Maintaining your yard
Mowing, Pruning and Raking
Trimming some plants can help enhance the beauty of your Florida Yard. This is also an area of maintenance where you can reduce the workload by doing things the environmentally friendly way.
For example, if you've selected slow-growing plants, the amount of pruning will be reduced. Also, less pruning is required if plants are placed so that when they mature, they don't grow over walkways, driveways or against buildings. If your yard isn't turf intensive, less mowing is an obvious work and time saver. In addition, a beautiful landscape need not have a clipped, formal look. Soft, flowing, natural lines can be attractive and easy to maintain.
If there are turf areas to be mowed, keep in mind that most St. Augustine and Bahia turf grass should be kept at a minimum height of three to four inches and longer in the shade. If cut shorter the plants may be stressed. Each mowing should remove no more than one-third of the leaf blade, and those cuttings should remain on the lawn to decompose.
For procrastinators who don't mow regularly, mulching mowers will cut grass into smaller pieces, speeding decomposition. If the grass has gotten too long, spread cuttings behind shrubs or add them to a compost pile.
Grass clippings can also be mixed with leaves and twigs to create a useful mulch that provides nutrients to your plants.
When pruning trees and shrubs, toss small cuttings into a compost pile or behind a shrub. Hauling huge piles of brush to the landfill is not necessary -- and you'll avoid tipping fees charged at the landfill that add to the cost of maintenance.
Many new Floridians avoid having deciduous trees in their yards because fallen leaves require raking. But deciduous trees help reduce energy costs by shading the house in summer and allowing sunshine to heat the house in winter when their leaves fall.
Where turf isn't a concern, you don't have to rake under trees because the self-mulching is good for the plant. If aesthetics are an issue, plant shrubs under the trees to avoid raking. They benefit from the mulch and help hold leaves in place so they won't clutter the landscape.
Collecting leaves and pine needles by raking or blowing provides a source of mulch that is a real asset in the landscape, and it's virtually free. If your yard generates more leaf mulch than you can use, compost the material or share some with a neighbor.
Mulching
Applying a layer of mulch around trees, shrubs, planted beds and on any exposed soil area will reduce water loss, control weeds and prevent runoff.
Here are a few simple facts to remember about mulch
- A 2- to 3-inch layer (after settling) of mulch around most plants reduces evaporation from the soil's surface, moderates soil temperatures and suppresses weeds.
- Mulches can replace turf or ground covers in areas that are difficult to mow, irrigate or otherwise maintain. Mulches also can be used in shady areas where plants may not grow readily.
- Mulch requires practically no maintenance, except for occasional additions and weeding.
- Use mulch that originates in your own landscape by using leaves, pine needles, grass and shrub clippings. Several sources of recycled mulch are available in the region. Start with your local government solid waste department or recycling coordinator. Avoid using cypress mulch because its harvest depletes cypress wetlands.
- Shell, crushed stone or pebbles can be used as mulch but will not contribute to the organic content of your soil. Also, be aware that shell mulch will raise the soil's pH as the shell material dissolves and will reflect heat, increasing water needs of plants.
- Mulch can provide a design element in your landscape, adding a contrast of color and texture that complements plantings.
- Reduce the chances of rot by avoiding piles of mulch against plant stems or trunks. Citrus trees are particularly prone to rot from such practice.
Pest Management
Concerns about health, the environment and the increasing resistance of pests to chemicals have forced people to reconsider practices they once took for granted. The regular preventive application of traditional pesticides is one example. Most people don't realize that, in general, nature takes pretty good care of itself. Healthy plants can usually fend off pest attacks, while predatory insects and birds may keep undesirable insects under control. Thus, the preventive use of pesticides is unnecessary. Also, many insects are beneficial with less than 1 percent of all insects being harmful to plants.
There is a lagoon-friendly approach to pest control, called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). IPM emphasizes using pest-resistant plants, proper landscape management, natural enemies of pests and applying the least-toxic alternative if pesticides are required. Plants are carefully monitored for harmful pests, and only the safest materials are used to control them. Pesticides are used only on affected plants, not as blanket applications.
Non-chemical controls are not yet available for all pest and disease problems. This handbook attempts to highlight several common pests and the least-toxic methods that may control them.
Avoiding pest problems
Think before you plant
It takes considerable amounts of pesticides to protect plants weakened by unfavorable growing conditions. Know which plants can tolerate the conditions in your yard and plant them. Concentrate on pest-resistant varieties.
Go easy on water and fertilizer
Over watering and over fertilizing cause excessive growth, making them vulnerable to insects and disease. Encourage healthy growth and maintain the quality of your landscape by applying fertilizer and water only when needed and in moderate amounts.
Mowing grass too short and severely shearing trees and shrubs weakens them, inviting pests
Mow to the proper height and prune selectively. Remember, leaves are necessary to produce food for the plant.
What about plant diseases?
Many organisms, including viruses, fungi and bacteria, can cause diseases in plants. Diseases can be quite specific in the plant species they commonly affect, but identifying diseases can still be extremely difficult.
Often, home gardeners mistake environmental or maintenance problems for diseases. For example, Spanish moss, lichens and ball moss are not parasites that should be killed or removed; they are merely plants themselves.
Another common misdiagnosis in coastal areas is mistaking saltwater damage for disease. Irrigating plants with salty well water can cause yellowing around the edges of leaves and leaf-drop starting from the bottom part of the plant's canopy.
When a plant does have a disease, the problem may be merely cosmetic rather than truly damaging to the plant. Examples are minor leaf spots or other damage to select leaves. Such minor aesthetic concerns are no cause for alarm or treatment. There are serious diseases, however, that can damage or kill plants they affect. Examples are mushroom root rot on woody ornamentals, fire blight on loquat and brown patch on turf. Such diseases can seriously damage the plant's appearance or yield.
Because diseases are difficult to identify, it is not recommended to assume a disease is in the works just because of a plant's appearance. The home gardener can use a magnifying glass to look for insect pests that may be causing the damage and also analyze maintenance practices for causes related to visible symptoms. If a disease is still suspected, it is best to contact your local University of Florida Extension Service for advice on how to collect and submit plant samples for disease diagnosis and recommendations on the least-toxic methods of treatment.
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