Sometimes when we talk about the size of things we like to estimate and don’t worry too much about being precise, but there are times when as little as a half inch really is a big deal. When talking about landscape maintenance and pest management that half inch can be crucial.
Here are three examples of when less than an inch may be significant.
Bermudagrass lawn cut at half-inch different height. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Mowing your turf. If you read Mowing Matters last month, you saw mowing height recommendations for common turf types grown in north Florida. We gave a range of heights, but besides referring to the handy chart, you need to pay attention to your specific site. If you begin to mow and the current setting is too low, shut down the mower and adjust the height.
In this picture you can see that just raising the deck up one-half inch prevented the entire yard from being scalped and put under additional stress. After less than a week of proper irrigation the scalped area recovered and the yard looked uniform to casual inspection.
Treating Mole Crickets. The common knee-jerk reaction to seeing adult mole crickets during a mating flight is to treat the lawn. However, when you see the adults they are past the stage of being susceptible to most pesticide treatments. It is also too early to target the next generation – after all you are witnessing mating flights, so time is needed for egg maturation, hatching, and nymph development and feeding before treatment will be effective. Depending on several factors such as temperature and soil moisture nymphs will become active anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months after adults are seen.
Adult and nymphs of mole crickets. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Before applying any pesticides, be sure to scout for appropriate life stage (nymphs approximately ½ inch long) and action thresholds of mole crickets by performing a soap flush (details can be found here Mole Cricket IPM Guide for Florida).
Turf Irrigation. It is important to calibrate your irrigation system and make sure that each turfgrass zone is putting out a minimum of one-half inch of water uniformly.
Why this amount? Research has shown that in most Florida soils application of one inch of water will reach the top twelve inches of soil. Healthy turfgrass roots are typically found in the top 4-6 inches of soil, so by applying one half-inch of water per irrigation cycle you should deliver water to turf roots.
To see an example of how to calibrate your system watch this short video demonstration by Dr. Laurie Trenholm, UF/IFAS Turfgrass specialist.
Properly Mowed Empire Zoysiagrass – Image Credit Laurie E. Trenholm
Mowing is an important and often overlooked landscape best management practices that can increase lawn health.
Most of us mowed lawns to earn some spending money as kids. As long as it was shorter when we finished than when we started our customers were happy. Although mowing seems like a simple chore that anyone can do, it turns out that improper mowing can cause a lot of damage to lawns and can increase pest and disease issues.
Make sure your lawn mower in good working order. Ensure the blades are sharp and the engine is not leaking any oil or gas products that may damage your lawn. Dull or damaged blades will give a ragged cut to grass blades that make it easier for disease and insects to attack your lawn. Leaking fuel products can damage or kill turf. Keep your mower clean by blowing or rinsing it after use, this simple step will also reduce the spread of weeds, insects, and disease.
Know the recommended mowing height for your type of turf (see table below) and follow it! Cutting turf below the recommended height places stress on the grass and encourages shallow roots. Deep roots help turf handle stresses such as drought, shade, insects, disease, or traffic. If any of these circumstances are occurring, the mowing height should be increased and fertilization should be decreased.
Mowing Height Table
Turfgrass Type
Recommended Mowing Height
Bahiagrass
3.0-4.0 inches
Bermudagrass
0.75-1.5 inches
Centipedegrass
1.5-2.5 inches
St. Augustinegrass
3.5-4.0 inches, Dwarf Cultivars 2.0-2.5 inches
Zoysiagrass
1.5-2.5 inches, cultivar dependent
When mowing, never remove more than 1/3 of the leaf blade per cutting. If the grass is overgrown, plan to mow in stages to avoid scalping or removing too much of the leaf blade. Just like shrubs, turf needs leaf surface area for photosynthesis. Allow clippings to fall onto lawns rather than catching them or discharging onto hard surfaces. The grass will decompose rapidly and provide nutrients to the lawn. Clippings that are blown onto sidewalks, streets, or other hard surfaces may be washed into storm drains and get into water systems. Just as decomposed clippings provide helpful nitrogen and phosphorus to our lawns, these same nutrients are harmful to our water bodies. Keeping them in lawns is a great way to recycle and to keep our water clean.
To learn more about caring for your turf click on the link below.
Aphids (Macrosiphum gaurae) feeding on gaura. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Every day, if I get home before the sun goes down, I like to walk around my garden and see how things are growing. At this time of year there are always new surprises in the garden – plants leafing out after a winter break, new flower buds and blooms, and of course sometimes garden pests.
My daughter and I collected some flowers last weekend and after they sat on the table for a few minutes I noticed pink bugs crawling around on the gaura stems. On further inspection I realized the stem was covered in aphids which made me go out to look at the entire plant. I found a prolific population
of aphids on the gaura and also lady beetle larvae hunting and eating the aphids! Instead of mixing up a bottle of insecticidal soap I decided to let the lady beetles do their job and just monitor the situation.
Multicolored Asian Lady Beetle Larvae feeding on aphids. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Five days later I went to show my example of natural biological control to a visiting friend and we could not find a single aphid on my plant. This may not be the typical response, usually I see some level of both predator and prey but in this instance the lady beetle did a fantastic job of controlling the aphids.
So, did they eat every last one? Probably not, they likely ate many of them and the others left the plant because the predator pressure was too great. However, either scenario saved my plant from severe damage which was the overall goal.
Clusters of tiny white flowers on abelia. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Abelias have been a landscape staple in the Southeastern United States for over a century. Numerous types have been used over the years, but two of the oldest forms still used in landscapes are Glossy Abelia Abelia x grandiflora and Abelia ‘Edward Goucher’, dating back to the early 1900s.
Glossy Abelia is a large informal shaped shrub with ½ – 1 inch glossy green leaves and large clusters of tiny white flowers. It can grow to 8 feet wide and tall and tolerates tough landscape sites such as full sun, low moisture (once established), acidic or slightly alkaline soils. It blooms prolifically and is attractive to butterflies and pollinators. New stems are reddish colored which contrasts nicely with dark green foliage which may be evergreen if winters are mild. After blooms are spent the pink sepals remain on the plants carrying more color through the season.
‘Edward Goucher’ Abelia does not grow quite as large and is a good performer with pink flowers. It is smaller than Glossy Abelia, but can still reach 5’x5’ when mature. It is also tolerant of hot, dry spots in the landscape.
Over the past few decades there have been many new introductions of abelia cultivars to the market. A major goal of breeders was to offer abelias that would fit into smaller landscapes and there has also been a trend towards variegated foliage color. There are dozens of abelias in production, but a few listed below are usually easy to find in local garden centers and have proven reliable in Florida landscapes.
Abelia x ‘Rose Creek’ Rose Creek Abelia, low mounding growth habit reaching 2-3’ tall and 3-4’ wide, green foliage, new reddish stems, large clusters of white flowers
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Hopley’s Lemon Zest™’ Lemon Zest Abelia or Miss Lemon™ Abelia grows 3-4’ tall and wide, has yellow and green variegated foliage, light pink flowers
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Confetti’ Confetti® Abelia, matures at 3’ tall and wide, new foliage has pink, white, and green variegation and mature foliage is green and white variegated, pink and white flowers
Abelia x grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’ P.P.#16,988 Kaleidoscope Abelia, compact growth 2-3’ tall by 3-3.5’ wide, gold and pink new foliage that matures into gold and green variegation, white flowers
All abelias perform best in full sun to part shade and have low water requirements once established. They are not salt tolerant, so avoid planting in coastal landscapes or in areas where salts are an issue. Abelias have few pest problems, but aphids have been known to feed on new growth – avoid over fertilization.
Those familiar with the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Principles know that the number one rule is Right Plant, Right Place. But proper timing is important and should not be discounted! Experienced gardeners recognize that certain flowering and annual vegetable plants have distinctive seasons, but may not realize that turfgrass is seasonal, too.
Warm season and cool season turfgrasses fall into the classes of either annuals and perennials. In North Florida, the most commonly grown turfgrasses are warm season perennials such as Zoysiagrass, Bermudagrass, Centipedegrass, and St. Augustinegrass. These grasses thrive in warm weather and, although they may slow down or even turn brown in the winter, are still very much alive and resume growth readily in the spring. Because they are warm weather lovers, plan to seed one of these species when soil temperatures are warm enough for successful seed germination and when young new grass has enough time to become established without danger of frost damage.
Annual ryegrass label says to plant early spring – but that is too late in North Florida. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
On the flip side there are cool season grasses such as fescue, ryegrass, and bluegrass. These grasses prefer cool weather and do poorly and may go dormant or die when subjected to hot weather. These grasses may be perennials in other areas of the country, but should be treated as cool season annuals if grown in Florida. Cool season grasses may be used as a groundcover in bare spots or to overseed warm season grass from fall through early spring.
When purchasing turfgrass seed, be sure to check with your local extension office to verify that the timing is right for that particular grass. Seed products sold locally may have recommendations that are more relevant to northern climates and performance will differ.
