Rising Costs of Supplies

Due to the rising costs of fuel and fertilizer, I have no other choice but to add a surcharge to each visit. This is a very unpopular move for me given it comes on the heels of a price increase just a short few months ago. Since then, prices of fertilizer have more than doubled and we all see, on an all too frequent basis, what gasoline prices are doing.... a fifty cent increase per gallon last week alone. I am hopeful that this will be a temporary thing as it was some years ago. Many of you probably remember. 

At this time, my prayers go out to the innocent people in Ukraine and the strife they face every day. I am hopeful for the future of Ukraine and that we will see Putin's head on a fencepost.

Poa Annua Control

   You may have noticed this weed in your lawn during the spring months. It is a particularly troubling weed because it responds well to the care you give to your lawn. In the case of a fescue lawn, this weed germinates at the same time you are overseeding your lawn. From there it is happy to benefit from the follow up fertilizer applications that are sure to follow the overseeding effort. You won't notice this weed until late winter into the spring when this weed is at its peak and beginning to produce an abundance of seeds that will germinate in the late summer and early fall. Left to its devices, this weed will be sure to take over your lawn. Especially given that mowing will spread the seeds around.

    However, there is good news. Recently, a new control product is now available to quell this weed. It is used in the fall while this weed is becoming established. It is safe to use during the establishment period of fescue plants. It is recommended to be used before your seeding date... even up to the day of seeding. Two timely follow up treatments are needed to complete the process.

    Like other new products, I use them on a test basis to make sure I feel confident to approach my customers about using them in their lawns. I had a noticeable poa annua problem in my lawn but not any longer. Last fall I performed this service in some twenty lawns with excellent results. Some had just a small amount of the weed in areas of thin or non existing turf cover. In adequate turf cover, I got excellent control.

     In the case of warm season lawns the control efforts are different and easier being that no overseeding takes place. If you overseed your lawn with ryegrass for winter color you should use a perennial rye, not annual rye since there are no label recommendations for annual rye. That means that when your warm season lawn breaks dormancy you will need an application to eliminate the perennial rye.

      This is what the NCSU Turffiles website has to say about poa annua:

https://www.turffiles.ncsu.edu/weeds-in-turf/annual-bluegrass/

    And some pictures:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1600&bih=752&ei=Ag95Xvm_GZGp_QbOq7bgDA&q=poa+annua&oq=poa&gs_l=img.1.2.0l10.1201.2310..4902...0.0..0.73.193.3......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i131.fWZp3jVMa6o

How do your maple trees look?

Blackish frass on the trunk and branches? Weak and lethargic growth? Sucker growth and sun scald cracks? Small greyish bumps in the bark and branches? You more than likely have a tree with gloomy scale insect. This pest will be the eventual demise of your prized landscape centerpiece.

Some damaging insects go unnoticed because they don't look like the bugs we have all come to either love or hate. Gloomy scale is one of those bugs (not even technically a bug). They don't have legs or wings, they are barely visible and are not among the usual suspects when we think of plant damaging pests. They, like other scales, are responsible for the slow, eventual death of our treasured landscape items. Fortunately, there is a newer insecticide that will perform genocide on these pests. An application to the trunk of the tree will give 100+ days of persistent residual...impossible for a new generation of gloomy scale to take place. This method will also reduce to near nothing the environmental impact like conventional insect control methods.

I am here to give you some good news: I can control this devastating pest. It requires one application per year, two years consecutive. The application is called a basal bark application. It is applied directly to the trunk of the tree, the lower branches and the trunk flare eliminating the need to spray the entire tree. The spray is soaked in to the bark and into the vascular system of the tree. One application persists for over one hundred days. Larger trees with thicker bark may need an additional application.

This application is pricey but it's cheaper than removing the tree and replacing it. Here is an example of the choices you have:  

     1)   Gloomy scale control for one maple tree 12” diameter:

Approximately $160.00  

     2)  Cut down and haul away maple $650.00

           Grind stump, remove debris $240.00

           Plant 8 ft. (2 in. caliper) $490.00

       That is an investment north of $1,000.00. On top of that, you have to keep it watered through its establishment period which could be at least two years. It pays to care for the tree you already have.

     Here are some pictures of gloomy scale:

https://www.google.com/search?hl=en&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1417&bih=641&ei=9hN5XoGTPI2JggfN95qoDw&q=gloomy+scale+on+maple&oq=gloomy+sca&gs_l=img.1.1.0l3j0i8i30l2j0i24l3.3885.12509..15875...0.0..0.80.695.10......0....1..gws-wiz-img.......0i5i30.YpBjO73QkQE

Summer Greetings to All,

With the above average Japanese beetle season all but behind us it is time to consider grub worm control. For those not in the know, Japanese beetle larva (grubs) eat turfgrass plant roots causing stress and eventual death to the lawn you've worked so hard to establish. Turf plants depend on a deep root system for survival, especially fescue. My goal is to get this treatment done before the end of July. Since this application requires irrigation, I will do my best to schedule visits around rain events.

Also, remember that we can control pest that like your blood. Mosquitoes, ticks, chiggers, biting flies, no-see-ums...we can knock in to populations of these pests with one application that can keep them away for months in most situations. And, like all of our applications, it is safe around people and pets.

 If we can help with any of these services please reply by e-mail or by calling my office phone (919) 932-3846. I will be glad to field any technical questions by phone conversation. Simple questions can be handled by phone or e-mail.

Sincerely,

Steve Candelori

Growth Regulator

Does the idea of applying a growth regulator on your lawn seem foreign?  After all you have done and spent on your lawn, slow down it's growth?  I thought long and hard about it before I gave it a try.  Now its like my cell phone, I can't be without it.  Along with keeping my fescue turf tipsy on fungicide all summer, I give it a growth regulator chaser!

The benefits of less frequent mowing is obvious.  The additional benefits include less need for irrigation, a slightly darker color, improved performance of brown patch control efforts and turf plants compensate for the growth reduction by more aggressive root development.  So, enjoy mowing less knowing that your lawn is benefiting in its own ways and is appreciating seeing you less... mowing.

This service should only be considered when also practicing brown patch control since a lawn must grow to recover from brown patch.  Fungicide and growth regulator can't be applied together.  I got poor results from the growth regulator when I mixed that cocktail.

You can expect about four weeks of slow growth.  At that time you can reapply for another month of less mowing.  This is the beginning of the fourth year of using growth regulator and my turf quality is obscene.  I also put growth regulator on certain shrubs too.

Were you aware that we also treat landscapes for parasitic insects such as fleas and ticks?  This application will also knock down the pests too.  Mosquitoes, chiggers, biting flies, no-see-ums will also be noticeably absent from your outdoor living space.