Welcome to a new year and a great time to encourage new plant growth. By now, if a person has decided to do winter rye or flowers, this would be a great time to fertilize the lawns and winter flowers. Currently Complete Landscaping is on our second feeding for our winter lawns. We are currently using Calcium Nitrate to feed our lawns. This chemical is a hot chemical that must be watered in right after it is applied. If a person fails to do this, the lawns will get stressed and burned. If Calcium Nitrate is not available, use a chemical that has iron in it, this iron will help make the grass a dark green color that should last a couple weeks if watering is correct.
With the unusually warm winter we are watering our lawns 2 times during the middle part of the day. Unlike summer lawns, do not water winter lawns during the night. This will create a fungus on the lawn and also create a potential slip hazard on any walking paths around the lawn. Try to keep the watering cycles short so that the watering depth stays where the roots are located, around 2-4 inches.
Towards the end of this month would be a great time to fertilize any fruit trees with a 20-20-20 blend of fertilizer. This fertilizer blend is always perfect for flowers, so feel free to use it frequently on them to see colorful blooms. But please remember to always dead head the flowers on a weekly basis. Dead heading is simply what it sounds like, removing the dead flower booms. I’ll have more on this on the next newsletter. Please refer to University of Arizona publication MC91 for information on the amount for a tree. Do not fertilize newly planted citrus for one year. Do not forget, even though we are having a warm January, there is still a chance of a freeze. When there is a freeze, make sure to cover the plants and do not tie the bottom around the trunk. A plant needs the warmth from the ground to be able to go into the covered plant to further help prevent frost damage. Arizona plants are pretty hardy from the freeze but many plants do receive frost damage. Please cover all citrus and tropical plants on nights it may freeze.