Crape Myrtles are best trimmed from the middle of January until the end of February. This allows the plant to begin producing new branches after the last frost are expected. McGuire’s does not cut these back hard as it can reduce the amount of blooms and make the new limbs weak. Instead, we trim the secondary limbs and crossing limbs to allow the previous limbs to harden and support the blooms. We want to even the plant’s height but do not want to cut too large of wood.

The drift and knockout roses should be hard cut to a level the will produce the overall desired height during the growing season. This should be done after the expectation of freezes exists. Afterwards the roses should be dead-headed to remove expended buds.

All St. Augustine sod is NOT created equal. There are many different cultivars (a fancy word for ‘variety’) of St. Augustine. Floratam is the cultivar the prefers the full sun. If it doesn’t get 100% pure Florida sunshine, it will eventually die a slow, frustrating death. Conversely, if the cultivar called Seville doesn’t get lots of shade, it won’t do well. If you call a sod company and ask for St Augustine, many times they will give you the oldest stuff on the lot so they don’t end up eating the cost.

Be sure to ask for the cultivar that is right for your landscape, and if you need help, feel free to call us.

Just like you can’t stick a penguin in the middle of Arizona and expect it to flourish, your plantings also need to be in the optimum place in order to thrive. This is the number one most important factor for a successful landscape.  Many times, we see plants that are failing because their needs weren’t considered before they were planted. Gardenias, Azaleas, and Ginger are good examples of plants that often are planted in the full sun, but only require filtered sun daily. Other plantings, such as Arbicola, a variegated variety of a chiffalera will lose their variegation when planted in the shade. Many varieties of roses also need full sun so they don’t become thin and ‘leggy’.

If you have questions or concerns about your plantings or are interested in installing new plants, our team members are willing to help.