Horticulture Hotline 02/15/26
By Bill Lamson-Scribner
Daytona 500, SEWE, Valentine’s Day, and the soil
temperatures are all lining up to indicate it is time for preemergent products
to be applied to your lawn and beds. Get out your preemergent or forever fight
weeds!! Remember to treat you turf and beds, so you do not have to waste time
battling the weeds.
Different weeds germinate at different soil temperatures.
Crabgrass is the first summer annual weed that we are targeting for control.
Goosegrass comes later and the ever-hated Doveweed germinates last out of these
three. In the Lowcountry our soil is warmer than other parts of the country, so
microorganisms in the soil that breakdown the preemergent barrier are more
active than in cooler climates. Therefore, it is good to use split applications
of preemergent products. Always read, understand, and follow product labels.
For the last time, well maybe not, kill those winter weeds
now before they seed and add to your ‘seed bank’ (and the Lowcountry’s) for
next year! Now is the time! Warmer temperatures and we should get some rain for
some soil moisture will aid in the killing of a weed. An actively growing weed
is easier to kill than a drought stressed weed.
Trees grow. Some experts say it is around 18 to 24 inches at
the tips of the branches all around the circumference of a healthy tree. Areas
of grass might be shaded and thin that were once high-quality turf. Now, it
might be a good time to cut new bed lines and let the tree have more room to
grow. Check the sides of your house for limbs rubbing the paint off your house.
The paint protects your house like your skin protects you or like bark protects
a tree.
Look above your roof line and see if any limbs are growing
above your roof that could allow varmints (squirrels, raccoons, or the loveable
possum) into your attic. Make sure your source of power to your house is free
of limbs. Hire an insured arborist if you need some pruning done. Before a tree
puts on new leaves, it is a great time for an arborist to inspect the health of
your trees. An arborist can see cavities, crossing limbs, and other situations
easier if the tree does not have leaves (not evergreen).
If an arborist needs to do some pruning, it is good to do
that before the tree uses the energy to put out new foliage that is going to
quickly be removed. Of course, here an arborist can prune any time of year. It
is also a good time to fertilize trees with the right fertilizer, so that they
have the nutrients to put on new growth for the new season and a strong root
system.
Any transplanting or planting of new trees or shrubs should
be done as soon as you can. Try to get them in the ground before the plant
flushes out new growth or blooms. If you are buying a blooming plant that you
want a specific color or to match a color you already have, you may have to
wait to see that the bloom on the plant (do not always trust the tags) is the
color you want; otherwise, the sooner you can plant the better.
When planting remember the Diehard Transplant or GroTabs, it
is like yogurt (full of probiotics). Diehard Transplant adds all the good
bacteria, wetting agents, and fungi into the soil that a plant needs to help
with survival. Remember the old saying when planting, “plant it high and it
will not die!”
Intice 10 perimeter bait is a great product to put out
around the perimeter of your house for roaches, crickets, sowbugs, earwigs,
silverfish, millipedes, and certain ants. Intice 10 is a LEED tier 3 product
and N.O.P. (National Organics Program) compliant, so it is considered very
safe.
Intice 10 should also be broadcasted in the yard for mole
crickets. Mole crickets come to the surface on these warm days and love to eat
this bait!
My bald cypress has begun to “needle out” and my fig tree has
new buds emerging. Time to go on an organic binge with SeaHume, Cotton Burr
Compost, Vermaplex, worm castings, Nature’s Blend and others! Of course,
anytime is a great time for organics.
If you have a history with fungus or insects on certain
plants, sanitation, lime / sulfur, and your fungicide or insecticide of choice
is good to put out now to protect the new growth. With the amount of large patch
fungus we had this fall, apply products preventatively as the conditions get
right, so you can use lower rates.
Other things – make sure mower is good to go – air filter is
key, check irrigation, treat for fleas (growth regulator is key) and ticks,
take soil test, prune roses, work on breeding sights for mosquitoes, kill
winter weeds before they make seeds for next year (I could not resist), spray
neem oil or horticultural oils for overwintering insects, apply Dominion Drench
to perennial insect loving plants…
Spring in the Lowcountry… Work hard, then head to an oyster
roast!
Always read, understand, and follow product labels. The
product label is Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply.
Possum’s has three locations
