Your palms aren't lawn grass
It's easy to think of the yard as one big thing. It isn't. Palms, hedges, flowering shrubs, and the beds around the pool each have their own needs and their own pests, and what's good for St. Augustine isn't automatically good for a palm.
That's the Ornamental half of our Lawn & Ornamental certification, and it's a big reason customers hand us the whole property instead of just the grass. A great lawn next to a row of sad, yellow palms still looks like a yard that needs help.
What a hungry palm looks like
Palms planted in South Florida's sandy soil come up short on nutrients all the time. The signs are easy to miss until they're bad.
- Older, lower fronds turning yellow or orange, sometimes with spots you can almost see through.
- New fronds coming out small, weak, or frizzled.
- A palm that just looks thin and tired next to the healthy one in the neighbor's yard.
One thing to know going in. Fronds that are already damaged usually don't turn green again. The proof that treatment is working shows up in the new growth coming out of the top. Palms grow slowly, so a full recovery can take a year or two. The sooner you start, the sooner the palm catches up.
Why the lawn and the palms belong on the same plan
Palm roots don't stay politely around the trunk. They run out under the lawn, so whatever goes down on the grass reaches the palms too. University of Florida research names potassium deficiency as one of the most widespread palm problems anywhere palms grow, and a lot of nitrogen in the soil can bring it on or make it worse (UF/IFAS fact sheet).
In plain words, a feeding plan that's great for St. Augustine but ignores the palms can leave the palms worse off. When the same company handles the lawn fertilization and the palm care, both get planned together.
Hedges, shrubs, and ornamental beds
Ornamental plants have their own list of troublemakers. Sap-sucking insects. A sooty black film on the leaves. Chewed-up new growth. Leaves that yellow and drop for no obvious reason. Left alone, a hedge that took years to fill in can thin out fast.
We treat and feed shrubs, hedges, and ornamental beds so the hedge line, the pool landscaping, and the plants by the front door stay healthy right along with the lawn.
One company for the whole property
When the lawn, the palms, the shrubs, and the bugs are all on one plan, nothing falls through the cracks between three different companies. One customer described us as a set it and forget it operation. That's the goal. You enjoy the yard. We keep it healthy.
Palm and ornamental care fits right in with fertilization, turf maintenance, and the rest of our lawn care program. Already a pest control customer? Ask us about adding it.
