This weekend (April 9^th thru 11^th) is the perfect time to spring into gear and get a free, no-obligation inspection for Pest Prevention, Termite Protection, GreenUP Landscape Services (including renovation for freeze-damaged landscapes) and Irrigation Maintenance and save big!

There is no obligation to have one of our trained inspectors come to your home and provide you with a free home and lawn inspection. And to make the deal even sweeter, we are offering some AMAZING SAVINGS- this weekend only!

If you are interested in purchasing one of our great services – now is the time! Spring is here and these savings only happen once a year.

To schedule your free inspection for this weekend, click here or call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739) today!

Please share this exciting news with your co-workers, family, friends and neighbors that may be interested. Existing customers can take advantage of our Pass It On referral program and earn a Publix gift card for yourself AND every new Massey customer that you refer!

I’m sure that as you’re reading this, you know by now that the Southeast received one of the toughest freezes in several years. Now I’m from Florida and grew up here. I also did a small stint in Michigan to attend Michigan State University (go Spartans!) but I came back to Florida for a reason…warm weather!

Freeze Damaged St. Augustinegrass

As I drive around town, it looks, well, BROWN!  Lawns are brown, shrubs are dead, trees are looking bare…WHAT HAPPENED? Now I know you’re saying I work for a pest prevention and lawn care company, but I’m a Marketing Manager by trade and no technical expert on this subject (even though I get calls from friends all the time asking “What’s this bug?”).

So I had to refer to the lawn and landscape technical experts here in our company to understand what this means to homeowners and landscapes. Unfortunately – it can mean thousands of dollars in permanent damage to landscapes. We have had freezing temperatures for a long period of time and that means devastation to many of our native lawns and shrubs.

What should you do to help this? Right now, NOTHING! Last year we had a freeze spell in the first week of February (Not as severe as the one we just had, but still freezing). So if you prune plants now or begin to mow your lawn to short – you could be setting your lawn and plants up for more damage if freezing temperatures return.

I didn’t cover all the specific information on what to do with your lawn and plants because it’s too much to post in this blog. So we’ve prepared a web page just for you that contains tips and information on freeze damage.

At least for the next few days the local weather team is predicting “normal” Florida weather. Now I can thaw out!

Just when many were wondering if global warming had taken hold of Florida,Mother Nature bites! Many areas in Central and North Florida experienced a hard freeze for several nights in late January and early February. In many locations temperatures dipped below freezing for up to 7 hours at a time with lows in the upper 20s. Amazingly, it even dropped below freezing as far South as Ft. Pierce for 3 hours one night with a low of 28 degrees.

Why is this concerning to homeowners? About half of landscapes in Florida are planted with tropical plants that cannot tolerate hard freezing. Those plants that were not covered during the freeze, especially tropical plants, have turned brown with freeze burn. In addition, many lawns have also been damaged from freeze burn and have turned brown as well.

What should homeowners do right now? Please don’t go renovating your landscape just yet – we are not out of the woods. There is still a chance for more damaging temperatures before the Spring. Pruning plants or replacing lawns now will promote new growth BUT will be very susceptible to damage in the event of another freeze. It is best to wait until the threat of frost has passed, beginning to mid March.

However, now is the time to start making plans for landscape renovations and re-designing for better plant adaptation. This simply means installing plants that will thrive in locations where other plants that were poorly-adapted to that site have failed (shade, wet or dry soil conditions, full sun, etc.).

There is a Freeze Warning tonight through Friday in Central and Northern Florida. The current forecast is predicting overnight freezing temperatures for extended hours which will likely result in some amount of damage or death to lawns and landscape plants. Here are some tips that will help minimize the harmful effects of low temperatures:

• Run your irrigation system for 15 minutes per zone for rotor heads and 5 minutes per zone for spray heads tonight and again in the morning once temperatures rise above freezing.
• Cover your cold-sensitive shrubs and ornamentals (see list below) with sheets or blankets, but not plastic.
• Don’t mow or walk across your lawn if it is frozen or if there is frost present.

If you have any questions, whether you’re a Massey Customer or not, please call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739).

Most Common Cold-sensitive plants*:

• Gold Mount Duranta
• Queen Sago
• Australian Tree Fern
• Palm trees
• Bird of Paradise
• Variegated Schefflera
• Cardboard Palms
• Hibiscus
• Tibouchina
• Firebush
• Plumbago
• Cardinal Plant
• Roebellini Palm
• Bougainvillea
• Staghorn Fern
• Fire Spike
• Lantana
• Croton
• Ixora
• Allamanda
• Philodendron
• Mandevilla
• Heather
• Oleander
• Butterfly bush

*This is just a list of the most common plants. If you have plants not on this list that are fruit bearing or annuals, it is recommended you cover them.

Frost and freeze warnings come few and far between in Florida and generally happen in the northern part of the state. However, when they do come, homeowners need to be prepared to protect their landscape from potentially damaging temperatures.

There is a frost warning in and around the following counties for tonight thru Thursday: Leon, Flagler, Volusia, Pasco, Hernando, Citrus, Lake, Marion, Sumter, Duval and Clay.

If you live in and around these counties, here are some things you can do to protect your landscape:

• Run your irrigation system for one cycle tonight before going to sleep – 15 minutes per zone for rotary heads and 5 minutes per zone for spray heads
• Cover your cold sensitive shrubs and ornamentals with sheets or blankets
• Do not walk across or mow your lawn if there is frost present

If you have questions, whether you’re a Massey customer or not, please call us at 1-888-2MASSEY (262-7739) and we can help.

Bundle up and keep warm!