abodes Your Monthly Garden Chores
GARDENING
HOW-TO: BLOOMS THAT ATTRACT BUTTERFLIES
JULY
➸ Slicing tomatoes
that you planted in late winter/early spring likely have played out. Pull them up and compost the plants. Cherry and grape tomatoes usually continue to bear.
BUTTERFLIES BRING GRACE AND BEAUTY TO THE GARDEN. It’s easy to attract butterflies if you provide
what they need: nectar for adults, who need to lay their eggs, and host plants for their larvae (caterpillars) as they feed, form chrysalises and eventually emerge as butterflies. The plants that attract butterflies tend to attract hummingbirds and pollinators, too, so putting in the effort reaps great rewards. 1 Different species of butterflies have their favorite nectar foods, but they’ll sip from different blossoms if their favorites aren’t around. Their larval needs, though, tend to be specific. Monarchs, for example, need milkweed (Asclepias) for their larvae. Zebra longwing, the state butterfly of Florida, favors passionflowers (Passiflora) and citrus trees. Your county extension service has a wealth of information on which plants various butterflies need, or check out this University of Florida publication: edis.ifas.ufl.edu/uw057. 2 Keep in mind that in the larval stage, these “butterflies in the making” will eat the leaves of the host plant, at times defoliating it. Don’t panic! This is proof your garden has attracted butterflies, and the leaves will grow back promptly. 3 Butterflies are highly susceptible to pesticides and other poisons,
so limit their use if you want to keep butterflies coming. Butterflies have no concept of property lines, so let your neighbors know you’re building a butterfly garden, and inquire about their use of pesticides.
4 Butterflies and their developing offspring also need water and protection — particularly from birds and weather extremes. It is possible to have both coexist in your garden. For the butterflies, fill a small clay pot saucer with sand and wet it, then place it in a protected location, such as under a shrub. The butterflies can absorb the water through their proboscis, which looks like a straw but functions more like a paper towel.
Critter: Ticks Adult ticks are most active in North Florida and the Florida Panhandle between March and September, but because of our climate, they can be a problem year-round. Related more closely to spiders than to insects, ticks feed on mammal blood — primarily dogs, cattle and humans — and can carry serious diseases including Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever. The five most TICKS common ticks in our area are the brown tick, the American dog tick, the Lone Star tick, the Gulf Coast tick and the black-legged tick, aka the deer tick. The good news is that ticks must feed for several hours to transmit disease, so finding them quickly and removing them promptly is key. Forget all the home-remedy techniques you’ve heard for removing a tick, such as coating it with petroleum jelly or lighting a match, blowing it out and then applying the hot match-head to the tick. You’re more likely to leave a piece of the tick attached or burn your skin. Instead, grab the tick with tweezers at the point where it is attached and pull straight up and out. In addition, wear light-colored clothing when you’re outdoors so you can spot ticks faster and remove them promptly. In wooded areas, keep your shirt tucked in your pants and your pants tucked in your boots. Apply repellents to uncovered skin, clear brush along pathways and talk to your veterinarian about treatments that can protect your pet from ticks.
flowering plants are getting sufficient water. That might mean watering hanging baskets twice a day. ➸ Plant heat-tolerant
herbs including basil (Ocimum basilicum), which is available in many varieties, rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis) and Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida). AUGUST
➸ Cool-season
vegetables can be started now in seed pots. Make sure to keep them where they’ll get morning sun but afternoon shade. ➸ Give your citrus trees their final application of fertilizer for the year. Choose a fertilizer blended for citrus and follow instructions. ➸ Raise the height of your mower to leave the grass a bit longer, to conserve moisture and reduce stress on the lawn. Remove no more than one-third of the grass blades.
PESKY PESTS
➸ Make sure your
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July–August 2019
TALLAHASSEEMAGA ZINE.COM
©2015-2019 PostScript Publishing LLC, all rights reserved. Audrey Post is a certified Advanced Master Gardener volunteer with the University of Florida/ IFAS Extension in Leon County. Email her at Questions@MsGrowItAll. com or visit her website at msgrowitall.com. Ms. Grow-It-All® is a registered trademark of PostScript Publishing.
PHOTOS BY LENSBLUR (MILKWEED), THAWATS (BUTTERFLY), VIKIF (CHERRY TOMATOES), MYKOLA SOSIUKIN (GRASS) AND NECHAEV-KON (TICK) / ISTOCK / GETTY IMAGES PLUS
BY AUDREY POST, MS. GROW-IT-ALL®