Cold Damage
Cold weather can cause all types of problems for plants in South Carolina. Freezing temperatures can damage plants by rupturing plant cells as ice crystals form and rapid changes in temperatures...
Category: Landscape
Azalea & Rhododendron Diseases
Rhododendrons and azaleas are some of the most popular spring-flowering shrubs in the landscape, and healthy plants can give years of pleasure. Many diseases and other problems can be prevented by...
Fothergilla
Fothergilla species are deciduous, Eastern US natives that are truly spectacular, four-season shrubs. In early April the white, 1½ to 3-inch tall, bottle-brush blooms appear with their delightful,...
Watering Lawns
Turfgrasses, like all living plants, require water for growth and survival. Since rainfall patterns vary, seasonal droughts are common in South Carolina. During long, dry hot periods in the summer,...
Fertilizing Lawns
Essential Elements All plants require certain chemical elements for proper growth and appearance. Of these at least 17 are known to be essential elements. Table 1 lists the 17 known elements and the...
Principles & Practices for Pruning Trees
Proper pruning can offer trees several benefits. It can increase flowering, fruit production, promote healthy new growth, increase sun light and air circulation, and maintain a desired shape and/or...
Crapemyrtle Bark Scale
The crapemyrtle bark scale (Acanthococcus lagerstroemiae) is a recently introduced pest from Asia that initially infested crapemyrtles (Lagerstroemia spp.) in Texas during 2004. Since then, it has...
Growing Perennials
Herbaceous perennials generally live for three or more seasons, but usually the tops die back to the ground each fall. The crown and roots of the plant resume growth in spring. A few perennials are...
Gray Leaf Spot on St. Augustinegrass
Gray leaf spot is a fungal disease (caused by Pyricularia grisea) that occurs most commonly on St. Augustinegrass (Stenotaphrum secundatum), but occasionally may also be found infecting tall fescue,...
Spring Dead Spot
Spring dead spot is a fungal disease of bermudagrass lawns and is a result of infection by one or more species of Ophiosphaerella. These soil-dwelling fungi damage the roots, rhizomes, and stolons...
Leaf Diseases of Lawns
Home lawns in South Carolina are commonly infected by leaf diseases including dollar spot, rust, gray leaf spot, powdery mildew, anthracnose and Helminthosporium leaf spot. Most of the time, these...
White Grub Management in Turfgrass
White grubs are the larval (immature) stage of several different scarab beetles. In South Carolina, as well as the rest of the southeastern United States, turfgrass can be attacked by the grub stage...