by Larry Williams | Aug 3, 2015
Damage caused by azalea lace bug. Photo credit: James Castner, UF/IFAS
When azaleas are in a garden, azalea lace bugs are sure to follow. The good news is these insects, that discolor the leaves of azaleas, can be controlled.
Lace bugs live on the underside of leaves and damage their hosts by piercing leaves with their straw-like mouthparts and removing the plant’s juices. Infested leaves have tiny yellow spots on the top surface and are discolored with dark, varnish-like excrement and old insect parts on the underside. Azalea plants begin to look unhealthy as insect numbers increase through spring and summer.
Azalea lace bugs spend winter as eggs on the underside of azalea leaves. They hatch in early to mid-March and then begin to feed and develop into adults.
Lace bugs complete their first generation by late April. They increase in number throughout the remainder of spring, summer and fall. These insects can complete three to five generations in a single growing season. In late September adult lace bugs, in their final generation of the season, lay eggs that will carry the population through winter.
The key to easily controlling azalea lace bugs is to properly time control efforts.
Inspect plants in early spring to see if insects are present. Look for leaves that are whitish to yellow on the top surface (they may be mottled in appearance) and have small, dark, varnish-like spots on the undersides. If leave damage is heavy continue to check plants every week for small lace bugs, which should begin to be visible in late March through April.
Early to mid spring is the best time to control the first generation of the bugs. Proper insecticide application timing will reduce need for further sprays during the rest of the growing season.
Insecticidal soap, horticultural oil, neem oil and most synthetic insecticides provide good control of lace bugs on azaleas. When using these types of chemicals, make sure to spray the backs of the leaves.
Azalea leaf with lace bugs. Photo Credit: James Castner, UF/IFAS
Systemic insecticides available for use against lace bugs include dinotefuran (Safari), imidacloprid (Bayer Advanced Tree & Shrub Insect Control, Merit) and acephate (Lilly Miller Ready-to-Use Systemic, Orthene). When properly applied, one application may provide season long control.
When using any chemical treatment on plants, it’s best to apply the product during early morning or late evening under cooler temperatures but never during the heat of the day or when the plant is in full sun. And always follow instructions on the pesticide label concerning mixing, application and safety precautions.
by Larry Williams | Jul 7, 2015
There are a number of plants in my landscape that bring back fond memories – plants that I propagated.
Red Mulberry. Photo credit: Vern Williams, Indiana University, bugwood.org.
There’s a mulberry tree in my backyard that I rooted years ago. I took the cuttings from an old mulberry tree in my hometown. As a boy, I climbed the tree, got in trouble once for coming home with mulberry stains on my clothes. I liked the berries and still do. I have good childhood memories about the tree.
About twenty years ago I visited the property adjacent to my childhood home. The tree was still there. It was during mulberry season. I enjoyed a few mulberries. I took about eight or ten cuttings from the tree. About a year after my visit, the property sold. The new owner bulldozed the tree.
But because of the cuttings that I rooted, the tree still lives and not just in my memory. The trees produced by those cuttings are genetically the same as the parent tree. Essentially, they are clones. The one in my backyard produces mulberries each year.
You too can propagate memories. Not all plants can be propagated from cuttings but many can be. Sometimes trial and error is necessary to learn proper timing in taking cuttings. But most reliable references will provide the time of year to take cuttings based on the plant species.
Stem cuttings should be removed from the parent plant with a clean, sharp knife or pruner. Ideally your cutting should be 4-6 inches in length and not much thicker than a pencil in diameter.
Take the bottom two-thirds of leaves off on each cutting. The cuttings should be stuck upright in a propagation medium. I usually use a good quality potting mix and mix in a little course sand or perlite for better drainage. The cuttings should be inserted deep enough to hold them upright, usually ½ to 1 inch.
To help promote rooting of moderate to difficult to root plants, wound the cuttings by scraping the lower ½ to 1 inch of the stem with a clean, sharp knife. The scrape should remove the bark or “skin.” Then dip the cutting in a rooting hormone covering the scrape with the rooting powder prior to inserting the cutting into the rooting medium.
I usually use a four inch pot, gallon size pot or bedding plant flat with drainage holes as a rooting container. I may stick as many as ten stem cuttings in a gallon size pot. I place the container of cuttings in a shady location outdoors and keep it moist. The cuttings should produce roots in two to sixteen weeks, depending upon plant species and the environment.
After the cuttings have rooted, carefully remove them and individually plant each rooted cutting in its own four inch to one gallon size pot. Keep the potting medium moist but not soggy. After the roots adequately fill the pot, the plant should be strong enough to be planted in the ground.
As your rooted cuttings grow, hopefully they will provide fond memories.
by Larry Williams | Jun 9, 2015
There are areas in most landscapes where it just is not practical or possible to bring in the tiller and create a flowerbed. A little imagination, a decorative container and appropriate plants can turn a bare spot into a splash of color.
Colorful containers bring life to your small spaces.
Consider using a container of annuals to add color to a backyard deck or a paved entrance way. Or what about that area under the tree where grass doesn’t want to grow and where it would be difficult to till without damaging the tree’s roots and the tiller? How about the dry spot where there is no irrigation but where it would be more practical to occasionally hand water a well-placed container of colorful caladiums?
A wide variety of flowering annuals work well in containers. But be sure to select plants based on the exposure. Some annuals will quickly bake from full sun exposure and others will become leggy and bloom poorly in a shady location.
Impatiens and begonias do well in shaded places and remain in flower almost continuously. Caladiums with their colorful leaves also do well in containers in shady areas.
It’s more difficult to grow container plants in full sun but there are some annuals to consider for sunny spots. A few to consider include blanket flower (Gaillardia), portulaca and salvia.
There are many other annuals that can be successfully grown in containers. There are even sun-tolerant begonia and sun coleus varieties for full-sun places.
Don’t be afraid to try something different. To learn more about this topic, please see:
Container Gardens for Outdoor Spaces
Gardening Solutions
by Larry Williams | Apr 20, 2015
Mole cricket tunnels. Credit: N. Leppla, UF/IFAS
Many people treat their lawn with an insecticide when they see mole crickets in the spring or at the first sign of a brown area in their lawn. What they don’t understand is the biology of this pest.
Mole crickets spend the winter as adults in the soil. As temperatures warm in late February and March, adult mole crickets emerge and begin to mate. Male mole crickets construct a chamber in the soil and chirp to attract female crickets. Attracted females fly to the males. After mating, males die and females fly to a suitable area for egg laying. Mated females begin tunneling and laying eggs in the tunnels. They lay about four clutches of eggs in different areas, averaging 35 eggs per clutch. Female crickets die shortly after laying their eggs.
Use of insecticides during early spring is not recommended because:
- adult mole crickets are not easily killed
- they cause minimal lawn damage during the mating and egg laying process, and,
- reinfestation from subsequent flights is likely.
The best time to treat for mole crickets is during mid-June through July. This will be when eggs have hatched but before the nymphs (immature mole crickets) are large enough to do much damage. Proper timing of the insecticide application is very important to achieve control.
Mole cricket nymphs. Credit: J. Castner, UF/IFAS
If you are not sure if mole crickets are present, you can find out with a soap solution. Mix 1½ fluid ounces of a lemon scented liquid dishwashing soap in two gallons of water in a sprinkling can or bucket. Pour the soapy water over an area approximately four square feet and count the number of mole crickets that emerge. If they are present, it only takes several minutes for mole crickets to crawl to the surface after the soap treatment. Repeat the process around the yard where you suspect mole cricket problems. If you flush an average of two to four crickets per site, treat the lawn with an insecticide. Follow up with spot treatments if any crickets escape the first insecticide treatment. But don’t treat at all if there is no evidence of mole cricket activity.
There are a number of products for mole cricket control in home lawns. Look for insecticides that contain the following active ingredients: bifenthrin, carbaryl, cyfluthrin, deltamethrin, imidacloprid , lambda-cyhalothrin or permethrin.
Before using any product for mole cricket control first identify the problem as mole cricket damage by using the soap flush technique. Then choose an insecticide that lists mole crickets on its label. And finally, read the container carefully for use directions, application techniques, irrigation requirements and precautions.
by Larry Williams | Mar 17, 2015
Cold injury to lawn from too early fertilizer application. Credit: Larry Williams
It’s too early to fertilize our warm-season lawn grasses now. This includes the use of fertilizers contained in weed-and-feed products.
There are a number of reasons why it’s best to wait to fertilize your lawn.
First, the soil temperature is too cool for grass roots to have access to some of the fertilizer elements. For example, iron and potassium are poorly available until the soil warms up in spring. Some nutrients leach below the grass roots because the lawn can’t use them yet. This results in waste of fertilizer, time and money.
Secondly, fertilizing too soon can induce nutrient deficiencies and off color areas in your lawn. This is one cause for bright yellow areas in lawns during early spring. Nitrogen is readily taken up by the lawn, even under cool soil conditions, and stimulates early green growth. Early lawn growth is dependent on iron also being readily available. However, iron is poorly available under the cool soil conditions of late winter and early spring. Therefore lawns turn yellow in areas due to an iron deficiency caused by an early fertilizer application. Many times, as soil temperatures warm during mid April and May, the iron becomes available and the lawn turns green. So why not avoid this scenario by waiting until mid April to fertilize your lawn?
It takes consistently warm night temperatures to allow the soil to become warm enough for best root growth and optimal uptake of fertilizer.
Thirdly, the young, tender grass roots that are beginning to grow in early spring are easily burned by the fertilizer.
Fourthly, fertilizing too early can stimulate early lawn growth, which is tender and easily injured by a late frost. The average date for our last killing frost is mid March.
Also, be very cautious about using weed-and-feed products that recommend a late winter application. These products are usually high in nitrogen, which will cause your lawn to begin growing too early. If you’re trying to control weeds, it’s best to apply your herbicides separately from fertilizer, anyway.
In North Florida, it’s best to wait until your lawn has completely greened up in spring before applying any fertilizer.
Waiting allows for more efficient use of the fertilizer. You will not injury you lawn by waiting to fertilize but you can certainly injure your lawn by fertilizing too early.
So, have patience, allow your lawn to green up on its own and then fertilize, even if it’s not until mid April or May.
