Tree and Shrub Care (Up to 20 Feet)
Read about Top Tree and Shrub Health Problems
News and tips from BOG
Fertilizer Use Act of 2011
Gov. O'Malley, on May 19, 2011, signed into Maryland Law, the Fertilizer Use Act of 2011. The law is
designed to reduce the amount of nutrients into the Chesapeake Bay from lawns, golf courses, parks,
recreation areas and other non-agricultural sources. The law mandates several things: the amount of
phosphorus contained in fertilizer sold to the public, establishes a training and certification process
for persons who are hired for applying fertilizer, limits the amount of fertilizer applied to turf and
implements a program to educate homeowners on best practices for fertilizer application... Read full article on Fertilizer Use Act of 2011 on our blog
In addition to caring for your lawn with one of our custom lawn care programs, we can also care for you trees and shrubs. Our tree/shrub program has been exclusively designed for the climate and specific types of plants that grow in Maryland. Your technician will inspect and care for your landscape throughout the year with six scheduled visits.
The Tree/Shrub program will protect your investment in your landscape by controlling:
- Insects
- Diseases
- Harsh winter winds and ice
- Essential nutrients in the soil
How? Our customized 6 step program will keep your landscape healthy and beautiful.
- Early Spring: We apply a horticultural oil treatment before insects have a chance to develop. This oil prevents insects from hatching, before they can damage your landscape. We apply a balanced slow release fertilizer with micro-nutrients and iron to the root zone of your plants. These essential nutrients will promote root development, and foliage growth.
- Mid-Spring: Each plant is individually treated to protect them from spring insects (lace bugs, caterpillars, and mitts) and disease (leaf spot, scale, and rust). Nutrients are applied as needed.
- Early Summer: Each plant is individually treated to protect them from summer insects (Bag Worms, mites, and beetles) and Disease (powdery mildew, leaf spot, scale) Nutrients are applied as needed.
- Late Summer: Summer is when insect and disease problems often spread quickly. Both insects and diseases are monitored and treated as needed. Nutrients are applied as needed.
- Fall: Deep root injection to susceptible plants with systemic insecticide provides protection against harmful pests like emerald ash borer, hemlock wooly adelgid, and scale plus a fully-soluble fertilizer product that provides both chemical and biological fertility. Apply balanced fertilizer slow release fertilizer to all other plants.
- Winter: We apply a wax coat to protect your plants from drying out in the cold and ice of the winter and harsh winds.
Contact Blades of Green for a Free Consultation.
 Emerald Ash Borer Alert
The Emerald Ash Borer, as shown, has arrived into Howard County. This nasty pest is moving ever closer
to Baltimore City. Baltimore City has approximately 300,000 Ash trees. The cost, just to remove a dead
or dying tree is in the neighborhood of $500-1000. The Ash is planted in our cities since Ash trees are
drought resistant and can tolerate adverse conditions. Read more
Bagworm Alert
Now is the time to find bagworms! The bags start off as very small silken
containers on the underside of the stems on the trees. Most often the bagworms
infest Leyland Cypress, Japanese maple and spruce (all varieties). Good
description: the bags look like small pine cones! The bags are very difficult to tear
open: they are silk! Read more
White Tail Deer and Ticks
Ticks in our area generally involve white tail deer. We are aware that the deer population is a burden
to the environment and presents a variety of challenges. One of the more serious challenges is the
proliferation of Lyme disease. Lyme disease has more than doubled in the last decade. Read more
Pest Alert: Gypsy Moths
Early spring through mid to late May is the time frame for Gypsy moths. The moths emerge as
caterpillars and feed on the tender leaves of hardwood trees. Severe infestations can and often do
result in complete defoliation of trees, sometimes conifers. Read more
ALERT! ALERT! ALERT!
Have you noticed the caterpillars? They are Eastern Tent Caterpillars. On the plus side the
tent caterpillars will help you to identify wild cherry trees. Wild cherry trees are the preferred
targets of the tent caterpillars. Initially you will notice the silk webs (yes, silk!). You also will see
the tents on crabapple and apple trees. There are thousands of the caterpillars in the tent; they
will emerge and feed on the new buds and leaves. What can you do?
Well, May is the month of highest activity. Best management practices are to prune out the egg
masses in the fall or early spring and destroy them. All you need do, is to pull the egg masses
off of the tree and drop the entire mass into a bucket of soapy water. Unfortunately, the best
predator for the egg masses, birds, cannot penetrate the mass. Do this in the evenings during
the month of April. If the tents cannot be reached, give us a call.
If the situation with the tent caterpillars is beyond your control, contact us, we will be happy to
take appropriate action with the correct product for the job.
Beetles, beetles, beetles and more beetles!
Every spring we get calls "I have beetles, everywhere!" What do I do?
Well now is the time you need to think about a preventative plan for coping with the problems
presented by popillia japonica or just plain old Japanese Beetles. These little pests are just beginning
to awake from a long winter slumber. Nestled snugly in your beds and lawn the Japanese beetle will
begin slowing going to the surface. One thing is for sure: the soil temperature has a way to go for the
beetles to begin to emerge. Timing is always interesting for the beetles. The Japanese beetle seems to
emerge just in time to eat buds and tender, succulent leaves from your shrubbery. Perhaps rose buds
are the favorite or maybe crape myrtle buds or cherry laurel or any other of the 500 species of plants
that beetles will attack. Grub protection is one method of beetle control. Grub protection is quite
effective when applied at the appropriate time. Contact us, BOG Lawn Care to find out how we use IPM
(integrated pest management) to cope with beetle control.
How about that Bamboo!
Bamboo, right now, is very popular for flooring, cutting boards and any place where a tight grained
wood is desired. Number one: do not plant running bamboo. Period! If you must have running bamboo:
plant it in a container. If frustration is something you enjoy: just try to dig up a stand of running
bamboo! Running bamboo is spread by rhizomes. As you dig, a very, very difficult task, it is nearly
impossible to get all of the rhizomes out of the soil. Even a tiny left over rhizome will come back! This
invasive plant can grow upwards of 40 feet in height and is a renewable resource! Growth of 30 feet
in one year is an average rate. Planted as a screen, bamboo is very effective but the bamboo will soon
over run the area.
One of the best biological methods of dealing with bamboo is your very own Panda! Giant Panda's will
eat 20-30 pounds of bamboo per day. However, this approach will not work: there are only around 1200
left in the world. What else can you do? Bamboo is susceptible to herbicides. The use of the appropriate
herbicide is something that the home owner should not attempt. Even then it will take 2-3 seasons to
control bamboo. Contact us at BOG Lawn Care and let us begin a program to help you control bamboo.
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