Florida‘s State Tree. Palm Mostly Right

Quick! What is the official Florida state tree? If you answered “palm tree.” you’re mostly right. After all, Florida is synonymous with warm, sunny days; sultry evenings and, of course, palm trees. But there are 2,600 varieties of palm trees and the one Florida calls its “official” tree is the Sabal Palmetto Palm. Also called a cabbage palm because the central bud can be eaten raw or cooked, it isn’t a good idea to do either since damaging the bud will kill the tree.

Newspaper Reports on Spiral Whitefly Invasion

Last week, the Palm Beach Post ran a story on the Rugose spiraling whitefly invasion (Whiteflies hit Palm Beach County homeowners’ trees, plants, pools, Aug. 16, 2012). If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you knew about the Rugose spiraling whitefly more than two weeks earlier (The Spiral Whitefly Invasion – A New Pest in Town, Aug. 1). We don’t want to brag about our timeliness; the Post certainly has more resources than us. But, it does beg the question (with apologies to Ghostbusters):

If there's somethin' strange in your yard
Who ya gonna call? (Insect Pest Control)
If it's somethin' weird an it don't look good
Who ya gonna call? (Insect Pest Control)

Climate Makes Citrus Susceptible to Many Diseases, Disorders

Florida’s citrus can fall prey to many diseases and disorders. Last time, we discussed Citrus Greening, which has already infected residential trees in Palm Beach and Martin counties, and learned that it has cost the state’s economy more than $3.6 billion in the last five years (The Greening of Florida Citrus, July 10, 2012). Because of Florida’s humid climate, fungi and germs multiply easily, which lead to citrus tree damage. The good news is that these predators don’t change very much and that by recognizing common symptoms, such as infections on tree leaves, including blemishes, roughness and damaged color patterns, gardeners can treat problems before more harm is done.

Poisonous Plants

She comes on like a rose but everybody knows
She'll get you in Dutch
You can look but you better not touch

Poison iv-y-y-y-y, poison iv-y-y-y-y
Late at night while you're sleepin' poison ivy comes a'creepin'
Arou-ou-ou-ou-ou-ound

The Coasters, Poison Ivy (Leiber & Stoller, 1959)

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The 1950’s were a more innocent time than today. In their 1959 hit Poison Ivy, The Coasters weren’t singing about poison ivy, the plant, but about another kind of poison, which wasn’t discussed much in public then. Today, however, we’ll stick with the plant and other plants used for beautification in and around Florida homes that are irritating if they come in contact with the skin, like poison ivy, and others that are toxic if eaten.

Poison Ivy

Poison ivy grows throughout most of North America, and is normally found in wooded areas. The plant is extremely common in suburban and exurban areas of New England, the Mid-Atlantic, and southeastern United States. It is not particularly sensitive to soil moisture, although it does not grow in desert or arid conditions. It grows in a wide variety of soil types. Poison ivy is dioecious; flowering occurs from May to July. The yellowish- or greenish-white flowers are typically inconspicuous and are located in clusters up to 8 cm (3.1 in) above the leaves. The berry-like fruit, a drupe, is mature by August to November with a grayish-white color.

Mighty Mite Is On Its Way to a Palm Near You

After devastating coconut palm trees in the Caribbean, the red palm mite made its way to Palm Beach County almost five years ago when it was discovered in Palm Beach Gardens. Today, these critters are known from 386 sites in five Florida counties, which includes 154 sites alone in Palm Beach County. The invasion of this species is the largest mite explosion ever observed in the Americas.

Sucks the Life Out

Bright red with a long, spatulate body, this “mighty mite” is known to feed and reproduce on at least 32 palm species, bananas, gingers and heliconias. This pest lives for about 26 days. It thrives on the underside of leaves and fronds and in high numbers causes yellowing of the leaves followed by death of plant tissue. They stick their sucking snouts into the stomata of leaves and feed directly from deep within the leaf. This causes mechanical damage to the stomata so that they are no longer able to close and the leaf dries out.

Chinch Bugs #1 Enemy of St. Augustine Grass

Every weekend you’re out there tending to your lawn, weeding, watering and spending hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars on food and fertilizer to make it the pride and the envy of the neighborhood only to one day discover the grass inexplicably turning yellow, then reddish-brown and finally dying. This is the foul work of the chinch bug. A complex of three different species within the same family, chinch bugs have piercing-sucking mouthparts and they feed on the sap of grass plants.

Weeds Are Plants Growing in the Wrong Place

Weeds are plants, too. They don’t get no respect, though, because they’re growing in the wrong place, such as your lawn, garden and even cracks in the pavement. If left untreated, weeds will spread to compete with the grass for space, food and light. In the end, they will ruin the look of your lawn.

Click to play

Basically, weeds come in three varieties: grassy, sedge and broadleaf. Some weeds are perennials, which means they can last for more than one growing season, while annuals germinate, flower and die all within one season. Broadleaf weeds, which are characterized by wide, flat leaves, are most common in lawns and gardens. Dandelion, plantain and other broadleaf weeds are among the most common and troublesome turf pest problems in plants.