In this Issue. Volume XX Number XX. Fall 2017, Issue 2

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1 Volume XX Number XX Fall 2017, Issue 2 In this Issue Title Page Fall Festival...1 Upcoming Programs... 2 Upcoming Programs, FFL...3 All-American Selections...4 Air Potato Control....5 Citrus Greening Update..6 Fall Lawn Care.7 Fall Veggies Wondering what to plant in August? Many cool-season crops can be started now along with a final crop of warm-season vegetables. Tomatoes can be planted for the fall garden, followed by strawberries in September and October. For more information download the North Florida Gardening Calendar: EP/EP45100.pdf For more information contact: UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County Terra Freeman terraf@ufl.edu (904) FAX (904)

2 Upcoming Programs Florida-Friendly Fridays Workshops will provide in-depth training on the 9 principles of Florida-Friendly Landscaping (FFL) Manage Yard Pests Responsibly; Recycle Yard Waste; Reduce Stormwater Runoff; Protect the Waterfront August 25 (Located in Auditorium) 9 am to noon Register online: Rain Gardens: Benefits and Design Learn the many benefits of installing a rain garden, design essentials, and appropriate Florida Friendly plant selection. September 29 (Located in Wind Mitigation Building) 10 am 11 am $5 Register online: Pre-registration required as spaces are limited! Use Eventbrite registration links listed by each program to register or call/ Harriet at front desk: (904) / hfleming@sjcfl.us UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County Auditorium: 3125 Agricultural Center Dr. St. Augustine, FL UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County Wind Mitigation Building: 3111 Agricultural Center Dr. St. Augustine, FL

3 Master Gardener Plant Clinics and Help Desk Is your lawn suffering from insect damage? Is your citrus tree exhibiting symptoms of a nutrient deficiency? Wondering what crops will grow in Florida this time of year? Master Gardeners are available to answer your diagnostic questions at the Extension office Help Desk at (904) , many weekdays from 9 to noon. You can drop off a sample, or call in with your questions. You can also bring your diagnostic questions to the Master Gardener Plant Clinic on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month, from 10 am to 2 pm, located at Home Depot at 1750 US Hwy 1 South, St. Augustine. Certified Arborist Training Taught by Extension Agents Larry Figart, Evelyn Prissy Fletcher, and Terra Freeman This course is designed to review some of the most important concepts of the Arborist Certification Study Guide to help green industry professionals prepare for the ISA Certified Arborist Exam. While this course will augment any study program you may currently be doing, it does not take the place of studying for the exam. August 17 & 18; 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM Located at St. Johns County Extension Arboretum Registration Fee: $75.00 Due by 8/14. (Lunch included) Eventbrite registration link: ISA Certified Arborist Exam will be offered on Sept. 23, 2017, at Duval County Extension. Register: Sunshine Mimosa Sunshine mimosa, or Mimosa strigillosa, is a native groundcover that is attractive to humans and pollinators alike! Pink puffs bloom non-stop from spring through fall, often extending through December. With its deep root system, this droughttolerant, fast-spreading groundcover is effective for erosion control. Its unique, fern-like foliage is bright green and folds together when touched. One draw-back to this otherwise versatile plant is that it goes dormant in the coldest months. Plant 2 to 3 feet apart in full sun to partial shade and irrigate regularly until established. Sunshine mimosa is pollinated by bees and is the larval host to the little sulfur butterfly. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Terra Freeman 3

4 My garden is my most beautiful masterpiece - Claude Monet Occasionally there is a flower that stops you in your tracks and you know immediately you want it for your garden. Celosia argentea plumosa Fresh Look Red is just that flower. This 2004 All-American Selections (AAS) winner has so many desirable attributes strong and vigorous stature with beautiful rose red plumes on tight bushy plants topping out at around 15 inches. This warm season annual is perfect for the front of the border and is stunning if planted as a large grouping in flower beds or cutting gardens. It also works as the anchor in a planted container or vase of cut flowers. The Fresh Look series is available in other colors: orange, gold (2007 AAS award) and yellow (2004 AAS award). Fresh Look Red thrives in our heat and humidity, but needs well drained soil and at least 6 hours of sun to produce the best display; however, it can tolerate some light shade. Avoid planting in wet, poorly drained soils as root rot can occur. It is easy to grow from seed which can be obtained from numerous online sources. You may find a few volunteers from this beauty; however, she isn t overly seedy like so many of the taller wheat Celosias. Prune plumes as they fade to encourage branching and further blooms. This spectacular flower can be found during the warm season at the St. Johns County Agriculture Center. You can t miss the sea of red and you too will want it for your garden. Article by Shirley Barber, UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County Master Gardener Photo by Shirley Barber 4

5 Air Potato Patrol: The Secret Agents of the War on Air Potato Florida is home to many exotic invasive organisms- everything from plants to insects and even lizards and salt water fish. But one problem plant that many Florida residents are familiar with is Dioscorea bulbifera, or the air potato vine. In the past, herbicides and air potato roundups were used to help slow its spread, but it seemed that the vines just came back stronger the next spring. In 2012, a leaf beetle native to SE Asia, Lilioceris cheni, was released for the first time in Florida as a biological control agent. The beetle began to have a positive impact on the volume of air potato plants in many areas. But many questions remain to be answered by researchers concerning the vine s growth and the distribution (and effects) the beetles are having across the state. In order to better educate Florida residents about this invasive vine and how to control it, a citizen science project, The Air Potato Patrol, was created. This program was created by Dr. William Lester, UF/IFAS Extension in Hernando County, and Dr. Chris Kerr, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS), and was launched in early June of this year. Their website includes several educational tutorials on how to properly identify the air potato vine, some common look-alike plants, and the biology and identification of the air potato leaf beetle. If you are interested in getting involved and doing your part to help better control this invasive plant, along with helping the scientists working on it; the website address is Occasional surveys will be sent asking the members to collect data on the plants and beetles on their property. The response to date has been very positive, but we still need more volunteers to provide information about air potato on their property. Dr. William Lester, UF/IFAS Extension Hernando County, wlester@ufl.edu Dr. Christopher Kerr, Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, Christopher.Kerr@freshfromflorida.com 5

6 Citrus Greening Update: Asian Citrus Psyllid Parasite Now Available Homeowners with citrus trees in their yards can apply online to have parasitic wasps mailed to them that can then be released onto citrus trees. The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services is making the Asian Citrus Psyllid parasite Tamarixia radiata available for homeowners, in an attempt to stop the spread of Citrus Greening. Florida residents can apply online to the department for tiny parasitic wasps called tamarixia that hunt the Asian citrus psyllid, an invasive insect that spreads the fatal disease citrus greening. The psyllid carries the infection, which plugs the plant s phloem, starves the tree and causes fruit to drop prematurely. Tamarixia feed on the pest and lay eggs inside young psyllids, killing them and, hopefully, the bacteria that cause the disease. The tamarixia release program is one of several tools researchers and growers use to slow greening s spread, including pesticides to kill the disease-causing bacteria and hydroponic systems to keep infected plants healthy. But there s no single solution to a complex problem like citrus greening. It s infected nearly 100 percent of the state s mature citrus trees, said Steve Futch, a citrus agent at the UF/IFAS Citrus Research and Education Center in Lake Alfred. Biocontrol methods usually operate as a series of waves, he said; when there are fewer pests, the parasite that hunts them starts to decline, too. The chances of eradicating the psyllid and the infection with tamarixia are slim, he said but it should work well in smaller, urban environments, where wasps can fly between citrus trees on different properties. Excerpted from the Gainesville Sun and FDACS website The website for the application is: More information is available at: Methods-Development-Biological-Control/Biological-Control/Asian-Citrus-Psyllid-Biological-Control/ Biological-Control-of-Asian-Citrus-Psyllid-in-Dooryard-Citrus-and-Ornamentals 6

7 Fall Lawn Care Tips By Joe Kirby, Horticulture Program Assistant, UF/IFAS Extension St. Johns County Continue to MOW your lawn on a weekly basis throughout August, September and October. With extensive rains, the grass may need to be cut approximately every 5 days. Check mower blades to see if they need sharpening. WATER ½ - ¾ inch per zone. - Best time for watering is in the early morning, between 4 am to 8 am. Irrigating between 10 am and 4 pm wastes water due to evaporation and can scald the lawn in high temperatures. - Turn sprinklers off if there has been sufficient rain fall. - Check sprinkler heads to make sure they are working properly. PESTS AND DISEASES to keep an eye out for: - Chinch bugs: Frequent hot dry areas next to driveways, roadways, sidewalks and hot spots in the lawn. - Sod Web Worm: Damage from the larvae and can appear overnight, due to their nighttime feeding regimen making night the ideal time to observe the pests feeding on foliage. Alternatively, observe the population by flushing them to the surface with soapy water. Moths fly low to the grass when disturbed and hide in shrubs or other sheltered areas during the day. - Dollar Spot Fungus: Small, brown to straw colored patches of dead grass that do not expand in size. Occurs from fall to spring. - Gray Leaf Spot: Initial symptoms include small pinhead-sized spots that are olive green to brown in color with distinctive dark brown margins. Occurs from spring to fall. - Brown Patch Fungus (Rhizoctonia Blight): Affects the leaf area closest to the soil, eventually killing the leaf. Usually begins as small patches, which can expand to several feet in diameter. Most likely observed from November to May. Exception is when excessive irrigation, rainfall or periods of high humidity result in the leaves being continuously wet for forty eight hours. FERTILIZE with a complete fertilizer in September: No more than one pound of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet. Do not put out if excessive rain fall is expected. 7