From our neighbor, Cecily Ryan

If so, important information you need to know

Many of you will have noticed the increasing numbers of dead redbay trees along Kingwood Drive, particularly between the high school and Woodland Hills.  I had several dying trees in my yard and researching it led me to the invasive redbay ambrosia beetle which carries a fungus deadly to redbay trees.

Long story short, I asked Mickey Merritt the Forestry Service Community Forester to come and look.  He came out and was amazed by the sheer numbers involved.  A week later he came back with the Forest Entomologist based in Austin, samples were taken, and it has been confirmed as laurel wilt (Raffaelea lauricola) a fungus carried by the redbay ambrosia beetle.  I now have the dubious honour of having the first recorded cases in Harris County!
Laurel wilt is fatal to redbays.  A single beetle can and will infect a whole tree The beetles carry the fungus and as soon as they burrow into a tree it will be infected.  Laurel wilt can cross into sassafras trees and avocados.  It arrived in the US in Georgia probably from the far east (pallets are suspected).  A billion redbay trees are estimated to have been killed by it.  There is no cure.  I have had 15 trees affected so far and expect to lose the rest of my redbays.  There is no quarantine regarding disposing the infected wood, but homeowners should be mindful of spreading this fatal disease.  I have kept the felled trees on my property as I want to minimize the spread.

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From Kingwood Garden Center March Newsletter

• Give your lawn its first fertilization of the year. Most lawns haven’t been fed for months so we recommend a quick release fertilizer like NitroPhos Imperial or MicroLife Hybrid.
• Spray camellias with Neem Oil to combat tea scale. Neem Oil spray can be used on any of your plants to kill over-wintering insect eggs. Do not use if temperatures are over 90º F.
• Fertilize currently non-blooming trees and shrubs with MicroLife 6-2-4 or NitroPhos Tree & Shrub Fertilizer.
• Feed established roses with BioAdvance Rose Food which is a 3-in-1 product offering fertilizer, systemic insecticide and fungicide. Do not feed newly planted roses until after the first blooms.
• Prune and trim azaleas after flowering and fertilize with MicroLife or Nitro-Phos Azalea Food.
• Divide perennials and daylilies.
• Feed crape myrtles with BioAdvanced All-In-One Food with systemic insecticide and fungicide. A monthly feeding will keep off the insects, which in turn will prevent black sooty mold on the leaves.
• Plant vegetable starter plants, tomatoes, peppers, squash, eggplant, and cucumbers. Use Espoma Garden-Tone for bigger abundant harvests.
• Finish any rose or dormant plant pruning. Remove any freeze damage.
• When transplanting or planting a new tree or shrub, use Ferti-Lome Root Stimulator to get the plant off to a fast start.
• Late March, apply a lawn fungicide such as MicroLife Brown Patch 5-1-3 to prevent brown patch or take-all patch. Lawn fungi flare up when the nights are cool and the days are warm.
• Prune hibiscus and feed with Color Star Hibiscus Food to encourage new growth and blooms.. Hibiscus do not like a fertilizer with a high middle number. Rather they like a fertilizer with lots of potassium, the last number.
• Plant perennials such as lantana, verbena, shasta daisies, salvia, plumbago, lobelia cardinalis, columbine, coreopsis, euryops, foxglove, lamb’s ear, persian shield, gaillardia, pentas, sedum, shrimp plant, wedelia, and yarrow.