Coral ardisia is also known as coral berry, spice berry, and scratchthroat. It was introduced into Florida in the early 1900’s for ornamental purposes.
Coral ardisia. Photo credit: Les Harrison.
In the ensuing years it has since escaped cultivation and become established in hardwood hammocks and other moist woods of natural areas and grazing lands. Specimens have been collected from 19 western and south-central Florida counties as of 2004.
This evergreen sub-shrub reaches a height of 1.5 to six feet and tends to grow in multi-stemmed clumps. Leaves are alternate, 8 inches long, dark green above, waxy, without hairs, and have scalloped margins and calluses in the margin notches.
Flowers are typically pink to white in stalked axillary clusters, usually drooping below the foliage. The fruit is a bright red, globose, single-seeded berry, measuring approximately 0.25 inches in diameter. White-berried populations are also known to exist.
Coral ardisia is considered invasive. Control of coral ardisia may be accomplished by two methods. A low-volume foliar application of Garlon 4 or Remedy provides suppression of this plant. Complete foliar coverage is essential to success and retreatment will be necessary for complete control.
Basal bark applications with Garlon 4 or Remedy in an oil carrier can also be utilized for suppressing this invasive weed. Do not apply more than 8 quarts of Remedy or Garlon 4 per acre and treat no more than ten percent of the total grazed area if applying greater than two quarts per acre.
Cogongrass dominating the landscape. Photo credit: Charles T. Bryson, USDA Agricultural Research Service, Bugwood.org.
A U.S. Forest Service grant is again available to assist non-industrial private landowners with the cost of controlling cogongrass. Applications will be accepted starting October 15, 2015. The program reimburses landowners for 50% of the cost for two consecutive years with a maximum reimbursement of $10,000 for each year.
Cogongrass is one of the worst invasive plant species in Northwest Florida as it marches through natural areas and literally chokes out our desirable native vegetation as it goes. The underground rhizomes continually expand patches of the grass in every direction and its prolific seed production carries infestations to new areas.
Note the off center midrib along the leaf blade. Photo credit: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org.
There are several ways to accurately identify cogongrass. The leaf blades are flat with serrated edges and tend to be yellowish-green in color. The midrib which runs lengthwise up each leaf blade is white and is distinctly off-center. The seed head which arises in the spring is a fluffy white plume. Since it spreads through rhizomes, cogongrass is often seen in expanding circular patches.
The fluffy white plume of the seedhead. Photo credit: Chris Evans, Illinois Wildlife Action Plan, Bugwood.org.
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.
Maybe you have been seeing the Chinese wisteria, Wisteria chinensis, sporting its lavender blooms along the roadways this time of year. This vine may add a pleasant splash of color to the green leafy backdrop, but this is an invasive vine that has escaped our yards and gardens and is spreading on its own in natural communities.
The University of Florida Assessment of Invasive Plants determined that this vine has caused long-term alterations in ecosystem processes and displaces native vegetation. According to the non-profit Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC), Chinese wisteria is a category II invasive which means that the species has escaped cultivation and is spreading on its own into other unintended areas.
American Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ at GCREC Teaching Gardens. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.
Fortunately, there are several great alternatives to Chinese wisteria. A native vine, American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens, is a great alternative. The native cultivar ‘Amethyst Falls’ displays lovely fragrant lavender blooms in the spring and summer.
Evergreen Wisteria at the GCREC Teaching Garden. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.
Another alternative is evergreen wisteria, Millettia reticulata, a twining vine (the stems twist around upright supports) that is semi-evergreen in the Florida panhandle. The deep mauve blooms appear throughout the summer months and persist often into the autumn.
So how do you get rid of the invasive Chinese wisteria? The vine can be severed at ground level and the stump immediately treated with a 25% solution of triclopyr or glysophate. There may be some resprouting of the vine from unaffected roots that would require retreating. Please click here for more details. The best time to control this vine is in the spring or summer when it is actively growing so that it will transport the herbicide to the roots and kill the plant.
The Chinese privet, Ligustrum sinense, is a plant that is well known to many people as a great nuisance in the landscape. It is also a Florida noxious weed because of its invasive nature.
Originally grown as an ornamental that formed a hedge and tolerated poor conditions, the Chinese privet has now spread to natural areas and grows easily on disturbed soils. Plants are full of white fragrant flowers in the spring with abundant small black fruit forming late summer and remaining into the winter. Seeds are easily spread by wildlife to new areas but new plants can also grow from roots.
Privet may be best identified when it is in bloom.
Chinese privet easily forms a thicket, shading areas and impacting the growth of native plants. Homeowners can identify any plants growing on their property and work to manage Chinese privet when plants are not in seed. If you need assistance in identification, contact your local Extension office or view pictures online.
Even though homeowners will not find Ligustrum sinense in the nursery, cultivars of this plant may be found. One newer selection is ‘Sunshine’. This is a reportedly sterile cultivar that grows much smaller and has yellow foliage. Homeowners who choose to install ‘Sunshine’ may still need to be cautious since there has not been extensive research in Florida to verify that it will not become a future issue.
