by Beth Bolles | Mar 28, 2016
The mining bees or adrenids are often seen in areas of landscapes that have little ground vegetation and loose soil. After mating, the female bee will excavate a very small tunnel in the ground that has several small cells attached to it.
Beneficial solitary bee mounds in the ground. Photo by Beth Bolles
The bee collects pollen and nectar to add to the cell and then lays a single egg in each cell. The emerging larvae feed on the nectar and pollen until it changes to an adult bee in the fall. There is only one generation a year. Although these solitary bees individually produce small nests, sometimes many will nest in close proximity to each other.
Solitary bee entering ground. Photo by Beth Bolles
Solitary bees are not aggressive and stings are quite mild. Most solitary bees can be closely observed and will elicit no defensive behaviors. Perhaps the most common stings that occur are when the sweat bee, which is attracted to moisture, stings when swatted. Males of some solitary bees, which can not sting, will sometimes make aggressive-looking bluffing flights when defending a territory.
Like the most famous honey bee, solitary bees play a beneficial role in the pollination of plants. Their activity in the spring is short-lived and no management is necessary.
by Larry Williams | Mar 11, 2016
Topdressing material should be weed and nematode-free. Photo Credit: Bryan Unruh, UF/IFAS Turfgrass Specialist.
Q. I see some folks putting a layer of lawn dressing (usually sand) on their lawns in the spring. What’s the purpose for this and is it a good practice?
A. Routinely applying a layer of soil or sand to a lawn can cause more damage than good. This practice is sometimes referred to as topdressing. You can introduce weed seeds, nematodes and even diseases with some sources of lawn dressing. Basically, the only reasons to apply a layer of soil or sand to a lawn are to fill in low areas or bare areas, as a method of dealing with an identified thatch problem or possibly to cover surface tree roots.
Topdressing your lawn with sand on a regular basis is not a recommended practice.
Topdressing soil should be free of weeds and nematodes (sterilized is ideal) and should be of the same soil type (texture) as that on which the turf is currently growing.
While minor low spots can be corrected this way, you can easily overdo it and smother your lawn. Using topsoil from an unknown source may introduce undesirable plants and weeds into the landscape, creating additional work and expense to correct the problem.
It can be difficult to evenly spread the sand in a timely manner. Homeowners start with the best intentions of spreading the sand consistently and finishing by the end of the day only to find that the job is slow and difficult. The sand pile remains in the same spot for days, or longer, shading out and frequently killing the grass below. Once the initial enthusiasm wanes, just trying to reduce the mountain of sand overcomes the objective of spreading it consistently and evenly over the lawn. The end result is dozens of small mounds of sand all over the lawn.
To fill a low spot, shovel the sand, no more than about an inch or two deep, into the area. It’s best to maintain the lawn normally until the grass has grown on top of the first layer. Repeat until the low spot is filled.
Homeowners are sometimes convinced that topdressing will improve the condition of their lawn by increasing the spread and thickness of their turf.
“Topdressing home lawns has minimal agronomic benefits” according to Dr. Bryan Unruh, University of Florida Extension Turfgrass Specialist. When asked his advice for homeowners on topdressing, his reply was “don’t”.
by Julie McConnell | Mar 2, 2016
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.
For more information about seeding lawns please read Establishing Your Florida Lawn
by Matthew Orwat | Feb 9, 2016
AGENDA
9:00-9:25 Opening Session: Introduction to lawn fertilization, when to fertilize and why proper timing is important, the importance of having a soil test
9:35-11:35 Four concurrent 25-minute sessions:
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Soil profile example, soil texture example, soil test kits, soil test interpretation
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Fertilizer spreader calibration
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Fertilizer products for use on turf & landscapes
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Enviroscape demonstration – Experience how fertilizers and other potential pollutants can contaminate our waterways
11:45-12:00 Closing Session – The importance of best management practices in fertilizer use
3 CEUs Available total : Urban Fertilizer (2), 482 Core (1) & Demonstration & Research (1)
by Larry Williams | Oct 6, 2015
Fertilizer: Image Credit UF / IFAS
In Northwest Florida, all of our lawn grasses begin to fade and slowdown in growth during fall.They are supposed to go dormant. Some will go dormant earlier than others based on species, location and management.
The grasses we use to create lawns are warm season grasses such as centipedegrass, St. augustinegrass, bahiagrass, bermudagrass and zoysiagrass.
The cooler temperatures (particularly cooler night temperatures) and the shorter days of autumn trigger these grasses to slow down. Their color begins to fade and eventually they turn brown, usually after a frost or freeze.
Fertilizer Spreader: Image Credit UF / IFAS
As these warm season grasses go dormant, they don’t need to be fertilized, particularly with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Some of the so called “winterizer” fertilizers available in our area can cause more damage than good despite the advertisements.
Nitrogen encourages new growth and interferes with the dormancy process, forcing the lawn to produce new tender growth at the wrong time of year. This sets the lawn up for damage. That young tender growth is very susceptible to cold injury and is likely to be damaged by the first frost. This greatly weakens the lawn and many times the damage goes unnoticed until the following spring when sections of the lawn do not green up. If you insist on “winterizing” your lawn, use a fertilizer with low nitrogen (represented by the first number in the fertilizer analysis) and high potassium (represented by the last number in the analysis). In most cases the center number (phosphorus) should also be low. But never use a high nitrogen fertilizer late in the season.
Fertilizer: Image Credit UF / IFAS
Large patch disease is another reason to avoid fertilizing after September, particularly with a high nitrogen fertilizer. Too much nitrogen at the wrong time promotes a common lawn disease called large patch, formerly known as brown patch. This disease is caused by the fungus Rhizoctonia. Large patch functions as a pathogen in our lawns during the cooler weather of fall and spring. Applying a high nitrogen fertilizer when large patch is active can be like applying gasoline to a fire, allowing this lawn disease to rage out of control.
In order for the fertilizer to do any good at all for the lawn, it needs to be applied while the grass is actively growing, when the grass can readily take it in. After the lawn is dormant and when the soil temperature is cooler, much of the fertilizer that could have benefited the grass is wasted.
by Matthew Orwat | Oct 6, 2015
Lawn Burweed, Soliva Sessilis, Closeup – Image Credit: Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California – Davis, Bugwood.org, Create Commons License
On this bright and sunny early fall morning I was thinking about all of the great gardening opportunities the cooler fall weather is bringing us in the Florida Panhandle. However, my thoughts drifted to the annoyances that the gardeners find when trying to enjoy their lawn or garden.
On the top of my list is stepping into a patch of burweed, which is in the sunflower family and is also known as spurweed. The leaves are opposite along the stem and sometimes resemble parsley. The main ways which burweed can irk the casual gardener are sticking to socks, sneaking in with the dog, or littering flower beds with its nuisance. It can also hide in the house and reappear when shoes are removed. This causes pain in both the foot and the ear.
Aside from herbicides, maintaining a healthy vigorous lawn will prevent weeds from taking over. If you lawn is reasonably healthy and only a few instances of this weed exist, try to mechanically remove them and encourage the lawn to outgrow them.
If cultural methods aren’t sufficient, science has given us several options to control this irksome pest. A widely used pre-emergence product for burweed control is isoxaben, which is sold under the brand name of Gallery as well as others. It prevents the weed from emerging from the ground when it germinates and can be used on St. augustine, centipede, bahia and zoysia lawns, as well as ornamental shrub beds. In northwest Florida, this herbicide needs to be applied in October for best results.
Burweed, Soliva Sessilis. – Image Credit: Joseph M. DiTomaso, University of California – Davis, Bugwood.org. Creative Commons License
Herbicides which contain the active ingredients dicamba, 2,4-D or atrazine are good at controlling burweed as a post emergence control when applied from December through early March. Be careful to use reduced rates on centipede and St. augustine lawns, and never use more than the labeled rate. Later applications have less effect on burweed because as it matures it is harder to control. Additionally the burs, once present on the lawn, are hard to remove. As the daytime temperatures get a few degrees over 80, some of these herbicides may cause lawn damage so immediate application is advised. Try to keep the spray residue outside of the root zone of desirable plants to avoid injury and always follow label directions. Be aware that burweed reproduces by seed, so mowing it down will only increase the problem by burying the seed for fall germination.
The active ingredients mentioned above are present in a variety of ‘trade name’ products* available from your local garden center, farm supply or CO-OP. I hope all the northwest Florida lawns prevent burweed so that the spring lawns will be burweed free. Happy Gardening!
| Common Name |
Manufacturer / Distributor |
Brand Names |
Type |
| Atrazine |
Many |
Many |
Pre and Post Emergent |
| 2,4-D +
MCPP + dicamba (3 way combined herbicide) |
Bayer, + others |
Many |
Post-Emergent |
| Isoxaben |
Dow, Others |
Gallery, others are now on the market |
Pre-Emergent |
*Table reproduced from sections of the 2012 version of University of Florida’s Pest Control Guide for Turf Grass Managers.
