Our August News!

It’s that time of the year where we know fall is just around the corner. Check out our newsletter below for upcoming services for the season ahead, project photos, how to follow us on our recently created Instagram account, and more!

While we hope that many of our clients, friends, and vendors nominated us for this year’s Winston-Salem Journal’s Readers Choice awards, we will be sure to keep you informed of the resulting ballot on our Facebook page. And as always, if you are in need of scheduling a service please e-mail us at info@larmorelandscape.com or give us a call at 336-765-6340!

Pruning De-Mystified

One of the most frequent questions that we get is, “When do we prune X, and how?” We decided to cover this mystery in a dedicated blog post to help make pruning simple. We are currently in the middle of our big summer cutback, which is one of two major pruning events during the year. We typically start one cutback in the early summer, then have one in the fall. We also have a less strenuous pruning event in the winter to cover ornamental grasses, crape myrtles, and roses that were not covered in our fall pruning. We wrote a dedicated post on roses which can be found here and a post on hydrangeas, which can be found here.

Essentially, you factor in what type of plant you have to decide when it gets pruned. Like we stated above, ornamental grasses, liriope, roses, and crape myrtles are all pruned in the winter or early spring right before they break dormancy. Typically all of these plants are grouped in one pruning, but perennials that need to be cut back before the spring flush can be included at this time if they haven’t yet been taken care of.

Winter is a great time to prune deciduous trees and shrubs. Since they are dormant, you minimize the chance that the cuts will be infected by a pest or disease and since they have lost their leaves it’s easy to see the structure of the plant to decide how you want to shape it up. Be wary of pruning evergreen plants at this time, however; if you prune close to a cold snap this can leave the plant open to frost damage. Of course, the general rule of thumb is that at any time you can prune plant material that is diseased or damaged, so don’t be afraid to remove limbs that were snapped in an ice storm.

Now we are in the season of summer pruning. In general, this pruning session will focus on evergreens after they have put out their first flush of summer growth and that growth has had a chance to harden off. If plants are pruned as soon as new growth emerges, they will just continue to flush out with new growth instead of remaining where the pruning cut was made. Gardenias can be pruned before they flower, but you will want to wait until after azaleas bloom for their turn. Currently we will be pruning these plants as well as boxwoods, hollies, camellias, and other evergreens that need a good shaping.

If you are interested in having pruning done on your property or if you would like options for a yearly pruning contract, please e-mail us at info@larmorelandscape.com or give us a call at 336-765-6340!

Photo Credit: From our Pinterest board “Boxwood Gardens”

Our July News!

July can be a tough month in the landscape – from sweltering temperatures to the threat of afternoon thunderstorms, this newsletter will explain how we deal with all of this uncertainty. We’ve also included a few tips on how to beat the heat. Don’t forget to note that we will be closed July 4th and 5th to celebrate Independence Day, and we hope that you also have a happy and safe 4th!

As always, if you are in need of scheduling a service or if you’d like to inquire about our routes next week, e-mail us at info@larmorelandscape.com or give us a call at 336-765-6340!

Don’t Let Weeds Make Your Turf Terrible

If you’re going through the trouble of aerating and seeding your lawn every year, keeping it fertilized, and maintaining it with mowing then you probably don’t want turf weeds to ruin all of that hard work. While we do offer a seven-step lawncare program that should easily keep weeds at bay, we wanted to single out a few weeds you might run into this time of year and how to tackle them. If you’d like more information on our lawncare program, please e-mail us at info@larmorelandscape.com or call us at 336-765-6340.

1. Nutsedge

Nutsedge is best when treated in the early stages, but it can blend in easily with fescue and be difficult to spot until it is mature and obvious. There are two main types of nutsedge – yellow and purple. Both have triagular stems, but yellow nutsedge is generally lighter in color and has paler seed heads. Nutsedge can be a problem both in turf and plant beds. It loves wet areas and once established can easily spread to areas that are not quite so favorable. Nutsedge can be hand pulled in the early spring, but once we move into June and July it is best to use chemical control methods. This is due to the fact that they spread by underground tubers. Especially if seed heads have already begun to form, you can bet that additional tubers have begun to form also. Pulling nutsedge at this point can split and spread the tubers, creating a more aggressive and widespread problem. If you are struggling to control nutsedge in your turf, please give us a call and we can price out a treatment plan. You can find further reading on nutsedge here.

2. Poa Annua/Poa Trivialis

We mentioned this weed on our Facebook page earlier in the season as it has been particularly widespread this year. Also called annual bluegrass, this weed also favors wet, compacted soils and will grow in shade. Unlike nutsedge, Poa annua grows in clumps that can be easily pulled or sprayed. Poa trivialis, commonly known as roughstalk bluegrass, is a very similar weed and can be very unsightly in a fescue lawn.  Selective treatment chemicals are very limited and have varied results.  Both of these species are extremely problematic due to the fact that the best control comes with a fall and winter pre-emergent  application, which happens to be when we want to overseed fescue lawns.  The best way to discourage Poa annua and Poa trivialis is to make sure you’re treating your lawn well throughout the year. Be sure to aerate and seed in the fall to reduce compaction, maintain a good fertilizer routine (we make all of this really easy with our lawncare program), and don’t mow too low. If you’re past the stage of prevention and would like more information from one of our experts, call us at 336-765-6340.

3. Crabgrass

Probably the most commonly known turf weed by the layperson, crabgrass is a very widespread threat to healthy turf. You will typically see crabgrass emerge in the early spring and if left untreated it can escalate throughout the growing season. As you can see by the photo above, crabgrass has a low, spreading habit and the nodules that form on leaf blades can root and perpetuate the plant. As with the case of Poa annua and Poa trivialis, the best way to discourage crabgrass is to maintain a thick and healthy lawn, but we can also use chemical control methods to eradicate existing crabgrass.

If you’re struggling to keep weeds out of your turf, please give us a call or shoot us an e-mail at info@larmorelandscape.com to come up with a treatment plan. As we have discussed, the best way in general to stop weeds is with keeping your lawn healthy. While we can treat existing weed problems, we would love to help you cultivate a lush lawn that will be the envy of your neighbors and that will naturally suppress weeds. Contact us to get started today!

Photo Credit

Our June News!

June is a time for flowers. The temperatures rise to a comfortably warm level (or go far beyond that into uncomfortable heat, as they did this year) and plants can really take off. Unfortunately, this also means that pests and diseases often take off as well. We discuss some of the issues we have seen so far this late spring in our latest newsletter as well as some recommended flowering plants to add to your landscape. And don’t forget that Larmore gift certificate for Father’s Day!

April Showers Brought May Flowers in 2018…

We obsess over the old adage “April showers bring May flowers.” Sometimes this saying holds true, but most of the time it just seems like an over-generalization used to ensure spring rains are welcomed and not just a damper on your mowing schedule. We’re certainly wondering if the saying will hold up this year, and what it really meant in 2018.

YES – April showers did bring May flowers in 2018. The month of April received 4.91 inches of rain and is right in line with what most plants will require this time of year. May only received 3.27 inches of rain, perpetuating that a higher amount of rain in April will give a jump-start to the blooming season. If you stop there it seems to make sense. If you take a step back, however, the adage seems to lose a little weight. Last year was a record-breaker in many areas of the state and across the nation with unusually high amounts of rainfall and flooding, in part due to the hurricane season. Last year several months beat out the month of April, making these April showers seem a little unimpressive. According to the rainfall data taken from the Smith-Reynolds airport December even had more rainfall than April with 5.31 inches, September received 6.27 inches of rain, August got 6.91 inches, October even rained 7.35 inches, and ironically July topped it all with 7.87 inches of rain for the month. Now, that’s something to talk about since July is typically our driest month. We think it much more impressive than a few April showers.

Well, what about this year? In April we had 2.42 inches of rain and this month we are up to 1.26 inches, so though we are in keeping with April being a wetter month, we have seen substantially less rainfall than last year locally. It should be noted with the pop up storms we’ve had, precipitation can vary widely from area to area. In April, the Piedmont Triad International Airport recorded a whopping 11.04 inches of rain in April and 4.9 inches so far in May. Interestingly, May 2018 to April 2019 are being dubbed the wettest 12 months in U.S. history. Some parts of the state have already received over 40 inches of rain this year and the Piedmont has gotten up to two feet of rain. The Mississippi River is also struggling to handle all of this rainfall, with some areas of the river being in flood stage for over three months and several spots are setting various records. For the rest of the summer, we are unsure of what to expect. Currently our temperatures are well above average, but not quite record setting. While we are going through a hot and dry spell (keep your plants watered!) we’ll just have to stay tuned to see if it continues!

Read more about the Mississippi flooding here.

Photo Credit: From our Pinterest board “Spring Blooming Plants”

Our May News!

It’s finally May and we can bask in the full glory of spring! With spring comes some planning though: in the newsletter below we detail some projects to plan for as well as making sure you’re on the schedule for mowing services. Don’t forget, Mother’s Day is this Sunday and there’s still time to gift her the flower garden of her dreams! Just call us at 336-765-6340 or shoot us an e-mail at info@larmorelandscape.com

Our April News!

We’re so excited that spring is here for good! In our latest newsletter we’ve provided some inspiration for the start of the growing season, insight on the services that are happening now such as irrigation turn-ons, and a retaining wall project update. If you are in need of scheduling a service, don’t hesitate to call us at 336-765-6340 or e-mail us at info@larmorelandscape.com. We know landscape tasks can get overwhelming this time of year and we’re here to help you get your weekends back!

Let’s Talk About Pruning Roses

Late winter is a great time to prune many plants such as ornamental grasses, liriope, crape myrtles, and  – you guessed it – roses. While the roses around town are beginning to flush out, there is still time to give them a quick refresh. It’s more simple than you think, and we’ve provided a guide below.

Roses actually love pruning, and we don’t just mean deadheading over the summer to encourage more blooms. While that is a good practice and will assist your roses in looking fresh all summer long, what we’re talking about for this time of year is a little more intensive. We love this infographic from our Pinterest Board “Gardening Tips and Tricks.”

Start by removing any dead or diseased wood and growth that is thinner than a pencil. This will give you a blank canvas so to speak to help your rose grow into the healthiest plant it can be. Next, remove crossing branches from the interior of the plant. Not only does this open your rose up and create better airflow (which in turn reduces the occurrence of pests and diseases through the growing season) this eliminates branches that will rub together and create points of entry for disease. The overall goal here is to create a nice open crown. During this phase you can also remove any suckers, cutting them to the ground.

Finally, you want to reduce the overall height of your rose. This assists in regenerating fresh, sturdy growth while also maintaining a manageable footprint for your plant (I’m looking at you Knockout roses). The general rule of thumb is to remove up to two thirds of growth from each cane. Always cut above an outward facing bud to avoid more interior growth and crossed canes.

Remember, when pruning any plant you want a result that suits your personal tastes. Only ever prune what you feel comfortable with as you can always take away more, but can’t return growth that’s been cut off. To simplify the process even more, call us to take care of this gardening task for you! If you have any special requests you can discuss them with our pruning experts or let them prune to the best horticultural standards. You can reach us at 336-765-6340 or info@larmorelandscape.com to schedule pruning or to discuss any questions you may have.

Photo credit: From our Pinterest board “The Rose Garden”