Horticulture Hotline 03/12/18
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
While walking my dog this weekend I noticed someone getting
ready to mow down the Liriope and realized I haven’t mentioned that this year. Hedge shears or a lawn mower with a sharp
blade is great for doing this. Holly
fern and cast-iron plant will also benefit from cutting back to remove old
discolored foliage. 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 complete 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!
Control small seeded annual summer weeds now with a
preemergent product. Enough said!
Soil Test? Bring them to Possum’s for accurate testing and an
easy to follow interpretation of the results.
We are about ready to be able to prune back our cold damaged
plants. Wait about another week or two and see if you can see any new growth
emerging. We should be passed the last frost date (no crystal ball here), and
your plants should (hopefully) have some visible new growth. The Sago’s can be
pruned now. Be sure to fertilize with 07-00-09 Possum Palm Fertilizer, so the
new growth looks it’s best. Or better yet take a soil test and see exactly what
your plant needs for nutrition.
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.
Re-cut and redefine your bed lines. Bed lines are a basic
element of landscape design. They define
your landscape. Well defined bed lines with just mulch can be very attractive
even without plants. Bed lines can be defined by a clean trench with a shovel,
wood, brick or steel edging. Plants grow, so bed lines need to re-defined
periodically. If you have brick or steel edging, this may require that you
remove plants instead of just redefining the bed line.
Do not prune any spring flowering plants unless you want to
sacrifice the flowers.
As temperatures allow spray your trees and shrubs with
dormant oil sprays. These products will kill over-wintering insects and keep
them from munching on your new spring foliage. Neem oil works great on some
diseases as well.
If you have plants like Camellias (scale), Gardenias (white
flies), Crepe Myrtles (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!
Any plants infested with scale, consider using Safari and
following it up with Dominion. Safari is a drench product that moves up through
the plant very rapidly for a quick knock down of scale and other insects. I
have seen it remove scale off of plants that have been treated with oils for
over twenty years. Then treat with Dominion for long term preventive systemic
control.
The spring walking tours
throughout the Lowcountry will begin over the next month. These tours are a
great way to get ideas for your own landscape projects, and a good way to enjoy
a day looking at hidden treasures in the Lowcountry. Beaufort, Savannah, and
many other areas have these tours if you want to add a little drive time
through the Lowcountry to your tour. I would also highly recommend Georgetown’s
Plantation Tours to anyone who has not been to that tour. I have had the privilege
to work with most of these properties, and they are something to see. Of
course, support our local tours first!
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
