Our Plant Health Care Manager, Reese Crotteau, is looking ahead to our November season of anti-desiccant and deer protection applications. We aim to prevent winter damage from scorching sun low in the sky in late winter plus potential harsh wind action on broadleafed evergreens like rhododendron, holly, and boxwood through our anti-desiccant spray program. This product consists mainly of pine sap and is applied through our sprayers in November. It coats the leaves just like lip balm through winter, then deterioriates naturally with the warm weather of spring.
Deer are more prevalent than ever in our region. Their diet in winter turns to woody plants, unfortunately, and all our landscapes are vulnerable to damage. We will continue our deer repellent spray program in November. This year we will also offer to install a deer fencing system in the fall that involves inserting a sleeve in the ground so that poles can be quickly installed in the same spot, year after year, to support winter fencing around plants that deer like to eat. If you have hollies, rhododendrons, witch hazels, yews, oak leaf hydrangeas and the like, please consider this program. All fencing can safely be removed in April when the grass greens up and deer move on, then stored until late next fall.
If you participated in these programs last year, we have you on our list and will contact you to confirm the application. Others may want to join the program now or consider the new deer fencing option. Please contact Kimberly Kuliesis, Operations Manager, kimberly@pumpkinbrookorganicgardening.com to arrange an estimate.
