We will be closed Labor Day!

What a difference outdoor lighting can do!

We recently completed an LED lighting job that really changed the look of their property and allows the client to truly enjoy their backyard at night.

Back to School for Gardeners

Are you interested in learning more about landscape and gardening?   Maybe it is time for you to head back
to school this fall with some new classes being offered:

The botanical garden offers a variety of different classes.  Here are a few of our favorites:

Getting into the Zone - San Antonio was recently moved to 9A USDA Hardiness zone and this class explores the impact of that change on your landscaping.

Go Native - Learn all about plants native to our area.

For detailed information, see their website at http://www.sabot.org/education/adult-classes/

Gardening volunteers of South Texas offer a free class every third Monday of the month from 12 -3.  The afternoon is broken up into two different sessions with new topics every week.    For more information, check out their website at http://www.gardeningvolunteers.org/gvstwp/classes-2/

A thorn in your side...how to control invasive vines.

Invasive vines really are a thorn in your side when dealing with these thorny vines that are almost impossible to eliminate.  Unfortunately, there is no shortage of invasive vines in Texas that can consume your landscape if not controlled.

One of the more common is the Greenbrier Vine.  The plant will start out as a small vine with heart shaped leaves but if not treated it will pop up in the middle of your shrubs and twine itself up your trees.  Within a short time, they will develop an extensive tuber system.  It then becomes difficult if not impossible to control this weed with a herbicide. 

If you can catch it as a seedling, you should either pull it away or spray it with a herbicide.  If you can untangle the vine from your good plant (wearing gloves - the thorns hurt!), you can carefully spread it out on a piece of landscape fabric or a tarp while keeping the stem intact.  You can spray it with the herbicide glyphosate and after two days, cut it off at ground level.   

However, if you have multiple plants in the same area, it is likely that the Greenbrier has developed its tuber which will continue to produce more plants even as you kill the others.  The first option is to dig up the tuber.  To do so, start pulling at the base of the weeds and see if you can find the root, dig it up and remove it.  This is harder then it sounds since it often difficult to find the location of the tuber.

The second option is to cut off the vine at the ground level and immediately paint the stem with the herbicide glyphosate. 

The plant is likely to regrow and the key is to catch it early and treat it with the herbicide.  These herbicide methods will also work with vines such as Poison Ivy and the Virginia Creeper. 

Are Fire Ants back?

While fire ants never really left, in the past few years we haven't seen as many mounds.  Typically during a drought, fire ants burrow deep in the ground seeking moisture therefore you don't see many mounds in your lawn and landscaping.  With the cooler summer we have had and the bit of rain we have seen, the fire ant mounds seem to be popping up across the lawn.  So what should you do?

To control fire ants, it is recommended that fire ants are treated with the "Texas Two-Step Method" which involves a broadcast treatment of fire ant bait and treatment of the mounds.

The bait is a slow acting and is meant to be used to prevent future mounds from popping up.  Depending on the product you choose, it may take just days for it to start working or several weeks.

The mound treatment is fast acting and meant to kill the ants on contact.  This won't necessarily get all the ants in the colony but it should get rid of the ant mound until the slow acting bait kicks in. 

Your local home improvement store will have many fire ant insecticides to choose from.  There are several products that can be used both for the mound treatments and baiting. 

How to keep your trees healthy

With the ongoing, never ending drought Texas has been in the last several years, many trees are showing signs of stress.  Obviously the best thing to do to help them through the drought is to water them. But what is the best way to water them?

During a drought, mature trees need to be watered about once a week.  Younger trees should be watered about three times a week.  To determine if it is time to water the tree, take a screwdriver and place in into the soil near the tree.  If you can't get the screwdriver in 6-8 inches, it is time to water because your soil is dried up.

While you may only need to water the tree once a week, you need to water it deeply when you do.  The preferred method for watering is with a garden hose or a soaker hose.  Start close to the trunk and keep moving the hose until you have covered the ground under the entire canopy.  You want to run the hose until the ground is no longer absorbing the water in each area before moving the hose.  The best way to check this is the doing the screwdriver test every 30 minutes until you

can easily push the screwdriver in 6-8 inches into the soil.

If you an irrigation system, check if your tree is getting enough water from it with the above mentioned screwdriver method.  If it isn't, you should supplement it using your garden hose or a soaker hose.

For more detailed information on watering your trees in drought conditions, check out the Texas Forest Service's website at http://texasforestservice.tamu.edu

Don't forget to look up!

Make sure you take the time this summer to look up at your trees and check if they are healthy.   Trees are often overlooked when it comes to maintenance but yet are so important to your homes value that it is devastating to lose a mature tree.

What should you be looking for?  A sick tree may have one of these symptoms:
1.  Discoloration of leaves - yellowing or lighter shade of green
2.  Spots or Holes of leaves - may indicate insect or disease damage
3.  Sudden dying at the top of the tree or sparse canopy
4.  Abnormal growth on branches or die back
5.  Sap seeping from the trunk

Hopefully all of your trees are lush and healthy this summer.  If your trees are looking stressed or sick, consider calling in a professional arborist who can help you diagnosis the problem and hopefully fix it. Preferred Tree Care has professional arborists who would be happy to come out and take a look if you need some help.

Is Nutgrass Driving You Nuts?

Nutsedge (also called Nutgrass) is a troublesome and difficult-to-control weed that is often found in lawns. It is a perennial plant that is not actually a grass plant at all, it is a sedge. This is why your normal grass and weed killers won't have any effect on the plant.

Nutsedge thrives in the hot weather and grows taller than the surrounding grass in the summer making it very noticeable.  It often thrives in wet soil from poor drainage or over watering.

Nutsedge reproduces by small underground tubers, called nutlets.  A single plant can produce several hundred of these tubers in one summer.  This is why one of the worst ways to get rid of this plant is pulling it out of the ground.  The nutlet that is left behind in the ground will produce multiple new plants.

So how can you eradicate it from your yard?   There is no easy answer to this but we will give you a summary of the best ways to win your yard back!

1.  Dry it out - this is one of the easiest things to do but not practical for most situations.  If you do have a drainage issue, fixing it will help dry out the nutsedge.  You should test your irrigation system to see if you are watering too much - see our recent post for directions on how to do this at http://preferredlandscape.blogspot.com/2014/07/are-you-wasting-water.html.

2.  Dig it out - if you just have a few plants creeping into your yard for your neighbors, this is probably the
best way for you to handle it.  The key is to do it as soon as you see the plants developing before they become more established.  You have to dig out the whole plant including all the tubers.  There are special weed puller tools to help you do this with minimal damage to your own grass.

3.  Chemical Applications - There are several Nutsedge killers on the market, Image and Sedgehammer, being the most well known.  You apply these according to the directions and it will start yellowing the nutsedge within a few weeks.  According to our research, to fully eradicate, you will need several applications of the product before seeing much improvement.

4.  Organic Application - Many people have had success getting rid of Nutsedge by spreading molasses on their yard.  Horticultural Molasses is a fertilizer for your soil that also has the added benefit of killing nutsedge.  When applied to the affected area, it works by attracting beneficial soil microorganisms that eat the nutlets attached to the root of the nutsedge.  This will likely take several applications prior to seeing results as well.

Have you had success with any of these?  Or do you have a different method that has worked for you?  We would love to hear them.  If battling nutsedge is not a DIY project for you, we would be happy to help.

Light up the Night

Landscape Lighting is often overlooked as it is usually the last thing to install in a large landscape project.  However, it really makes a huge difference to your home and your landscape.  It makes your home welcoming to guests and provides security.  It also can put a spotlight on your favorite areas in your landscape such as a majestic tree or water feature.  Pathlights can highlight your softscape or provide much needed light on a walkway.  If you have an outdoor firplace, you will be using it mostly in the dark so lights are essential.  If you are considering a lighting project, give us a call for a free consultation.  These lighting pictures are part of a large landscape project that we have recently completed for a longtime client.