lawn

Caterpillars In The Lawn: Sod Web Worms and Army Worms are eating lawns right now. Signs of this pest are areas in your lawn not growing like the rest of the yard and the grass blades have chew marks or are eaten down to the nub. Also, flocks of birds in your yard feeding is another sign. Use Cyonara Hose-End for a quick kill, or Thuricide for organic control. Reapply as needed.

Landscape Watering: It’s always better to water your plants and lawn during the first half of the day, anywhere from 1 or 2 a.m. in the morning through to 10 a.m. in the morning, when the city require all sprinklers be turned off. Early morning watering is best because winds are the lowest, temperatures are the lowest and humidity is the highest, allowing for less water evaporation and runoff. And remember, city rules state we can (and should) only water our landscape one day a week. You can use a tuna fish can to measure how much water you’re getting out with your sprinkler. Texas A&M recommends clay loam soils get one inch of water once a week.

Brown Patch Fungus is also active after all the recent rains. To avoid cosmetic damage, spread Bayer Fungus Granules or F-Stop to the lawn. If the fungus is not present, and you’ve had fungus issues in the past, you can apply as a preventative. Disease is always easier to prevent than cure. Fertilome Liquid Systemic Fungicide II can also be sprayed to areas that are suspicious and just beginning. Spray two feet beyond infected areas and re-apply after heavy rains, or as the area appears to be growing. Fungus will remain active through the fall and winter with shorter days, damp nights and rain with cold fronts. Nature’s Blend organic compost spread over the areas will also help prevent, and will aid the area in recovering quicker from the damage. If you don’t choose to treat through the fall and winter, your lawn will recover on its own in spring.

Care For Succulents In The Fall: As our days shorten and cool, your succulents will need less water and no fertilizer until spring. Watch for hungry caterpilla

Brown Patch Fungus In Lawns

With all the recent rains, cool nights and shorter days, lawns are prone to get fungus. Circular brown patches appear with some green blades in center of the patch, and a thin band of subtle rusty red at the outer edge. If you tug on the rusty red blades at the edge and they pull off the runner easily and look like rotting old celery at the base, then you have fungus. We carry Fertilome Liquid Systemic Fungicide hose-end, Bayer Lawn Fungus Granules, or Fertilome F-Stop Granules. For an organic treatment, use Serenade, or Nature’s Blend compost. You will need to re-treat if the weather conditions and symptoms persist. Be aware these problem areas can grow quickly, so prompt treatment is needed to maintain an attractive lawn.

Fire Ants

With the recent rains fire ants have emerged. Their underground homes are flooded so they move to higher ground, and also into your potted plants. They can be controlled by either a contact insecticide or a bait. Doing both increases your chances of reducing their populations. They call it the Texas Two Step. Contact kills include Bonide Pyrethrin,Medina Orange Oil, and Natural Guard Spinosad mixed with water and used as a mound or potted plant drench, or Orthene Fire Ant Killer sprinkled gently over the mound. Baits include Amdro Ant Block orFertilome Come and Get it. Sprinkle these baits out lightly in the morning and early evening while the ants are foraging. A little along their trail or around the mounds in the morning and then a little more in the evening works best. Do not apply too much at once. Ants are smart and will know to leave the granules alone. Trick them with a little at a time.

No Need To Wait… Plant Hardy Trees And Shrubs Now!

The roots of hardy plants grow during our cool months even though their leaves may be changing color or falling from their branches. This provides a better root system so they thrive in spring and can survive the long, hot summer. Live oaks, magnolia, cedar elm, hawthorns, holly, sage, junipers, roses, just to name a few, are winter hardy and would be appropriate to plant now. Perennials like lantana, turks cap, and ornamental grasses also benefit from planting during the winter months.

Are Your Tropicals Looking Winter Worn?

Hot weather tropicals such as hibiscus, bougainvilleas, esperanza, plumbago and many more suffer from the sudden temperature drops in the winter. Even though we have not had a freeze, the last really good cold snap made our plants look pretty bad. The leaves turn yellow and brown and most plants also suffer lots of leaf drop. This is normal so don’t be alarmed. In late February to early March you should cut all these plants back one third to half their size and fertilize. They will flush out with new spring growth and you will never know they looked so bad over the winter. The beauty of spring!!

Our Thoughts On Winter Watering

Since the temperatures are no longer in the 90’s and plants are not actively growing they require less water. This includes the lawn. Change your watering schedule on the lawn and established shrubs to every 2 weeks slow and deep instead of once a week. Potted plants no longer need to be watered everyday. Most could go every 2-3 days. Night-time dampness and fog helps to keep moisture in the soil. By changing your watering habits you help to reduce fungal problems which are prevalent with these conditions.

Prepare Your Spring Gardens!

Now’s the time to prepare the soil with fresh compost and plan your garden layout. Sow seeds of root crops, ex. beets, carrots, radish and turnips. Don’t forget your leafy vegetables such as chard, collards, kale, lettuce, mustard and spinach. Transplants of broccoli, cabbage and cauliflower can also be planted now. If you are limited on space, you may want to take this time to let the garden rest. In just a few weeks it will be time to think about tomatoes, beans, corn, cucumbers, squash and more of the warm season veggies. We will begin bringing in tomatoes the middle of the month, but suggest you transplant them into 1 gal pots so you can take them in on the cold nights. If you prefer to wait till after fear of frost, we will have 1 gallon plants already established for you to plant at a later date. The longer you wait, the bigger you need to buy.

Stop Weeds Now

Now is the time to prevent spring weeds. Apply Amaze Granules to the lawn and flowerbeds to stop weeds from sprouting. By preventing weeds now, you will have less or no weeds to spray later. This is especially important with Floratam St. Augustine since you are limited on what you can spray for weeds without harming the lawn.

Planning For Spring Flowers

Everyone admires the beautiful flowerbeds of geraniums in spring and the sooner you plant them the longer you will get to enjoy them. Geraniums are troopers in the winter and take cold temps just fine. They need ample sun and good drainage. Buy them in our super 6-packs to save both time and money. We have great colors in stock now!

Instantaneous!

Flowers are the best way to bring a little sunshine into the gloomy days of winter. Blooming containers of Stocks bring sweet perfume and pretty spires of flowers

reminiscent of grandmothers and country living. They make great cut flowers too. They love the cold and last well into spring!

Let Your Plants Rest…

Resist the temptation your next sunny Saturday…to trim. Our plants are in a dormant state of growth right now due to cold temperatures. If you trim them, it sends a message to the plant that it’s time to grow which will damage the plant with the next cold snap. So…just enjoy the winter season and rest, with your plants.

Dull Mower Blades Damage Lawns

Take the time now to sharpen mower blades, pruners, hedge shears and loppers.In the next few weeks it will be time to prune and a sharp tool will make for a better trim. If your mower blades are dull the grass tips will appear shredded and have a threadlike appearance. Dull mowerblades rip and tear the grass blades leaving a brown look across the lawn. Look closely at a blade of grass. The top edge will show split ends. It means the blade is dull resulting in harm to grass. A sharp cut will leave the lawn looking healthy and green. Do not mow your lawn when the leaf blades are wet. The same is true for pruners. If your pruners are dull when you cut your plants, the tissue is shredded and torn which leads to fungal issues and an overall unhealthy appearance. The plant has a harder time leafing out with new growth as well. Take the time now to insure your tools are ready. We carry a Corona Sharpening Tool to sharpen all pruners, hedge shears and loppers.

Continue To Be Water Wise

The weather is still cool and with misty, wet days, plants don’t need additional watering. As days get longer and temperatures increase be careful not to water too much. All established plants will be happy with once every two weeks watering through February. Beginning in March to April as the temperatures warm up even more, once a week is sufficient. Remember to water slow and deep, but not very often to establish a deep healthy root system. Your plants will thank you, and so will your water bill. Of course annual color with smaller roots systems will need to be watered more often, but all established trees, shrubs, and tropicals will appreciate time between watering. Let’s all train our landscapes to be

water wise.

A Breath Of Spring!

With the last few days of sunshine and

warmer temps, we are all getting antsy to get outside. Fresh shipments of plants are arriving weekly to our stores so here’s a list of some here and some to come in soon.

Live oaks, cedar elms, Italian cypress, burr oaks, wild olives, mountain laurels are here.
Hardy shrubs like hawthorns, boxwoods, pittosporum, Japanese yew here now
Baskets and tubs of geraniums, double impatiens, Mona lavender, and stocks arrived this week with color.
Favorite perennials like lantana, Mexican heather, and salvias are here now with more coming!
Basil, cilantro, mint, thyme, chives, parsley here now with more varieties early February
More tomato plants and seed potatoes are here now
Peppers will be later in February as the cold night temps will stunt the plant to not produce peppers.
Fresh Floratam St. Augustine grass coming this week to Airline store.

START TRIMMING NOW!

Start trimming back now your ornamental grasses (like purple fountain grass and muhly grasses), trees, woody shrubs and vines (except indian hawthorne, azaleas, carolina jasmine that bloom in early spring). I would recommend waiting on the tropicals just a few more weeks, just in case we have a late cold snap.

WAIT TO FERTILIZE YOUR LAWN.

We all want our lawns to look lush and green all the time but it can’t be in the winter. Don’t think you can “wake up your grass” with fertilizer; fertilizer is taken up with growth, and since the grass is still dormant, it will do no good to feed now. It is best to wait until the grass comes out of winter dormancy which is usually mid March. The best way to tell when to feed is when you need to mow the grass (and not the weeds) every week or so. If you wait to feed, you will see the results you are looking for. It’s also best to attack existing weeds in warm weather (not hot) and sunshine. Since February can be our coldest month, it is usually March before we can take care of those weeds. My thought is, kill the weeds in early March and then fertilize the lawn afterwards. There is no sense in feeding the weeds.

PLANT WILDFLOWERS.

If you missed sowing your wildflowers in the fall, you can try to sow them out right
now. We also have bluebonnet plants in 6 packs ready to transplant, your favorite Ladybird Blue and Aggie Maroon. Seeds of sweet peas and nasturtiums can also be sown in the garden now for spring blooms.

Still time to apply pre-emergents Greenlight Amaze or Fertilome Weed Control With Dimension to prevent more weeds from sprouting and AllSeasons Oil Spray for overwintering insects. Spring is right around the corner and we are all ready for a little gardening therapy. See you in the dirt.

TIME TO PRUNE ROSES! Valentine’s Day is a time to remember our loved ones with candy and flowers. It also is the perfect time to prune roses. Late January to mid February is the best time. Prune established hybrid teas, removing dead and small twiggy growth, leaving strong healthy canes to a plant height of 18-24 inches. Try to prune to an outward facing bud to maintain spreading, open growth. Prune shrub roses like Knockouts 1/3 to 1/2 the plant height. Do not prune climbers until after the Spring bloom, then removing only the oldest canes and cutting back healthy, vigorous canes no more than 1/3. Remove spent blooms throughout the season on all rose varieties, cutting back to the first 5 leaflet cluster. You can also begin fertilizing your roses in late February with Bayer Systemic Rose and Flower Care, or organically with Maestro Rose Glo. Gill Landscape Nursery stocks disease resistant roses (ask for them), but if you have hybrid teas, as soon as new growth appears you should begin a spray program to control insects and diseases. Bayer 3 in 1 Insect, Disease and Mite Control, takes care of all rose problems. For organic controls, use Neem Oil for insects and disease or Serenade to control diseases. A regular spray program keeps your roses healthy and happy. Remember fungal diseases are always easier to prevent than to cure.

Crab Grass? Probably not, King Ranch Bluestem is more likely the ugly ogre in your lawn. KR Bluestem was imported as a forage grass from Africa a long time ago by guess who? It is very tough, grows with hardly any rainfall, but can spoil the look of your nice lawn. There is no selective herbicide to remove it without harming the desirable lawn grass mixed with it, so you either dig (not easy or thorough) or apply RoundUp. Since the RoundUp will kill everything you spray it on, limit your spray by knocking out the bottom of a small box and placing the box on top of each bluestem clump. Inside the box, spray to wet foliage, not to soak the ground, do not mow for 4 days before or after spraying. Your St. Augustine will be free to run across and cover these limited dead spots within a period of a few weeks, if done in March or April after fertilizing.

Venus Fly Trap

“The infamous Venus Fly Trap! It’s one of the coolest plants we get in, and is surprisingly easy to take care of. Simply pot the plant in sphagnum peat moss, and put the pot in a saucer full of charcoal. Then water the plant by putting water in the saucer and letting it suck it up. The charcoal in the saucer keeps the water fresh, and since they’re naturally a bog

plant, they love to be standing in water. Venus fly trapslove sunny windowsills, but don’t let them get too hot! I feed mine pill bugs since mine live inside, but if you put them outside they’ll catch their own dinner. I even had a 2 year venus fly trap that caught a wasp; I was so proud!!”

-Marta

BUTTERFLY HOST PLANTS

With spring around the corner, now’s the time to start planning out your butterfly garden! And we are ready with plants that not only attract butterflies, but feed their caterpillars. You’ve probably heard of Milkweed for monarch caterpillars, but did you know that Parsley, Dill, Fennel, Rue and Passion vine also attract butterflies? These host plants are sure to attract Eastern Black Swallowtails, Gulf Fritillaries, and Monarchs. And don’t forget about great nectar plants like Almond Verbena, Pentas, and Duranta. Put these plants in your garden and the butterflies will be sure to thank you!

WOW – WHAT A WEED EXPLOSION!

You can still apply pre-emergents like Amaze or Weed and Grass Preventer with Dimension to prevent weeds, but the temperatures are still fluctuating with cold fronts and cloudy damp weather, so I would wait a little longer on applying weed killer sprays i.e. Image or Weed B Gon. They work best with warm weather and sunshine. Remember to apply your pre-emergents in October to prevent winter weeds and again in January to prevent spring weeds.

TO PREVENT SCALE: If you have not sprayed Bonide All Seasons Oil on your Flax Lily, Irises, Cast Iron, Pittosporum, and Hollies, there is still time to spray to prevent spring insects like scale.

LAWN FUNGUS: The cool, damp rainy weather is perfect for fungus to thrive , so apply F-Stop Fungicide, Bayer Fungicide, or Liquid Systemic Fungicide to either prevent or to cure. An organic alternative is to spread Nature’s Blend Alfalfa Humateacross the lawn at the rate of 1 bag for 50 sq. ft.

TIME TO START VEGGIE GARDENING!

Tomatoes are here in all sizes. We have 6 packs, 4 1/2″ and 1 gallon. It is starting to get late on the 6 packs, so buy them now! You can still wait a couple of weeks to plant if you plan on buying the 1 gallon size. Peppers will be here once our night time temperatures stay above 50 degrees. If you plan on planting more broccoli, cabbage or cauliflower, plant them now since it is getting late. It is also getting late to sow seeds of beets, carrots and spinach. Last chance for onion sets and seed potatoes. Time to begin seeding beans, squash, cucumbers, corn and radish.