Petal Pusher's Lawn & Garden Designs

04/09/2023

Happy Easter to all of you from my family!!!

12/25/2022

Merry Christmas from my family to yours!!! I am sooo thankful for your business 🌿

09/06/2022

Public Service Announcement!!! TAKE NOTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Just a reminder for people who have a spurw**d problem. Now is the time to treat your yards with a pre-emergent.

Timing is KEY TO CONTROL! NOW IS THE TIME!!!

The spurw**d is a winter annual w**d that germinates in the fall, producing a ground-hugging plant with parsley-like leaves. It grows in the fall and winter, blooms with tiny white flowers in late winter to early spring, then sets the seed which is the problematic sticker.

This fall/winter (October, November, December) either use a pre-emergent herbicide, or spray with a post-emergent herbicide with 2,4-D at the end of January through February to kill the w**ds before they set more seeds next spring. It may, in some cases, take an application of both. There are numerous formulations of two and three way mixes of 2,4-D, dicamba and MCPP. Make sure you read the label before purchasing that they are safe for your particular southern grass. For instance, Bermuda tends to be more herbicide tolerant than St. Augustine or Centipede.

Pre-emerget herbicides include products with simazine or atrazine. Metsulfuron (Manor®, Mansion® Blade® or MSM OD25®) or three-ways (MCPP + dicamba + 2,4-D) provide post-emergence control of spurw**d. Metsulfuron or a three-way may be tank mixed with either simazine or atrazine to improve control. NOTE: Metsulfuron will also kill bahia grass so if you have that in your yard and want to keep it, go with an alternative option mentioned above. Also, metsulfuron cannot be applied under the drip line of any trees or around any ornamental you wish to keep.

In summary: you can use a pre-emergent herbicide in mid October to December or you can wait for the w**ds to germinate and then easily kill them with a broad leaf herbicide such as 2, 4-D somewhere in the time frame of end of January through February. OR, you can tank mix a pre-emergent with a post-emergent in that time frame for improved control.

THE KEY IS TO MAKE THE APPLICATION EARLY ENOUGH IN THE WINTER SEASON TO PREVENT SEED SET! If you can do this, you will greatly reduce the population for next year, but if allowed to go unchecked, you will have more and more stickers each year!!!

09/06/2021

02/06/2021

It's that time of year to start planning for spring. Right now is the time to plant (fruit and nut trees, trees of all types, shrubs and bushes, bulbs.) It's also time to prune. We can also lay sod (It's in the dormant stage but will be green soon) y'all call me!

09/23/2020

Modern natural landscape for this GORGEOUS house!!

03/17/2020

While everyone is quarantined at home, if you are looking at your flowerbeds wondering how they got away from you and you are overwhelmed, let us help you!!! We can come in, w**d it out, take out any dead bushes, prune, trim or cut back, we can realign rocks and borders, add plants, bushes, trees, bring in mulch, straw, rocks. Whatever your curb appeal want/need is.... call us, we would love to help!

02/16/2019

February

Fruits and Nuts

Planting season continues for dormant trees.

Fertilize fruit trees.

Apply half of the fertilizer recommended for grapes now; apply the other half soon after fruit sets.

Continue dormant pruning and grafting. Start strawberry plantings.

Shrubs

Planting season continues.

Visit camellia shows to learn of hardy varieties in your area.

Graft camellias in central and south Alabama.

Spray all shrubs with a fungicide before new growth starts.

Good time to prune all shrubs before new growth starts.

Don’t prune early-blooming species because flower buds will be removed.

Roses

Prune hybrid tea roses in south Alabama; delay pruning for a few weeks in north Alabama.

Continue planting.

Annuals and Perennials

Replant early plantings of hardy annuals.

Prepare beds for summer annuals.

Bulbs

Plant cannas, amaryllis, gladiolus, and zephyranthes in south Alabama; delay planting for a few weeks in north Alabama.

Miscellaneous

Houseplants are beginning to show signs of activity.

Fertilize with liquid or soluble fertilizer according to manufacturer’s directions.

Remember Valentine’s Day. Why not send roses or a potted plant?

Vegetable Seed

Plant some vegetables listed for January in central Alabama plus collards, salsify, and Swiss chard.

Add tomatoes, peppers, eggplants, cauliflower, and Brussels sprouts to cold frames.

Vegetable Plants

Plant cabbage, onions, lettuce, broccoli, and Brussels sprouts.

I am here to help you learn and do independently or be hired to do it all for you. Let me know if you need me.

-Shanna Luitze

02/16/2019

If you are thinking about planting fruit trees now is the perfect time... The best time to plant is hands down during dormancy... while the tree sap and sugars are concentrated into the plants root system. A tree can tolerate disturbances during dormancy, because it is asleep. Think about someone being put to sleep for surgery, if they are awake while being operated on without anesthesia they could go into shock. That is exactly what happens to a tree during its growth stage, it goes into shock & sometimes die. As a result of the wettest winter on record, we have the perfect environment for planting trees. The ground is soft for digging holes and moist providing the perfect conditions for fruit trees to grow and thrive! We don’t think about planting trees until we see them begin to bud out or when we plant our flowers or veggies, but that is kind of too late... You may get them to live planting them in late Spring or Summer, but why not get them into a position to produce fruit next year and not just survive.

I would love to help you make this happen so if you need some assistance, call me. I'd love to help you!!! -Shanna Luitze (Petal Pusher's)

01/22/2019

Hey ya'll here's some things to know.... and if you need my Assistance, I am still constantly working. I have NO OFF SEASON.

January

Turf―A dry winter day is a good time to mow a dormant, warm-season lawn. This grooms the lawn and removes fallen leaves and pine needles. It also allows you to inspect your yard for winter w**ds. Control them by spraying when the weather warms in spring.
Planting―This is a good time to plant new shrubs and trees. Evaluate your landscape, remove unattractive plants, and replace them with others that you prefer.

February

Pruning―Except for maples and birches, now is a good time to prune trees
Lawns―Winter w**ds are evident in dormant warm-season turf now. Apply spot applications of post-emergence herbicides or hand pull to control.

Cut Branches.