult roaches to develop into adult roaches themselves. Roaches also cannibalize their dead. So, if one roach eats the bait, poops, then dies. Another roach will eat this poop and eventually die. Another roach will see the dead roach and eat it and die as well. This transfer of active ingredient creates a great “domino effect” that has impressed many people. The specific nature of this application and the low amount of active ingredient used makes this control method a “green” application, depending on the product you use.

 

Using the growth regulators, either Gentrol or Nylar, will also help break up the roach’s life cycle. These growth regulators will extend the period of control.

 

Outside you will want to do a perimeter treatment. There are several products on the market that will nail these roaches (along with many other pests). Bifen, Viper, Cyonara Lawn and Garden, Intice Perimeter 10 (“green”) and EcoPCO WP X (“green”) are a small sample of many products that are available. Generally, treating the perimeter involves spraying or spreading 3 to 10 feet out from your house in the mulched areas. If you are spraying, apply plenty of water with the product to carry it down where the pests are hiding. Also spray about 3 feet up the side of your house, around windows, porches, garages, eaves, garbage areas and other areas where pests may be found. Read and follow label directions for the specifics of doing a perimeter treatment for the product you choose to use.

 

If searching for roach fecal pellets with a flashlight does not sound like fun to you, remember there are a bunch of Pest Management Professionals in the area that would love to do this inspection for you.

 

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.    

Go Time Check List

 

                                            Great Product For Many Pest

                                            Bottlebrush Did Great This Year

                                             Leaf Gall

                                                       Mole Cricket
                                          

                                                      Pruning Time

                                                

Horticulture Hotline 05/10/26

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

We finally got some rain! Last week after the air show was cancelled, I went to plant some native pollinator attracting plant seeds that I picked up from the Native Plant Society at MUSC’s Greenest Day celebration, and just below the mulch the ground was still bone dry! I love walking this time of year and getting to smell the wonderful magnolias. What a Lowcountry signature tree! Here is a quick list of questions about events in the yard.

 

Soil tested?  Custom Program written? Apply the products that your soil needs instead of guessing. Doing soil tests are cheaper and provide better results than random applications. With heavy rain events, many nutrients have been leached from the soil. Why do you think farmers with hundreds of acres and their income depend upon it take soil test?

“I started using Possum’s recipe for my lawn 3 years ago and I have never had a better lawn in the 35 years that I have been trying to grow the perfect lawn. Possum’s is awesome! I have the best lawn in the neighborhood.”  Greg Lienert

 

“The Best!  Cookbook program very user friendly—plus the support!!”

Bernard Arnold, O.D.

 

“Great products for my lawn.  15-00-15 Lawn Food!  My lawn never looked better!  Better than Scotts!  Great Products!”  George Bryant

 

Have you been watering? Most of the issues I have seen with grass this year are because a lack of water. Water, Water, Water. Low Humidity and high winds dry out the soil and the soil doesn’t remain warm through the cool nights without moisture. If the soil stays cool, the grass doesn’t green up uniformly.

 

Mosquitoes? Do you have a plan? Luckily the wind, cool temperatures, and lack of rain have kept them at bay for most of the spring. We had high tides before and during the full “Flower Moon”, some rain, and less wind now so get ready. Do the cultural things around your house by emptying anything that holds water. Remember to look up at your gutters as well. Mosquito Pro provides great control for mosquitoes and many, many other pest with its knockdown power and growth regulators. If you prefer natural products, try Inzecto Traps, Essentria, or EcoVia (or others).

 

Lawn Mower – sharp (new) blade, new ethanol free gas, new oil, new air filter, new spark plug for season? Is your self-propelled mechanism working?

 

Prune and fertilize azaleas, camellias and other spring flowering plants after they bloom? Wait on Gardenias for now.

 

Do trees need pruning? Are they growing strong out to the tips of the limbs? Plenty of new foliage? Has the bust of spring growth put limbs against your house?

 

Fertilized your trees and shrubs? 17-00-09, 08-02-04 (organic), Professional feeding?

 

Fertilize daffodils for bigger bulbs next year. Leave the leaves (foliage) to collect sunlight to refurbish bulb for next year.

 

Huge fleshy leaves on new growth of camellias and azaleas? Leaf gall? Remove infected leaves and destroy.

 

Is Powdery mildew attacking roses, crepe myrtles, or dogwood leaves?  Neem PY (organic), Systemic Fungicide II.

 

Large Patch Fungus in turf – get an early start – prevention is cheaper than curative. Strobe and T-Methyl are great systemic products. Crab Shell, Serenade, Cotton Burr Compost, SeaHume, and Natures Blend are organic products that many professionals and homeowners have reported seeing less fungus in their lawns. These cool nights is giving the fungus a chance to attack the grass!

 

Adult mole crickets are tunneling – manage them. Intice Bait (organic), Above/Below. Baby time is soon!

 

Fire ants are starting to forage – manage them. Come and Get It (organic), Baits (great), and many contact killers for instant results.

 

Grubs are near the surface – manage them. Some of these grubs will emerge into Japanese beetles that will shred your plant’s foliage in a month (especially roses and crepe myrtles). Kill them now!  Mallet, Grub X, or Milky Spore (organic).

 

Scale insects are bad because the dry spring. Crepe Myrtle bark scale is a new insect to the area, and it is terrible. What people notice is the trunk of the tree turning black from sooty mold. The bigger issue is the tree is getting it’s nutrients sucked out of it. It seems like they get worse every year. Safari Tree and Shrub for quick knockdown and Tree and Shrub Drench for long term control. For trees and shrubs with perennial insect problems consider Tree and Shrub Drench.

 

Get a “jump” on fleas this year. Bug Blaster outside. Pivot Ultra Plus kills adult and larval fleas, while the IGR affects hatching eggs and is labeled for indoor use. Prefurred Plus is great to apply to pet.

 

Plant a vegetable garden? Soil Test? Good soil? Amend soil?

 

Plant a flower garden? Soil Test? Good soil? Amend soil?

 

If you applied preemergent in February, it is time for your second application (depending on the rate and product you used the first time). Remember the ornamental beds!

 

The leaves have fallen – new mulch? New mulch really sets off the landscape.

 

Fertilized Palm Trees with 07-00-09 (the most awesome Palm Fertilizer)?

 

Are your Citrus Leafminer Traps out if you grow citrus?

 

Tested your well water?  Many are getting salty.

 

Pruned holly fern, cast iron plant, and monkey grass (Liriope)?

 

Moles? Mole Patrol, Traps, Repellex? Above and Below?

 

Checked your irrigation? Heads pointing in the right direction? Leaky valves? Pipes?

 

Well, over my column inches once again (newspaper lingo). There is a lot going on in the Lowcountry!

 

Always read, understand, and follow product label – it 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. 

 

Dry Again!

 

Horticulture Hotline 04/13/26

 By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

Another dry Spring. Do you have mites trying to come into your house for some water? I did a little shopping on the broken bag pallet at Possum’s and have been putting out organics to bring my grass out of dormancy – Perk, SeaHume, Organic Dethatcher, 04-04-04, and dolomitic lime (based on soil test). I also used a broken bag of fungicide, insecticide, and pre-emergent. The one thing that probably saves me the most time is something I put on my shrubs called Cutless Growth Regulator – no pruning or picking up after pruning!

 

While working in the stores, a common concern I hear is that “I missed the time to preemerge”. Different weeds germinate at different soil temperatures if adequate moisture is available. Crabgrass is an early germinating weed. Later comes goosegrass. Then the dreaded Doveweed germinates. Not all the crabgrass seeds germinate at one time either. Keeping a protective barrier up according to the label is the most important strategy, and you can begin that any time of year.

 

The biggest issue I see is the lack of rain. The high blue skies with the lower humidity and the high winds will dry out an area very quickly. Water, water, water and use a wetting agent to get the most out of the water when you water or when it rains.

 

Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants (PWAB) is a product that helps water move deeper into the soil. PWAB will help soften clay for water penetration and get rid of those localized dry spots in your lawn. Sandy soil will hold water longer and prevent those localized dry spots. Wetting agents have shown to reduce watering needs from 33% to 66% in Arizona and other areas where water is limited. If you could go from watering three times a week down to once a week or not at all, think of the savings!

 

 The benefits of using a wetting agent would be far greater than just the savings with the water company. Since the water would penetrate deeper into the soil, the root systems of your grass and plants would grow deeper. As the roots of your grass and plants slough off and are replaced by new roots, organic material is increasing in the area where these roots are shed, creating a deeper top-soil area.

 

 A deeper root system will help in times of drought and can collect more nutrients from the soil. If you use fertilizer, a deeper root system can absorb more nutrients before they leach away; therefore, you can use lower fertilizer rates. If you use root absorbed systemic fungicides or insecticides, a deeper root system will also “catch” these products more efficiently giving you more “bang for your buck”.

 

When it rains, a yard treated with a wetting agent like Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants has less runoff. The rain penetrates the ground much easier, keeping the rain in your yard and not in the storm water drains. If you have ever poured water out on a dusty dirt road, and watched the water bead up and not penetrate the road, you have witnessed a hydrophobic soil condition. If you add a little wetting agent to this water and pour it on the same road, the water would penetrate the dusty dirt road. By keeping the water in your lawn, you will have the benefit of the water, and we will have less runoff into our marshes.

 

The biggest savings from using a wetting agent will come from reduced use of fungicides. Most fungi like water. By watering less fungus populations should decrease.

Brown patch / large patch and gray leaf spot comes to mind.

 

Many people that live in the Lowcountry travel. PWAB is great to add to hanging baskets or pots. Whether you are travelling or just want to increase your intervals between watering, PWAB should help you with a more uniform distribution of water and better hydrated plants.

 

If you prefer a granular product over a spray, try HumGranWet. HumGranWet is very cost-effective product that combines a wetting agent and humic acid. If you would rather spread than spray, check it out. HumGranWet has a very low use rate (1.15 pounds per thousand square feet 4 times a year or 2.3 pounds per thousand square feet every 6 months) and long residual making it very affordable!

 

People come into Possum’s and say that the savings on their water bill more than pays for the Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants. All the other benefits are an extra (free) bonus!

 

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. 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. 

 

Gnats + Pollen = Spring

 
                                                       Large Patch Fungus

                                                      Dandelion

                                                       Henbit

Horticulture Hotline 03/22/26

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

The pollen and the gnats are here and so is Spring! Spring is like St. Patrick’s Day when everyone is Irish for the day. It seems like everyone is a gardener in the Spring.

 

Liriope (monkey grass), holly fern, and cast-iron plant will benefit from cutting back to remove old, discolored foliage this time of year. Some people use a lawn mower, others hedge shears.  I do not know why, but I can convince people to cut back their Liriope; however, trying to get them to cut back holly fern and cast-iron plant is not as easy. I see more people pruning individual leaves than just cutting the whole plant back to the crown. The completely new growth from the cast iron plant and the holly fern will look as spectacular as the new growth from the Liriope. Get rid of all that tattered old foliage! 

 

It is very important to manage your winter weeds now. Burweed (low to the ground with a sticker in April to May – it’s seed), henbit, chickweed, and the dreaded Poa (annual blue grass) are a few of the more prevalent, troublesome winter weeds. Although winter weeds will die when the temperatures warm, they will be producing thousands of seeds for next year’s crop until they die. These seeds add seeds to the “seed bank”. A manufacturer of preemergent products once told me that they like a minimum of 85% of control of weeds with their product before turning it over to the EPA for testing and labeling. If your seed bank is 100, you would have 15 weeds. If your seed bank is 100,000, you would have 15,000 weeds! The seed bank is a good bank to have overdrawn.

 

Control small seeded annual summer weeds now with a pre-emergent product. We (Possum people) talk about target dates to put out pre-emergent products in the lawn and beds; however, different weeds germinate at different soil temperatures provided they have adequate moisture. Weed seeds germinate throughout the year here, so be sure to have out your protection. Always follow the label of the product you are using so you do not overdo it and be sure you are waiting for the proper intervals between applications.

 

If mulching, 2 – 3 inches is the latest recommendation. Keep the mulch off the trunk of the tree. Cotton Burr Compost as a mulch can add a lot of nutrition and a sip of compost tea (and lord knows we love our tea) every time it is irrigated.

 

Soil Test? Bring them to Possum’s for accurate testing and an easy-to-follow interpretation of the results.

 

After you have done some ‘Spring Cleaning’, SeaHume and Cotton Burr Compost with their loaded micronutrients and biostimulants should help your plants and turf come out of dormancy healthy.

 

If you have plants like Viburnum (white flies), Camellias (scale), Gardenias (white flies), Crepe Myrtles (bark scale, aphids), Lantana (lace bugs), or any other plant that you know regularly turns black from sooty mold, consider drenching with Dominion Tree and Shrub for season long control of sucking insects. This systemic product is awesome!

 

Two more things since I am running out of column inches. Large patch fungus is active again now that the soil temperatures have warmed. If you have a history of the disease, use a control product preventatively. If you have an irrigation system, go through it and make sure everything is working.

 

Always read, understand and follow product label. The product label is 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. 

 

 

Custom Program? Hire a Professional?

 

                                                            

Horticulture Hotline 03/08/2026

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

While in Possum’s the other day, I was amazed we were already getting hit with the question, “who is a good lawn care company?”

 

I have been hit with some variation of this question a lot recently in different situations. Since we sell products to many different companies, it is best to ask your friends. We rarely see the end results of our customers’ applications to various yards. Also, we wouldn’t want you to be at a family reunion talking to your distant cousin that is also a good customer of ours and say that Possum’s recommended a different company other than your distant cousin.

 

Lawn care companies can spray several different products to solve several different issues at once. To tank mix different control products, they need to make sure the products are compatible with each other.  Also, the lawn care applicator must calibrate the sprayer to make sure they are getting the proper amount of product out, in the given amount of square feet according to the product labels.  Knowing the correct amounts to put into the sprayer to control what you are trying to control is critical.  Does this all sound “Greek” to you?

 

A professional lawn service is licensed by the state to apply control products, and they have to take continuing education courses to maintain their license. Most companies have different programs, and they will either treat your yard on an “on call” basis, quarterly program, or complete yearly programs.  Check with the individual companies for what they have to offer. Just beware that if your yard is all green weeds and they kill all your weeds, then your yard will be brown. I have been told, “Bill, they came out and killed my yard!” When the yard was weeds and they killed the weeds.

 

When choosing a lawn care company or any contractor, it is good to get references from neighbors and friends.  With lawn care companies, it is especially important to find one that is doing good work in your neighborhood.  Most applicators that work for a lawn care company have a route in a certain area and different applicators have different abilities and experience.  If you sign up with a company who is doing a good job at your neighbor’s two doors down, chances are you will get the same applicator that they have. Whereas if your friend from across town recommends a company, you might be assigned an applicator with more experience or less experience – a little bit of a gamble.

 

One thing to remember, even though your house is right next to another house, the results of lawn care can be totally different because of sun / shade patterns. Trees and the way your house is positioned on your lot can greatly affect the way the grass grows. A sunny yard is best for good grass growth. The type of grass and soil could vary as well.

 

If you would rather, do it yourself, get on a custom program based on your soil from Possum’s. I know that I can buy paint, but I would rather the professionals handle that job!

Are You Ready

 

                                              Fungus Among Us - Large Patch
                                            

                                             Organics - Cotton Burr Compost - Before

                                            After

                                                       Citrus Saver!

                                              Get The Weeds Now!

Horticulture Hotline 02/27/24

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

New growth is beginning on trees, shrubs, and grass throughout the Lowcountry. Are you ready? Soil test with custom program? Removed leaves from the lawn areas? Has your lawn mower been serviced (better hurry)? Applied preemergent weed preventer to lawn and bed areas? Killed winter weeds that are competing with your existing grass and getting ready to produce many more seeds for you to fight next year? Controlled your moles? Pruned what needs to be pruned? Clean out your beds for sanitation purposes, especially the beds where plants that normally have leaf spot diseases are located? Applied SeaHume and other organics, so the landscape above and below ground (microorganisms, roots) have food to feed the new growth? If you have citrus, have you hung up your Citrus Leafminer pheromone traps to protect the new growth?

 

If you have been plagued by black sooty mold in the past, right now, apply Dominion Tree & Shrub as a drench to these plants to control the insects that produce the black sooty mold. Get it out now to protect the new foliage from insect attack. Insects like that young tender foliage like us (cabbage, spinach, lettuce). Neem oil and horticulture oil are also a way to get ahead of the insects. Viburnum, crepe myrtles, and sweetgrass are a few of the plants we hear the most about at Possum’s.

 

Now, it is a great time to inspect your trees for torn limbs that need to be properly pruned. Many of my deciduous trees (trees that lose their leaves) are either just starting to put on new leaves or still naked. Have you inspected your yard for mosquito breeding areas? Do you have liriope that needs to be cut or mowed. Cast-Iron plants? Have you seen any Lady Banks Roses, Saucer (tulip) Magnolia (my favorite small tree) or Carolina Jasmine blooming? How about the smell of sweet tea olive?

 

For all you sweetgum tree ‘haters’ out there because of their mace (not to be confused with the politician) like gumballs, this is the time you can do something about it. If you look up at your sweetgum tree right now, you should see little off-white cream-colored flowers that are going to become this year’s crop of gumballs. 

 

There is a product called Snipper that will destroy the flower, preventing the development of the gumball. This is not a one-time application, so plan to do it anytime you do not want to have gumballs. The timing is very important, so if you miss the flowers this year, begin to make your plans for next year. Since the application involves drilling holes in the sweetgum tree, a licensed and insured tree care professional is always a good idea. Getting on their schedule in the fall, so they can measure the tree’s diameter, give you an estimate and order in the product, so they will be ready when the timing is right and will help with the success of the application.

 

Last fall there was a crazy amount of large patch fungus. Are you ready to prevent the disease from attacking your grass? When the grass is coming out of dormancy, it is very susceptible to the disease. Look in the same areas that you had it last fall for the disease.

 

Always read, understand, and follow product labels. The product label is Federal Law.

 

Ladies and Gentleman, Start Your Gardening

 

                                            used Preemerge on Right - Not on Left

                                           

                                                     Doveweed - Hated by Most

                                            Derived From Earthworm Castings

                                                       Great For Planting or Transplanting

                                            Serious Organic - Some Call Dinosaur Poop

Horticulture Hotline 02/15/26

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

 

Daytona 500, SEWE, Valentine’s Day, and the soil temperatures are all lining up to indicate it is time for preemergent products to be applied to your lawn and beds. Get out your preemergent or forever fight weeds!! Remember to treat you turf and beds, so you do not have to waste time battling the weeds.

 

Different weeds germinate at different soil temperatures. Crabgrass is the first summer annual weed that we are targeting for control. Goosegrass comes later and the ever-hated Doveweed germinates last out of these three. In the Lowcountry our soil is warmer than other parts of the country, so microorganisms in the soil that breakdown the preemergent barrier are more active than in cooler climates. Therefore, it is good to use split applications of preemergent products. Always read, understand, and follow product labels.

 

For the last time, well maybe not, kill those winter weeds now before they seed and add to your ‘seed bank’ (and the Lowcountry’s) for next year! Now is the time! Warmer temperatures and we should get some rain for some soil moisture will aid in the killing of a weed. An actively growing weed is easier to kill than a drought stressed weed.

 

Trees grow. Some experts say it is around 18 to 24 inches at the tips of the branches all around the circumference of a healthy tree. Areas of grass might be shaded and thin that were once high-quality turf. Now, it might be a good time to cut new bed lines and let the tree have more room to grow. Check the sides of your house for limbs rubbing the paint off your house. The paint protects your house like your skin protects you or like bark protects a tree.

 

Look above your roof line and see if any limbs are growing above your roof that could allow varmints (squirrels, raccoons, or the loveable possum) into your attic. Make sure your source of power to your house is free of limbs. Hire an insured arborist if you need some pruning done. Before a tree puts on new leaves, it is a great time for an arborist to inspect the health of your trees. An arborist can see cavities, crossing limbs, and other situations easier if the tree does not have leaves (not evergreen).

 

If an arborist needs to do some pruning, it is good to do that before the tree uses the energy to put out new foliage that is going to quickly be removed. Of course, here an arborist can prune any time of year. It is also a good time to fertilize trees with the right fertilizer, so that they have the nutrients to put on new growth for the new season and a strong root system.

 

Any transplanting or planting of new trees or shrubs should be done as soon as you can. Try to get them in the ground before the plant flushes out new growth or blooms. If you are buying a blooming plant that you want a specific color or to match a color you already have, you may have to wait to see that the bloom on the plant (do not always trust the tags) is the color you want; otherwise, the sooner you can plant the better.

 

When planting remember the Diehard Transplant or GroTabs, it is like yogurt (full of probiotics). Diehard Transplant adds all the good bacteria, wetting agents, and fungi into the soil that a plant needs to help with survival. Remember the old saying when planting, “plant it high and it will not die!”

 

Intice 10 perimeter bait is a great product to put out around the perimeter of your house for roaches, crickets, sowbugs, earwigs, silverfish, millipedes, and certain ants. Intice 10 is a LEED tier 3 product and N.O.P. (National Organics Program) compliant, so it is considered very safe.

 

Intice 10 should also be broadcasted in the yard for mole crickets. Mole crickets come to the surface on these warm days and love to eat this bait!

 

My bald cypress has begun to “needle out” and my fig tree has new buds emerging. Time to go on an organic binge with SeaHume, Cotton Burr Compost, Vermaplex, worm castings, Nature’s Blend and others! Of course, anytime is a great time for organics.

 

If you have a history with fungus or insects on certain plants, sanitation, lime / sulfur, and your fungicide or insecticide of choice is good to put out now to protect the new growth. With the amount of large patch fungus we had this fall, apply products preventatively as the conditions get right, so you can use lower rates.

 

Other things – make sure mower is good to go – air filter is key, check irrigation, treat for fleas (growth regulator is key) and ticks, take soil test, prune roses, work on breeding sights for mosquitoes, kill winter weeds before they make seeds for next year (I could not resist), spray neem oil or horticultural oils for overwintering insects, apply Dominion Drench to perennial insect loving plants…

 

Spring in the Lowcountry… Work hard, then head to an oyster roast!

 

Always read, understand, and follow product labels. The product label is Federal Law.

 

Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply. 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.