Gardening Is So Different Here!
- plantsandpots
- FYNFAN
- plantsandpots
- Kirk_Johnson
- FYNFAN
- FYNFAN
- plantsandpots
- pamj60
- jerrib
- FYNFAN
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» plantsandpots - Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by FYNFAN:Hi Teresa and welcome to Suite! I am the CE for Container Gardening here at Suite and a fairly recent transplant to Florida (from California and prior to that, Toronto). I am still trying to get used to the fact that we have sand, not soil, here to grow things in!! I'm in St. Augustine, fairly close to the ocean. I put in roses last summer (yes, I know, one is not supposed to plant in the summer!) and they are doing quite well...it's only a few bushes so far. Except for one hybrid tea, I put in all OGRs because they are supposed to have better disease resistance (and they're all on fortuniana rootstock). Anyway...I digress. I'd love some info/advice on how to work with our sandy soils...what sorts of amendments do you recommend and what do you do to keep the "soil" reasonably healthy?
I did my Master Gardener training in CA and did advanced courses in IPM and therefore am a committed organic gardener. I haven't gotten involved here yet with the MG group, but plan to this summer. Another topic which would be useful in my opinion is how to live peaceably with the bug population here in Florida without resorting to pesticides and insecticides. I swear I've never seen bugs so big!!!
I'd love to listen to your radio show...but I don't imagine we get it here. Are you in the Orlando area?
Anyway, some thoughts on future topics. Look forward to reading your articles.
-- posted by plantsandpots
» FYNFAN - Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by plantsandpots:Kathy,
Thanks for the warm welcome! As a matter of fact, I hosted my tv show in Daytona Beach tonight with Carol Bennett, horticultural agent with St. John's county, who lives in St. Augustine.
Our sand is not bad, just different. It has its' pros: good drainage, lots of minerals, and it's easy to dig in - ever try and dig in rock or clay up North? You so appreciate our sand when you have to dig in it. Florida sugar sand (mostly Myakka in Central Florida) has its' cons: It doesn't hold onto moisture long, not much nutrient content or micro-organism activity, and the dreaded "Finding Nemotodes" which I think they recently made an animated cartoon movie about.
Roses do well in Florida and it's okay to plant them year-round. They are more maintenance than your average ornamental shrubs and natives but to me they are worth it to see the beautiful buds bloom and smell the fragrances of my Double Delights or Angel Faces. I have always grown roses here and had as many as 32 at one time. Roses will usually live between 10 to 15 years depending on the rootstock variety. Fortunianas do tend to withstand nemotodes longer.
To amend the soil, which I do recommend for new garden beds, you can incorporate 1 bag of top soil, 1 bag of peat moss, and 1 bag of manure to every 10 square feet of garden bed. A 20 lb. to 40 lb. bag will be just fine. Each year, in the winter (January) and in the fall (October) I work additional compost into garden beds if necessary. You will be able to look at your sand/soil and see if you need to add more or wait another season. Depending on your zone, the micro-organism activity and your fertilizer use - all of which will affect your soil and if you see earthworms, feel lucky - you already have your own compost maker. Amending the soil will allow your soil to hold onto moisture longer, add nutrients and beneficial organisms, which will reduce the need to fertilize, and aerates the soil. You will see your ornamental shrubs, trees and flowers thrive.
The amount of insects in Florida is not as bad as the zero-state growth population advocates would like you to believe. Only 3% of the insect world is bad and they don't all live in Florida - have you seen the size of mosquitos in Wisconsin? Only 1% of the insects in Florida are bad. Just think of it this way - just because it's ugly, doesn't make it bad. The bane of my existance though, are lubber grasshoppers (which I am nominating as state bird next year) and snails. Those two creatures are at the top of my list of manure memos to myself. The lubbers start hatching in March and April near bulbs, like amaryllis and crinum lilies. Spray with any insecticide for leaf-chewing creatures, like Sevin. You have to catch them when they are young, because when they are mature adults, the only two things that will kill them are - bricks!
The best way to control insect problems in Florida is to not overdo or underdo anything. Don't over water, over fertilize, don't under water, don't under fertilize. Don't pesticide your yard on a regular monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly basis and kill the beneficial predatory bugs that eat the bad bugs. And if there is not a bug problem...why put down pesticides? There is no bug preventative out there and every chemical you put on the landscape makes its' way into our ground and surface water. (Editor's Note: I am not addressing necessary termite pesticide treatments - just routine insectidal spraying of yards for no reason).
Well, I think I opened a can of worms with this message... but hey - earthworms are our friends!
I am in Orlando and you can hear my radio show on WLBE 790am on Tuesdays at 11:00am, coast to coast.
Future topics will be more on insect control, popular myths about Florida gardening, disease problems, easy-care flowers and shrubs, and lots more.
Thanks Kathy for writing,
Teresa
http://cfyn.ifas.ufl.edu
-- posted by FYNFAN
» plantsandpots - Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by FYNFAN:Thanks, Teresa, for all the great info. You confirm much of my own thinking and foundation knowledge, particularly about soil health and trying to maintain that optimum balance between under and over-anything.
Do you use organic methods to try and control black spot on your roses? Mine already have some black spot and I've started spraying them with a mixture of baking soda, dishwashing liquid and horticultural oil...but it's too early to see if that will work. Just wondered if you had used anything that really worked. I've pretty much decided to do what I can organically and then just live with it!
I'm going to see if I can get your show up here and I'll be looking forward to some of your future articles.
Kathy
-- posted by plantsandpots
» Kirk_Johnson - Re: Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by plantsandpots:I lve on the southern Oregon coast. It is much more like southern England than Florida, but we have major problems with blackspot. I know an organic gardener who has beatiful roses. She doesn't spray them with anything, she is just very careful about picking up every leaf off the ground and the moment that she sees blackspot of a leaf, she picks it off.
-- posted by Kirk_Johnson
» FYNFAN - Re: Roses and Black Spot
In response to message posted by plantsandpots:Exactly Kirk, I don't use anything on my roses either to prevent black spot and I don't have too many problems with it. Watering practices and extensive rains are the major cause of black spot here in Florida. Overhead watering and keeping the leaves wet provides the environment for fungal problems. Drip or microjet irrigation is better for roses. Being a clean gardener will also help. Pull the leaves with black spot off (making sure not to touch other roses without sterilizing tools or hands first) and any leaves that fall onto the ground, pick up as black spot is air-borne carried. Good air circulation is necessary, so if you only have one or two roses spaced apart, you won't see many disease problems. It's when you have groupings of roses that it can devastate your garden bed. Black spot fungus, Diplocarpon rosae, can be controlled with a fungicide, but the ideal solution is good gardening habits, proper irrigation, and healthy, disease-resistant roses, like antique roses or the newer varieties such as Knock-outs.
Teresa
http://cfyn.ifas.ufl.edu
-- posted by FYNFAN
» FYNFAN - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by Kirk_Johnson:Kirk,
Oregon is lovely and it does remind me as well of Scotland and England. Same weather pattern and lots of lush green everywhere.
Oregon is an ideal rose state.
Teresa
http://cfyn.ifas.ufl.edu
-- posted by FYNFAN
» plantsandpots - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to message posted by FYNFAN:I fear that overhead watering is, indeed, my biggest problem. I live in a community where the landscaping, including all the watering, is maintained by the HOA. The sprinklers come on in the early evening, the absolute worst time to get the leaves wet. So my challenge is to get the timing changed so that at least they spray in the morning when there'll be time for the leaves to dry.
-- posted by plantsandpots
» pamj60 - Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to Dilemmas of Florida landscaping posted by FYNFAN:I think the hardest part for newcomers to Florida is finding substitutes for the flowers they grew in the North. We can't grow lilacs here, but crape myrtle are darn pretty. Forsythia doesn't like our weather, but ixora is outstanding and blooms most of the summer and fall. And, let's not forget the always lovely plumbago.
It seems that for every plant I loved to see grow in South Dakota (where I'm from), I can find a very acceptable substitute that will thrive in Florida's heat and humidity.
And, when it's snowing up north and I'm planting pansies and petunias and impations that will give me months of bloom, well, it tends to solve any dilemna I may have thought existed.
-- posted by pamj60
» jerrib - Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to Re: Re: Re: Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping posted by FYNFAN:As is Washington.
I do agree, too, that crape myrtle is lovely in Florida - we can't grow it here. I've tried.
-- posted by jerrib
» FYNFAN - Re: Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping
In response to Re: Dilemmas of Florida landscaping posted by pamj60:I certainly agree with you. Finding the substitutes is not easy. It's all about learning. If any new Floridian would like to post their Northern favorite plant picture or species name and like a recommendation as to a Florida-friendly flower, shrub, or tree to substitute, I would be happy to let you in on my personal favorite selections.
You're so right Pam - being able to garden here year-round is wonderful. At least we don't have to shovel sunshine.
-- posted by FYNFAN
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