THE LANDSCAPE REPORTER

NOVEMBER WEATHER SUMMARY Temperatures will fall signicantly and we typically have our rst frost

NOVEMBER 2012

right around Thanksgiving in the rural areas of the Valley and the second week of December in the Phoenix metro area. This can cause external damage to some plant material. The average monthly rainfall is .73. The average high temperature is 75 degrees and the average low is 50 degrees. Have a Happy Thanksgiving!

TURF TALK
with Jay Pock, ValleyCrest Turf & Irrigation Manager RYE GRASS (OVERSEEDED) FERTILIZATION Fertilize early in the month, before it gets too cold. Your rye grass absorbs nutrients faster when its warmer, so it holds onto nutrients through the cold winter months when it doesnt absorb as much. Use a balanced fertilizer such as 21-7-14 or 16-8-8. Look for a product containing iron or apply iron separately to give your lawn a dark green color. Iron will stain surrounding hardscape, so apply carefully. WATER As a guideline, run pop-up sprinklers approximately 2-3 times a week for 4-8 minutes. Water in the early morning hours (just before sunrise is optimal) when evaporation and wind are at their lowest. This reduces wasted water. MOWING Mow as often as necessary to maintain the lawn height you like without removing more than 1/3 of the grass blade in one mowing. This should be around once a week during November.

DID YOU KNOW?

LISTEN TO YOUR LAWN

To nd out if youre using the right amount of water, check the appearance of your grass and the soil moisture on a regular basis. Water requirements will vary based on your specic irrigation system, amount of sun/shade and soil type to name a few factors. Because of these variables, run times are a guideline, not a rigid rule. Generalized schedules may not be accurate for your lawn. Visible signs your grass is dry: it has a blue-gray tint, leaves are curled or folding, or grass blades dont spring back up from footprints and mower tracks. Push a screwdriver or soil Under-watered, underprobe into the soil; it fertilized Rye grass showing blue/gray tint. will easily penetrate 4-6 if the soil has enough water. Signs of overwatering: soft and mushy soil, standing water, or mold. Overwatering is much more common than un- Rye grass receiving just the right amount of water and derwatering.
fertilizer.

Avoid removing more than 1/3 of the grass blade in one mowing!

Always use sharp mower blades and avoid mowing wet grass. Continued on page 3

For a guideline of how much water your turf needs based on current local weather factors, visit http:// ag.arizona.edu/azmet/phxturf.html

PLANT CARE
DO PRUNE:
Red Bird of Paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima) Reduce crown to 12 in height. Shrubby Senna (Cassia wislizenii) Reduce crown to 12 in height, if outgrowing its space. Indian Hawthorne (Rhaphiolepis species) Reduce crown to 12 in height, if outgrowing its space. White Rain Lilly (Zephyranthes candida) Prune off dead ower stems and leaves.

TREE TALK
November is a great month to prune nonnative, deciduous trees such as Ash, Elm, Pecan, Pine, Pistache and Sumac.

with Nick Gaitano, ValleyCrest Tree Care Services Manager ISA Certied Arborist

DO NOT PRUNE:
Frost sensitive plants Shrubs that are currently owering Shrubs that will ower in late winter or spring Brittlebush Hibiscus Bougainvillea Yellow Bell Yellow Dot

Your native desert trees, such as Mesquite, Palo Verde and Ironwood, probably grew a lot during the summer growing season. If they are looking overgrown, now is still a good time to prune them. Do not prune frost sensitive trees right now, including Orchids, Ficus, Jacaranda, Indian Rosewood (Sissoo) and Citrus.

Tree Tip: Avoid removing more than 30% of a trees canopy in a one-year period.

Brittlebush

Natal Plum Fairyduster Ruellia Lantana Red Eromophila (Valentine) Honeysuckle Orange Jubillee Cassia/Senna varities Chuparosa Bush Dalea Damianita

Always have a purpose for pruning. Common reasons for pruning are to remove dead branches, to remove crowded or rubbing limbs, and to eliminate hazards, increase light and air penetration to the inside of the trees crown or to the landscape below. Pruning is difficult and dangerous so it is best to hire an ISA Certied Arborist to do the work. Apply 3-4 of water to your established trees approximately every 14 days. You can skip a cycle if measurable rainfall is received. If you wrap Christmas lights around your trees, use gardening tape or twine to attach them. Do not staple or nail the wires to the branches. Remove the tape or twine promptly after the season is over to prevent girdling branches.

Purple Ruellia

Valentine bush

....

Worried about frost damage this winter? Check out our article on Frost Prevention and Treatment.

TURF TALK
WEED CONTROL

continued from page 1

A dense, healthy lawn is the best way to help prevent weeds from germinating. If common winter broadleaf weeds such as clover or dandelion appear in your Rye grass, you can manually remove them. If they become excessive, use a selective post-emergent herbicide. A selective herbicide will minimize damage to the Rye grass. Visit your local specialty irrigation store such as Horizon or Ewing for the right product. BERMUDA GRASS (NON-OVERSEEDED) FERTILIZATION Do not fertilize dormant Bermuda grass. WATER Although Bermuda grass is dormant during cold weather, its still alive and needs some water to survive. Water twice this month, applying 1/2 of water to keep the stolons from drying out. You can skip watering if there is measureable rainfall. MOWING Your Bermuda shouldnt grow much while its dormant, but if parts of your yard are warmer than others (microclimates), it may grow some and become uneven. If you have to mow, dont mow lower than 1.5-2. Mowing lower will use up the Bermudas food reserves and your grass will be slow to green when temperatures begin to warm up in the spring. WEED CONTROL If you have common winter broadleaf weeds such as clover or dandelion, treat them with the same kind of herbicide you use during the summer. A non-selective post-emergent herbicide with glyphosate as the active ingredient (like Round-up) will work best. Visit your local specialty irrigation store such as Horizon or Ewing for the right product.

DID YOU KNOW?

DORMANT TURF CARE

Excessive foot traffic on dormant Bermuda grass damages the above ground stolons and can cause it to become sparse and die. If you have a lot of activities on the grass over the winter, water more often and consider overseeding next year.

As long as your turf is dormant, you dont have to worry about herbicide killing your grass. It is safe to treat weeds in dormant turf because it will not absorb the herbicide.

WEED CONTROL IN GRANITE AREAS: NOW IS THE BEST TIME TO APPLY PRE-EMERGENT HERBICIDE BECAUSE WINTER RAINS SHOULD BE STARTING SOON. PRE-EMERGENT NEEDS AT LEAST 1/2 OF RAINFALL OR IRRIGATION WITHIN TWO WEEKS OF APPLICATION. PRE-EMERGENT IS AVAILABLE IN LIQUID OR GRANULAR FORM AT YOUR LOCAL IRRIGATION SPECIALTY STORE.

2902 E. Illini St. Phoenix, AZ 85040 P: (602) 276-5900 | F: (602) 276-8191 www.Facebook.com/ValleyCrestArizona www.TreeCareServices.com/Phoenix

The Landscape Reporter is published monthly to help property managers educate residents on sustainable and horticulturally sound landscape practices.

FROST PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

Over the past decades, a signicant number of non-indigenous plants and trees have made their way to the Valleys nurseries. These plants struggle to adapt to the vast temperature swings of the lower Sonoran deserts summer and winter months, making them highly susceptible to frost. With overnight lows averaging in the 40s in the Phoenix area, calm, clear nights from approximately late November through February are when frost is most likely to occur. PLANT SELECTION AND PLACEMENT The best way to prevent frost damage is to choose the right plants for the right locations and use native plant material that is naturally adapted to the Though common in deserts extreme temperatures. desert landscapes, Because plants do not have an lantana is a nonindigenous plant internal heat source, their best chance of survival is to absorb warmth from nearby conductors such as swimming pools, walls, concrete, or rocks. When laying out your landscape, place frost-sensitive plants in a southern or western exposure, where theyll get the most light. If you do have frost susceptible plants in your yard, there are ways to protect them from frost damage with a little foresight. WATER MID-MORNING When ice crystals form on the leaf surface, frost imitates drought by absorbing the moisture out of foliage; this causes dieback on the outer foliage and makes the plant appear dead, though the roots are still alive. But you can combat this by watering plants evenly in mid-morning (around 9:00 or 10:00), when frost is predicted for overnight. Morning watering allows leaves to dry out before the temperature drops but soil will stay moist enough to hold some of the daytime warmth. Watering too late in the afternoon or evening may encourage damage, as evaporation cools damp leaves. DRAPE TO RETAIN DAYTIME WARMTH If you hear an overnight frost is predicted, before sunset cover frost-sensitive plants with a porous cover such as burlap or a special frost covering fabric found at hardware stores. The purpose of draping is to trap radiant heat from the soil, so to maximize retention, make sure the cover touches the Burlap draped loosely over a sensitive plant ground. As the coldest

COMMON PLANTS SUSCEPTIBLE TO FROST

Bougainvillea Red Bird of Paradise Lantana Natal Plum Hibiscus Yellow Dot Cape Honeysuckle Yellow Bells

temperatures are just after sunrise, be sure to leave coverings on until late morning to avoid shocking your plants. To protect young citrus and other coldsensitive trees that are too large to drape, you can wrap trunks from the ground up to the lowest limbs and leave the wrapping on all winter to provide insulation. DONT PRUNE UNTIL SPRING If you end up with frost damage anyway, it will look unsightly for a few months but dont prune away the dead foliage until after the threat of frost is gone (usually after February 15) or new growth starts in the spring. Since pruning stimulates new growth, removing frost damaged wood or foliage prematurely could bring the plant out of dormancy and the young growth will be more vulnerable to frost damage. Also, frost damaged foliage will act as insulation, helping healthy foliage trap and retain heat, so early frost damage can help prevent additional damage from occurring later in the winter season. When it comes to frost damage, any prevention effort is better than none, and even severely damaged plants may experience healthy regrowth over time. For a list of appropriate desert plant material, visit www.scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/nativeplant/eslo.asp

Wait until the last threat of frost and then trim lantana back to its base and it will rejuvenate during the following growing season.

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