Horticulture Hotline 05/18/20
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Two weeks ago, while walking it was the Magnolias wonderful
fragrance and now the Gardenias have joined in also – great time to be in the
Lowcountry! A while back, I talked to two different customers that have had
great success with one of our money saving products. The product is Possum’s
Wetting Agent with Biostimulants (PWAB for short). With the dry spring we have
had, I’m sure you will notice the difference in your yard and your water bill!
Possum’s Wetting Agent with Biostimulants is a water
management product also called a wetting agent. Imagine a bunch of tiny little
balloons that penetrate into your soil through the tiny cracks, absorb water,
expand, relieve compaction, and then release the water slowly back to the
plant. After about a month, these balloons begin to break down in the soil,
like a helium balloon does after your child’s birthday, in a car lot, or in the
atmosphere. Wetting agents have been used on golf courses, athletic fields, and
in areas with low rainfall for years.
The first customer that thanked me for introducing her to Possum’s
Wetting Agent with Biostimulants lived in a clay type soil. The first benefit
she noticed was areas that stayed wet in the past seemed to dry out quicker. PWAB
let the water go into the ground instead of sitting on the surface. She also
noticed that the water that flowed over the curb after a rain now stayed on her
lawn. For hours or even days after a rain, her neighbors curb was wet while
hers was dry. The rainwater was penetrating her soil and benefiting her yard
instead of flowing down the road to the storm water drain. This is very evident
in new neighborhoods.
Once the rains began to slow down, she began to notice the
big savings in her pocket book. She went from watering Monday, Wednesday, and
Friday for thirty minutes a zone down to Monday and Friday for 20 minutes a
zone. In other words, she went from watering a total of 90 minutes down to 40
minutes. She cut her watering in more than half!
In periods of long dry spells, the area along her sidewalk
that does not get watered from her sprinklers because she does not like to
water the sidewalk, now stays green. Other areas in her lawn that did not have
perfect head to head coverage with irrigation, now stay green longer between
periods of no rain. These dry areas were always thin and now they are thicker
and greener with less weed issues and less city water.
Because of the clay soil, she had lots of containers and
hanging baskets for color plants and a small herb garden. These plants also
needed far less water. In our brutal heat some of her hanging baskets needed
watering twice a day. Not anymore.
The other customer lives in a sandy soil area of the
Lowcountry. He suffered from a large dry area on a hill and an annual bed that
always dried out; however, the annuals were on a zone with turf so the turf was
getting over watered to keep the annuals alive.
Through the monthly use of Possum’s Wetting Agent with
Biostimulants, he was able to solve both problems without having to rework his
irrigation system. He had been watering everyday for 30 minutes and has cut his
watering to 3 times a week. On last report he was going to try to lower the
minutes per watering. Another lowered water bill and another better-looking
yard!
Less watering also means less disease and less expensive
fungicides. This slow release watering can save you money on your water bill,
help fertilizer work better, lessen compaction, prevent runoff into storm water
drains that go to our marshes, grow deeper roots, develop healthier plants that
can withstand stress better, and let me mention again save you money!
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 noon to 1:00, on
1250 WTMA (The Big Talker). Saturday's show is replayed Sunday from 11:00 -
Noon.
