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. 

Did you Forget About Your Landscape With Football And Irma?

With Irma gone, there are a few things in the landscape that I wanted to be sure didn’t get overlooked.

Have you used a preemergent herbicide to protect yourself against winter weeds that terrorize your yard in the early Spring? The wet weather we have had will certainly led to annual bluegrass issues.

Have you fed your shrubs and trees for the winter? They like to go to bed with a full belly too. Many shrubs are putting on that last flush of growth. Tree’s and shrub’s root systems grow all year here, so don’t forget the SeaHume.

Have you winterized your lawn? Be aware that most of the national name brand products being advertised heavily right now are not for the grasses we have here in the Lowcountry. They would be good for fescue or rye in the upstate, but not so good for our warm season grasses. 00-00-25, Possum Minors, and / or SeaHume should do you right here.

Look up. Do you see limbs that got damaged during the storm hanging your tree? Broken limbs are showing up good now that the leaves have wilted. Contact an arborist before a limb contacts you or your car or your house, or your child, or your …

Since we had the salt water flooding, the best thing for our landscape was all the rain before the salt water hit our landscape. If our plants were super thirsty from a drought, and their first drink of water was salt water, the damage to the plants could have been much greater. Many of the landscapes were still super saturated with fresh water that would help dilute some of the salt water.

Now is the time to flush out the salt water if you have not already. Although watering your yard is probably the last thing you want to do, you need to flush out the salt. Using a product like Possum’s Salt Free makes this very easy. Use 1.5 oz per thousand square feet in 2 – 4 gallons of water for 2 – 4 consecutive weekly treatments.

We have sold Salt Free to homeowners, to parks and to large sport complexes with great results for over 10 years. Some of the sport complexes inject it in their irrigation system, since they are watering with salty water. As a result, they are constantly removing the salt that they are adding!

Gypsum is another product you can use to “flush out” salt. 100 pounds per thousand would be a good place to start and apply ProMag with it at 12 pounds per thousand. Gypsum and ProMag are granular. Some people prefer granular.

Excell (start at 25 pounds per thousand and apply weekly until soil test looks good) and SeaHume G (start at 15 pounds per thousand and apply weekly until soil test looks good) will also help with high sodium soils. Excell and SeaHume G are both granular as well.

Doing soil test while you try to rid your soil of salt, will help you greatly. Checking the sodium levels along with the base saturation levels will let you know how successful you are at flushing the sodium.

As always, if this is hard to understand, hire a professional.

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

More Irma Aftermath

Horticulture Hotline 09/17/17

By Bill Lamson-Scribner

It is after the storm and so much is happening. I’m going to try to stay within my column inches allotment (newspaper talk), but no promises.

Mitigate salt damage as soon as you can! Salt is not good for plants and can kill them. Leach the salt out of the soil profile. Give us a call – we can help.

With all the rainfall, we have had all summer, some ditches have stayed wet - breeding mosquitoes all summer. I have been seeing frogs for the first time in years hanging out in and around ditches! With all the mosquitoes to eat, the frogs are happy; however, the mosquitoes eat us, making us not so happy.

With the flooding we had, all those little holes that you can see in the pluff mud as you drive over a bridge that are usually dry are now full of water and are a breeding area for the mosquito. Remember a mosquito needs less than a bottle cap of water to lay eggs into to breed.

Chikungunya, Dengue (still in the tropics), Zika, West Nile Virus … now it is time to wage war against the mosquito!

First, I’m going to give you a shopping list. Pick up these items then wage war on the mosquitoes and their breeding places in your yard. Mosquitoes & Gnats Are Gone, Cyonara Lawn and Garden, Mosquito Beater, Mosquito Dunks, and Altosid Pro G are some of the basic weapons that you will need to wage war against these blood suckers.

Apply the Mosquitoes & Gnats Are Gone to yourself. This product is organic and does an unbelievable job against mosquitoes, gnats, no-see-ums, ticks and other biting insects. Mosquitoes & Gnats Are Gone is non-greasy, DEET-free, and safe for the whole family. If you would rather go old school, Sprayon Insect Repellent II (23.75% Deet) or our 95% Deet Mosquito Repellent should do the trick. Now you are ready for the yard.

Scout around the yard for anything that holds water. Old tires, saucers under potted plants, bird baths, old flower containers or pots stacked in a corner, dog toys, kids toys, a container by the grill you use to soak wood chips in, a cooler, an old fountain, an upside down 5 gallon bucket that has a lip that holds water, a trash can lid with a dent, brick work that needs repointing, a hole in a tree and a dogs water bowl all make great places for mosquitoes to breed. Empty the water out these areas (refill the dog bowl and the bird bath daily). A tarp covering a boat or wood pile can have many pockets that hold water. Sagging gutters hold water.  A few empty bottles or cans can end up being thousands of mosquitoes! A bottle cap can be a breeding area. Many mosquitoes can breed in just an ounce of water.

If you have bigger areas of water like a ditch or a low area of the yard that holds water, apply the Mosquito Dunks or the Altosid Pro G. The Mosquito Dunks are an organic Bt product that kill larvae and the Altosid Pro G is a growth regulator product that contains the same active ingredient that is used in the Precor products for controlling fleas. Although Altosid is not organic, it is considered to be very safe and labeled to be used in very sensitive areas like marshes. Turn off your irrigation when you can and correct any drainage problems.

Any pruning you can do to increase air movement and sunlight penetration will also help. Mosquitoes like moist stagnant areas. Mosquitoes are very weak fliers, so they do not like wind or air movement (big fans for parties help). Mosquitoes are a public health issue, so  you might be able to get some help from a government agency.

Next, you want to mow your lawn then spray the lawn, shrubs, trees, and mulched areas with Cyonara Lawn and Garden. This product not only kills mosquitoes but also kills chiggers, fleas, ants, ticks, spittlebugs and roaches just to name a few other problem insects out right now.  If you include a growth regulator like Pivot or Nyguard, your control will last much longer.

If you would like to stay organic apply Mosquito Beater or Mosquito Repelling Granules. These organic products really do a great job. They are university tested and has also proven itself in the Lowcountry. Many of our customers at Possum’s have reported control for over three weeks! We sell these products to people putting on large fundraisers, other outdoor festivals, sporting events, and individuals. We always get positive feedback! If you would rather spray, try EcoVia EC. A natural product that works!

Rats and snakes go together like shrimp and grits. After the storm, we have had a surge of questions at Possum’s about ridding people’s houses of these two pests. We have some great organic rodent repelling products (Rodents Are Gone Liquid, Granular, for the Exterior and Interior), traps, lures for the traps, and various baits. We have organic repellents for the snakes as well, but it is best to get rid of the rats, so the snakes have to look elsewhere for food.

I’m seeing a lot of army worm damage. If your grass looks like it has been mowed and you haven’t mowed it, bend down and pull up several leaf blades and see if something has been chewing on it. Also look for moths flying around your yard. Chinch bugs in St. Augustine are still very active. EcoVia is an organic product that will take care of both of these and mosquitoes. Bug Blaster or Bifen are a couple of other products you could use.

Time to fall fertilize your trees and shrubs. 17-00-09 should work good for you. A soil test will provide the best information to determine what fertilizer to use.

If this sounds like too much work, hire a professional. Always read and follow product label.