1 Inside this issue: Bits and Bytes 2 Coming Events 3 Ancestors 4 Walk on the Wild Side 5 Sea Oat Planting 5 Weed of the Month 6 Preparing 7 Book Review 8 Mark Your Calendar 9 Birthday Wishes 9 Last Word 10 ...for discerning weeders June, 2012 On May 24, a small group of Master Gar- deners and guests accompanied Sheila Dunning on a visit to Five Rivers, Ala- bama’s Delta Resource Center. The Mobile, Spanish, Tensaw, Apalachee and the Blake- ley Rivers come together in the Mobile- Tensaw Delta and flow into Mobile Bay. The Center is part of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta Nature Preserve which was pur- chased by The Forever Wild Land Trust. The Trust sets aside 15 percent of the ap- praised value of each purchase for on-site management. Additional funding is provid- ed by a small percent of the interest earned from state royalties on offshore gas and oil leases owned by Alabama. Upon arrival we were met by Shonda, our land portion of the tour guide. We were escorted to the Tensaw Theater and viewed a movie on the Delta highlights, Alabama’s natural history and the many types of recreation available in the area. Then we went to one of the many class- rooms to meet both living and preserved creatures that inhabit the Delta. This in- cluded a preserved Gator (go Gators), Bear, turtles and a very lively non- poisonous snake that coiled around Shonda’s arm as she told us about snakes. We also met the resident squirrel who was rescued from the wild and will never return because he has no fear of predators. Finally, we met the star of the show, Amelia. She shares an office with Shonda and is black and white. She is the resident Skunk. The Apalachee Exhibit Hall was our next stop. Here we were free to roam the 4,000 square foot museum and view the many diverse displays. They ranged from a 12 ½ foot alligator, to invasive plants of the area, to animals you might encounter in the swamps, to live snakes in their enclosed natural setting. Continued on next page DON’T FORGET! You have to log your hours onto the VMS system! FIELD TRIP TO ALABAMA By Bob Bayer
Transcript
11
Inside this
issue:
Bits and Bytes 2
Coming Events 3
Ancestors 4
Walk on the Wild
Side
5
Sea Oat Planting 5
Weed of the
Month
6
Preparing 7
Book Review 8
Mark Your
Calendar
9
Birthday Wishes 9
Last Word 10
...for discerning weeders June, 2012
On May 24, a small group of Master Gar-deners and guests accompanied Sheila Dunning on a visit to Five Rivers, Ala-bama’s Delta Resource Center. The Mobile, Spanish, Tensaw, Apalachee and the Blake-ley Rivers come together in the Mobile-Tensaw Delta and flow into Mobile Bay.
The Center is part of the Mobile-Tensaw Delta Nature Preserve which was pur-chased by The Forever Wild Land Trust. The Trust sets aside 15 percent of the ap-praised value of each purchase for on-site management. Additional funding is provid-
ed by a small percent of the interest earned from state royalties on offshore gas and oil leases owned by Alabama.
Upon arrival we were met by Shonda, our land portion of the tour guide. We were escorted to the Tensaw Theater and viewed a movie on the Delta highlights, Alabama’s natural history and the many types of recreation available in the area. Then we went to one of the many class-rooms to meet both living and preserved creatures that inhabit the Delta. This in-cluded a preserved Gator (go Gators), Bear, turtles and a very lively non-poisonous snake that coiled around Shonda’s arm as she told us about snakes. We also met the resident squirrel who was rescued from the wild and will never return
because he has no fear of predators.
Finally, we met the star of the show, Amelia. She shares an office with Shonda and is black and white. She is the resident Skunk.
The Apalachee Exhibit Hall was our next stop. Here we were free to roam the 4,000 square foot museum and view the many diverse displays. They ranged from a 12 ½ foot alligator, to invasive plants of the area, to animals you might encounter in the swamps, to live snakes in their enclosed natural
setting.
Continued on next page
DON’T FORGET!
You have to log your
hours onto the VMS
system!
FIELD TRIP TO ALABAMA By Bob Bayer
22
FIELD TRIP continued
The next two hours were devoted to cruising aboard a pontoon boat. After a lei-surely stroll down Gopher Trail, we left behind the cool interior of the Resource Center and made our way through Sardine Pass into the Blakeley River. As we headed toward Mobile Bay we were treated to sightings of many alligators all called “Fluffy” by our guide. There also were many birds to be seen, including an osprey, sitting her nest, cliff sparrows with unique nests under the bridges and many herons. All of this, plus an ongoing commentary about the flora and fauna of the area and lots of background history of the Delta and the surrounding area.
P.S. The only thing that was missing was YOU. Well, maybe next time!!!
A very big thank you to Bob Bayer for providing this
report and the great pictures.
Also, a big thank you to our Field Trip coordinators,
Stacey and Klare for a banner year thus far. Please
note that field trips will be on hold until after August
due to the summer months.
BITS AND BYTES By Marg Stewart
I want to start by thanking Dick for
sending out the warning e-mail. For
those of you who didn’t get it, there is
yet another hoax/spam/irritating
email going around, claiming to be
from FedEx.
Here are some tips to keep you from
falling victim to these operations.
#1 NEVER click on anything in a ques-
tionable email.
#2 NEVER open attachments that you
aren’t sure about.
#3 RELAX, if someone sent you some-
thing important, they will let you
know. The email police won’t arrive
just because you didn’t open Aunt So-
phie’s attachments. :)
#4 If you aren’t sure about an email
and you think it might be legitimate,
do the following:
DON’T click on anything from the
email.
OPEN a new window in your browser
(most times this can be done by hold-
ing down the Ctrl key and click ‘N’).
ONCE you have the new window open,
go type in the company’s name (we’ll
use FedEx).
NOW you are the REAL FedEx page
and you can click on the contact us link
or simply call them. 99.9% of the time
you’ll find out that they didn’t send out
the questionable email.
GO BACK to your email and delete the
offending one. Keep the hackers out
by taking a few extra steps to be safe.
33
JUNE 2ND
7AM TO 1PM
INDOOR CRAFT/YARD SALE AND
FARMER’S MARKET
CRESTVIEW EXTENSION OFFICE
76th FFGC/UF Garden and Design
Seminar
June 19-21
Gainesville, FL
JUNE 27TH
NURSERY WORK DAY!
ALL HANDS ON DECK!
HAVE FUN, GET DIRTY AND
HELP GET A MAJOR PORTION
OF WORK DONE
PLANTS NEED UP-POTTING
AND THERE IS ALSO SOME
CONSTRUCTION/REPAIRS
THAT NEED TO BE DONE
44
THEIR ANCESTORS WERE DINOSAURS! By Linda Meyers
Living with Florida's diverse wildlife requires responsibility
and a knowledge of the amazing animals which we share
this beautiful land, water and sky. A show on the History
Channel called “Swamp People” has sparked my curiosity to
learn more about the ill fated stars of the program...the
American Alligator.
Some interesting facts provided by the Florida Fish and
Wildlife Conservation Commission are:
Although alligators are classified as reptiles along with liz-
ards, snakes, and turtles, they are actually more closely re-
lated to birds, whose direct ancestors were dinosaurs!
The adult alligator diet includes species that are abundant
and easily accessed
such as fish, snakes,
turtles, small mam-
mals and birds. Juve-
niles eat insects, am-
phibians, small fish
and other inverte-
brates.
Females rarely exceed
9 feet in length, but
males can grow much
larger. The largest
found in Florida was
a 14 foot 3 1/2 inch
male in Brevard
County. The Florida
record for weight is held by a 1,043 pound male from Ala-
chua County.
A female may require 10-15 years (approximately 6 feet in
body length) and a male 8-12 years (7 feet in length) to
reach sexual maturity. Courtship begins in early April, mat-
ing in May or June. Females build a nest and in late June/
early July will deposit 32 to 46 eggs. Incubation requires 60
-65 days, hatching in late August/early September. From
this, an estimated 15 live hatchlings will emerge and only 6
will live to one year. The number that reach maturity (6 feet
in length) is approximately 4. As the population grows in an
area with more mature alligators, the survival rate would be
expected to be lower, in part due to a higher rate of canni-
balism.
Alligators are ectothermic, relying on external sources of
heat to regulate their body temperature. They control their
temperature by basking in the sun, or moving to areas with
warmer or cooler air or water temperatures. They are most
active when temperatures are between 82° to 92° F. They
stop feeding when the ambient temperature drops below
70° F and they become dormant below 55° F. Throughout
much of the winter season they are dormant, found in bur-
rows or "dens." They occasionally emerge to bask in the sun
during spells of warm weather.
Alligator eggs are susceptible to drowning, being crushed by
the female, predation, and other less common calamities.
Raccoons, hogs, otters, and bears depredate nests.
Small alligators are
eaten by a variety of
predators including
larger alligators, rac-
coons, otters, wading
birds, and fish. Can-
nibalism, fighting,
and hunting by hu-
mans are the most
significant causes of
mortality for the
adult alligator. Little
information is availa-
ble on wild alligator
diseases and para-
sites. They are not
believed to be a sig-
nificant problem for them.
The tell-tale red eye-shine of an alligator is caused by a lay-
er of cells called the tapetum lucidum (a Latin phrase
meaning "bright carpet"). This structure is located beneath
the rods and cones in the retina and reflects light back into
these cells to increase the amount of light detected. This
improves their vision in the low light conditions from dusk
to dawn, when they are more active.
The alligator is provided federal protection and allowed
state-approved management and control programs. State
law prohibits killing, harassing or possessing alligators.
They can be found in fresh or brackish water in all 67 coun-
ties of Florida. They play a valuable role in the ecology of
our state's wetlands, helping to keep other aquatic animal
populations in balance.
55
A Walk on the Wild Side Linda Meyers
Courtesy of www.wec.ufl.edu/extension
As May heads into June
and the beginning of sum-
mer, let’s hope it brings
many beautiful lazy days.
Here are some interesting
wildlife happenings going
on this month:
BIRDS
It’s breeding season for
laughing gulls, least terns,
oystercatchers, and black skimmers. They nest on islands,
undisturbed beaches, and even rooftops when their pre-
ferred habitat is unavailable.
Mockingbirds may attack pedestrians who wander too
close to nesting sites. Mockingbirds are known for their
eager defense of their territory, nest and young. Both
male and female birds sing, unmated males are heard at
night. A male's repertoire can contain more than 150 dis-
tinct songs including those of other birds, animals and
mechanical sounds.
MAMMALS
Southern Flying Squirrel is starting its breeding season.
Red bats and Seminole bats give birth. Florida is home to
thirteen species of bats that are either year round or sea-
sonal residents. All thirteen species are insectivorous.
Some live in colonies and others roost alone.
REPTILES
It's the height of the Gopher Tortoise
season. In Florida these long lived
reptiles are listed as Threatened. Both
the tortoise and his burrow is protect-
ed under state law. They live in up-
land habitat including forests, pas-
tures and yards. They share their
deep dug
burrows
with more than 350 other spe-
cies.
INSECTS
Cicadas emerge from their under-
ground growth period to begin
making their classic summer
sound.
FISH
Snook begin moving into inlets
and passes.
Special dates in June
June 1, 1952: First sighting of cattle egrets in Florida.
June 14, 1969: Last sighting of Ivory-billed woodpeckers in
Florida. Special Note: Researchers are pretty confident
they have found solid activity of Ivory-bills in the Chocta-
whatchee River Basin.
Sea Oat
Planting
Thank You
to the Master Gardeners
who were there to brave
the heat and sand.
66
WEED OF THE MONTH by Jenny Gillis
Cudweeds:
The cudweeds
are comprised
of many dif-
ferent species
that are simi-
lar in growth
habits. In gen-
eral, the cud-
weeds have
basal rosettes and the leaves and seed heads are covered
in distinct fine, white "wooly" fibers. Some cudweeds only
have this hair on the
undersides of the leaves,
and other cudweeds
have this hair on all sur-
faces. Cudweeds over-
winter as small basal
rosettes, but in the
spring usually grow an
upright stem.
Wandering Cudweed: Gnaphallium pensylvanicum, Most
common cudweed in Florida! This is a low-growing sum-
mer or winter annual, or biennial, which forms a rosette of
grayish green woolly or cob-webby foliage. Leaves are al-
ternate with the lower leaves being more wooly. Each
flower is small, tannish-white with bracts that are light
brown, pink or purple occurring in clusters at the base of
the leaves. Seeds are wind dispersed in prolific numbers.
Cudweed is found throughout the United States but is
most common in the South. It has a taproot with a second-
ary fibrous root system. Cudweeds are generally regarded
as weeds of low fertility soils, but thrive in containers once
introduced. Control cudweeds around the property and
prevent seed production in pots to prevent spread. This
weed is well controlled by several pre-emergence herbi-
cides.
Butterflies
attracted
to Cud-
weeds:
Cudweeds
are a genus
of about 120
species,
many of
which are
important
host plants for the American Painted Lady butterfly. Cat-
erpillars consuming cudweed will use the fluffy seeds of
the plant and silk to create a puff ball at the top of the
plants in which they can hide. These shelters help to con-
ceal the larvae from predators.
Considered a common butterfly, the American Painted
Lady is often overlooked despite its attractiveness. The
intricately detailed, agate-like design on the underside of
the wings is a sharp contrast to the bold orange and black
pattern above. Nervous and wary, it is difficult to ap-
proach and a challenge to closely observe. When dis-
turbed, it takes off in a low, erratic flight but often returns
to a nearby location just a few moments later. American
Painted Lady butterflies
often host on cudweeds.
The larvae construct in-
dividual shelters on the
host by spinning together
leaves and flower heads
with silk. Inside, the lar-
vae safely rest when not
actively feeding.
The Painted Lady is one
of the most widespread
butterflies in the world
appearing on all continents with the exception of Antarcti-
ca and South America. As a resident of northern Mexico, it
annually colonizes
much of North America
each year before mi-
grating south again in
the fall. Although abun-
dance varies from year
to year, it is less fre-
quently encountered in
Florida. It is a butterfly
of open disturbed sites,
but may be found in most habitats when dispersing.
Many of us have lived through a number of storms on the Gulf Coast, ranging from minimal tropical storms all the way up to the Category 3 experience with Opal in 1995. And then there was Hurricane Ivan in 2004 which may have been a lesser category than Opal but nevertheless brought a lot of damage to our area. We've all seen the tremendous havoc to trees and structures and we've sadly surveyed our landscapes after the big storm and seen our carefully tend-ed plants smashed and stripped bare of leaves, if they could even be found under the limbs, branches and leaves litter-ing our yards and driveways. What can we do to prepare our landscapes for the storms that will inevitably visit us sooner or later? As it turns out, there is a great deal that we can and should do. Most of it takes the form of advance planning, especially with respect to where we plant trees and what species of trees we plant. We need to give careful thought to our trees and other plantings and work toward a goal of creating better wind resistance.
http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ is a very good source generally of information pertaining to the selection and care of trees for this area. The link below contains a goodly amount of de-tail about dealing with storm-damaged trees. This link is information-dense in that it contains several sub-headings with many links to topics pertaining to trees and when you have a moment to spend following links here and there, you'll learn a lot (or refresh what you learned in your mas-ter gardener classes!). It's well-worth bookmarking the link as a comprehensive guide to managing the trees in your landscape, especially if they experience storm damage: http://hort.ifas.ufl.edu/woody/storm-damage.shtml
A landscape architect named Pamela Crawford has done considerable research into plant and tree survival in the wake of the big 2004 hurricane season. Her conclusion is that there are three main factors that cause trees to fall eas-ily: shallow root systems, weak wood and dense canopies. Unfortunately many of the lessons learned in the aftermath of major hurricanes are forgotten by the time the next one occurs. She cites an example of a lesson NOT learned when, during Hurricane Andrew, Miami suffered major damage from downed Ficus benjamina trees. Afterwards, tens of thousands of (you guessed it) ficus were planted and re-planted in Broward and Palm Beach Counties because they are fast-growing and inexpensive. Then in the 2004 hurri-cane season, ficus trees in south Florida caused more dam-age than any other species. And removing just one ficus tree costs about $10,000! Ms Crawford also discusses a very interesting conclusion that was reached by Dr. Robert Loflin, Natural Resources Director for the city of Sanibel, after Hurricane Charley hit the island. He noted that prop-erties that had 20 to 40 foot trees of either native or exotic variety experienced less structural wind damage than those with grassy lawns, or golf courses, or landscapes with taller exotic trees. By definition, native trees are species that were present in Florida before Christopher Columbus's arrival. Exotics are trees introduced into Florida after 1492.
Ms Crawford suggests homeowners create wind screens around their houses, using a mix of wind-tolerant trees, shrubs and plants, adhering to the following basic princi-ples:
Plant groups of at least 5 trees rather than single trees. Do not plant so close to the house that plants touch the walls, to avoid insects accessing the house from the trees. Keep larger trees (those that grow over 40 feet tall) quite a dis-tance from the house, not within falling distance of the house. (Also, If the roots are too close to the house, the tree loses some of its stability.) Use the most wind-tolerant ma-terial on the outer edges of the screen; plant more delicate material between the wind screen and the house.
The shape and size of the wind screen, and the type of tree placed in the screen are very important. Properly placed trees and plants will reduce wind velocity near the home. According to Ms Crawford, a windbreak can reduce wind speed for a distance of as much as 30 times the windbreak's height! On her list of the most wind-resistant trees are bald cypress, Canary Island date palm, crepe myrtle, date palm, dogwood, Japanese maple, and Live oak, among many oth-ers. Included on her 'to be avoided' list are Australian pine, cherry laurel, Drake elm, ear leaf acadia, ficus benjamina, laurel oak, queen palm, redbud, sand pine and water oak. The entire article is found here and it's an interesting read: http://www.starfl.com/news/hurricane-15659-home-house.html
A more local perspective from an earlier time frame is found in an article by Mary Duryea who conducted a survey of tree damage in Pensacola and Ft Walton Beach during the 1995 visits by Hurricanes Erin and Opal. I'll spoil it for you by telling you that her conclusions were that the most wind-resistant species were dogwood, sand live oak, live oak, sabal palm, and Southern magnolia. Among the less wind-resistant were laurel oak, turkey oak, Chinese tallow, and red maple. Southern red cedar, sweetgum and silver maple all appear to have crowns which are easily damaged by the winds. Longleaf and slash pines, although they with-stood wind well, received a lesser wind-resistant rating because they were inclined to experience insects and dis-ease in the wake of hurricane-force winds. The least wind-resistant species in Ms Duryea's study were Carolina lau-relcherry and sand pine. Sand pine earned the following boldface warning: Sand pine should not be planted or allowed to grow to a large size near any dwelling; its shallow root system appears to make it ex-tremely vulnerable to wind. The entire study is found here: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fr010
So much for your trees. I discovered in the course of re-searching this article that the great majority of the research and advice on managing storm damage to the landscape is, in fact, written with trees in mind. It makes sense, because they're the largest, most visible aspects of the landscape and the most capable of inflicting damage to life, limb and property, so we surely do need to know how to deal with our trees both before and in the aftermath of a serious storm. But what about the rest of the plants in your land-scape? It took some sleuthing but I managed to find bits of information here and there. Suggestions range from what to do with your potted plants (for large potted plants, lay them down with the container toward the wind; bring small potted plants into a secured location to prevent them from becoming dangerous projectiles during high winds) to some practical advice from the Key West Garden Club on dealing with potential damage from saltwater that is likely to be brought into your landscape by tropical storm and hurricane force winds: http://www.keywestgardenclub.com/Hurricane_Damage.html
But, interestingly enough, the best and most comprehen-sive advice about dealing with storm damage to the non-tree parts of your landscape comes from New York! I hap-pened upon a radio program called “The Organic View Ra-dio Show” and a link to a blog-cast of the program from August 26, 2011, during which the host, June Stoyer, inter-viewed John Peter Thompson, President of the National Agricultural Research Alliance, on the subject of preparing your garden for a hurricane. It's a wide-ranging discussion about designing the landscape long before the storm oc-curs, preparing the landscape and home for pending hurri-canes as well as what to do in the aftermath. There's practi-
cal advice (clean your gutters out before the storm!), sug-gestions for taking care of birds and other wildlife after a hurricane; what to do with your herbs in a storm, whether you should remove your tomato stakes before a hurricane (probably not); whether you should trim problematic branches by yourself before a storm (NO! According to Mr. Thompson, contact a master gardener or your extension office for advice and help); whether you should do anything to your neighbor's property without their permission to prepare for a storm (well, certainly not MY neighbor but yours might appreciate it!). The program may have been designed for more northerly east coast residents (John Thompson is actually from the Washington DC area) but it contains a great deal of information that anyone living in a hurricane-prone area can benefit from and is worth a listen when you have an hour to spare: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/theorganicview/2011/08/26/how-to-prepare-your-garden-for-a-hurricane
Doing the research for this article has pointed out some problem areas in my own landscape with respect to wind resistance and I will be thinking of ways to address them now and in the future. We've been fortunate that the major tropical systems have missed our area for a number of years now but we all know our luck can't hold forever. We master gardeners need to give careful consideration to the information that has been compiled after the previous years' damaging storms and use it to create home land-scapes that are safer and more wind-resistant for ourselves and for those who contact us for advice. Here's to a very uneventful 2012 hurricane season!
PREPARING YOURSELF continued
BOOK REVIEW By Marg Stewart
I’ll admit it. I like airplanes and I like history so this book really appealed to
me. Slacks & Calluses: Our Summer in a Bomber Factory was written by Con-
stance Bowman and Clara Marie Allen. Now, I personally am not old enough
to remember World War II but I do recall the stories that my grandparents
and others told. Both women were school teachers and decided that they
would spend their summer vacation working at the Consolidated factory,
building the BIG bombers. It’s a fascinating look back into a time when it was
a strange event to have a woman wielding a wrench and horrors, wearing
slacks. (as the author’s point out—wearing slacks meant that you weren’t of-
fered seats on the bus on your way to work). It really is a unique perspective
on not just the actual work but also what they were thinking and feeling. Their
grand ideas for getting the summer tan were in jeopardy when they realized
that most of their time would be involved with trying to get clean and being so
tired they didn’t do much else other than sleep. The people they met and the
reactions from their family and friends are wonderful. Definitely worth getting
for a short and very enjoyable summer read. Ed. Note: My copy of this book
has a totally different cover, not as flashy but having had the author’s sign
