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Gardening

Flowers, cherries and now humidity, weeds

By MARY COLLISTER
Published August 12, 2005

My recent trip out West was much enjoyed as I got to benefit from wonderful weather that had the annual flowers at their peak.

With little (at least relative to ours) humidity and cool evenings, flower colors just seem to be brighter. It was also the perfect time to enjoy a cherry festival, which meant pounds of Bing cherries and fantastic cherry pie.

Coming back refreshed was usually one of the assets of this annual trip, but this time I seem to be having a hard time readjusting to the weather and must admit have rather neglected my yard for the last week or so. Of course, that doesn't mean that there isn't plenty that I could be doing.

Weeds were rampant in the yard, as expected, so I have spent a little time trying to get control of those. I have even used some herbicide to make the job quicker. I concentrated on the front yard, as that is in public view, and will slowly get rid of the rest of the mess as I can.

While I was gone, my husband dug up a few small areas in the lawn that had been invaded by Bermuda grass and replaced them with pieces of sod. This is the perfect time of year to do so. Of course, it's even a better time if someone does it for you!

A neighbor recently asked me about his St. Augustine grass that is growing in the shade, or at least he is attempting to grow it in the shade. Shade can be a problem for St. Augustine grass.

The Floratam variety is notoriously poor in the shade; dwarf St. Augustine grasses such as Seville, Delmar and Jade will perform a little better. Although the shade did not appear to be too heavy (dark), it is apparently lacking sufficient light to grow healthy grass.

A canopy of broad-leafed trees, such as oak, maple and citrus, allows the transmission of only 1 to 6 percent of sunlight. Ideally turf needs at least 12 to 25 percent of illumination.

It used to be suggested that you use the light meter on your 35mm camera to measure the light under the tree, but most of us use disposables or digital cameras now, so you will just have to estimate the amount of light present.

Reduced light is not the only problem present when you try to grow grass under trees. The grass' blades grow long and are damaged by mowers. There is less air movement and less need for water but more chance for fungus and caterpillars.

The grass also grows more slowly, therefore needing less fertilizer. Most grass is grown in full sun at the sod farms, so it may take weeks for the grass to acclimate to its new location. If you excessively fertilize and water the new sod, the leaves will be tender, which will encourage fungus.

All of this sounds like growing turf in heavy shade may be next to impossible, which it may be. But there are a few things you can do to increase its chances of survival. You may gradually raise the tree canopy and/or thin out your tree, raise the height of the mower, reduce fertilizer and irrigate only as needed.

Growing turf in the shade is often not realistic, but many people want to try to have a nice carpet at their feet and shade overhead. If you have that minimum of about 12 percent sun and are willing to put in the extra effort, you can have grass.

The Hillsborough County Extension Service can offer information on growing turf and other gardening topics. The new list of classes has come out. Be prepared to put your new knowledge to work when our weather cools off.

If you have an interest in herbs, try the Growing Herbs workshop at the Valrico library at 1906 Bloomingdale Ave. at 7 p.m. Sept. 7.

If vegetables are your thing, a class is at 10 a.m. Sept. 8 at the Jan Platt Library, 3910 S Manhatten Ave. It's offered again at 10 a.m. Sept. 15 at Charles Fending Library, 7606 Paula Drive in the Town 'N Country area.

You have two chances to catch the Butterfly Gardening workshop. The first is at 10 a.m. Sept. 12 at the Upper Tampa Bay Regional Library on Countryway Boulevard, and then 7 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Jimmie B. Keel Library, 2002 W Bearss Ave.

Gather information about growing Salvias, always a favorite flower, at 10 a.m. Sept. 13 at the Austin Davis Library, 17808 Wayne Road in Odessa; at 10 a.m. Sept. 21 at the North Tampa Library, 8916 N Boulevard; and at 10 a.m. Oct. 11 at the Jimmie B. Keel Library, 2002 W Bearss Ave.

If you would like a complete list of workshops being offered, visit http://Hillsborough.extension.ufl.edu You'll find a wealth of other information also.

[Last modified August 11, 2005, 08:56:11]