Horticulture Hotline 12/29/2025
Bill Lamson-Scribner
The fifty degrees drop in temperature a couple of weeks ago
certainly put a hurting on lantana and hibiscus and other tender plants;
however, citrus and bottlebrush seemed to survive ok. If you can wait to cut
the damaged plants back, the damaged tissue will help to insulate the plant
from further damage, and the nasty looking foliage will help to keep the heat
of the Earth near the crown of the plant – protecting the plant.
Moles are very active this time of year. Moles do not like
vibration, so when you are mowing the grass less often, they enjoy the lawn
area even more than usual! Like the way fire ants do not like being disturbed
and will find a tree ring or mulched area off the grass to build their mound.
The mole’s food is deeper in the soil, so they must tunnel more to find it. The
grass is not actively growing, so the grass does not recover from the damage as
quickly in the winter.
Here are a few New Year’s Resolutions for the Gardener:
Take care of the gardener, so the gardener can garden!
Doctor visits are important! Preventive medicine is the best medicine – just
like your yard. A blood test can tell a doctor a lot about your health, so you
can keep on gardening. Dentists, ear doctors, and eye doctors are important as
well. You want to be able to see insects and diseases – and read the
Horticulture Hotline (shameless plug). Hearing the sounds of the Lowcountry and
“The Garden Clinic” radio show on WTMA from 10:00 – 11:00 AM on Saturdays
(another shameless plug) will help you garden. Gardening with a sore tooth or
gums is never fun.
Take a soil test (like a blood test for people) so you know
what your soil needs are and amend the soil accordingly. I have been doing this
for myself on landscape jobs since the late 1970’s and for other people since
the early 1980’s. When people return to Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control
after following our prescription for their lawn, they are happy, happy, happy.
It is amazing how your grass will respond with a little tweaking of nutrients.
A custom program is the best way to go, so you have a yearly calendar of what
to apply and when to apply it. What is the old saying, “if you write down a
goal, your chances to achieve it go way up.” A custom program will give you a step-by-step
formula for an awesome yard in 2026.
Go through all the old products you have in your garage and
identify why you purchased them to begin with and if they are products that can
still be used. This will save you money
and make room for new and improved products. If the products are old and you
are not able to identify them, there are several recycling centers in the area
that accept household hazardous wastes.
Manage winter weeds now while they are young. The recent
warm spell really made the winter weeds visible. The bigger they get the harder
they are to control. If you kill them now, you will not have to pull out the
mower to mow the weeds as they grow and you will kill them before they produce
seeds for future weeds.
Treat fungus proactively – you will save money. There is a
lot of diseases out there waiting for conditions to get right for another
attack. Our ground stays warm enough for grass to absorb nutrients or systemic
fungicides. Keep your eyes out for the next warm spell because the large patch
/ brown patch we had in the fall will explode again.
Use wetting agents this year. Wetting agents have been shown to save
approximately 30-60% of water consumption for a yard. A huge savings on your water bill. By watering less, you will have less fungus
problems and save money by not having to buy as many fungicides or water. At
Possum’s we have noticed that a lot of people that use wetting agents save even
more water because they are more in tune to their watering and their water
bill. They are saving more like 80%, so if their water bill was $100.00 per
month now the bill is only $20.00. Huge savings and water bills are usually
more than $100.00. There are many other benefits to using wetting agents! Your
roots will grow deeper, and you will be able to capture more nutrients, so you
will get more out of your fertilizer.
To conserve water, it is time to get that hose that leaks at
the faucet a new gasket. Check your irrigation. Are all the zones necessary or
can you turn some off? Shrubs and trees should be established after one year or
sooner. Are the heads spraying the way they were intended to spray? If you need help, get the irrigation person
over now before the spring rush.
In 2026 try to remove fertilizer and other control products
from hard surfaces like driveways, sidewalks, pool decks, and streets before
these products are washed into the storm water.
This will help protect the beautiful area in which we live. Since a lot of storm water ends up in our
marshes and waterways, this will also help protect our natural resources that
we use for recreation (oysters, crabs, shrimp, and fish), food (oysters, crabs,
shrimp, fish), and jobs (oysters, crabs, shrimp, and fish). You will also avoid
that nasty staining. In South Florida and in other parts of the country, there
are laws telling people when they can fertilize. Let’s be responsible gardeners,
so we avoid these laws.
Buy a 100 pack of disposable nitrile gloves. These things are great! You can use them when handling control
products and fertilizers, when changing the oil in your lawn mower, while
taking down your Christmas tree to keep sap off your hands, while painting or
taking out the trash, cleaning, picking up after your dog and yard work…. These gloves are very inexpensive and can
save you lots of hot water while trying to remove things from your hands. These gloves are also good at keeping the human
scent away from mole, mice, and rat bait.
In 2026, add organic matter to your lawn and beds. Organic matter will also help you lower your
water bill while adding many other benefits to your soil. Cotton Burr compost has been improving
Lowcountry soils with great results over the past 20 years. If you want to see for yourself the benefits
of cotton burr compost, measure a 100 square foot area in your turf (10 feet x
10 feet) and spread one 2 cubic foot bag. Check out the progress over a month. Many
people feel their fungicide, water, and fertilizer use has gone down after
using cotton burr compost.
To combat weeds, plan to put out preemergents in your lawns
and beds according to product label.
This will make your life a lot less stressful, and your yard will look a
lot better without weeds. If time is a
big issue, consider buying a year’s supply of products now, so you will have
the product in hand when it is time to apply.
In 2026, always apply product according to the label’s
directions. No more, “if one ounce is
good….two ounces will be real good”. Many of our fire ant products, less is
better. On the pest control side of our business, roaches and rats can be
repelled with too much product instead of contacting the product and dying.
Follow the label that has cost the manufacturer millions of dollars to get
approval from the EPA, and you will have better results. This will also save
you money - not to mention the product label is Federal Law.
For those pet owners out there, whose animals have a history
of flea problems, be proactive by applying growth regulators. Nyguard, D-Fense
NXT, or Precor 2000 applied every three months, should keep your pet free of
fleas. Rotate products with different active ingredients.
Always mow the grass with a sharp mower blade and prune the
bushes with sharp pruning blades. You
will have cleaner cuts and less chance of disease. Take your mower to the shop
for a tune-up before the spring rush. If a gardener needs surgery, you will
prefer a sharp scalpel for a clean cut, not an old dull blade.
Read a good book about gardening. Reading is how we learn and it will motivate
you as a bonus. Picture books are fine.
Take walks around our beautiful city for gardening ideas.
Plant a plant for a pollinator – like milkweed, butterfly
bush, bottlebrush, bee balm, salvia …
Happy New Year!
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply.
Possum’s has three locations
