Horticulture Hotline 08/30/2026
Bill Lamson-Scribner
For the new readers of the Horticulture Hotline, my To Do
Lists are designed to help you target a few activities in your yard and in your
home that will benefit you in the future, giving you more free time. These lists are not designed to interfere
with high school, college, or professional football games, soccer, baseball,
fishing, shrimping, hunting, golfing, eating chicken wings at a local sports
bar, oyster roasts, or watching NASCAR on the couch with closed eyes! This is not designed to be a “honey do” list.
What a crazy weather year 2026 has been. Very cool nights
well into May, and the drought that was so severe that we are still considered
to be in a drought even after the recent rains – amazing! It was so dry that in
yards with drainage pipes six to eight inches below the ground, you could see
where the grass had dried out above the pipe (pictured).
With the rain and daylight hours decreasing Large Patch
Fungus (Brown Patch Fungus) is attacking lawns across the Lowcountry. As the grass slows down, it becomes very susceptible
to this disease. Large patch is soil borne, so it usually appears in the same
areas year after year. Last year’s fall outbreak was the worst outbreak I have
ever seen, so if you know where you had large patch last fall, treat now
preventatively. Fungicides are like the flu shot; they work best before you get
the disease. If you can let your grass dry out between watering, you will have
less fungus (I understand this is not easy to do with rainfall). According to several people I talk to, there
are organic products that will increase the biodiversity in the soil and help
control Large Patch Fungus. Neptune Harvest Crab shell, SeaHume, and Back to
Nature’s Cotton Burr based products – although these are not labeled fungicides
so I cannot recommend them as fungicides, customers have reported success by
adding these products to their yards – your results may vary. If you have an active fungus outbreak, a
combination of Strobe G and T-Methyl are good chemistries to rotate. (pictured)
I hope that you have put out preemergent control products on
your lawn and beds to prevent weeds and give yourself some free time to enjoy
the activities in paragraph one.
The drought brought on chinch bugs in record numbers on St.
Augustine grass (Charleston grass). This insect is so small it regularly gets
misidentified as a disease or an irrigation issue. Chinch bug damage is always
in the hottest driest part of the yard because there is a fungus in the soil
that keeps it in check. When the soil dries, the fungus dies and the chinch bug
attacks. For this reason, you rarely see chinch bug damage in the shade.
(pictured)
The wet weather will also run roaches and rodents into your
home (when people come into Possum’s it is never their home – always a nasty
friend or relative). If you are prone to
be attacked by these two pests, be sure to prepare for their arrival.
Moles always get more active in the fall. Kill the mole, manage
their food source with Above and Below, and use Repellex around the perimeter
to keep them out of your yard.
Now is the time to put out your fall fertilizer for your
trees, shrubs, and turf. Fall fertilization is very important for the health of
your plants, trees, and lawns. Do you like to go to bed hungry?
Mosquitoes? Mosquito Pro works and is easy to use (kills
armyworms too)– check it out! Inzecto Mosquito Traps are very affordable,
effective, and last for years. More of a non-chemical approach that targets
just the mosquitoes. West Nile Virus is all around us, so be vigilant.
If this sounds like too much work, hire a professional.
Always read, understand and follow product label. The
product label is a Federal Law.
Bill Lamson-Scribner
can be reached during the week at Possum’s Landscape and Pest Control Supply
(follow us on Facebook). Possum’s has three locations
