Gardening Guide

September Gardening Guide 2011

By Patricia Porchey

Q: My navel orange tree was loaded with fruit, but now much of the fruit is falling off and some are even split. What’s wrong with my tree?

A: There are many factors that can affect fruit drop. The fruit drop occurring soon after the fruit is set is usually attributed to a problem with the secondary fruit embedded in the primary fruit (the navel). However, the abundant fruit drop you’re experiencing now is more prevalent when hot rainy summer and fall weather conditions prevail. Navel oranges especially suffer when there is inadequate fruit set and heavy losses. Contributing to the losses may be poor drainage resulting in root rot; citrus don’t tolerate wet feet. Other factors such as potassium deficiency and inadequate sun can also cause fruit drop.

Navel oranges along with Valencia and Hamlin oranges and Murcott tangerine are especially susceptible to fruit splitting. This occurs most often during periods of high temperature and heavy rainfall after a drought. Trees take up excessive water and the fruit expands, bursting the peel in a crack across the bottom. It seems to appear most often during seasons when the fruit set is high. Thin-peeled fruit is more apt to split and is usually the result of a lack of nutrition, especially potassium, early in its development.

Q. My plants are wilting in this heat and we aren’t getting the typical afternoon rain showers. What can I do to save my plants?

A. Unfortunately, we are about four inches below normal for June, and overall, about six inches below normal for the year. However, there are some things you can do to lessen the stress of the hot temperatures.

• Mow at the highest setting, if you need to mow at all. This will encourage deeper roots.
• Water ornamentals only when they start to wilt to encourage them to develop deeper roots.
• Water deeply when you do water and increase the days with no water so your plants develop deeper roots.
• Avoid fertilizer as this will just encourage growth and increase the stress. For most residents in Sarasota and Manatee Counties, you are in the blackout period for fertilizer anyway.
• Mulch your plants. It will keep the soil cooler and lessen water loss.
• Remove weeds that are robbing your turf and ornamentals of water and nutrients.
• Select new plants that are drought-tolerant.

Visit our website http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu to get more information on drought-tolerant plants and other topics.

Timely reminder:

July - August is a great time to solarize your planting bed. First, remove all existing vegetation and till the soil to activate the nematode population. Rake the bed so it is slightly elevated in the middle, then moisten the soil to a depth of 8-12 inches. Cover the bed with 4-6 mil of clear plastic (NOT black plastic) and anchor it tightly on the edges. Nematodes and other soil pests such as fungi, insects, and weeds are killed by prolonged exposure, four to six weeks, to temperatures above 130 degrees.

PLANTING GUIDE

Vegetables & Herbs (plant herbs from transplants and vegetables from seeds or transplants): Basil, bay laurel, ginger, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, oregano, rosemary, thyme, okra, and southern peas.

Annuals: Begonia Celosia, Coleus, Cosmos, Crossandra, Dahlberg daisy, Gomphrena, marigold, Melampodium, Nicotiana, periwinkle, Portulaca, Salvia, Torenia, and Zinnia.

Perennials: Beach buttercup, beach sunflower, blue daze, Coreopsis, daylily, Gaillardia, Gaura, Mexican heather, Pentas, Salvia, shrimp plant, society garlic, and Verbena.

Blooming plants: Allamanda, beautyberry, bird of paradise, blackberry lily, Canna, crape myrtle, Crinum lily, crossvine, dwarf Poinciana, fiddlewood, firespike, frangipani, gloriosa lily, golden dewdrop, horsemint, Jacquemontia, Loropetalum, Magnolia, Natal plum, rain lily, Vitex, and yellow Poinciana.

Fruits in season: Avocado, banana, citrus (calamondin, key lime, lemon and lime), fig, guava, kumquat, longan, lychee, macadamia, mango, papaya, passion vine, pineapple, pomegranate, sapodilla, and sea grape.

Upcoming classes

Call 861-9900 or register on-line sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu for the following classes.

• Organic Vegetable Gardening: Fruit Crops, Warm Mineral Springs, 9:00 a.m. July 5
• Irrigation 101, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. July 5
• Good Bugs in the Garden, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. July 6
• Step-by-Step Florida-Friendly Landscaping (first of five sessions), Twin Lakes Park, 6:00 p.m. July 6
• Creating Wildlife Habitat/Urban Ponds, Shamrock Park, 2:00 p.m. July 7
• Natural Insecticides, Twin Lakes Park, 4:00 p.m. July 13
• Plant Propagation: Tips & Techniques, Twin Lakes Park, 6:00 p.m. July 14
• Rain Barrel Workshop, Twin Lakes Park, 10:00 a.m. July 16
• Landscaping with Color, Twin Lakes Park, 10:00 a.m. July 20
• Ants, Ants, Ants, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. July 20
• What to Do about Ants, Shamrock Park, 2:00 p.m. July 21
• Insect Pests of Woody Plants, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. July 27
• Native Shrubs for the Landscape, Shamrock Park, 2:00 p.m. August 4

GETTING HELP

The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your questions, 861-9807, mghelpdesk@scgov.net. Walk-ins are welcome Monday-Friday from 9-Noon and 1-4 p.m., Twin Lakes Park, Clark Road east of I-75.

Satellite Help Desks: Weekly at four South County libraries, every 1^st and 3^rd Mondays at Gulf Gate Library, every 4^th Saturday at Fruitville Library and every third Saturday at the Downtown Farmers’ Market, Sarasota.

New locations: every first Saturday at Lowe’s Sarasota, 10:00 a.m.-noon and Lowe’s Venice, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and every third Saturday at Lowe’s North Port, 10:00 a.m.-noon.

(Patricia Porchey is an Urban Horticulture Agent with University of Florida/IFAS Sarasota County Extension. Website: http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu)

Submitted June 23, 2011

April Gardening Guide (2011)
By Patricia Porchey

Q. My crape myrtles are leafing out, but I’m finding the edges of the leaves are being eaten by something.
A. Crape myrtles are but one of over one hundred plants with notches on the leaf margins caused by the chewing of Sri Lanka Weevils, exotic pests introduced into Florida in 2000 and now inflicting damage to ornamentals and fruit trees in many counties. Adults are whitish grey with dark mottling (spots) and approximately ¼ inch in length. One adult may lay 360 eggs in a 3-day period and the larvae will eat on roots for 1-2 months before pupating and emerging as adults. Adults are voracious eaters on fruit trees such as avocado, loquat, lychee, mango and papaya as well as ornamentals such as bottlebrush, hibiscus, plumbago, live oak, orchid trees and palms.

Their control has been difficult because they can fly and they drop from a leaf when alarmed. An upside-down umbrella has been used to catch them after a plant is shaken. The insects can then be dumped into soapy water. There are no known natural predators.

Arbor Day is April 22. Plant a tree!

PLANTING GUIDE
Vegetables & Herbs: Anise, basil, beans, borage, cantaloupe, chervil, comfrey, corn, cucumber, cumin, horehound, lemon balm, marjoram, mint, okra, oregano, peas, summer savory, sweet potatoes, tarragon and thyme.
Annuals: Amaranthus, aster, Celosia, Cleome, Coleus, Cosmos, dusty miller, Gazania, geranium, Impatiens, Lobelia, morning glory, Nicotiana, ornamental pepper, Pentas, periwinkle, Phlox, Portulaca, Salvia, Torenia, Verbena and Zinnia.
Perennials: African iris, Amazon lily, Aztec lily, blue daze, blood lily, Caladium, Canna, Coreopsis, Crossandra, Dianthus, Gaillardia, Gaura, Gerbera daisy, Gloriosa lily, milkweed, Mexican heather, Philippine violet, rain lily, Salvia, Scabiosa, shell ginger, shrimp plants, Tithonia and Verbena.
Fruits in Season: Banana, blueberry, carambola, citrus, (calamondin, grapefruit, Key lime, lemon, lime, and orange), kumquat, loquat, Mysore raspberry, Surinam cherry, and strawberry.
Blooming Plants: Amaryllis, avocado, azalea, bottlebrush, Bougainvillea, confederate jasmine, dwarf Indian hawthorn, Jacaranda, Jatropha, Cordia, Lantana, Macadamia, Magnolia, Nasturtium, orchid tree, rose, society garlic, Simpson’s stopper, trumpet trees, and Turk’s cap.

Upcoming classes
Call 861-9900 or register on-line sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu for the following classes.
 Chickens 101, Lauderbach Farm, 8:30 a.m. April 2
 Seasonal Landscape Problems, Twin Lakes Park, 10:00 a.m. April 6
 Herb Gardening, Phillippi Estate Mansion, Noon April 6
 Ants, Ants, Ants, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. April 6
 Trees in the Landscape, Shamrock Park, 2:00 p.m. April 7
 Irrigation Display and Demo, Phillippi Estate Mansion, Noon April 13
 Rural Pond Management, Twin Lakes Park, 4:00 p.m. April 13
 Energy Efficient Home Series, Twin Lakes Park, 6:00 p.m. April 13
 Rain Barrel Workshop, Englewood Sports Complex, 10:00 a.m. April 16
 Fruit Trees for Sarasota County, Phillippi Estate Mansion, Noon April 20
 Irrigation 101, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. April 20
 What Bug Is That? (insect walk), Shamrock Park, 2:00 p.m. April 21
 Turf Alternatives, Phillippi Estate Mansion, Noon April 27
 Alternatives to Citrus, Twin Lakes Park, 10:00 a.m. May 4
 Bed Bug Menace, Twin Lakes Park, 1:00 p.m. May 4
 Irrigation 101, Twin Lakes Park, 2:00 p.m. May 5

GETTING HELP
The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your questions, 861-9807, mghelpdesk@scgov.net. Walk-ins are welcome Monday-Friday from 9-Noon and 1-4 p.m., Twin Lakes Park, Clark Road east of I-75.
Satellite Help Desks: Weekly at four South County libraries and Gulf Gate Library and Phillippi Farmhouse Market, every 4th Saturday at Fruitville Library and every third Saturday at the Downtown Farmers’ Market, Sarasota.
New locations: every first Saturday at Lowe’s Sarasota, 10:00 a.m.-noon and Lowe’s Venice, 10:00 a.m.-2:00 p.m. and every third Saturday at Lowe’s North Port, 10:00 a.m.-noon.

(Patricia Porchey is an Urban Horticulture Agent with University of Florida/IFAS Sarasota County Extension. Website: http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu)

Adult Sri Lanka Weevil Feeding damage on leaves

11Submitted March 29, 2011