Scapes February Update

Just a quick update on what is happening in your landscape this month.

The leaves are cleaned up and we are ramping up for Spring!

If you have an event this month or would like a specific week, please let us know and we will do our best to rearrange the schedule as we want to make sure your property looks great!

 Right now we are continuing to focus on pruning. This time of year we will be cutting back roses, some crape myrtles, ornamental grasses, perennials, and liriope. This is the time of year to do any “hard pruning”. Things on your property getting too big? Maybe they need to be cut all the way back so they can rejuvenate? If there are any areas in your yard that you would like to rein back, let me know and we can meet and discuss options.

 We are noticing some winter cold damage. With the extremely low temperatures this winter, we have seen cold burn on some sensitive plants. A few plants that are more “cold sensitive” are Wax Myrtles, Indian Hawthorne, Tea Olives, Loropetelum, and Encore Azaleas. Most of these plants will recover naturally as the temperatures warm up in the Spring. Some may require extra pruning to help them recover. If you notice brown leaves on shrub or yellow blades of grass in your fescue, it is most likely cold burn. I would be happy to check any plants that you may be concerned about.

Speaking of cold damage, all the seasonal color this winter took an especially hard hit from the cold and snow. We will be maintaining your flower beds this month and are making a plan for replacements in the coming months.

 Fertilizer, pre-emergent weed control, and preventative systemic pest control will all start being applied this month.  Starting at the end of this month and heading into March, we will be applying fertilizer to all of your ornamental plant material. If we have noticed any plants that need a little extra fertilizer, we will also do that this time of year. We will also apply a pre-emergent weed control in beds to help control warm season weeds. Closer to the end on the month, we will be applying preventative systemic pest control to plants that are prone to attacks or that have had pest issues in the past.

 This in an excellent time of the year to put down a fresh layer of pine straw or mulch.  Both of these help control weeds, retain moisture around plant roots, and reduce plant stress from extreme temperatures. Please let me know if you would like a proposal!

We appreciate your business!

Tammy McDowell

Residential Client Care