Just one more month and another year will have passed us by. What improvements have we seen in our lawn or in our landscaped areas?
If you are not sure then you need to pay more attention, you cannot rely on your mowing crew to always point out problem areas. Face it, most crews can be diligent with the task that they are performing, mowing, weeding and trimming, but do these crews have the knowledge to diagnose a disease, can they look at a plant and tell if the plant is in stress?
When a crew has twelve or fifteen lawns to maintain per day can they remember which property they saw symptoms of a disease?
Most companies, ours included, instruct our employees, and especially the foreman to write down issues that they run into at each property immediately upon detection. I would say that 80% of the time they do note a problem that was seen. But what about the other 20% and what if they see the problem again upon the following visit and think that they already advised of a problem?
I know that most of you who read this newsletter have stocks or bonds in your portfolios. Some check these regularly by watching the ticker tape on CNN or calling their stockbroker. Others wait until their statement arrives and then go over their investments and make changes if necessary. They protect their investment.
The landscape that you either inherited at the time of the purchase of your new home, or upgraded after you moved in and noticed some areas that could be improved, or installed just to refresh a tired landscape, is an investment that should be checked carefully and maintained diligently.
Now that winter is upon us and the temperatures are very pleasant inspect your landscape, your investments. Call the company that maintains your lawn and schedule an evaluation. Seek recommendations or ways to improve the lawn, the landscape. The overall appearance of your property, your investment, may need some managing to improve the value, not only monetary but visual as well. Face it; our house is where we come home to after a hard day at work. Does it satisfy you visually as YOU pull into your driveway?
When is the last time someone knocked on your door and asked you if you wanted to sell your house? They thought that it was so beautiful that they just had to have it.
When was the last time that someone commented on your beautiful landscape?
My lawn has many plants that are different than most others in my neighborhood that causes many cars to slow down and look at our landscape. Some of these people will stop their cars and walk through the landscape or break off a stem or a flower to have it identified by a nurseryman. But, what most satisfies me is when I answer the door and have someone ask me if I would like to sell my house.
One of these days I will sell and I am sure that the landscape will be a big factor in the sale of my property. How about yours?
Things to Do in December
We have had more warm days than cool ones, which means that a lot of our plants are still thriving. Salvias, lantanas, Turks caps, roses, yuccas and eleagnus are blooming.
In your landscape you may have other plants that are also still producing blooms in a last effort to call you out to enjoy their efforts to please you. Take care of these plants to prolong their blooms. Spray with Kelp products.
Check for brown patch on your lawn. Apply a natural fungicide on a regular basis. Use Corn Meal, Actinovate or Potassium Bicarbonate every seven to ten days.
Microbes can help aerate the soil allowing water to penetrate quicker and lessen the amount of time that it stays on the soil’s surface, aggravating your fungi problem.
Some people allow a heavy layer of leaves to remain on the lawn for long periods. This layer will allow a build up of heat, when combined with moisture may allow more Rhizoctania Blight to spread undetected. If you are not going to rake the lawn run your mulching mower over the area to minimize the heating effect caused by the layers of leaves.
Trees: Now that we have had freezing temperatures trim your oaks and other trees. Do not trim just because it is time. Step back and look at the branches that may cause trouble in the spring as new growth and the weight of the foliage may injure passersby or cause damage to a nearby structure.
Consult with your arborist, if possible in person. Point out your concerns; ask him why he is going to remove a certain branch that you did not feel necessary.
Roots grow during winter months as long as the soil temperatures stay warm enough. As the soil cools down the roots may slow down or stop growing until the spring. When soil warms up the roots will again start to grow sending out white roots, or feeders that start to absorb nutrients from the soil. If the soil is depleted of nutrients due to lack of organic matter caused by excess heat, lack of moisture, soil compaction or poor management, now is the time to feed the trees.
Your arborist can deep root feed. We use six ingredients when we deep root feed.
Mycorrhizal Fungi: for enhancing the growth of plants without chemical fertilizers.
Humate: to help with root development and soil chelation. CHELATION in soil increases nutrient availability to plants.
Horticultural Molasses: this molasses still contains sulfur, a great addition to the soil and may increase plant color. Molasses may also increase microbial activity that will help breakdown soil compaction.
Fish & Kelp: this blend provides a balance of nitrogen, phosphorus and potash complementing the above ingredients to formulate a healthy amendment to the trees nutrition uptake.
Please remember that Rohde’s has a large selection of gift ideas as well as gift certificates.
Happy Holidays to all!