INS IDE TH IS

I S SUE :

Master Garden-

ers Test New

Product -

SlugShield®

2

Garden Journal-

ing

2

Diversity in the

Landscape

3

Liriope or

Mondo Grass?

3

Order in the

Plant World

4

The BackyardThe BackyardThe BackyardThe BackyardThe BackyardThe BackyardThe BackyardThe Backyard GardenerGardenerGardenerGardenerGardenerGardenerGardenerGardener

J A N . - F E B . , 2 0 1 2 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E I

Karen Stauderman

Master Gardener Coordinator

Residential/Urban

Extension Agent

What a delightfully warm

winter this turned out to be.

Many trees are confused and

are beginning to send out

flowers early.

In January, we’ll welcome Dr.

Bill Castle from UF/IFAS

CFREC in Lake Alfred. He

will present a free program

on growing pomegranates.

Fortunately, it has similar

growth requirements as cit-

rus. Did you know that in

1896 the first variety origi-

nated in Florida by the Span-

ish settlers was called

‘Wonderful’? It still is in use

today! That’s what I call a

great native plant for the

landscape. Look for this free

program on January 26th at

the UF-Volusia County

Coordinator’s Corner Extension office starting at

noon.

Take advantage of the warm

winter weather, while it lasts,

to get a jump start on your

spring projects.

Best Wishes in the 2012

New Year!

Annual Florida Master Gardener Conference A wonderful time was had by

all at the recent Annual Flor-

ida Master Gardener Contin-

ued Training conference, held

at Lake Buena Vista, Florida

on October 25-26, 2011.

Seven Volusia County Master

Gardeners attended, with the

total attendance of approxi-

mately 300!

The conference was opened

by Tom Wichman, (Florida

Master Gardener Coordina-

tor), and ended with a sump-

tuous dinner on the pool side

terrace in lovely, although

windy, Florida weather.

Some of us especially enjoyed

the session on new foliage

plants (Alocasia, Red bam-

boo, Ginger, and Calathea,

Oh My!), which were then

raffled off.

The second day started with

the 4-H horticultural identifi-

cation judging contest (won

by Lake County, yet again),

and ended with the horticul-

tural auction---soooo many

lovely plants, framed photos,

and gardening paraphernalia!

The third day began with the

Master Gardener awards

program, followed by a lively

and informative session on

gardening challenges pre-

sented by Tom MacCubbin.

All of the sessions were en-

tertaining and loaded with

information. It was an-

nounced that next year’s con-

ference will be held in Octo-

ber 2013 in Clearwater, Flor-

ida. Mark your calendars and

stay tuned for future an-

nouncements!

Joyce Velba ('07)

P A G E 2

Master Gardeners Test New Product - SlugShield®

Occasionally, Karen re-

ceives industry products to

test in the garden. Slug-

Shield® is one such product

that claims, from a Pacific

NW Garden trial, to have a

97 percent effective rate

against slugs and is non-

toxic. Here is what our

Volusia County Master

Gardeners said when it was

tested in their gardens.

“I received two shields and

put one of each on my or-

chid plants. The plants

with the shields did not

have any damage. Several

of the nonshielded plants in

the area did. I like them.

They seem to work, and

they look cool.” Brian

Chesher ('95)

“I attempted to use them

on my potted basil. It does

not work for small plants as

there is no way to secure it

around the plant. In my

case, there were too many

seedlings in the pot for the

size of the coil.” Katie

Diehl ('02)

“It worked very well on the

pepper and eggplant, but

the plants must be pruned

high, staked, and supported

tight. I placed the shield

four to five inches up on

the stem. The shield re-

mained on the plants since

they are still bearing fruit.

The plants do not appear

to have been damaged.

Only the untwisting of the

ends, might stretch, or

break the coils.” Jose Ren-

don ('10)

“I used the slug deterrent

and didn’t have any slugs.”

Ellie Chamberlin ('07)

To test it out for yourself

or for more information,

go to www.slugshield.com.

T H E B A C K Y A R D

G A R D E N E R

2010 Newsletter Staff

Karen Stauderman MG Coordinator UF Residential Ext. Agent kstauderman@co.volusia.fl.us http://volusia.org/extension

Patricia Caradonna Office Assistant III pcaradonna@co.volusia.fl.us

Contributors: Marty Borkosky ('80) Barry Brassard ('07)

Linda Evans Joy Hudson ('11) Birgit Kiessling ('10) Patty Page ('08) Rebecca Turner ('06) Joyce Velba ('07)

U F I F A S E X T E N S I O N U F I F A S E X T E N S I O N U F I F A S E X T E N S I O N U F I F A S E X T E N S I O N ----

V O L U S I A C O U N T Y V O L U S I A C O U N T Y V O L U S I A C O U N T Y V O L U S I A C O U N T Y

The Foundation for The Gator Nation An Equal Opportunity Institution

3100 E. New York Avenue DeLand, FL 32724-6410 DeLand: (386) 822-5778 Daytona Beach: (386) 257-6012 New Smyrna Bch: (386) 423-3368 Fax: (386) 822-5767

My journal is a simple, spi-

ral notebook with a bou-

quet on it, that my daugh-

ter, Margo, gave to me. It

sat on my desk for seven

months until one morning I

was sitting in my favorite

chair by my front window,

looking out at my beautiful

garden. It inspired me to

find the journal and begin

writing about my gardening.

I wrote, and I put it when

finished on the table with a

pen near my favorite chair,

by the window, to make it

readily available. I have six

years of writing and notes.

Thomas Jefferson, one of

the first Americans, and

certainly most famous, kept

a lifelong, meticulous re-

cord of all his plantings,

from his college days until

two years before his death

in 1824.

He was the oldest son of

ten children, and at the age

of fourteen inherited 5,000

acres and a large slave

workforce to manage. In

his lifetime, he became a

passionate gardener.

Like Thomas Jefferson, I

too chronicle planting,

growing, fertilizing, spray-

ing, pruning of roses, and

the expansion of bromeli-

ads. I found it interesting

the amount of amaryllis and

agapanthus blooms each

year from my records.

I even left a clue to find the

opening of the septic tank

(under the birdbath)!

A garden journal is a won-

derful tool and valuable

endeavor for a passionate

gardener.

Marty Borkosky ('80)

Garden Journaling

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 3 I S S U E I

Diversity in the Landscape In November, the Master Gardeners

took a field trip to Longleaf Pine Pre-

serve to observe wildflowers and/or

weeds in their natural setting. When

asked how they could relate what

they learned to help the homeowner,

this is what they observed:

Biodiversity prevents the devastation

of a monoculture from a host specific

pathogen or insects.

Look around your neighborhood and

see what grows naturally. Is it on a

wetland or upland area? Certain

plants do better in their natural envi-

ronment. Chemicals are not always

the answer to control pests; home-

owners should try to find a balance

between good bugs and bad ones.

Unfortunately, I learned that the lob-

lolly bay tree blooming along S.R. 44

appears not well suited for the door-

yard. It does well in the rich, moist

soil in its natural habitat, but would be

susceptible to nematodes and thus

short-lived in our dry, sandy soil (right

plant, right place). However, the wax

myrtle is better adapted to most soil

types; it is generally hardy, and pro-

vides cover and food for birds and

other wildlife.

It is important to teach home garden-

ers the value of natives and a diversi-

fied landscape. In an unspoiled envi-

ronment, everything works together

for the good of the order. People

should understand the beautiful har-

mony of nature.

If left undisturbed, the natural balance

will take over. If a client is interested

in expanding with ornamental grasses,

encourage them by leaving the inflo-

rescence on the plants which promote

self-seeding. To limit plants, remove

the blooms before the seeds disperse.

Polycultures, seed heads, and a little

untidiness, encourages diversity of

animal life in our gardens which in-

cludes: insects, birds, various mam-

mals, and reptiles. Provide a welcome

mat for wildlife and it will benefit us

all.

Linda Evans, VC Mgmt Specialist

Many people mistakenly call Liriope ‑

mondo grass.

The Liriope sp. we usually see is the

best known species, also known as

big blue lily turf (Liriope muscari). It

is 1-2 ft. in height with a spread of

10-24 inches. It grows in clumps of

narrow, glossy leaves and blooms in

mid summer with spikes of violet or

white flowers.

Most ornamental grasses grow well

in shade or sun, but many prefer

shade. In hot summer sun, the foli-

age may burn and require additional

water. A variety called ‘silvery sun-

proof’ is one cultivar that tolerates

full sun, flowers heavily that has gold

bordered immature leaves that ma-

ture to white bordered. Variegated

varieties require deeper shade.

Liriope spicata, (creeping lilyturf) will

grow in zones 5-10. It is fine tex-

tured with dense underground run-

ners and stands 6‑10 inches high.

Creeping lilyturf is not a good plant

for bordering a sidewalk or for use

as an edging because it spreads too

quickly.

In the spring, Liriope may be

sheared to the ground or in front to

appear neater. It is used in borders,

driveways, and flower gardens. A

Liriope or Mondo Grass? slow release fertilizer twice per year

helps to make it lush.

Dwarf mondo grass, (Ophiopogon

japonicus), is similar in growing con-

ditions. It makes a dense mat of

foliage tufts that also requires shade.

It thrives in zones 7-11 and grows

between 4‑8 inches high with a

spread of 4‑8 inches. Dwarf mondo

grass is salt tolerant and cold hardy.

It is great for edging or bedding

where grass won’t grow.

For more information on ornamen-

tal grasses check out the EDIS Pub-

lication ENH976.

Marty Borkosky ('80)

Photos courtesy of Patty Page ('08)

This was how it looked when we got

there…

And this is 25 plants later! All native…

We even saw a swallowtail after we fin-

ished planting. Very pleased with the way

it came out thanks to the Garden Club of

Ponce Inlet, Full Moon Natives, and Mas-

ter Gardeners!

Order in the Plant World new information. And with so much

data coming in, it can cause confu-

sion.

The Agave, in the Agavaceae family,

along with 23 different genera (kinds

or sorts). But the Agavaceae are

part of a large order, the Aspara-

gales, and there are broad character-

istics within this order. They are

monocots, typically perennial herbs,

with fibrous stems and a cluster of

leaves at the base of the plant or

along the stem. They almost always

have a black pigment present in the

seed coat called phytomelan. As-

paragales order has 29 families

which include the aloe, garlic, iris,

lily, and onion. It’s such a diverse

order that a majority of plants in the

Southern Hemisphere are in it. It

even includes the Orchidaceae as a

sister family, except that the orchids

lack phytomelan. When you survey

your landscape, take note that many

of your plants are actually related,

the very ones that you had thought

were so different.

The Asterales includes eleven fami-

lies, but the most prominant is the

daisy family (Asteraceae): dandelion,

sunflower. In temperate regions,

more than 10 percent of flowering

plants belong to this family. Aster-

Next time you research a particular

plant for purposes of finding out its

likes and dislikes, paint with a broad

brush, if you will, and look up the

order of that plant. It’s true, botani-

cal classifiers often seem a bit

wacko, ‘uprooting’ plants from a

family where they had formerly been

happily content, adopting them out

to a new and uncaring family, or cre-

ating for them a whole new family,

even a whole new order – you won-

der if they don’t do it out of some

kind of mischievous perverseness.

But not so; they are just trying to

group plants to fit highly detailed

plant analyses which include DNA

sequencing and other modern meth-

ods, and they often become con-

fused themselves. There are scien-

tific arguments over taxonomies as

plants change families or whole fami-

lies change orders. Certainly bota-

nists don’t always come to the same

conclusions. Actually it’s a tribute

to the early science of botany that

so many plants have stayed in their

original place, still appropriately

categorized, from former days to

this.

You wouldn’t expect anything to

change in botany while all other sci-

entific studies have exploded with

ales also includes a large family called

the Campanulaceae or Bellflower

family with about 84 types of plants

mostly herbaceous. As the name

suggests, these have bell-like flow-

ers. The order is characterized by

aggregated stamens which are fused

into a tube around the style. Rosales

order are dicots and can fix nitro-

gen. They grow in temperate zones,

mostly in the Northern Hemisphere.

Ninety-three percent of the Rosales

order falls into these families:

Rosaceae (Rose), Urticareae

(Nettle), Moraceae (Ficus and Mul-

berry), Ulmacea (Elm), and Rhamna-

ceae (Buckthorn). The Cannabaceae

or Hemp family also is in Rosales.

There are reproductive similarities,

plus the flowers of these plants radi-

ate five petals and five sepals, and

produce either one-seeded or aggre-

gate fruits. The flowers produce

abundant pollen and nectar to at-

tract insects.

Seeking knowledge of plant orders

creates order in your mind with re-

gard to a seemingly haphazard and

unbelievably diverse kingdom. The

plant kingdom may well be haphaz-

ard, but taxonomy has devised a

wonderful arrangement to it all.

Rebecca Turner ('06)

Photo courtesy of Barry Brassard ('07)

A unique mushroom from his yard

Photo courtesy of Joy Hudson ('11)

Night blooming cereus

Photo courtesy of Birgit Kiessling ('10)

A new bird species?