A Shi Shi is a type of Sasanqua that is commonly known as a Camellia. These shrubs will bloom in late Fall to early Winter. You do not want to trim Shi Shis now because they are producing small buds for the Fall. If you trim them, you would be cutting off the blooms and affecting the blooming cycle for the late Fall months. If you absolutely need to trim a Shi Shi, be sure to make selective cuts rather than an aggressive trim. Try to avoid cutting the small buds! The best time to trim is late January, depending on the shrub’s blooming cycle.

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Are you looking for wall coverage that is pretty low maintenance? If so, fig ivy is the way to go! Fig ivy is a popular yet traditional wall covering that can give your home that Southern touch you may be looking for. Throughout the year, the ivy will thicken, and you will need to trim the few stragglers you may see 2-3 times a year. Even though fig ivy is pretty low maintenance, you will need to trim up the top of the growth so it doesn’t cause damage to the trim of the home.

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Check out this Transformation Tuesday! This was a really fun job that was extremely rewarding in the end! Like most of us, these guys lost some plants with Snowmageddon. So we removed the dead plant material and replaced them with some smaller shrubs. We aggressively trimmed some overgrown shrubs and removed the dead fronds on the palms. It’s important to note that when aggressively trimming shrubs, they tend to look like they may not make it. This actually promotes new growth and before you know it, these shrubs will be full of healthy new foliage! If you have any questions about this satisfying Transformation Tuesday, let us know!

Roses are an extremely popular flowering shrub in the landscape world. But rose rosette is a virus that plagues roses, especially knock out roses. The virus is actually caused by a tiny insect called a spider mite. In its beginning stages, rose rosette can be difficult to distinguish from new plant growth. The signs include deep red and jagged leaf growth, excessive thorniness on the stems, and small rose buds that never fully bloom. The unfortunate reality is that once the roses get rose rosette, there is no known cure as of now. It is recommended that the plants are removed and destroyed, but to make matters worse, no other roses will be able to take their place in the landscape. The soil is still contaminated so any new roses that are put in their place will develop rose rosette as well. Last year, most cases that we dealt with were in the North Bossier, Benton, and Blanchard areas, but now we are beginning to see more and more cases in the southern parts of our area. It’s an extremely unfortunate disease that has no fix. You may be able to help reduce your chances of getting rose rosette by treating your roses with a miticide approved for spider mites. If you think you may have rose rosette and need help identifying it, send us some photos and we can help you! 

This will be the last of our lawn destroyer series…for now. Today we are going a little more into detail about our most common foe, the chinch bug. Chinch bugs don’t feed on the grass blades or roots like our other two pests. They have small beaks that they use to poke into the blade and suck the nutrients out. This is what makes it so difficult for someone to know that they have chinch bugs. The damage can look extremely similar to damage from lack of water. Chinch bugs can be prevented and treated with regular lawn insecticide treatments with products like Bifen (another win for Bifen!) Well, there you have it! That’s our three part series about our area’s most common lawn destroying pests and what you should do if you find yourself battling with them. If you guys have any more questions about chinch bugs, army worms, or grub worms, just let us know!

Here in the second part of our lawn destroyer series we’ll talk a little more about grub worms. Grub worms look like big blobs of snot. Gross. I know. They live underground and actually feed on the roots of your grass. And you know what they say: no root, no grass! It does take a little longer to notice as the grass begins to turn slowly. You can actually go out and pull your grass up in sheets when you have bad grub worm damage. Although at this point, the only fix for your grass is to rake up the dead grass and install new sod. For grubs, we treat with Bifen and sometimes it can take more than one treatment. These guys aren’t as common around here, but they are still a big deal when it comes to destroying lawns. Hope this helps and as always, if you have any questions or think you may have a case of grub worms, let us know!

Here is the first of our “Lawn Destroyer” three-part series! Army worms are small grass eaters that look like small caterpillars. They are about 1-2 inches long and very green (inside and out…gross). Army worm damage comes in the form of thinning and disappearing grass. It’s important to act fast with an army worm invasion! Feeding an army takes a lot of food and your grass is what’s on the menu. For us, treatment involves an application of two products: Bifen and Imidacloprid. This cocktail provides a fast knockdown and keeps working residually which should take care of any of these pests that may still be around or haven’t hatched yet. We hope this helps and if you have some questions about army worms, let us know!

Now that we’re on in the summer, there are three main lawn destroyers that you need to keep an eye out for. Chinch bugs, grub worms and army worms can all destroy your lawn in their own way. We will touch on the main points of them here, but will go into more detail about each one later. Watch to see what you should look out for. If you have any questions, or think you may be dealing with a lawn destroyer, let us know!

Let’s talk about backflow. First of all, what is backflow? Water systems are designed to move water in one direction. Sometimes things happen though and water can go in the opposite direction that it is supposed to. When that happens we call it backflow. Because.. back..the water is flowing back.. You get what I’m trying to say. Well, why is that such a big deal? When the water backflows, it can introduce contaminants into the water system which we all know is kind of a big deal. This is where backflow preventers come in. They prevent the water from flowing backwards in your system and causing contamination. Take a minute and see what Garrett has to say on the subject. If you guys have any questions about backflow or any other irrigation questions, let us know!

Fleas are a common problem here in the hot summers of Louisiana. There are a few ways to deter the population away from your home. But what happens when you start seeing them in your home and yard? One of the very first things you need to do when you notice a flea problem is to treat your pets. Fleas dips, topical flea treatments, or even a flea pill are all options to help with flea control (check with your vet for specific recommendations).

The next thing you would need to do is treat the lawn (Cyzmic CS is our recommendation – be sure to read the label for instructions and warnings! Let it dry for at least 2 hours before letting pets back on the lawn). If the fleas haven’t made it into the home yet and you don’t treat the yard as soon as possible, it’s only a matter of time before they come in.

Treat your home as well and make sure you target your pet’s frequent hangouts, whether it’s their bed or just a favorite spot on the living room floor (PT Alpine is a good option – no one can be in the house though once applied…read the label!). Be sure to vacuum your carpet and sofas frequently to help clean up any dead or still living fleas after treatments. Flea control is one of this things that you will most likely have to stay on top of every few months when it comes to “preventing” them. Hope this helps, and if you guys have any questions, let us know!