We all had a great time off on Friday July 3rd and hope that all of you had a Great Independence Day with your families and friends. It was a great time to celebrate our Patriotism for Our Great Country and for the men and women that have helped create such a Great Nation for all of us.
The last 3-4 weeks have brought us some extreme heat and then quite a bit of rain. We welcome the rain but accompanied with the heat and humidity; fungal activity has once again broke out in our Fescue lawns and some shrubs. Our Horticultural Services Teams are mixing large tanks of high grade fungicides mixed with iron daily and ready to treat your lawns to fight brown patch fungus. Horticultural Services are also treating Azaleas for Lace Bugs and Spider Mites on Laurels and other shrubs and small trees. Our tank mixes for shrubs always include fertilizer and fungicides each time we target for insects. Populations of Japanese Beetles have been small so far this year and we may not see much damage.
The maintenance crews are extremely busy on the lawns, cutting and edging each week as this is prime mowing season for warm season turf grass. As well as mowing, light pruning of shrubs and lots of deadheading occurring in the gardens. Perennials are being deadheaded; like Hosta, Rudbeckia, Daylilies and flowering shrubs.
July also is the month that is typical for Pine Straw or Mulch applications. Pine Straw has usually degraded by June or July and the garden is ready for a new application. Pine Straw and mulch serve the garden well for many reasons: Aesthetics, soil moisture control, insulation for the roots, weed control, and erosion.