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*:

• 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 – 15minutes 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!

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!

If you haven’t heard too much about chilli thrips, you will soon. These tiny, almost transparent, insects appeared in Florida a few years ago and are here to stay. They attack growing parts of plants and shrubs, feeding primarily on young leaves, buds and fruits.

Chilli thrips damage can be seen on the surface of the plants they feed on, which will typically appear shiny silver at first and then become yellow to greenish brown in color. If you find chilli thrips on your plants,remove the infected plant parts and discard completely. To minimize the damage done by chili thrips, early detection is essential to prevent full-scale infestation.

Keep your landscape protected this summer – contact MasseyServices today for your free, detailed landscape inspection.

Chinch bugs are one of the most difficult-to-control and damaging insects in St. Augustinegrass.  They are tiny, hard-to-see insects that cause damage often confused with drought stress. They suck the juices from grass blades and inject toxins back into the blades, causing them to wilt and turn yellow and brown. If you examine the grass near the soil surface [usually in dry areas of your lawn], you can often see these red or black insects. Proper monitoring,mowing and irrigation are essential in keeping chinch bugs out of your St. Augustine lawn.

Our Massey GreenUP services can provide continuous protection from chinch bugs throughout the Spring and Summer seasons. Justcontact Massey Services for your free, detailed landscape inspection to get started.