Landscape Management Calendar for January
Landscaping:
- Bedding plants to add during this cool month include pansy, viola, petunia and snap dragon
- This is the best month to plant Camellias and deciduous fruit trees
- Florida observes Arbor Day on third Friday of January. Plant a tree in your yard or community to celebrate Arbor Day.
Lawn Maintenance:
- This is a good time to prune and fertilize existing deciduous fruit trees
- Be ready to cover tender plant to minimize damage
- Plants may still need water if temperatures remain higher than normal and rainfall is below normal
- Mow grass less frequently during this month
Landscape Management Calendar for February
Landscaping:
- Bedding plants that can withstand temperatures that can drop down to freezing include: dianthus, pansy, viola, and dusty miller
- If you are considering to plant shrubs, make sure you know the expected height and spread of any shrubs at maturity. Not all shrubs are suitable for planting next to homes or under windows.
Lawn Maintenance:
- Cold weather can damage certain palms. Proper care may prevent loss of the palm and encourage recovery –seek an experts help
- Avoid pruning any citrus until spring
- Roses should be pruned this month to remove damaged canes and improve the overall shape of the roses. After pruning, we recommend fertilizing and a fresh layer of mulch. Blooming should begin eight to nine weeks after you prune.
- Continue to mow grass less frequently due to cold weather.
- Mow grass less frequently during this month
Landscape Management Calendar for March
Landscaping:
- It is time to plant warm season annuals such as wax begonia, penta, and zinnia
- This is also time to plant all types of trees, shrubs, and perennials
Lawn Maintenance:
- If azaleas need hard pruning to shape or produce a fuller plant, prune it after the plant finishes blooming
- Prune spring flowering trees and shrubs after they bloom
- Fertilize palms, azaleas, camellias, and other ornamental shrubs if needed.
- Evaluate your irrigation system to insure all heads are working properly and there is adequate coverage
- It’s time to mulch or rock your plant bed. Mulch adds moisture during dry weather and minimizes weeds in plant beds. Rock adds many cost effective benefits.
- Due to increase in temperature, may have to increase frequency of mowing
- Weed control in plant beds begins with herbicide.
- Mow weekly
Landscape Management Calendar for April
Landscaping:
- Consider another annual – Coleus. It does well in the sun or shade and comes in a variety of colors and patterns.
- Perfect time to plant herb gardens filled with basil oregano, sage Mexican tarragon, and rosemary
- Planting season is here. It is time to plant a variety of trees, shrubs and perennials
Lawn Maintenance:
- Increase frequency of mowing to weekly for Saint Augustine grass
- Apply a lawn fertilizer no later than mid April
- Identify any brown patches in your lawn and determine if caused by lack of water or pests. If pests, have the appropriate pesticide applied.
- Increase weed control in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
- Continue monthly irrigation checks
Landscape Management Calendar for May
Landscaping:
- Annuals that can handle the Summer heat include Salvia, Angelonia, Wax Begonia, Ornamental Pepper
- Planting season continues. It is time to Plant a variety of trees, shrubs, and perennials
Lawn Maintenance:
- If new gardenia leaves are yellowing, this normally indicates a micronutrient deficiency. This could cause serious damage to the gardenia shrub.
- If Oleanders have chewed or ragged leaves it indicates that caterpillars are at work and this needs to be addressed before the entire plant is destroyed.
- Prepare for hurricane season by checking trees for damaged or weak branches and have pruned if needed.
- Watch out for lawn insects this time of year – damage from chinch bugs in Saint Augustine Grass and newly hatched mole crickets in Bahia lawns.
- Most grasses mow weekly
- Continue monthly irrigation checks
- Maintain weed control in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
Landscape Management Calendar for June
Landscaping:
- Annuals that can take full sun during how summer months include celosia, portulaca, vinca, and some coleus.
- It’s time to add bright color with perennials like blue sage, ‘Hot Lips’ salvia Mexican sage, and rose leaf sage.
- This is the perfect time to plant a variety of palms
Lawn Maintenance:
- Flowering shrubs like hibiscus, oleander, and crape myrtle, will benefit from frequent light pruning during warmer months to encourage further blooming
- Take time to determine the cause of brown patches in your lawn so your remedy is effective. They could be caused by lack of water, chinch bugs, or disease.
- Replace sod areas where needed
- Most grasses mow weekly
- Continue monthly irrigation checks
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
- Maintain weed control in plant beds
Landscape Management Calendar for July
Landscaping:
- Bedding plants such as Coleus, crossandra, ornamental pepper, and tropical milkweed planted now should last until November
- Continue planting palms while the rainy season is in fully swing. Support large palms with braces for 6-8 months after planting.
Lawn Maintenance:
- Any pruning to azaleas should be done by mid-July to protect developing buds for next spring’s bloom
- Insure the irrigation rain shut off device is working properly. It can save money during this normally heavy rain month.
- Take time to determine the cause of brown patches in your lawn so your remedy is effective. They could be caused by lack of water, chinch bugs, or disease
- Prepare for hurricane season by checking trees for damaged or weak branches and have pruned if needed
- Most grasses mow weekly
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
Landscape Management Calendar for August
Landscaping:
- Bed Planting is limited in this hot summer month to annuals like vinca, gaillardia, bulbine, and coleus
Lawn Maintenance:
- With palms, if older fronds are yellowing, you may have a magnesium or potassium deficiency. Apply an appropriate palm tree fertilizer
- Pinch back poinsettias and mums before the end of the month to allow time for buds to form for winter bloom
- Rapid growth and leaching rains may have caused some nutrient deficiencies in some ornamental plants. Fertilize those plants that show signs of these signs of deficiencies.
- With bedding plants, remove spend blooms, cut back and fertilize flowering annuals and perennials to extend the bloom season into the fall months.
- Most grasses mow weekly
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
Landscape Management Calendar for September
Landscaping:
- To freshen up your summer plant beds try annuals like ageratum, celosia, zinnia, and wax begonia for color as we move into fall.
- Elephant’s Ear (Alocasia). Others to plant are calla, narcissus, and zephyr lily.
Lawn Maintenance:
- Bahia, Bermudagrass, Zoysia, and St. Augustine lawns should be fertilized this month.
- Most grasses mow weekly
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
- Continue to monitor the lawn for insect damage – cinch bugs, mole crickets, and sod webworms are still active this month
Landscape Management Calendar for October
Landscaping:
- Bedding plants for the cooler months ahead are Digitalis (foxglove), petunia, and shasta daisy.
- Add Evergreen hollies with their bright berries to add color to your landscape.
Lawn Maintenance:
- Most grasses begin to mow every other week
- Until May, watch for brown patch and large patch, fungal diseases that cause areas of grass to turn brown
- Treat lawn with pre-emergent herbicides to prevent weeds before they appear in the winter.
- Lawns will start to lose color, as the weather gets colder.
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
Landscape Management Calendar for November
Landscaping:
- It’s time to plant annuals that provide fall colors. Some to try are pansy, viola, and chrysanthemum.
- Taiwan Cherry is an ornamental cherry suitable for north Florida. Late winter will provide pink blooms.
Lawn Maintenance:
- If freezing temperatures are forecasted, protect small citrus trees by watering them a day before the freeze. You may also want to use plant covers that will extend to the ground to protect the roots.
- To help control scale insects on ornamental plants and trees, use dormant oil sprays.
- Due to cooler weather, it’s time to reduce irrigation time on both lawns and ornamental plants. Check the local watering guidelines for you specific zone and time of year.
- Most grasses mow every other week
- Until May, watch for brown patch and large patch, fungal diseases that cause areas of grass to turn brown
- Lawns are still loosing color.
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed
Landscape Management Calendar for December
Landscaping:
- Add lots of color to your winter garden with masses of petunia, pansy, snapdragon, lobelia, alyssum and viola
- If plants did not perform as expected this year, a soil test may be a good idea.
Lawn Maintenance:
- Don’t prune cold damaged plants. It is best to wait until warm weather returns to cut back plants
- Most grasses mow every other week
- Until May, watch for brown patch and large patch, fungal diseases that cause areas of grass to turn brown
- Lawns are still loosing color.
- Maintain weeds in plant beds
- Prune hedges and other ornamental shrubs when needed