Gardenias and Whiteflies
What could possibly be more fragrant than a gardenia in full bloom? It is the quintessential southern shrub. I can hardly wait to snip a few blooms and put them in my car. Their smell seems heaven sent. The glossy foliage and creamy white blossoms just epitomize our southern roots.
Unfortunately, those blooms are coming at an ever increasingly heavy price to pay. Whiteflies are one of the gardenias worst enemies. You can’t google gardenia without a reference to whiteflies, and if you google whitefly you’ll see many references to gardenia. Many gardeners have decided to call it a day and replace their gardenias with less troublesome shrubs. Are we destined to smell our beloved gardenias from a lotion bottle?
Whiteflies are not really flies. They are more aptly put into the piercing-sucking category with mealybugs, scales and aphids. They insert their mouthparts into the leaf or stem of plants and remove the phloem. In turn, they excrete lots of sticky honeydew onto the leaves. The honeydew will then get a black sooty mold which further hinders the plant by covering up areas that would otherwise create food via photosynthesis.
How do you know if you have whiteflies? Shake a limb on your shrub. If it looks like a mini snowstorm, you can safely assume it is infested. Now, how to get rid of them? Whiteflies are one of the hardest pests to control. They multiply like crazy and can quickly gain resistance to chemical pesticides. In fact, pesticide use can reduce populations of insects who are natural enemies of the whitefly, such as ladybugs, green lacewings and damsel bugs. Remedies include vacuuming them as they fly, placing sticky traps around each plant, dusting, planting repellant plants nearby (marigolds are a popular choice), horticultural oils and insecticidal soaps. I even saw an advertisement for a seaweed spray. We are getting desperate in our quest to save our gardenias! Unfortunately, none of the above remedies are foolproof. Because of the short life cycle of the whitefly gardeners have to be extremely vigilant with any method they choose. Daily monitoring for eggs, nymphs and adults are routinely mentioned for effective control.
So, does your gardenia smell as sweet as it did before you read this? I’m still on the fence about them, and I truly love their scent. I no longer recommend them for new installations, but I hope a few of you with gardenias in your yard already fight on and keep the gardenias blooming for another year. Good luck and be on guard. If you catch them before their populations explode you might have a fighting chance.
Mild Winter Creates Uncertainty For Our Trees
While most of us have enjoyed this mild winter with no snow or ice storms to contend with, our trees might not get as many benefits. Trees don’t migrate south or develop a furry trunk to ward off the cold. They are left to fend for themselves no matter the weather they are dealt. Generally, they thrive in cold winters and mild springs. When they get otherwise, they must adapt the best they can.
As our Arborists have been out and about they’ve noticed many trees at or near bud break and lots of flowers already in bloom. Red maples, saucer magnolias and camellias top the list. Each species has a certain amount of time that it must remain dormant before bud break and it appears that many have reached that point. The days are getting longer and the temperatures seem to stay above the freezing mark most nights.
When shade trees bud early, and then catch a late frost, they generally aren’t damaged too severely. But, if you have fruit trees with flowers and they are lost to frost, you won’t have any fruit. Mother Nature is cruel that way!
Things to keep in mind when you see your trees begin to bud out:
- Trees need water during this process. When temps are higher than normal and budding begins, monitor the soil to make sure it never dries out completely.
- A little extra mulch will act as a added protection layer to your trees and shrubs, helping regulate frequent temperature fluctuations.
- While you are outside on these warmer winter days, consider soil testing. You can get instructions for this from the Clemson Extension Office.
- Monitor your trees and shrubs for early insect activity. Dormant oil applications are especially effective for population control.
- Consider fertilizing or adding mycorrhizae once spring is fully underway. Trees that have a shortened dormancy period could use the extra nutrients this year.
If you see anything that concerns you while out monitoring your trees, give us a call at Schneider Tree Care. We would love to come out and take a look. We want you to have the best looking, healthiest trees in the neighborhood!
What's Happening to my Oak Tree?
The Southeast lays claim to a wide variety of beautiful trees, oaks being one of the most plentiful and beautiful. They shade our homes, feed our wildlife, anchor our swings and make impromptu summertime backyard picnics bearable. Because of their native status, they normally thrive in our clay soils, shaking off a myriad of maladies to which the non-natives fall victim. However, be aware of and read up on a few things that try to slow our leafy friends down. And, as always, give our Certified Arborists a call if your oak needs a second opinion.
Smooth patch is a fungus that colonizes on the outer layers of bark, most commonly the White Oak. The bark turns lighter than normal and begins to fall from the tree in irregular patches. You may also notice flat, leathery, off-white discs (lichen like) on the bark. These are the reproductive structures of the fungus. Because this fungus only invades dead tissue, there is no harm being done to the tree. No treatment is necessary beyond keeping it as healthy as possible.
Bacterial Leaf Scorch is a chronic, eventually fatal disease most noticeable in early fall. In Oaks, it affects the Red, Pin, Scarlet, Southern Red, Laurel, Turkey, Shingle and Water. Scorch appears as an irregular scalloped browning along the leaf margin bordered by a yellow halo. Discoloration starts at the tips and moves toward the midrib. Symptoms will reappear each year and eventually spread to the entire crown. Lack of growth and tip dieback are common. Certain antibiotic treatments along with soil therapy have been shown to suppress the disease; Also, alleviating water stress by supplemental watering during hot, dry periods has been shown to help.
Fall Cankerworms are caterpillars in their immature phase that develop into moths as adults. They are common native pests to hardwoods in our area, with Willow Oaks being a favorite target. Larvae hatch and skeletonize leaves in spring. By June they are an inch long and vary in color from light to brownish green with a dark stripe down their backs and a white stripe on each side. They pupate in the soil over summer and emerge as adults in fall. After mating in fall the wingless female climbs a tree to lay eggs. An effective control method, at this point in the life cycle, is to have your tree banded, thus preventing the female from entering the tree. Banding is most effective after leaf drop in November.
Orange Striped Oak Worms can defoliate an Oak tree, devouring their way through August, September and October. They are often referred to as a ‘stomach with legs’. They generally cause no lasting damage to your Oak but if you can’t stand the mess they leave on your car, deck or driveway we can drastically reduce their numbers.
We hope this information will be helpful to you and your Oaks. A healthy tree will add value to your home and enjoyment to your outdoor adventures. Give Schneider Tree Care a call (1-866-895-8002) if we can help with any of your tree care needs.
Ryan Chipman
Ryan Chipman, Schneider Tree Care’s Charlotte area Division Director, is more than just a tree guy. He’s a dad. But, he’s not just an ordinary dad…he’s a foster dad!
Ryan and his wife Jaime were astounded at the number of children, in their county alone, in need of care and decided to do something about it. So after months of training, classes, evaluations, and legal processes, three months ago they welcomed two children into their home, a one year old and a three year old, who are siblings.
Ryan says that the experience has been wonderful, “We have been abundantly blessed and wanted to give back and make a difference. There is such a need for foster parents, and we wanted to help. So far, our experience has been great. The children are a tremendous blessing to us. The love that we get to share with the children is so rewarding and has enriched our marriage as well.”
Ryan and Jaime are licensed to adopt through the foster system but know that the ultimate goal of fostering is for the children to be reunited with their parents or family members.
Ryan encourages anyone thinking of becoming a foster parent to, “Go into it with an open mind and heart. Give 100 percent of your heart and effort. Anything else is not fair to the children”.
The Chipman’s hope to welcome a third child into their care soon and are looking forward to what the future holds.
Answer the Phone
I started my company, Schneider Tree Care, some years ago, and like many other tree guys, I had a truck, a chainsaw, and some ability. I was not afraid of hard work and I enjoyed people. I can’t tell you that I had a great plan or even a good plan. I just knew that I could do a good job and people liked my work enough to tell others about me. So, the next thing I knew…poof! I was in business.
In those days, it was easy to go to the bank and borrow money to buy a dump truck, and those guys selling chippers had a magical way of providing you with a machine for only a small monthly payment. As you well know, things are a bit different now. There are many more mouths to feed, more customers to please, and now instead of automatic small monthly payments, I’m required to put down a large initial payment beforehand. Money is tight and consumer confidence is harder to earn than ever before. Since I’m not a quitter and because I’m committed to taking care of the people who helped me grow this company, I’ve had to get creative. I’ve found that word of mouth just isn’t enough anymore and that advertising is necessary. So, I’m doing mailers, e-blasts, and some radio ads, all of which are working. I still ask for that referral because nothing is more effective. In short, I’m doing all that I know to do and I’m constantly learning. I’m learning more so that I can do more.
Let me tell you a little story about something I’ve already learned…
We started a program of simply answering the phone. I know you are all thinking, “Duh” we all answer the phone. Really? I would like to challenge you to make ten calls to ten businesses and see how many people actually answer the phone. I’ll bet you get the same result I did - a voice mail or some other automated, lifeless, soulless, voice on the other end. Sitting in the office after 5 pm and on the weekends, I found that my phone would ring, and there was no one to answer that call but me. Some of those calls were customers I hadn’t heard from in a long time. These were people that I liked, more importantly, people who pay me to care for their trees. Then I started thinking….wouldn’t it be nice to have a qualified, loyal employee (QLE) who needs some extra money in this down economy answer the phone? I ask nicely if two of my QLE’s would be interested in answering the phone, on the weekends, for money of course. The response was amazing! They wanted to do it, and they were happy to do it. One of my QLE’s (Yvonne) told me Monday morning about a call she took on Saturday at 7:15am…
“Hello this is Schneider Tree Care.”
“You answered the phone!”
“Yes, may I help you?”
“I can’t believe you actually answered the phone!”
“Yes Ma’am! May I help you?”
“I would like someone to look at my trees. I am concerned about their health. I can’t believe you answered the phone.”
“Yes Ma’am. Can I get your name and address? I’ll have one of our Arborists come out.”
“I still can’t believe you answered the phone.”…
My point is this - all the advertising and all the sales in the world won’t get you anywhere if you don’t answer the phone.
We must make ourselves available.
We can have the most capable sales staff, the smartest Arborists, the best climbers, the strongest ground staff, the most thorough PHC techs and the greatest management staff in the world. But, if we are not available to make human contact with the real people who want to have a real person honestly be interested in them and concerned about their needs…someone else will.
Bug of the Month: Japanese Beetle
Description: Thick, shiny, oval-shaped body that can grow up to inch long.
Food: They love to eat the fruits, flowers, and leaves of many landscape plants. They feed on young succulent leaves by eating everything but the veins. This makes the leaf look almost transparent.
Danger To Trees: If you have heavy infestations, your trees can be defoliated. If this happens year after year, your tree could die.
Action: The best method of control when beetles are present is to handpick and destroy the pests. If there are more beetles than you can squish, contact a Schneider Tree Care Arborist to prescribe a remedy.
Prevention: The Japanese beetle life cycle starts out in the soil where they mature as a larvae or grub. If you have had problems with beetles in the past, you can determine how bad your next infestation will be by counting the number of grubs present. Dead patches of grass may indicate the presence of grubs. Just roll back the grass and start counting.
Tree Life Story
Someone yells, “Four!” and suddenly Schneider Tree Care President, Brandon Brown, is glad he decided to keep on his hard hat. While helping to install lightning protection on a golf course tree, a sailing ball smacked him, hard, on top of his head. Brandon is no stranger to the golf course. Whether working or playing on the course, he feels at home. In fact, he describes golf as his “healthy addiction.”
He fell in love with the game 13 years ago during his senior year of high school. He plays as much as possible and says that, “One good shot keeps me coming back.” Thankfully, Brandon gets to share his game with wife Melinda and daughter Emily. At only two years old, Emily is already learning to handle a club. And recently, Brandon and Melinda entered a couples’ tournament at Greenville’s Green Valley Country Club where they won the tournament and Brandon shot a 77! His best game ever! As a golf lover and tree care expert, Brandon believes that golf couldn’t even be the same game without trees. He explains, “If there weren’t any trees on a golf course, there would be very few obstacles. Trees force you to take certain shots and make other shots more difficult. Trees make the game so much more exciting. Not only that, the giant, majestic trees that line the fairways protect houses from stray balls and give much needed shade on hot days.” Life with trees is definitely better! And for Brandon Brown, golf with trees is definitely better.
