Fall is for Planting

Man, what wonderful weather we are having! We need rain, but the last few weeks have been most enjoyable.

Fall is for planting, so now is the time to get those plants in the ground. I have notice several people re-sodding areas as well. New annuals are adding fresh color to our Lowcountry landscape and ryegrass is popping up on many lawns (and in some beds).

The many parks and public plantations the Lowcountry has to offer are a great place to get design ideas for your yard or just to spend some time alone or with families and friends.

Planting can take several forms. A random new plant, a small renovation, landscaping an area that was not planted in the past, and planting a whole new yard all require some basic skills and knowledge. Some people will do it themselves and others will hire a professional.

When planting new plants there are a few things you might want to consider. How tall and wide is the plant going to be a full maturity? If it gets too big, you might be transplanting it in a few years. Is it going to grow into my house and ruin my paint? Are the roots going to tear up my sidewalk or foundation? Do I have overhead wires that the plant is going to grow into leading to a safety issue? Is the plant an evergreen or is it going to lose its leaves in the fall? If you have a bed of sun-loving shrubs, do you want to plant a live oak that will shade them out in a few years, and then you have to replace the shrubs? Is it going to shade my house in the summer, yet let light in during the winter saving electricity? Is it going to shade out my turf I love so much?

A landscape designer can help you through some of these questions. Choose a designer whose work you have seen and like. Some designers include lighting, irrigation, outdoor kitchens, fire pits, bricks, sidewalks, fountains, statues, walls and drainage in their designs and other designers stick more with the basics. If you like the more elaborate features but cash is a little tight, most designers can break the project into phases. Working in phases is nice because you are working toward a goal, and when you are finished, you have the landscape of your dreams.

When you choose your plant material, it is best to go to a local nursery / garden center. They have the varieties of plants that do well here in the Lowcountry. The local nursery / garden center is going to have an employee that works daily with local plants, knows the plant’s advantages and disadvantages, knows if the plant is susceptible to any insects or disease and might even know where you can drive by to see the particular plant growing.

If there are new varieties of a certain plant that are available and resistant to disease or insects, those are the ones you want to plant, and your local nurseryman (or woman) will be able to direct you to them.

So much to cover, so little space; however, I will be back next week (I hope). Will you? Until next week treat for mosquitoes (Cyonara, or EcoVia (organic)), Large Patch Fungus (Brown Patch) T-Methyl, Rats and Mice, Roaches (Invict Gold), Neem Oil for overwintering insects and disease, and winterize lawn with SeaHume and 00-00-25. Any salt damaged areas use Possum’s Salt Free to leach the salts through the soil profile.

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 http://www.possumsupply.com. You can also call in your questions to “ The Garden Clinic”, Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA  (The Big Talker). 

Winterizing the Landscape

Horticulture Hotline 10/24/16

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

Yes, it is time to winterize your landscape especially this year with all the rain and wind trauma. SeaHume should be used alone or with the 00-00-25, depending on the results from your soil test. Look for a product with a 00 for the first number (nitrogen). A 00-00-25 with sulfate of potash and minors would be great. If you do not need the potash, consider just the SeaHume, a wonderful combination of seaweed and humic acid.

SeaHume will help grass, trees, shrubs, and flowers throughout the winter. SeaHume will help mitigate salt damage. The seaweed part of SeaHume has over 60 minor nutrients, carbohydrates, amino acids, gibberellins, auxins, cytokynins, anti-oxidants and other bio stimulants. The humic acid is also full of bio stimulants that help make nutrients that are in the soil available to the plant, help with soil structure, grow roots, and feed the microorganisms in the soil.

Trees grow most of their feeder roots over the winter. With the movement of the root ball during the storm and the flooding, many of these roots were lost. SeaHume will help re-establish these feeder roots over the winter.

Beware of the national ad campaigns talking about winterizing fertilizers for turf. These products are usually formulated for cool season grasses (rye, fescue). I saw one over the weekend that was a 22-00-14. Not exactly what we want to put on our yard in mid-October in the Lowcountry. Just ask Clemson University.

Have you ever had winter kill? Now is the time to prepare your grass for the wide variations in temperatures we have. If you had winter kill in the past, you need to be sure to correct low and poorly drained areas, reduce thatch in the yard, increase air movement in low areas, keep your lawn hydrated and feed (with the right food for the winter).

Mow your grass lower than normal (centipede 1.0 to 1.5 inches, St. Augustine 2.5 to 3.0 inches). By mowing your grass lower, you will increase the air movement around the crown of the plant, so cold air will not settle at the crown of the plant and damage the grass. In Florida helicopters fly low over citrus groves that are in valleys to get the cold air out. Tall grass or thatch will insulate the crown of the plant like a goose down jacket, keeping the cold air near the crown where it can cause winter kill. Centipede lawns usually get winter kill the worst if temperatures plummet quickly.

Fine blade Zoysia grass can grow very dense and get thatch. De-thatching, verticutting, using Bio Grounds Keeper, and regular topdressing should be part of your maintenance schedule.  

Moles?

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

Matthew and More

Horticulture Hotline 10/18/16

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

This is a great time of year to work in your yard. First spray your shrubs with Bug Blaster (just connect to your hose and spray) and say cyonara to mosquitoes, so you will enjoy your time outside. EcoVia is an organic option to spray and mosquito beater is an organic option to spread.

If you had salt damage, you have a few options.

For Salt mitigation most people have heard of using gypsum. Gypsum will remove salt but it adds calcium to our soils that are generally high in calcium already. Our soils tend to be very high calcium People tend to use gypsum at high rates not thinking about their magnesium / potassium ratios. It will work but there are better options. If you use gypsum, consider adding promag or magnesium sulfate as well.

Excell - best granular choice. adds magnesium while adding calcium (actually made with gypsum). 10# - 20# /1000 sqft then test soil.

Salt Free - liquid. Easy to use and very effective and economical and no ratios to worry about. Use 1.5 oz/1000 sqft. Mix in 2-4 gallons of water or use hose end sprayer Apply weekly, 2 to 4 weeks in a row. Very easy to use without much burn potential. I have seen it used in very salty situations with great results.

SeaHume - also helps with salt and a good winterizer.  15#/m

Do a 1 & 7 soil test (not just a 7 alone) because you want the base saturation levels.

If you are straitening any trees or shrubs after the storm, use some DieHard Transplant, SeaHume, and SuperThrive to help the tree re-establish its root system.

Disease usually attacks the grass in the fall and spring so now is a great time to apply a systemic fungicide to prevent those attacks. Fame or Cleary’s are a couple of options.

The cooler Fall temperatures are perfect for controlling weeds. Weed Free Zone is great if you like to spray. Dollar Weed Control is a granular that works on some really tough weeds including Florida Betony, Virginia Button Weed and Dollar weed. I wiped out an area of Virginia Button Weed in my yard with one application.

Preemergent herbicides will keep you ahead of the weeds. Broadleaf Weed Control with Gallery will control a wide variety of broadleaf weeds and 00-00-07 Dimension is good for the grassy weeds.

Forever people have used Dormant oil or Horticultural oil on their shrubs and trees in the fall and spring for overwintering insects. Now is a great time for that. I have started to use Neem oil because it is an organic oil that gets some fungi too.

If you are planning on transplanting a tree or shrub this fall, now is the time to root prune.  For root pruning trees, a good rule of thumb is for every inch in diameter of tree, you want twelve inches of root ball.  Sometimes this is not practical because you are usually transplanting an over-crowded tree or a tree located too close to a house or sidewalk.  If this is the case, outline the biggest ball you can possibly move and just dig straight down severing the roots without actually removing the soil. Apply granular SeaHume and SuperThrive to the area for root growth.  Come back in a month and dig away from the area that you severed leaving your tree in a little moat.  Spray the tree with Transfilm (anti-transparent) and remove the tree. When you transplant the plant be sure to plant it at or above existing grade and use DieHard Transplant to help the tree get established in its new home.

Yes, it is time to winterize your turf. Look for a product with a 00 for the first number (nitrogen). A 00-00-25 with sulfate of potash and minors would be great. If you do not need the potash, consider SeaHume a wonderful combination of seaweed and humic acid. The seaweed has over 60 minor nutrients, amino acids, and bio stimulants. The humic acid is also full of bio stimulants that help make nutrients that are in the soil available to the plant, help with soil structure, grow roots, and feed the microorganisms in the soil. Both these products can be used together and will help your yard this winter and next spring.

Beware of the national ad campaigns talking about winterizing fertilizers. These products are usually formulated for cool season grasses (rye, fescue). I saw one over the weekend that was a 22-00-14. Not exactly what we want to put on our yard in mid-October in the Lowcountry.

When buying gas for your lawn mower, generator, or chain saw, be sure to include a gas stabilizer to help prevent your carburetor from getting varnished over the winter. Try to purchase gas from a gas station that has ethanol free gas for your mower as well as your two cycle hand held equipment.

Hold off putting out pine straw or mulching the beds until the leaves in the trees have dropped, so the leaves do not mess up your new straw or mulch. If you recycle the leaves that drop in your yard instead of bagging them and setting them by the curb, you will gain some free nutrients and organic matter.

Watch out for worms munching on your grass.

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