Butterfly Gardens! 

There are so many different butterflies and host plants to grow for them in our area! From ornamental plants, "weeds" and even plants we use for culinary purposes, there are ways to add life and color to your garden! Butterflies serve a vital role in our ecosystem and there are numerous ways we can support them. From plants to feed from, to plants to raise their young, there is more than one way you can make a difference. They are not only beautiful to look at and an important pollinator, but they are also a food source for many other native species. Birds, lizards, and even other species of insects all rely on the addition of butterflies and caterpillars as a food source. Creating a butterfly garden goes much further than just flowering plants! A good butterfly garden has trees, shrubs, vines, and perennials; this will not only provide a food source for an array of different butterflies, it will also provide shade, protection from strong winds, a food source for adults, and structures for the caterpillars to climb up and hang to form their chrysalis. Visit us today and get your pollinator garden started! 

Native Carolina Mantis!

Watch out for these papery egg casings around your garden! These are the egg casings and young hatchlings of our native Carolina Mantid! These alien looking insects are great beneficial insects to see in the garden, as smaller, younger hatchlings are effective at eating smaller insects such as aphids and mealybugs. Once they get larger, they eat a wide variety of insects and are very important in keeping nature balanced. *** Watch out for mantids being sold as beneficial insects in stores. These are most likely Chinese mantids and are detrimental to our native populations. These mantids are much larger and eat more than the Carolina mantids, affecting the balance in a negative way. These mantids can even get large enough to catch hummingbirds. The egg casing of the Chinese mantid is much larger and looks similar in shape to a hornet’s nest. Our native mantid egg casing is around an inch long as well as flat and narrow. 

This is a freshly hatched Carolina Mantis. 

Look how tiny it is! 

Spring Fertilizing

Now that we have entered the active growing season it is time to give plants a little helping hand. Our sandy soils can lose their nutrient mass quickly. The best form of fertilizing in our area is adding organic matter in the form of compost to the soil. This not only feeds the plants at an appropriate rate; it will also break down over time, working its way into the soil. Organic matter can retain more water and nutrients than any mineral soil base like sand. Over time this addition of matter into the soil will improve the overall ability of your soil to hold onto nutrients and water. For entire landscapes this can be difficult. There are many organic, granular products that will add nutrients to the soil in a more concentrated form. This offers a more ergonomic way to apply fertilizers on larger landscape beds. There are also many granular fertilizers that offer a higher concentration of nutrients. These are useful for plants with deep root systems or dealing with any competition from surrounding plants in the area. Some plants such as Hollies, Camellias, and Azaleas all need an acidic soil to thrive. Fertilizers such as Holly Tone will help maintain the soil acidity of these prized plants in our southern landscapes. Stop in today and browse our selection of recommended fertilizers for every plant’s needs!

Its time to get tropical!

While our native plants are the best for pollinators, we can also enjoy the added beauty of a touch of the tropics! North Carolina has a simi-tropical climate, with very hot and humid Summers. This can take a toll on many of the coveted northern plants easily grown in cooler climates with harsher winters. Tropical plants are built for the heat, they originate from areas in an eternal summer. These growing conditions allow many of these plants to be continuous bloomers, offering season long color. The other benefit of many of these tropicals is their low risk of becoming invasive or escaping cultivation, as they cannot survive a freeze. This allows you to get creative and have new interests in an ever-changing landscape year after year! Stop in today to get your hands on these fantastic plants!

Houseplant Pests

Pests are extremely active in our homes during the winter months. Apply neem or horticultural oil to any plants going back outside during the spring and summer. Make sure there is no direct sun on the leaves at the time of spraying or until the plant dries. Make sure to spray all parts of the plant, the tops, and undersides of the leaves as well as the petioles and stems. If the plants are staying indoors then an application of systemic insecticide is most useful. This will be absorbed by the plant and translocated throughout. Whenever a pest feeds on the vascular system of the plant it is then also ingesting the poison and dies. These can offer much more effective and longer-lasting pest control. Systemic pesticides should not be used on flowering plants outdoors. The pesticide will also be translocated to the flowers and nectar, killing bees and butterflies if used outdoors.

Have You Ever Noticed A Gray Moss-like Growth Coming From Branches Of Your Trees? 

We have gotten a few questions about this lately and I just want to clear things up. This is lichen, a fun symbiotic relationship between fungus and algae. This is not harmful or parasitic to your plants but is feeding off the dead cambium layer (bark). Fungi does not contain chlorophyll and therefore cannot produce its own energy. Algae does contain chlorophyll and while it can produce its own food, it won't live long if it is continually drying out. This is where the fun symbiosis starts! The fungus protects the algae and allows it to keep its structure even when dry, and in turn the algae share sugars produced by the algae. 

Did You Know Ants Farm?

Be on the lookout for black ants farming aphids on crape myrtles. Beginning signs are black moldy splotches appearing on the leaves that eventually coat the entire thing. Treatment for this is a multi step process including: spraying the tree with horticultural oil in multiple spaced out applications, as well as treating the soil for ants. Without doing both steps, you will have a resurgence of the infestation. Ants carry the soft bodies of the aphids up to the soft, succulent new growth that is most easily attacked. As the aphids defecate, they release a sticky sap-like substance that has been given the name honeydew. With extreme infestations, it may appear as if it is drizzling under the tree. This honeydew is what turns into that more noticable sooty mold.