The "H" word is being mentioned again and again on the news this morning. We have been lucky the past few years. The storms have gone the other way. You never like to wish bad upon your neighbor, but with a hurricane, you kind of have to…In ...  

Have you driven around and noticed all the damage from "The Nasty Rascal", the chinch bug? Mixed yards are the best. The St. Augustine Grass is nailed and whatever grass or grasses it shares the lawn with are not affected. One more application of Se ...  

Although it is still 100 degrees in the Lowcountry, it is already time to begin to think about your fall/winter plans around the yard. In just a couple of weeks, The Sertoma Classic kicks off high school football with college and pro to follow. Volle ...  

Last week's article about me using blue spray dye as an indicator of where I had sprayed (if you missed the article, you can access by going to www. possumsupply.com under the Horticulture Hotline section), resulted in several phone calls to me from ...  

If your animal had fleas and you tried to control them over the past two weeks, hopefully, you are seeing a reduction in the flea population by now. 2011 has been a very busy so far. Drought, record heat, three stores, chinch bugs in April, new produ ...  

Professional pest managers will always do a great job at controlling fleas because they are professionals and they do this for a living. Since fleas are in so many different life cycles, give the exterminator at least two weeks for their product to ...  

Fleas have been particularly bad this year. Fleas are hard to control because they have a wide range of hosts and their life cycles are designed for survival. Although there are 2400 different species of fleas, the one we are most concerned with is t ...  

Boy, what a difference a week makes. We finally got some much-needed rain. We are still a long way from being caught up on our rainfall; however, the Lowcountry sure does look greener and happier. Depending on where you live, we are still several inc ...  

Indian Hawthorn (aka Raphs) finished blooming and can be pruned as needed. Watch out for the leaf spot disease that attacks these plants. If your plant's foliage is thinning and it has spots on its leaves, there is a good chance your plant is under a ...  

Anyone get any rain last week? I know I did not. I go whole summers without priming my well; however, this year watering has been mandatory. Hopefully, we will get some rain by the end of the week. A topic that I mentioned last week briefly needs to ...  

1.The nasty rascal, the chinch bug in St. Augustine grass, has been killing large areas of turf in the Lowcountry. Remember the products that control chinch bugs generally have a short residual. If you are going out of town for any length of time, be ...  

As promised in last week's article, I am going to write about different ways to measure water that you are putting out on the landscape. Q: "Bill, my irrigation system runs for 20 minutes per zone three times per week, is that enough water?" A: Th ...  

This past week I've been asked by several people, "How much water should I be putting on my yard each week?" The quick answer is one inch of water per week, including rainfall. I look at one inch per week as a starting point, and then adjust for o ...  

We are in the Lowcountry and we have insects and other crawling and flying pests. Is the family dog itching more than usual? Are moths and other insects flying around a light outside your front door and every time you open the front door at night th ...  

With the night time temperatures staying in the cool range (as low as the high 40's last week), some of the grass has been coming out of dormancy spotty and slowly. This week's night time temperatures should be at least 68 degrees. The warmer temper ...  

Stinkhorn fungi (devil's backbone) has been smelling up new mulch beds all over the Lowcountry. The conditions have been perfect for the growth of this fungus this spring. We have been inundated with phone calls at Possum's about that orange stinky ...  

Everything is coming to life. The beauty of the Spring season has arrived. I'm going to write about some of the less desirable pests that come along with Spring. These pests may be insects, fungi, or other situations in or around the landscape. I al ...  

The Lowcountry has many opportunities to learn about plants and horticulture for the new transplant to the area or the veteran gardener. Andy Weber (General Manager of Possum's North) and I were giving a talk to a civic club last week, and right from ...  

Another group of milestones occurs this week indicating that we made it through another year and it is springtime in the Lowcountry. The Bridge Run, Summerville's Azalea Festival, and the Cajun Festival at James Island County Park are all wonderful o ...  

With the new ethanol gas, many people are having problems with small engines. Ethanol draws moisture out of the air and can virtually put water in your gas. Try to start your mower now before the lawnmower shop gets too busy. Here is a checklist of ...  

I would like to open this week's column by thanking T. Ballard Lesemann and the folks at the Charleston City Paper for giving me the "Best Landscaping Tips" award in their Best of Charleston 2011 edition. In the column, Mr. Lesemann writes about how ...  

The weather has been unbelievable. The Citadel is playing baseball at "The Joe" and the Charleston Battery is playing soccer at Blackbaud Stadium. There are oyster roasts galore. It's a great time of year to be in the Lowcountry. A few items to addre ...  

Have you put a preemergent product out on your lawn and in your beds? The time is now! Keep weeds away before they take over your lawn and ornamental plantings. It is a whole lot easier to control weeds before they come up with a preemergent product, ...  

Another nice weekend to be in the Lowcountry! The gnats haven't figured it out yet either! I took a walk through Hampton Park downtown and the Tulip Magnolias were just starting to show some color. I can remember, in warmer times, when they would be ...  

The late winter/early spring is a very critical time of year in the landscape. A lot of project work can be done now to make the rest of the year easier. Some planning will also go a long way towards making your landscape tasks run smoother. If you ...