{"id":4443,"date":"2018-05-24T12:09:39","date_gmt":"2018-05-24T16:09:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/?p=4443"},"modified":"2018-06-28T11:57:01","modified_gmt":"2018-06-28T15:57:01","slug":"gardening-weeds-wildflowers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/gardening-weeds-wildflowers\/","title":{"rendered":"Gardening | Weeds or Wildflowers?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Master Gardener Lesley Arrandale<br \/>\n<\/em><em>mail@floridanewsline.com<\/em><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It\u2019s a truism that weeds are simply plants in the wrong place, and it comes to mind especially now as spring is shifting gears to summer. It\u2019s a time of rapid green growth, and before we know it, our beds can be overrun with weeds. <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Natural mulches, which break down more rapidly as temperatures rise, should be replenished as needed. If mulch is decomposing and settling it can be a good medium for germinating seeds, so either fluff the mulch to disturb and uproot small weed seedlings or have a good old fashioned hand weeding session and pull large weeds. You can compost in place (tucked tidily under the mulch) most weeds that are seed free, but definitely dispose of dollar weed and Florida betony, for example, that will regrow from even the tiniest piece. Either way, don\u2019t let weeds linger.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mulch is also invaluable in the vegetable garden to reduce weeds, and clean, organic mulches like shredded leaves atop homemade compost add valuable nutrients while helping to keep both the soil moist and rains from splashing back onto the plants. Pine straw is lightweight and also works well.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By early May, the medians and roadside verges were full of flowering plants, amid rough grasses (and not a few \u201cweeds\u201d). Nowadays city budgets would appear to limit mowing, and I\u2019m all for it. Not only do I often see some of my favorite native plants in just these places, but they are havens for insect life while undisturbed. One hardy plant that thrives in these conditions is <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Gaillardia pulchella<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 blanket flower \u2014 a red and yellow daisy. For a few weeks in the spring, patches of blue-eyed grasses (<\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Sisyrhinchium<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> sp.) resembled lovely hazy blue blankets. In early May, fragrant white orchids \u2014 marsh lady\u2019s tresses or <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Spiranthese odorata<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u2014 popped up in moist places along highways and in damp front yards. Tiny white flowers spiral along the top three inches of the stems which are at least a foot tall. As is often the case with delicate wildflowers, they aren\u2019t individual showstoppers, but look beautiful growing together. As long as people desire perfectly groomed front yards, and more and more of Jacksonville is developed, there is a growing need for wild areas in Jacksonville, and these unruly medians and roadside \u201cmeadows\u201d help enormously.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Azaleas and other spring-flowering shrubs should be pruned after they flower, traditionally before the end of June. (Summer and fall bloomers can be tackled when dormant in late winter.) Perennial herbaceous plants will flower for longer if spent blooms are removed, or dead-headed. Annuals too can be cleaned up to promote flowering, and benefit from a boost of liquid fertilizer every four to six weeks, since they bloom so profusely \u2014 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">unless<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> you applied a slow-release granular product when planting, more is not always better.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It goes without saying that summer has its challenges. Despite rising temperatures, it is wise to keep on top of basic garden chores as much as possible. Don\u2019t slack off watering first-year shrubs and trees. If we get good summer rains that certainly counts as watering, but we can\u2019t rely on rainfall alone. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The vegetable garden will need a minimum of an inch of water per week. As a rule of thumb (or index finger), water deeply when the soil is dry to a depth of 1 to 2 inches. As ever, vegetables should be scouted regularly for insects and diseases to keep problems from getting out of control, and soil moisture could be checked at the same time. Fertilize according to your chosen product\u2019s directions to keep crops growing strong and healthy.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Our local nurseries are full of tempting flowering plants. Containerized plants can be installed at most times of the year, but summer heat can be hard on them. If possible, plant them on a cloudy day, or certainly late in the day. Water them in well. Improvise some shelter to give plants in full sun some light shade for a day or two. As well as needing some coddling after having their roots disturbed, they may not be accustomed to full sun, depending on where they were held in the nursery. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Stay cool, and if you enjoy reading, take the summer months to learn more about plants, gardening techniques, landscape design, whatever you fancy. Consider the creatures, welcome or not, with whom you share your landscape; gardening for the benefit of wildlife can be rewarding. This is a time of plenty for wildlife if we have flowering and fruiting plants, and shrubs for food and shelter, as well a clean water supply, in our yards. Young birds will be finding their way around your neighborhoods, and if you supply bird food, bird watching can be a relaxing and delightful pastime. Enjoy.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Master Gardener Lesley Arrandale mail@floridanewsline.com It\u2019s a truism that weeds are simply plants in the wrong place, and it comes to mind especially now as spring is shifting gears to summer. It\u2019s a time of rapid green growth, and before we know it, our beds can be overrun with weeds.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4100,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,5],"tags":[12],"class_list":{"0":"post-4443","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-creekline-st-johns","8":"category-mandarin","9":"tag-gardening"},"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Gardening | Weeds or Wildflowers? - Florida NewsLine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"CreekLine, Mandarin NewsLineBy Master Gardener Lesley Arrandale mail@floridanewsline.com It\u2019s a truism that weeds are simply plants in the wrong place, and it comes to mind\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/floridanewsline.com\/Clone2\/creekline-st-johns\/gardening-weeds-wildflowers\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Gardening | Weeds or Wildflowers? 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