April Showers Bring Relief

Last week Central Florida received abundant rainfall between six to eight inches in a three day span. The ground soaked it up! This week, we will be seeing an additional one to three inches which will go a long way to catch up rainfall lacking so far this year.  Florida's rainy season is different than our Northern cousins. Our springtime and winter are our dry seasons. Florida receives most of its rainfall in the summer and fall with daily afternoon showers and our usual tropical storms and hurricanes.  We need these torrential rain storms to replenish our aquifer systems.  We shouldn't have to irrigate in the summertime if we have normal rainfall of an inch of water a week.  But with these rains, especially in low-lying areas or in yards that are irrigated too much, we will see turfgrass and plant diseases.  Treating these fungal and viral issues after we have diagnosed them is usually too late to apply the fungicides. Fungicides are preventive not curative.  So if you usually have disease in your landscape, make sure that your irrigation system is not your watering overhead and for long periods at night. Then check your irrigation system to ensure that its watering your turf efficiently.

Here are important publications from the University of Florida IFAS for diagnosis and solutions:

Homeowner's Guide to Fungicides for Lawn and Landscape Disease Management

Turfgrass Disease Management

Brown Patch Disease November through May - All warm season turfgrasses

Cercospora Leaf Spot Late spring and summer - St. Augustinegrass

Fairy Rings Any abundant rainfall - all warm season turfgrasses

Gray Leaf Spot Late spring and early fall or excessive rainfall - St. Augustinegrass and centipedegrass

Helminthosporium Leaf Spot All year round - warm season turfgrasses

Pythium Root Rot - All year round - warm season turfgrasses

Rust - St. Augustinegrass and zoysiagrass - late fall to early spring.

Take All Root Rot - Summer to fall - all turfgrasses

We'll be discussing fungicides and disease issues on "In Your Backyard."  Call in!

Florida Winter Is Driest In 80 Years

Florida set records this year in more ways than one.  Not only did we have colder temperatures earlier (November) but from October through February, it was also the driest winter in eighty years. In December, we had less than an inch of rain for the entire month, January we had 2" - 3" more than normal, and in February, there was less than an inch. March's month totals look to be below the average 3" with no rain anticipated for the next week, leaves Florida in a rainfall deficit.

The lack of hurricanes and tropicals storms last fall, and the lack of adequate rainfall this winter means that lake levels are low, wells will be running dry, and the aquifer will be low with more saltwater intrusion. 

These conditions mean that more landscapes will fail and high maintenance lawns will not survive. Reducing your fertilizing schedule, retrofit your irrigation to be efficient, watering only when your yard shows signs of stress will help your lawn manage till summer rains set in.

Inefficient irrigation system doesn't have head to head coverage.

Want more ways to drought proof your lawn? Check out the University of Florida's recommendations.

Weeds, Weeds, Weeds

Warmer temperatures in spring brings the bad with the good.  While it's great to have the sunny skies, to be out in the garden, it also brings weeds to your turf and garden beds.  If you don't get a handle on the weeds now, you'll be pulling not only weeds all summer long but your hair out in frustration. 

What's the secret behind having a luscious lawn with no weeds?  Good balance!  The proper sunlight, right amount of water, and correct fertilization that all work to make your lawn healthy and weed free. 

Whether its' St. Augustinegrass, bahiagrass, or zoysiagrass, you need to make sure that best management practices guide your lawn maintenance.  Do you or your lawn maintenance company use the following pracctices:

• Keep all lawn equipment clean and sterile?  Do you blow your lawn mower off after each lawncutting before going on to another yard or being stored?
• Keep your lawn mower blades sharp?  Blades need to be sharpened after every five mowings.
• Bag your clippings if you have a weed problem?  If not, you may be mulching the weed seeds right back into your lawn.
• Keep your mower at its highest level?  Keeping your turf as high as possible will make it healthier and more likely to keep weed seeds out of yard.  No scalping!  St. Augustinegrass and Bahiagrass need to be mowed at 3" to 4" and Zoysiagrass should be around 2.5".
• Watering only when necessary - not just because it's your day to water.  St. Augustinegrass and Zoysiagrass need about 1.5" of water a week, Bahiagrass needs about 1".  Watering more than your turf needs will result in short root systems that will not survive droughts and allow for turf to be more susceptible to weeds and diseases.  An easy way to tell if your turfgrass needs watered?  Walk across your turf.  After 2-3 minutes turn around and see if you can see your footprints where you walked. If you can, you need to water.  If the grass has sprung right back up again, no need to water, there is enough hydration in your grassblades. Other indications that your lawn needs watered:  grass blades that fold or turn greenish-blue.
• Fertilize twice a year with low (0-2%) phosophorus fertilizer and an 1:1 ratio of nitrogen and potassium. 

Control of weeds can be easier if you apply pre-emergent herbicides in the early spring and herbicides in springtime and fall.  Do not apply herbicides in the summertime when the temperatures are over 85 degrees. If you only have a few weeds, then spot-treat. There is no reason to apply an herbicide to your whole lawn. If you have more than 75% of your lawn is weedy, then it might make more sense and dollar-wise to get rid of the entire lawn and replace.  Check your options. 

There are three types of weeds and identification of the weed is your best bet to getting rid of it.  Broadleaf, grasses, and sedges.  and there are different herbicides to get remove them. Make sure you read the label before you purchase so that you understand what the herbicide will kill and how to apply it.  Make sure your turfgrass is listed and the weed is listed on the label.

UF/IFAS has an excellent publication on Weed Management in a Florida Lawn. 

Last Days of Summer "In Your Backyard"

Fall is almost upon us. The sycamores and red maples are changing color, humidity is down, and pulling weeds doesn't seem like a chore. After a long, hot summer, this past weekend was cleanup time with advantageous weeds feeling their oats, invasive queen palms from a neighboring yard sprouting up, and hornets buzzing around overgrown shrubs that have been easily unattended since last year. But my roses, lantana, and blackberry lilies are blooming, and the red fountain grass looks lovely, swaying in the wind. No lawn to mow, thankfully. I broke that habit five years ago!

With the temperatures cooling, this is the time to start providing nutrients to your turfgrass with a 15-0-15 fertilizer. Applying fertilizer now, according to the label's instructions, will allow your turf to recover from the stress of summer and prepare for winter freezes. The 15-0-15 analysis will give the grass the nitrogen it needs to green up and grow, while the potassium (the last number on the bag) will create thicker cell walls which will enable the grass to survive extreme freezes. It's important to apply potassium because it's not absorbed as easily as nitrogen. It may take several months for the grass to get the full benefit of the application. If you wait till November or December for a potash or potassium application, your grass may not be growing as readily and be unprepared for an early freeze. No need for phosphorus in your turf fertilizer unless you have had a soil analysis that advises you to apply it. Remember phosphorus encourages flowering and fruiting - which turf doesn't need. It also helps plants have a healthy root system, but there is usually enough in Florida's soils to address this need.

Do you know what you're buying when you buy fertilizer? Do you understand what the analysis and the nutrients? The University of Florida has an excellent publication that will allow you to make a good decision when purchasing fertilizer. Always read the label and follow instructions - more is not better!

With the predicted rain this weekend, let the natural rainfall prepare your lawn for fertilizing and then apply the fertilizer after the rain, not before! Don't let it slip away in your stormwater runoff!

I've been warning about hurricane winds and large tree damages for several months now but this year despite having 11 hurricanes, only one hurricane, Bonnie, skirted South Florida. I drove by this Orlando home yesterday with a huge tree that went over in a windy storm this week. It was an old live oak and had been hollow for some time. It missed the house by a few feet.

There's some great gardening finds at the local farmers market this time of year! Look at these beauties that I found at the Winter Park Farmers Market!

The tree-like topiary is an olive tree, Oleo europeana, I love it. Olive trees are becoming a top favorite with Florida gardeners.