Fixing Florida Foreclosure Home Lawn & Landscape

Over seed lawn with annual rye for now. Trees, shrubs from containers can be planted.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  UF/IFAS County Extension Director for Nassau County and Horticulture Agent III, Rebecca Jordi addresses questions about landscaping and gardening in northeast Florida. She is also a University of Florida faculty member.___________

Distressed Florida Lawn
Example of Distressed Florida Lawn

QUESTION: My daughter and son-in-law just bought their first home which was a foreclosure house.  It has been vacant for over two years so you can imagine how awful the lawn and landscape looks.  We would like to plant some trees, shrubs and lawn grass now but we are concerned as to whether this is the best time of year (November).  What do you think? AB

JORDI: The best advice I can give them would be to start small by making changes to the front yard first, as this is seen daily by the owners and those in the neighborhood. Taking on too much can become overwhelming and then rash decisions and wrong choices are made.

In general, trees and shrubs transplanted from containers can be planted any time of year in Florida.  Consider your cold hardiness zone before making any plant selection.  Just as a reminder, those areas west of I-95 are considered zone 8b and east of I-95 are zone 9a.  It would not be prudent to purchase tropical plants, which are grown in zones 10-11 as they are not able to tolerate our colder winters.

Always consider the potential mature height and spread of the plant and make allowances. One common mistake made by homeowners is to plant trees and shrubs too close to each other.  This gives a full look initially but the plants will suffer in a few years by not having enough root and branch area. Planting trees and shrubs the proper distance from the house and each other will also reduce the need to constantly prune.

Be sure to determine how much sunlight the plant will tolerate.  When plants are in the wrong place they suffer and never look their best.

Regarding lawn grass, consider over seeding now with annual rye and wait until spring to spend money on planting grass.  Please call me at 904 491-7340 or 904- 879-1019 to set up an appointment so we can discuss appropriate plant selections.  I do not provide formal landscape design but I can steer your family in the right direction.

Red-Orange Fungi On Citrus Leaf Florida
Beneficial Red-Orange Fungi On Citrus Leaf Florida

QUESTION: What is wrong with my citrus tree?  I see little white flies whenever I get near the fruit or leaves.  I turned some of the leaves over and saw these orange specks.  Is this an insect or a disease?

JORDI: Actually the orange spots you see are neither an insect nor a disease. The spots are beneficial fungi which attack the young stationary stage (pupae) of a common citrus pest called the white fly.

The white fly is an important pest of many fruits and vegetables as well as ornamental plants. In large commercial plantings of citrus, citrus whitefly and cloudywinged whitefly are largely controlled in rainy weather by whitefly fungi. Some important species are the red fungus (Aschersonia aleyrodis Webber) and the brown fungus (Aegerita webberi Fawcett).  A yellow fungus, Aschersonia goldiana, does not attack the citrus whitefly, but is very effective against the cloudywinged whitefly. The presence of the yellow fungus guarantees that cloudywinged whitefly is present. These fungi are generally present in all citrus groves in Florida and increase in numbers when the proper environmental conditions prevail. These fungi are commonly referred to as “friendly fungi,” and the two major species are often referred to as red Aschersonia and yellow Aschersonia.

This is another example of leaving things alone and letting nature take its normal course of action.  We would not recommend any chemical application as the fungi are probably managing the white fly population quite well.  This information was taken from a publication titled, “Your Dooryard Citrus Guide: Common Pests, Diseases and Disorders of Citrus” by James J. Ferguson from the UF/IFAS http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/HS/HS12200.pdf

Magnesium Deficiency, Sago Palm Florida
Magnesium Deficiency, Sago Palm Florida

QUESTION: I have yellow edges on my sago palm.  What could be wrong with it?  JD

JORDI: The sago palm appears to be deficient in magnesium.  It may be the soil, in which the cycad is planted, is also magnesium deficient.  It might be beneficial to add magnesium sulfate around the base of the cycad and throughout the canopy area.

Pull any mulch from around the base of the cycad, add the supplement, irrigate to get the product to the root area and place the mulch back. Remember, no tree, shrub, palm or cycad should have mulch piled up against the base of the trunk. This inappropriate practice can cause fungal decay along the trunk tissue, permanently damaging the plant.  Keep an area, about a shovel’s width, around the base of any tree or shrub free of mulch.

Rebecca Jordi

Rebecca L. Jordi

County Extension Director
UF/IFAS Environmental Horticulture
Nassau County Extension
543350 U.S. Highway #1
Callahan, FL 32011
904-491-7340 or 904-879-1019
http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu