It’s cold out there! It looks like it might stay that while for a little while. We wanted to share a few tips with you guys and hopefully save you the headache in the future!

While it may be tempting, don’t trim your camellias just yet! Camellias bloom in the winter, which means they add some color to your landscape when everything else is looking a little dull. Camellias, like azaleas, are one of those plants that needs to be trimmed at very specific times of the year to avoid cutting off any buds. Trimming these plants at the wrong time can lead to missing out on their beautiful blooms. Trimming should happen around February, but the key is to make sure it has shed all of its blooms first. Once that has happened, don’t wait too long, as they begin to set their buds for the next blooming cycle pretty quickly. Hope this helps and if you guys have any questions about camellias, let us know!  

Well guys, Christmas is over and that means it’s time to take those Christmas decorations down. Yes, we know, it’s a sad time of year. But we have a great Just The Tip Tuesday for you! Taking down Christmas lights can go a lot faster than putting them up, but don’t just pull them down and throw them into a box! Make it easy on yourself for next year and consider making yourself a map. We use maps for every home that we install lights on, simply because it makes reinstall easy for the next year. The maps are color coded and individual light strands are labeled with the correct color tag. Taking a few minutes to make yourself a Christmas light map will save you tons of time next year. You can also label the ends of your strands to tag what strand goes where. Hope this helps and if you guys have any questions, let us know!

We talk about plant diseases a lot here at Matthews. One of the lesser known issues is boxwood dieback. This is one that we have actually seen more often this past year. This disease is actually a type of fungus and is relatively new. Boxwoods are known for being pretty hardy shrubs and are used in a lot of landscape designs. Dieback is an unfortunate disease that plagues these guys and as of now, there’s no real “cure” for it. There are a few ways that you can help though. The fastest method is to just go ahead and dig up and replace the shrub. If that just isn’t in the cards for you, you can simply prune the diseased potions off the boxwood. You’ll be left with some unsightly bare spots, but with proper trimming and some time, it can come back. Hope this help! You can learn more about boxwood dieback here! 

It’s that time again! Believe it or not, if you want to prevent spring weeds in your lawn, NOW is the time to put out your pre-emergents. You want to get pre-emergents down because they prevent the weeds from germinating in the first place. So if the weeds never germinate, then they won’t sprout and grow in your lawn. You don’t want to treat your lawn too early, but you also don’t want to treat it too late after the germination process has started. However, if you do treat a little late and begin to see weeds in your lawn, don’t worry! You can always go back and treat with broadleaf herbicides that will take care of breakthrough weeds. Hope this helps and if you guys have any questions about pre-emergents, just let us know! 

With the below freezing temps that we had this past weekend, you may have noticed that tropical plants in our area are looking a little sad. Don’t panic just yet! In the winter months, tropical plants take more of a hit simply because they have so much water in them. The foliage of the plant will look dead, but just cut it down to about 4-6 inches from the ground, and wait until spring to enjoy your tropicals again! Hope this helps!

There are many things that can go wrong with your Christmas Lights. Listen in as Garrett talks about one of our most common service calls for Christmas lights.

We all know that technology changes rapidly. Even in the outdoor lighting and world. LED lights are definitely pulling their weight in the Christmas Light world. Tune in as Garrett goes through some key differences in LED bulbs vs. incandescent bulbs.

Pink Muhly Grass is blooming! It’s wispy and airy look makes it a popular choice in landscape design. This is one of those plants that you have to hold off on trimming in the summer. Now it is getting close to one of the only times where you can safely trim Muhly Grass.

When you hear “azalea” you probably think about a plant that needs shade and only blooms once a year around Easter. What if I told you that everything you know about azaleas is false? Just kidding. It’s not false. BUT there *is* an azalea that doesn’t fit into the typical azalea mold. Encore azaleas are a different species of azalea that gives a little more. These guys bloom once in the spring, like their cousins, but they also bloom in the fall! Hence the name “encore.” They’re also able to withstand direct sunlight; something that your typical azalea cannot do either. With the pros, you always get a con. Encore azaleas don’t get as large as other azaleas, but if that doesn’t bother you, maybe you’d consider adding them to your flower beds. If you guys have any questions about azaleas, just let us know.  Have a great weekend everyone!