August 17, 2008
Late summer is hot and there is not much blooming in the landscape. School is starting and there is little time for your yard. However, there are still some things you need to do or be aware of in your landscape.
Azaleas should be pruned right after they flower. If you haven’t pruned them yet you will lose some flowers next spring. It may be best not to prune them at this point if they don’t really need it.
Hydrangea blooms have faded away and need to be pruned. They will also have fewer flowers if you wait too long to prune them so prune them now.
Adult mole crickets that hatched last year are dead now, but their offspring are probably about a half an inch long and growing rapidly. If you have a history of mole cricket problems they are easier to kill when they are small.
Late June is the best time to treat because the mole crickets are tiny. They grow larger and are harder to kill as the summer wears on. Always check to make sure you have mole crickets before you apply insecticides. Sevin baits will kill mole crickets. Bayer Advanced also has products effective on mole crickets.
Late summer is typically when chinch bugs become a problem in St. Augustinegrass. If your grass dies suddenly in sunny locations and has a crunch to it you may want to look for them. They are about 1/8-inch long and black with white wings. Products with cyfluthrin, permethrin, and bifenthrin , are effective. Orthene 75S will also do the job.
Centipedegrass should not be fertilized too much. You should follow your soil test recommendations if you have had a soil test. If you haven’t had a soil test remember less is best with centipede. Use slow release fertilizers such as 12-4-8 or 15-0-15.
Four pounds per thousand square feet of 12-4-8 or 15-0-15, applied in late April and again in early to mid summer, will give you about one pound of actual nitrogen which is the low rate for the year. Adding two pounds of 12-4-8 or 15-0-15 in April, May, June, and July will do the same thing and give your lawn a more constant feeding.
Use 15-0-15 if you have adequate phosphorus levels in your soil. If you have been using 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 on your lawn you probably already have plenty of phosphorus. Too much phosphorus in your soil can lead to iron deficiencies and yellowing of turf.
Weeds this time of year are maturing and difficult to control. This is not a good time to be controlling weeds because they are hard to kill and many herbicides do not need to be applied with temperatures above 90 degrees.
There are a couple of weeds out now that are hard to ignore. Chamberbitter and Lespedeza are two common weeds in lawns now. Atrazine applied twice, two weeks apart can help control these weeds. Atrazine will kill an array of other problem broad leaf weeds.
Many herbicides will volatilize in hot weather which means they will drift places where you do not want them. Limit weed control to spot-spraying and make sure you read the label for precautions. In early September pre-emergence herbicides can be used to control winter annual weeds.
Jake Price is with the Lowndes County Extension Service Agency.