It’s summer. In Atlanta. Not spring. Not fall. Summer. And that means only two things: It’s hot, and it’s humid.
And we’re not talking about regular heat and humidity. This is Atlanta heat and humidity—upper 80- and 90-degree temperatures with 70% to 100% humidity. Or, as many call it, “HOT”lanta.
By August, walking from the car to the office leaves you red-faced and sweaty. As one travel writer in Smithsonian magazine described it, “It’s so hot, the mosquitoes are sticking together.”
While the air conditioning is a welcome retreat for Atlantans, outdoor lawns and plants don’t have that luxury.
The fungi are coming!
The heat and humidity make them just as uncomfortable…and it also makes them susceptible to landscaping diseases to boot, explains HighGrove Partners’ Vice President of Operations Gary Tomlinson.
“The fungi really start to come out as we get into summer, so we’re constantly looking for them,” Tomlinson says. “We’re pretreating susceptible areas for this now.”
Some specific landscaping diseases really thrive in lawns when Atlanta becomes hot and humid, the first of which is a brown patch, which seriously compromises plant health. Ever notice those bizarre, yellowish-tan, roughly circular splotches on your commercial property’s fescue lawn that can expand out a few feet wide? Brown patch is usually the culprit.
Letting the lawn dry out and treating with a fungicide can help keep brown patch and other landscaping diseases at bay. Since the severity of the brown patch can vary from property to property, HighGrove Partner’s commercial crews watch for this all summer to ensure these splotches don’t blemish your office park or commercial facility.
Unfortunately, fungi and diseases, such as brown patches, don’t infiltrate just lawns. When the humidity is high, they like to attack weakened plants, too. This means trees, shrubs, and perennials. When you start seeing spots on leaves, it’s usually a good sign of fungus.
There are various leaf spots, scorches, and cankers that can pop up as plants become stressed in the heat. HighGrove Partner’s commercial crews keep trained eyes out for these types of landscaping diseases during the summer months for immediate control.
A large part of a commercial office park’s or multi-family housing development’s job is keeping properties full of tenants. A building’s grounds make a great first impression; blemishes and landscaping diseases don’t. HighGrove Partners can help you get through the hottest summer with a keen eye on how Atlanta’s famous heat and humidity can impact plant health. Have our turf and plant health experts inspect your metro Atlanta commercial property. Give us a shout at (678) 298-0550, or use our handy contact form here.
In the meantime, have a nice, tall glass of sweet tea, and stay cool!
