This Horticulture Hotline is a continuation of last week's article about soil modification around trees. The article is the ANSI standards for soil modification that are under public review through March 22. These are just a few situations that I see all the time. If you would like to read the complete article, you could go to www.tcia.org/standards/CurrentProjects.htm. I will put a few comments in []'s.

?14.5 Prevention and mitigation of compaction practices

?14.5.1 Objectives for prevention and mitigation of soil compaction should include, but are not limited to, one or more of the following:

Maintain or improve soil aeration;

Maintain or increase water penetration (infiltration rate) and percolation;

Maintain or enhance water-holding capacity and drainage;

Maintain or improve ease of root penetration; and,

Maintain or reduce surface runoff and soil erosion.

[Simple core aeration along with an application of Seaumic at 15#/M and an application cotton burr compost to a one inch depth covered with a bark mulch at a one inch depth will provide you all of the above. You could also vertical mulch (auger holes and fill with compost or other soil amendments) sometimes called drill and fill. Radial mulching is a little more involved and for soils in worse shape. Radial mulching involves trenching out from the tree like a bicycle spokes and filling the trench with composted organic matter and soil amendments. Radial mulching is best left for an arborist because of the amount of root damage. You can also loosen the soil with high pressure air.]

Since these standards are so important to the health of our trees and landscapes in general, I will continue with soil modification next week.

Remember that when applying products to your yard, whether organic or synthetic, be sure to remove product that lands on sidewalks, roads, driveways, or any other hard surface that will prevent the product from penetrating the lawn and end up running off into the storm water system with the next rain. This cleaning will also help reduce staining of your hard surfaces.

The cold weather has given us an extension on getting out our pre-emergent products for small seeded annual weeds. Pre-emerge now, vacation or hangout in the air conditioner air later.

Plantasia (a green market for plant lovers) and the walking tours are rapidly approaching.

If you want to remove the balls from your Sweetgum trees, now is the time. Hurry up or you will have another year of spiny balls in your yard.

(Bill Lamson-Scribner can be reached during the week at Possum's Landscape and Pest Control Supply. Possum's has three locations 481 Long Point Rd in Mt. Pleasant (971-9601), 3325 Business Circle in North Charleston (760-2600), or 606 Dupont Rd, in Charleston (766-1511). Bring your questions to a Possum's, fax your questions to 406-2700 or e-mail them to your newspaper's editors. You can also call in your questions to" The Garden Clinic", Saturdays from noon to 1:00, on 1250 WTMA (The Big Talker).