THE LANDSCAPE REPORTER

DECEMBER 2011
DECEMBER WEATHER SUMMARY December marks the beginning of one of the two rainy seasons here
in the Valley and when overnight temperatures can start to dip low enough, causing frost and freeze damage to plant material. Average monthly rainfall is .88 inches. The average high is 66.2 degrees and the average low is 41.8 degrees

TURF TALK
with Jay Pock, ValleyCrest Turf & Irrigation Manager BERMUDA GRASS/OVERSEEDED WITH RYEGRASS Fertilize this month with a fun fact: balanced fertilizer (e.g., 21You can identify 7-14, 16-8-8). Visit your local specialty irrigation store or nitrogen deciency by a light yellow-green home improvement center color (chlorosis) and for the right product and application rate. little or no growth. A good mowing height for ryegrass is 1.5 to 2 inches in height. Do not mow wet ryegrass. Do not walk on ryegrass after a frost or freeze. If common winter broadleaf weeds such as clover or dandelion appear in your ryegrass, you may spray them with a selective post-emergent. NON-OVERSEEDED BERMUDA GRASS As a guide, water dormant Bermuda 1 to 2 times this month to keep some soil moisture if rainfall has not been received. Dormant Bermuda grass can die and go away during a dry winter if it doesnt receive supplemental water. Too much foot tra c on dormant Bermuda grass damages the above ground stolons and can cause it to become sparse and die. If there will be a lot of activities on the grass over the winter, you should consider overseeding next year. If youve had past problems with winter broadleaf weeds, consider putting down pre-emergent to help prevent spring weeds from germinating. Mow your dormant Bermuda grass as needed to keep it looking uniform in height.

DID YOU KNOW?

FERTILIZER

The law requires every bag of fertilizer to be labeled with a three number analysis (e.g., 21-714). These numbers represent the percentage (by weight) of the three major nutrients required for healthy plant growth, always in the same order: nitrogen-phosphorus-potassium. Nitrogen Of the 3 major elements plants need, nitrogen is the staple. Nitrogen gives plants the ability to produce more chlorophyll and makes them grow hardily. Phosphorus Phosphorous aids in root development and increases owering/fruit/seed ability and bloom size. High-phosphorous fertilizer should be used when establishing new plants, trees and grass. Potassium (or potash) Potassium guards the plant against diseases and aids in drought protection, cold tolerance and wear and tear. It also helps the process of photosynthesis and improves root development.

When fertilizing, spread the granules in both directions (checkerboard pattern) to avoid striping the turf as shown.

PLANT CARE
If there hasnt been any precipitation in 4 to 6 weeks, water established plants once every 10 to 14 days, to a depth of 12 to 24 inches to keep the root zone moist. Most of the roots spread 1 1\2 to 4 times as wide as the plants canopy.

If you have shrubs that are outgrowing their space, now is the time to renovate them. Prune them back to roughly 18 in height and dont touch them during the following summer growing season to allow them to achieve their maximum owering capacity.

fun fact: To measure water penetration after watering, push a soil probe or long screwdriver into the soil and gauge how deep it will go. If it easily goes deeper than 6 inches, its past the root zone and youre over watering. If it barely reaches 3 inches, water longer so the water can reach the root zone.

IRRIGATION
Extended freezing temperatures can cause your irrigation backow preventer to crack. A weather proong can be wrapped around exposed pipes for protection.

TREE TALK
with Dennis Lynch, ValleyCrest Arboricultural Consultant December is a great month to prune/crown thin non-native/deciduous trees such as ash, elm, pecan, pine, pistache, and sumac. Have a purpose for pruning and hire an ISA Certied Arborist to explain and oversee the work to be performed. Its also a good idea to check the companys references to understand how your trees will look after being pruned. Do not prune frost sensitive trees right now including orchids, cus, jacaranda, sissoo and citrus. Wait to prune native desert trees such as mesquite, ironwood and palo verde before monsoon season, after they have received all of the spring growth. If there hasnt been any measurable rainfall in the past two weeks, give your established trees approximately 3 to 4 inches of water every 14 days.

Do not prune frost sensitive plants at this time such as hibiscus, lantana, bougainvillea, ruellia, yellow bells, honeysuckle, yellow dot, orange bells/jubilee and natal plum. Do not prune late winter/spring owering shrubs at this time such as cassia/senna, red eromophila (valentine) and chuparosa. Prune your red bird of paradise back to 12 in height if you did not do it in November.

Blooming red bird of paradise

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WEED CONTROL: WITH THE RAINY SEASON COMING, NOW IS A GREAT TIME TO APPLY A PRE-EMERGENT HERBICIDE IN YOUR GRANITE BEDS TO HELP PREVENT SPRING WEEDS FROM GERMINATING.
Red bird of paradise seasonally pruned to 12 inches.

Additional Resources:
http://www.amwua.org/landscape_watering_brochure.html http://extension.arizona.edu/maricopa

FROST PREVENTION AND TREATMENT

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 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 frostsensitive 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.
lantana is a nonindigenous plant

retention, make sure the cover touches the ground. As the coldest temperatures are just after sunrise, be sure to leave coverings on until late morning to avoid shocking your plants. Burlap draped loosely To protect young citrus over a sensitive plant and other cold-sensitive 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 e ort is better than none, and even severely damaged plants may experience healthy regrowth over time. For a list of appropriate desert plant material, visit http:/ /www.scottsdaleaz.gov/codes/nativeplant/eslo.asp

COMMON PLANTS SUSCEPTIBLE TO FROST

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

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 (not plastic). The purpose of draping is to trap radiant heat from the soil, so to maximize

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

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.