Virginia Green Grow Beyond Blog

Our Tree and Shrub Manager states that we are seeing signs of the Eastern Tent Caterpillar active in our area, not to be confused with bagworms or webworms. They build “tent” like nest in the crotches of the trees where they feed. These caterpillars are leaf chewers, and while they can defoliate a tree when the population is high, rarely is this feeding fatal, and a healthy tree will push out new growth. 

The Eastern Tent Caterpillars emerge and feed in early-mid spring and then move on in their lifecycle, while the tents remain until they weather away. 

How Do I Use and Maintain My Irrigation System? 

A large part of maintaining a healthy lawn is proper watering. Your lawn needs between 1 and 1 ½ inches of water each week from April through November. 

To ensure proper watering, many homeowners install irrigation systems. A properly installed and maintained irrigation system can greatly simplify proper watering and often results in not only a healthier lawn but also water savings! 

Rough stalk bluegrass is most active in the spring in our region. As cold weather comes, it may shut down Poa Trivialis from growing for a week or two, but it will continue to thrive until the heat of summer. During that time, it goes completely dormant and will yellow out until temperatures cool. It’s pretty normal to see some of this grassy weed in a lawn no matter the effort we put forth. It may have already been in the soil, in a batch of cheap seed or shade seed, carried to your lawn by an animal, or many other possibilities. 

Homes in across Virginia are in the perfect environment for the green and black mold, mildew and algae to grow on the siding of a house.  With the warm and moist conditions throughout a good portion of the year, poor air movement during different times of the year, and many homes sites built with trees surrounding them it is just about inevitable that wooded sidings will get algae, mold and/or mildew on them.

Question: My trees and shrubs were fertilized the other day and it rained that night, did the rain wash the fertilizer away? 

The answer is a simple NO.