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Letter to the editor

Summer gardens, see how they grow

Heat and moisture are stoking growth at a rate you can almost observe.

By Pam Brown and Carol Suggs, Special to the Times
Published June 30, 2007

Everything grows like Jack's beanstalk during the summer. Let's start with a checklist to keep your landscape looking good.

- Plant summer annuals such as celosia, marigolds, portulaca, vinca and zinnias.

- Pinch off faded blossoms of annuals to keep plants blooming. Fertilize monthly with a slow-release mixture for flowering plants.

- Prune azaleas. They can be cut back one-third to one-half.

- Put down a layer of organic mulch 2 to 3 inches deep around plants to conserve moisture and discourage weeds.

- Prune new growth on poinsettias when stems reach 12 inches. Prune only the new growth back to four leaves.

- Prune dead parts from shrubs, trees and herbaceous plants anytime. Dead wood and stems are entryways for disease and pests.

For a fruitful harvest

Citrus trees sometimes have a late bloom now. Many trees that failed to fruit in spring are full of flowers, especially navel orange trees. New fruit will not affect earlier fruit.

Late-bloom fruit is often dry and pithy, but there is a chance it will be good, so most people let it ripen.

Leave mangoes on the tree to mature, otherwise they won't ripen properly. To check for maturity, pick a large one growing in the sun and cut through it lengthwise. The flesh around the seed should be turning yellow. Other mangoes the same size or larger are probably also mature and can be taken indoors to ripen; it takes several days to sweeten up. Trees can be pruned after fruit is harvested.

Avocado varieties ripen at different times, but the main season is July through February. Avocados do not ripen on the tree. Mature fruit ripens three to eight days after it is picked.

Florida avocados ripen best at 60 to 75 degrees. At higher temperatures fruit ripen unevenly and may develop an off-flavor. Storing in the refrigerator delays ripening and allows you to keep fruit longer.

If you want to keep your trees at a manageable height, prune soon after harvest. Severe pruning does not injure the tree if proper cuts are made, but it reduces production for one or more seasons.

Check fig leaves for rust. Fig rust disease can cause your tree to lose all its leaves. Infected leaves develop small, yellowish spots that later enlarge and turn brown.

Remove infected leaves before spores are produced; the spread of spores causes future infection. Rake fallen leaves and destroy them. Spraying with Neem oil when rust is first found offers some control.

Here come the insects

Those innocent-looking small black grasshoppers seen earlier this year have now turned into large, multicolored grasshoppers called lubbers. They prefer to feed on plants of the lily family, but will also eat other plants.

Adults are yellowish with dark markings and a red area on their wings. They may be more than 3 inches long when fully grown. Once they reach this size, chemical controls are of little value.

Another common lawn pest during the summer is the tropical sod webworm. The adult, a dingy brown moth with a wingspread of three-quarters of an inch, holds its wings tight over its body when at rest. These moths appear in summer; at dusk, flying just above the lawn, they lay their eggs in grass.

In about one week, the eggs hatch out as small caterpillars. These are usually green and grow to three-quarters of an inch long.

The caterpillars are the only damaging stage. They feed at night, frequently spinning a silken web over the grass surface.

The grass may die in spots where the foliage is chewed off in hot weather. Monitor your lawn by looking for webs, brown grass, greenish fecal pellets or the caterpillar. Control with Bacillus thuringiensis (Bt), or Carbaryl.

Compiled by Pam Brown and Carol Suggs of the Pinellas County Extension Center/Florida Botanical Gardens. Questions? Call them at (727) 582-2100.

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FAST FACTS
Mark your calendar
9-10:30 a.m. July 7: "Rain Barrel Workshop, " Pinellas County Extension, 12520 Ulmerton Road, Largo. Free. Learn how to set up a recycled plastic barrel to collect rain from your roof to water your garden and landscape plants. Barrels available for purchase. For reservations or information call (727) 582-2673.
9 a.m.-4 p.m. July 12: "Lawn and Garden Help Desk, " Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, 3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs. Do you have a mysterious plant in your garden that you can't identify? Would you like to know about landscaping with native plants? A Pinellas County Extension horticulturist will answer questions about landscaping and gardening, diagnose plant problems, identify insects or receive soil test samples. Recommended for adults. Call (727) 453-6800 for information.
10-11 a.m. July 12: "Integrated Pest Management, " Brooker Creek Preserve Environmental Education Center, 3940 Keystone Road, Tarpon Springs. Pinellas County Extension Horticulturist Cindy Peacock will teach a class on using Integrated Pest Management techniques for insect and disease control in residential landscapes. Topics include: Identifying the "good guys" and the "bad guys, " determining what action is necessary, selecting environmentally friendly pest control products and services when possible. Free. Register at (727) 453-6800.
10-11 a.m. July 28: "Identifying and Controlling Invasive Plants, " Weedon Island Preserve Environmental Education Center, 1800 Weedon Drive NE, St. Petersburg. Learn why these non-native plants are so problematic to Florida's environment, how to identify species designated as invasive, and what control methods are available. Call (727) 453-6500 for information or registration.
2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. July 30: "Bugs, Good & Bad" with Pam Brown, Palm Harbor Library, 2330 Nebraska Ave. Explore the types of insects you might find in your landscape. Learn to distinguish between the beneficial and harmful. Two "Helpful, Harmful, Harmless?" ID card decks will be given away as door prizes.

[Last modified June 28, 2007, 17:15:47]