Storm Season

Horticulture Hotline 09/28/22

By Bill Lamson-Scribner       

 

“Oh, a storm is threat’ning

My very life today

If I don’t get some shelter

Oh yeah, I’m gonna fade away”                    

Gimme Shelter  -  The Rolling Stones

Song writers: Keith Richards / Mick Jagger

 

If a storm’s threat or the aftermath of the storm gets you to look up into your trees for broken limbs, diseased limbs, structural issues, limbs with cavities, or heavy overhanging limbs, then the storm has done some good. Inspect your trees closely for “widow makers”. Gravity will pull these limbs that are hanging in the trees down to the ground, and hopefully, you or your loved ones are not between the ground and the tree that they are hanging out of. Getting a tree care professional out to your house is always a good idea. Remember most injuries and deaths occur during cleanup.

 

Use local tree people to work on your trees. I get it, most are backed up. After Hugo, I saw many safe trees that were removed that could have been left to grow. Some could have been straightened and braced. Trees take a long time to grow, so you do not necessarily have to remove them if they have a little lean. The topping of trees after Hugo was also ridiculous. Again, a reputable, local, insured tree care professional should come inspect your trees for dangerous situations. If you have to use an outsider or anyone for that matter, make sure that they carry the proper insurances and licenses.

 

Salt has the biggest issue with flooding the last few years, and it appears that for many of you, salt is going to be a main issue again. Gypsum, Salt Free, Excell, SeaHume G, ProMag and a soil test that test for Sodium provide the road map for the recovery of your landscape. You would want to take a soil test first so you know where your starting point is, then you could immediately apply products to mitigate the salt damage (keep track of what you use and at what rates so when your soil test results come back you will know what you have already applied). At Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply we can help you through this process and help you with directions on taking a soil test and using these products. Salt Free is probably our biggest seller for homeowners and it comes in a convenient Ready To Spray container that you hook up to a hose and spray.   

 

The daylight hours are getting shorter and the start of football are making the weather feel like fall is here. Some of the worms that eat grass in the LowCountry overwinter and spend most of their time in Florida where they have huge numbers and multiple generations. With this current storm moving up from Florida, some worms might kite-surf the winds up to our area.

 

Worms eating the grass and chinch bugs sucking the grass are already in full force. The worms love the cloudy weather we have had because the birds and the wasps that feed on them cannot see them as easily. I noticed and the white flowers of Virginia Buttonweed are visible peeking through the foliage of the turf grass. Protect your grass from fungus by applying Strobe G or T-Methyl. Fungicides work best if used before you have a fungus (like the flu shot for us). With the rain forecast, the grass slowing down and the light hours decreasing, these conditions favor an explosion of fungus in the turfgrass.

 

Preemergent herbicides for the lawn and beds now will make your spring landscape much nicer. Treating your lawn and beds with Cyonora will keep mosquitoes, fleas, roaches, and other pests from bothering your pets, your lawn, your shrubs, or yourself.

 

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