Sweetgrass - Mealy Bugs

Horticulture Hotline 10/23/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

Question: Bill, I have a white, sticky, fuzzy fungus on my Sweetgrass plant. What can I do? I am retired now and my wife expects me to help her keep a nice yard when I’m not fishing or emailing my friends.

Answer: Congratulations on your retirement! Good luck with your fishing!

Your Sweetgrass plant most likely has a soft body, sucking bug called a mealy bug attacking it. Mealybugs are like aphids, scale, white flies, the “nasty rascal, the chinch bug”, lace bug and other sucking bugs in that they suck plant juices or sap from the host plant.

I was surprised when I first saw mealybugs on Sweetgrass. I usually associate mealybugs with plants grown inside buildings, homes (interior plantscapes) or greenhouses. I usually think of ornamental grasses as being pest free – wrong!

As with any sucking bug, you want to get the situation under control fast, or you will have the secondary problem that looks way worse than the fuzzy, airy mealybugs. The secondary problem is the dreaded sooty mold.

Sooty mold is the black mold that grows on the excrement (poop) of certain sucking bugs. Have you ever seen a black gardenia (from white fly poop) or crepe myrtle (from aphid poop)? Certain insects have a very short digestive track and they are drinking sap from a plant that is pressurized. The sap goes in their mouth and out their behind very rapidly covering the plant with a sugary substance (often called honey dew) that this mold grows.

In human terms, if you could connect your mouth to, let’s say, a keg of beer or maybe a soft serve ice cream machine at some point the beer or ice cream would be coming out of somewhere (nose, ears, …) leaving a mess. Insects have hardly any digestive tract to slow things down.

A very effective way to control these mealybugs, while not hurting the beneficial insects, is to use an insecticidal soap. Also drench the area around the Sweetgrass with Dominion.

Dominion is a long term systemic insecticide that will free you up for more time fishing.   

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

Visit our website at possumsupply.com.

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 http://www.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). 

Entomology Swat Line - Roaches

Horticulture Hotline 10/16/17  Bill Lamson-Scribner   Although this is the Horticulture Hotline, I decided to write about entomology (insects) today. Instead of the Horticulture Hotline, I’ll call it the Entomology Swat Line. The old cockroach has found its way into many Lowcountry homes. Contact your pest management company if you have a contract or consider getting on a contract if you do not like dealing with cockroaches. If you are a die hard do-it-yourselfer, here are a few tips that will make your battle a little more effective.    Treat your outside perimeter. A band about three feet from your house generally in the mulch is a good place to start. A granular product like Bug Blaster in the mulch beds surrounding your house will help kill the roaches before they get inside your house. A NOP (National Organics Program) organic product that is very effective is InTice Perimeter Bait. Using a spray around windows, doors, garage entry, and any other entry point to your house will also keep them from entering your house. EcoVia is a NOP product you can use around the outside and inside of your house.      Underneath your house, consider dusting with a boric acid product. BorActin is a NOP product labeled for this or you could use the InTice Perimeter Bait. These products will last a long time in the crawl space of your house because they are away from sunlight and moisture.    In your house, consider using InVict Gold Cockroach Gel. InVict Gold is a fast-acting bait that has our customers at Possum’s singing its praises. The bait products are great because they move throughout the roach population. Maxforce Gel capitalize on roaches’ nasty habits needed to survive, making these products very effective. An immature roach has to eat the fecal pellets of the adult roach in order to mature into an adult roach. Roaches also cannibalize each other. By using this bait, you get a domino effect by the little roaches eating the fecal pellets of an adult that has consumed the bait. When one roach dies from the bait, then another eats the dead roach, it will also die. In wall voids you can also use InTice Perimeter Bait.    There are many good aerosols that come with a long straw that are designed to be sprayed in cracks and crevices. Now there is a good selection of “green” aerosols to choose from along with the old standbys. If you treat the outdoors and use a gel, an aerosol application probably will not be necessary.      Definitely consider using a growth regulator to help lengthen your control of the roaches. Generally, growth regulators are very safe to humans if applied properly, and some will also help with fleas (Nylar). Growth regulators will keep roaches from reproducing; therefore, breaking up their life cycle.    Knowing where to put these products is crucial for the success. Always read, understand and follow the product label. There are also many pest control companies that are well established in this area and are very capable of taking care of any of your uninvited guests. If you are a do-it-yourselfer, this article should help and the products suggested should work well.

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 http://www.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). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.

Transplanting / Fall Planting

Horticulture Hotline 10/09/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

Now is a great time of year to prepare for transplanting and to plant new plants. Many people are asking me the best way to transplant shrubs and trees. Here are some guidelines for successfully transplanting plants or trees:

·         Decide the size of you root ball. For every inch in tree trunk diameter you want a foot of root ball. If your tree is three inches in diameter, your root ball should go in a circle one and a half feet from the trunk of the tree. You could tie a string around the tree leaving eighteen inches of string – then draw a line walking around the tree measuring with this string. Root balls can be very heavy so consider a hiring a professional. Be prepared to pay top dollar to move a plant because moving plants requires much more work than planting them out of containers. If your plants are way too crowded, get as much root ball as possible, and if they are so crowded that you cannot even get in there to work, you may have to sacrifice a few plants, so you do not kill them all. Always take as large a ball as possible. Sometimes you have to thin out plants for the overall health of the landscape.

·         Spray the plant you are going to move with an anti-transpirant (Cloud Cover, Wilt Proof, or Transfilm). These products will hold moisture in leaves and stems. 

·         Drench the ground with BioRush and SuperThrive. These are bio stimulant products that encourage rooting. Repeat monthly until you move the plant.  

·         Root prune the plant. Go to the area that you determined your ball to go out to and push a shovel straight down – do not pry on the shovel – just cut the roots. Repeat this root pruning all the way around the plant. If the plant has been in the ground a long time, you may have to skip a shovel width each time you root prune to lessen the shock. Apply SeaHume granular (Humic acid and Seaweed bio stimulants) to decrease stress. Repeat monthly until you move the plant.

·         Keep an eye on the plant for the next month. Be sure to water it as needed.  When watering the soil, spray a fine mist on the foliage of the plant.  Since the roots have just been severed, this will help the plant absorb the water through the foliage and water the roots as well. 

·         After thirty days or if you could wait until a cooler time (January, February), dig away from the plant in the area that you root pruned. Resist the temptation to pry up on the plant. You should have a ball in a mote when you are finished. Try to have the plant moved a month before it sends out new growth or flowers in the spring (late January to be safe).

·         Water the ball so the soil will stick to the roots.

·         Severe the ball from the area underneath the plant.

·         Always handle the root ball – do not grab the plant by its trunk.

·         Move the plant onto a tarp or some burlap.

·         Be sure when you move the plant to its new home, you plant it above existing grade.   Plants buried too deep are the biggest problem I see in landscapes.  A plant that is planted too deep is starved for oxygen which affects many other plant processes (ability to absorb nutrients or causes root rot). 

·         Be sure not to pile mulch up against the trunk of the tree or shrub as this will also kill the plant over a period of time. Consider using Cotton Burr Compost or Nature’s Blend as a mulch to get the nutrition associated with these products.

·         Spray the leaves and stems with anti-transpirant.

·         Use  Diehard Transplant (contains a friendly fungus inoculum, wetting agents, water holding gel, humic acid, Sea Kelp, root stimulating vitamins and beneficial bacteria) should also be added to increase the surface absorbing area of root systems with the back fill. Spray foliage with BioRush as it is a special blend of natural organic ingredients designed to help transplant survival. Drench with SuperThrive.

·         Apply the right amount of water.  Be sure to spray the foliage.

·         Apply the right amount of Cotton Burr Compost or Natures Blend mulch.

·         Apply granular SeaHume after you have moved the plant to encourage new root growth.

·         Stake the tree or shrub if needed.

·         Good Luck!

Now is a great time to go visit the many parks and plantations in the area, or just take a walk around downtown.

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. 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 http://www.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). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com. 

Getting Trees and Shrubs Ready For The Winter

Horticulture Hotline 10/02/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

After smelling the wonderful Tea Olive the other day, I’m not going to mention #$)^worm or Bro%n P@tch. Here are a few things to do while enjoying the beautiful Lowcountry weather.

Did you put out a preemergent product to your lawn and beds for winter annual weed control in August? If yes, depending on the product and the rate you used, it is time to reapply. If no, now is the time to get it spread onto your lawn and beds. Preemergent products control weeds as they germinate making your life and your plants’ (including grass) life easier.

Winterizing trees and shrubs with either a few products individually or as a multi prone approach will help insure the health of your landscape investment.

A witch’s brew is a good fertilizer for trees and shrubs this time of year. A fertilizer that mainly arborists use with special equipment to inject into the ground can also be used by the avid “Do It Yourselfer”. The DIY can apply “the brew” to the top of the ground and water it in, or make it into a slurry in a bucket and pour the fertilizer around the plant or tree. If you go with the slurry in a bucket method, you can always add SuperThrive, BioRush, SeaHume, Fish / Seaweed blend, Vermaplex, Yucca … “The Brew” will promote good root growth and fast spring green up without stimulating soft growth that is susceptible to damage. A professional’s machine will add some hydraulic aeration and other benefits. Just writing about this product makes me want to get some out on my yard!

Root Excellerator, SeaHume (granular is best this time of year, liquid still very good),

00-00-25, Cotton Burr Compost, Flowerbed Amendment, SuperThrive, Fish / Seaweed Blend, 04-00-10, Possum’s Minors are a few products that will benefit your lawn, trees and shrubs this winter. If you haven’t fed your trees and shrubs in a while 17-00-09 might be appropriate. Like people, trees and shrubs, like to have some nutrition, so they do not go to bed hungry.

For trees and shrubs you can get ahead of the insect battle by using Neem oil or Horticulture oil. Neem oil has some fungicide benefits also which is a bonus. If you have a tree or shrub with a history of scale, twig borer, aphids, white flies …, apply a drench of Dominion now to protect the new growth next spring.

Leaf spot diseases have been a big issue this summer with all the rain. As the leaves fall, rake them up to remove overwintering fungus. If you had any major problems, you might want to remove your old mulch, spray with lime / sulfur, and replace the mulch with Cotton Burr Compost or Flowerbed amendment.

Transplanting on you winter project list? Stay tuned.

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. 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 http://www.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). The Horticulture Hotline is available 24 / 7 at possumsupply.com.