Florida Native Plant Society ~ Sea Rocket Chapter ~ Serving Central & North Brevard County Summer 2018 The purpose of the Florida Native Plant Society is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida. ~ Sea Rocket ~ Board of Directors President Lois Harris Vice President Jim Robey Treasurer Karen Lyle Secretary Molly Traugott Chapter Representative Vacant Committees Membership Kate Chiodini Education/Outreach Janina Shoemaker Special Media / Marketing Arlene Perez-Garrido Nursery Lois Harris Hike Leader Paul Schmalzer, PhD Newsletter Cheryl Tyson Hospitality Armand De Filippo Mark your Calendars for the Titusville Sea Turtle Festival June 8 and 9 Jpin us at the Titusville Sea Turtle Festival come as a visitor or volunteer. We still need volunteers to Staff our Tent and Table. Friday evening should be cool, and Saturday is an all-day effort to spread the Gospel of Native Plants to save $$, labor, and H2O. June 8 & 9. This is great timing as it just before our plant sale. Please let us know if you can help for Friday and or Saturday. Please call (321 567 5210) or email Janina (janina13@cfl.rr.com) to volunteer for this fun event. Gardening with your Sea Rocket Chapter Friends Get into Gardening every Tuesday by helping at the FNPS Sea Rocket Chapter Nursery Workdays 9am-12 noon. Kid-friendly. Saturday in the Garden: Join us June 23, July 21 and August 11 for maintenance and preparation of our gardens for planting. To contact us by email: searocketfnps@gmail.com Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 1
Emergency Preparedness For more information go to Brevard County Emergency Management page at: http://www.brevardfl.gov/docs/def ault-source/emergencymanagement/all-hazardsreadiness-guide-040417.pdf Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 2
Sea Rocket Chapter Plant Sale June 16th 10 am to 3 pm Enchanted Forest Sanctuary PLANT LIST American Elm / Ulmus americana Beauty berry / Callicarpa americana Black-eyed Susan / Rudbeckia hirta Blanket flower / Gaillardia pulchella Blazing star / Liatris spicata Blue curl / Trichostema dichotomum Coreopsis / Coreopsis leavenworthii Elephants foot / Elephantopus elatus False Rosemary, Lg. / Conradina grandiflora Florida paintbrush / Carphephorus corymbosus Goldenrod, seaside / Solidago sempervirens Green eyes / Berlandiera subacaulis Ironweed / Vernonia gigantea Rayless sunflower / Helianthus radula With Lakeside sunflower/h. carnosus Red Cedar, Southern / Jumiperus virginiana Scarlet Sage / Salvia coccinea Spotted beebalm / Monarda puntata St. John Wort, scrub / Hypericum tenuifolium Starry Rosinweed / Silphium atericus Yellowtop / Flaveria linearis VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Please contact us if you can help with the plant sale, an important chapter fundraiser. Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 3
Powerline decline in Palms By David Humphrey https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep263 Did you know Palm Trees can be damaged by high voltage power lines? It seems only palms are subject to this malady. Even the native Sable palmetto will demonstrate signs of decline. Information as to why only palms are affected does not openly present itself. Possibly because the economic impact is minimal so little research has been done, and besides the remedy is simple, don t plant palms under power lines. Powerline Decline as it is called is rarely fatal to the tree but will affect the leaf by yellowing or even killing the leaf tips. Contact is not required, even at a distance of five feet, the visual decline can show. Certainly, it is a result of the electromagnetic field surrounding the 13,000 or 23,000 volt AC power line. (Maybe that s why when a warning of downed lines is issued, we really should take notice and keep clear). But why only palms? This quote from the UF/IFAS Blogsite may help. Visual symptoms alone may be sufficient for the diagnosis of potassium deficiency, although leaf nutrient analysis may be helpful in distinguishing a late stage deficiency from manganese (Mn) deficiency. These two deficiencies can be extremely similar from a distance, but close examination should reveal characteristic spotting and marginal necrosis in K deficiency or necrotic streaking for Mn deficiency. Potassium deficiency symptoms are also more severe toward the leaf tip and are less so at the leaf base. The reverse is true for Mn deficiency. http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/2018/02/27/potassiumdeficiency-palms/ Even though the article is talking about deficiencies the symptoms are very similar for palm decline. Could it be that the power line electromagnetic field interferes with the potassium (K) or manganese (Mn) transfer in the palm leaf? Power companies do not recommend planting any large tree of any variety near power lines due to eventual interference with power delivery and then the mandatory tree surgery to remove the offending limbs. And now you know, and Knowing is half the battle. G.I. Joe For a comprehensive view of Sea Rocket activities go to https://www.facebook.com/searocketchapter/ Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 4
FLORIDA MASTER NATURALIST PROGRAM INFORMATION AT MAY SEA ROCKET MEETING G reg Hendricks was our guest speaker at the May monthly meeting for SeaRocket Chapter was. Greg is from the Florida Master Naturalist Program (FMNP) which runs through UF s IFAS extension program. The mission of FMNP is to promote awareness, understanding, and respect of Florida s natural world among Florida citizens and visitors and focuses on adult education for people of all backgrounds who seek to further their knowledge of Florida s natural ecosystems. Several sections of classes are offered by the FNMP: the Core Modules (Coastal Systems, Freshwater Systems, and Upland Systems), the Special Topics (Habitat Evaluation, Wildlife Monitoring, Conservation Science, and Environmental Interpretation), and the Restoration Series (Coastal Restoration). The Core Modules are 40 contact hours each and are about 50% instruction and 50% hands on, whereas the Special Topics and Restoration Series are 24 contact hours long each. The Restoration Series on Coastal Restoration currently includes information about planting techniques and general restoration for oyster beds, mangroves and marshes, but they are planning to add classes including seagrasses and corals as well as dune system restoration. These classes that can be taken through FNMP are not classes that you receive grades in. If you show up with a good attitude and work through them, you will receive a certificate and be in the online database for completing FNMP coursework. You also receive a patch and pin along with the course manual. If you complete enough of the classes, you qualify as a FNMP Master Naturalist. The Core Modules cost $275 each and the Special Topics cost $175 each if you are interested in trying them out. Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 5
MMMMM My mimosa By Lora Losi The walking neighbors stop, the neighbors stare. Aren t the new people (us) going to work and spend money on turf? The answer took a few years to be visible. The answer was MIMOSA. We didn t know exactly what would happen 6 years ago when we bought our house on the dune of death. The lawn under the huge oaks had been mowed too short, blown clear of any organic matter and had become sterile bare white sand. We knew we had to do something, anything fast to prevent the sand from being washed away down the front bank and onto the street. Our first thought was not what the neighbors expected. Instead of buying sod and fertilizing with chemicals and using copious amounts of precious water we brought in 17 pickup trucks of free mulch, nature s fertilizer. Who needs a gym when you could shovel? And then we planted natives, lots of different native plants. We didn t know exactly what would grow so with the help of local nursery folk we dug in. Fast forward 6 years and we have a nice variety on the front bank. Some things did better than others, Garberia (a scrub bush covered with puffs of pinkish/ purple blossoms in fall) has established itself as nice accent bushes. But the real pedestrian stopper is the mimosa. The 6 plants that were planted on top of the bank have spread like a carpet to places that suit it. The apron along the road happens to have the sun it likes. And the best thing is that this running vine has stomped out what little grass that was there! We now have a 75 foot long meadow of lush green carpet on the street apron with thousands of perky pink pompom blossoms. This is not because of being watered, mimosa does not need to be, once established. By the way, the blossoms support thousands of pollinators, no wonder my tomatoes set so many fruit! We proudly put out an informative sign about mimosa. It tells of not having to use fertilizer or water and the minimal mowing and trimming needed. Many people stop and read it! Some take cuttings. On the money we have saved not paying for the artificial looking turf we can buy A LOT more native plants!! A neighbor originally from Puerto Rico said that mimosa is also used in her country and is called Mort Y Vive meaning death and life. The mimosa plants do get a little sparse over the winter but they really turn on come spring, and beat the grass in to action. The mimosa leaves do curl up when touched, hence another name sensitive vine. Easy to grow, beautiful blossoms, and supports wildlife (we have a tortoise burrow in the bank). Now tell me again why I should grow grass? Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 6
The Enchanted Forest Sanctuary Education Center 444 Columbia Blvd, Titusville, FL 32780 321-264-5185 Driving Directions to the Sanctuary: From I-95 Northbound: take SR-407 Exit 212 east 2.7 miles to SR-405 intersection. Turn right onto SR-405 and go east 1.9 miles (the Sanctuary entrance is on the left 0.4 miles past Sisson Road) From I-95 Southbound: take SR-50 Exit 215 east. Turn left onto SR 50 and turn right onto SR-405 (2nd light) Travel 3.6 miles (the Sanctuary entrance is on the left 0.4 miles past Sisson Road) From U.S. HWY 1: go west 0.5 miles on SR-405 in south Titusville. Sanctuary entrance is on the right. Florida Native Plant Society For membership information, address change: P. O. Box 278, Melbourne, FL 32902-0278 Phone: 321-271-6702; Fax: 321-951-1941; Email: Info@fnps.org/www.fnps.org Sea Rocket Chapter mailing address: 444 Columbia Blvd, Titusville, FL 32780 Sea Rocket Chapter Meeting Our next meeting will be in September! Have a great summer! Sea Rocket Chapter April Board meeting will be held on June 12 at 5:30 pm. The meeting will be held at (TBD) All members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP if you plan to attend. See you in September! Travelling this summer? Enjoy your adventures and be sure to stop and smell the Native plants! I saw this sign last summer in the gardens of Malahide Castle outside Dublin, Ireland. I highly recommend visiting these gardens if you find yourself nearby. - Editor We are changing to have a summer edition of our newsletter to reflect that we do not meet during these months. Our next Chapter meeting will be September 26, 2018 The next newsletter will be sent out September 1, 2018. Have a safe and great summer! May our hurricane season be calm. And our gardens be filled with bright colors. Be sure to check out the bi-monthly newsletter of the Florida Native Plant Society Located online at : http://fnps.org/resources/sabalminor Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 7