LIVE OAKS GARDEN CLUB March 2015 THE LOG

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1 LIVE OAKS GARDEN CLUB March 2015 THE LOG Notes from the President: Daylight Savings Time has begun. It s time to spring forward and start working in our gardens. I always enjoy watching which of my plants are going to come back. Some plants surprise me and occasionally some disappoint me. I have learned that planting plants for our zone 8B or 9A insures more successes than disappointments. Plants are like people some of us like the heat and dislike the cold. And for others cooler temperatures suit them better. At the end of the Newsletter is an interesting article on what to do before the first day of spring. As you can see my daffodils are growing slowly. Gardening takes patience. Please God grant me patience now! Sandra Johanek

2 March 23, 2015 Meeting Frederica Presbyterian Church Herb Growing and Uses Presented by Jan Lemasters Our very own Jan Lemasters will be present an informative program on growing herbs and their many uses. Coffee and socializing will begin at 9:30 am. Our program will begin at 10:00 a.m. Guests are welcome! You won't want to miss a fun-filled day in Jacksonville on April 27th with Live Oaks Garden Club. As you know we are going to the botanical garden, having lunch then heading to Earthworks for a short workshop and an opportunity to shop, if you desire. The deadline of March 23rd is rapidly approaching. If you have not sent in your $75 check and contact information, please mail it in to Jan Lemasters or bring it to the next meeting. You are welcome to bring guests, including your husband. Several husbands are already signed up.

3 Live Oaks Garden Club s April 27, 2015, Field Trip On Monday, April 27, 2015 Live Oaks Garden Club meeting will be an enjoyable field trip by bus to Jacksonville Zoo s Botanical Gardens and Earthworks Garden Center. A guided 90 minute tour of the Botanical Gardens will be followed by lunch. Each attendee will have a wrap or sandwich, chips, fruit, cookie or brownie and beverage. After lunch, we will go to Earthworks Garden Center for a brief workshop, have time to explore it and be able to make purchases. There is space for 50 attendees. You may invite friends and family, including husbands, to this delightful event! Complete a reservation form for each person attending. The cost of the entire day is $75. That includes the cost of the Botanical Garden tour, entrance fees, lunch, Garden Center workshop, bus ride, taxes and tips. We will meet April 27 at the Winn-Dixie parking lot (near Sweet Mama s) at 8:50 a.m. and depart by bus promptly at 9 a.m. We will arrive back at Winn-Dixie parking lot around 5:30 p.m. If you need a wheelchair or motorized scooter for the Botanical Gardens tour, contact Jan Lemasters so one can be arranged. Charges for renting a chair or scooter can be found on the jacksonvillezoo.org website. For more information about the Botanical Gardens, see jacksonvillezoo.org and for Earthworks Garden Center, see earthworksgardencenter.com. I will be attending the field trip to the Jacksonville Zoo s Botanical Gardens and Earthworks Garden Center. Reservation forms and checks must be submitted by Monday, March 23, 2015 to Jan Lemasters, 938 Champney, Saint Simons Island, Georgia Checks are to be $75 per person and made out to Live Oaks Garden Club Name Cell phone Contact in case of emergency: Name Cell phone Food or bee allergies

4 Results of Last Month Vote: At the February Meeting, we voted by ballot whether to elect officers at a special meeting in someone s home or on our April field trip. The majority of our members have voted to elect the officers on the field trip. Membership: At the February meeting we had 32 members and 3 guests. After we learned how much we love ferns, 15 of us went to Locos for a delicious lunch. It's a good way to visit with and get to know new members! Mary Rutherford Monthly Drawing: This will be our last drawing for this year. As we mentioned at the January Meeting please try and donate items that reflect this month s program on Herbs. Need some suggestions? - How about herbal teas, pots of herbs, herb pots, a cookbook on cooking with herbs, or a book on the medicinal properties of herbs, or, not to be forgotten, herbal soaps? Let your imagination run wild. Please contact Martha Mooney or Nan Marie O Hara with your donation.

5 Island Beautification: Prospective Project Lynda Sterrett, Beth Thornton, Sandra Johanek and I met at the new Glynn Visual Arts facility to look at their needs for a new landscape. They have asked our club for help in implementing a landscape plan that is in the process of being completed. We will be in touch with them in the near future. Trees Carol Lyons is continuing her work on the big project of retagging and renumbering the existing trees. If your tree number changes we will let you know. We hope the weeds will hold off for a while with the new mulch in place. Keep an eye on your tree or trees. Butterfly Garden We are glad our May meeting has been changed to the garden. In April we will have a cleanup and planting day. Hopefully our new walk will be in place and the county has promised new mulch. We have done some needed pruning and dead heading. Rose Applegate

6 Hospitality: We would like to thank the following members for providing the delectable treats for our hospitality table: Mary McCaughey, Roslyn Thomas and Melinda Smith. Our social time begins at 9:30. The hospitality committee looks forward to serving you Kathy Pennington and Sherry Snyder Website Be sure at check us out at

7 Pull and save a Tab for Ronald McDonald House. Members are asked to save tabs from soft drink cans, soup cans and other products. We will be collecting your tabs at our March Meeting. Look for our Tab Bag. Caring: Sandy Storino is our caring person. If you know of a member who needs a cheery note or card please let Sandy know. Please be sure to share your happy news as well! Gardening Tips: A Natural Weed Killer 1 gallon white vinegar 2 cups Epson salt ¼ cup dish detergent Mix all of the above in a pump sprayer. It is very effective on weeds growing on sidewalks, driveways and patios. Be careful spraying because it will harm all plants. Sandra Johanek

8 In a nutshell March 23, 2015 March 26, 2015 April 15-17, 2015 April 19-15, 2015 April 25, 2015 April 25, 2015 April 27, 2015 May 18, 2015 LOGC Meeting - Herb Growing and Uses South Georgia Native Plant Symposium, Tifton Garden Club of Georgia Convention, Jekyll Island Garden Week in Georgia, State Wide Cassina Garden Club Tabby and Tillandsia Garden Walk Saint Simons Island Hamilton Plantation Garden Club Plant Sale Field Trip to Jacksonville Botanical Garden LOGC Meeting - Plant Pass-along Our Speaker Karen Babson and her fabulous ferns.

9 Pictures from our February Meeting Our newest members Patti Jordan and Marcie Kerstetter Visiting former member Dawn Swan with Sandy Storino Carole Lyons enjoying Mary McCaughey s fruit cup

10 Gardening: What you need to do before March that's spring! By Terry Brite Delvalle The official date for spring is March 20 and there are many chores to do before warm weather arrives. We re not ready to plant the spring garden or warm season annuals yet, but there is still plenty to do. LAWN MOWER DUTY No. 1 on the list should be to service the lawn mower if you haven t done it over the last few months. Sharpen the blades, change the oil and drain the old gasoline. Old gasoline makes engines work harder and doesn t ignite easily. Fuel has about a 30-day shelf life, so if it is old it should be taken to a hazardous waste center. For more info on how to handle hazardous wastes, go to tinyurl.com/opxkpae. CLEAN UP/PRUNING It is tempting to cut back plants that have been damaged by the cold, but it s better to wait until new growth emerges around mid-march. Damaged leaves and twigs will help protect plants from future freezes and who know what is in store for us over the next month. A few plants like gingers or firespike (Odontonema cuspidate, or O. strictum) that faithfully come back from the root system can be cut back to the ground if they were damaged by cold. Clean up fallen leaves and old flowers from plants like roses and camellias. Many diseases and insects winter over on old fruit, leaves and flowers. For example, black spot on roses can be carried over into spring if old infected leaves are left on the plant or allowed to fall underneath. Old flowers of both camellias and azaleas that have this disease form a fruiting structure (sclerotia) that will become active when plants bloom next year if weather conditions are mild with high humidity. Pick up leaves and/or fallen fruit around plants that experienced disease problems last year. A good example is citrus; infections for greasy spot come from the fallen leaves around the base of trees.

11 Melanose is another disease that affects citrus and this one overwinters in recently killed twigs, so to control this one, prune and get rid of small dead twigs before new growth emerges. If you use overhead irrigation to water citrus, change to low volume to keep water off the leaves and trunk. A soaker hose works great around citrus and this change will greatly reduce many of the disease problems. Later this month, trim back brown leaves of ornamental grasses before new growth begins. If ornamental grasses, like muhly grass, look like they are dying back from the center, use a post hole digger to remove the center and replace with a good garden soil to encourage the healthy grass to spread. Give liriope and mondo grass a haircut to remove brown tips. If coonties or sago palms are heavily infested with scale insects, prune away all the leaves, discard and spray the remaining base with horticultural oil. Finish pruning deciduous plants, removing rubbing branches or controlling plant size. However, don t prune spring flowering plants like redbud, dogwood, spirea and azaleas because you will remove potential flowers. MANAGE WEEDS Hand-pull weeds that are flowering or those with seed heads because herbicides will not work on these. If the weeds have an underground reproductive structure or a deep taproot (oxalis or betony), use a hand tool to remove the entire plant; otherwise, you are wasting your time. Some annual weeds that come back from seed every year can be eliminated by adding a fresh layer of mulch on top of existing mulch. This will block out the light required for some seeds, like crabgrass, to germinate. March 1 is the target date for applying pre-emergence herbicides to lawns if warm season weeds were a problem last summer/fall. But keep an eye on the weather because the application timing may be earlier. The time to apply is when day temperatures reach 65 to 70 degrees for four to five consecutive days. For more info, go to edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep141. FERTILIZE FRUIT, FLOWERS It is time to fertilize many of our edible landscape plants. Fertilize fruit trees using a citrus blend or peach/pecan special. Use a or at the rate of 1 to 2 pounds of fertilizer per inch of trunk diameter measured 4 feet above ground level.

12 Blueberries are different because they need an acid-forming fertilizer. Use a fertilizer (nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium) fertilizer, such as a camellia/azalea blend, and apply 1 ounce spread over a 2-foot-diameter area around new plants in February, April, June, August and October. At year two, apply 2 ounces per application over a 3-foot-diameter area and, at year three, increase to 3 ounces over a 4-foot-diameter area. Don t over-apply nutrients to blueberries because their roots are close to the surface and are very sensitive to fertilizer burn. Fertilize young ornamental plants with a specialty or type fertilizer applying one half up to 1 pound (if slow release) nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Broadcast the fertilizer over the area underneath the plants extending out to the drip area, but keep fertilizer away from plant stems/trunks. Established trees and shrubs may not require any additional fertilizer unless they are showing nutrient deficiencies. The only way to really know what fertilizers are actually needed is to submit a soil sample to a lab and have it analyze the soil for ph and nutrient content. The University of Florida lab changes $7 per sample; more information can be found at soilslab.ifas.ufl.edu. Wait until March to fertilize palms using a quality fertilizer specific to palms. The fertilizer of choice has an analysis (nitrogen-phosphorous-potassiummagnesium) and 100 percent of the first three nutrients should be in a slow release (water insoluble) form. Don t fertilize lawns now; wait until mid-april to give the root system time to regenerate, assuring the fertilizers will be taken up by the plant and not wasted.