Feature Article – for release September 24, 2008

Dan Culbert - Extension Horticulture Agent 

 How Does Your Garden Grow?

The local County Extension office has been asked by local newspapers papers to try out a question/answer column.  So – here goes:  Send us your favorite garden question by fax (863-763-5901), email (okeenews@newszap.com) or just drop it off at the Okeechobee News  office at (107 SW 17th St. suite D, Okeechobee, FL 34974).  The University of Florida - Okeechobee County Extension office will pick out three questions that would be of greatest interest to local residents and publish brief answers in the Okeechobee News.

The questions for today are REAL questions that have been brought in to the Extension office in the past few days.  To continue the column, we need YOUR real questions by Wednesday at 5 PM. Be sure to include your name and phone or email address in case we need more information (We can publish a question as anonymous if you wish).   Clear photographs (digital preferred) may also be submitted, but they might not be able to be returned.  Do not drop by actual plant specimens (unless it is a prize tomato for our salad or a beautiful flower for our office!)  We reserve the right to edit all questions for space.  The answers will be placed on the Okeechobee Extension website the week after the appear in print;  they will include links to additional references.

Prune my Myrtle

 

When do I prune my Crape Myrtle?  It has just about stopped blooming so I'm thinking now.

 

Crepe Myrtle bushes may be pruned at this time of the year if needed.  Be careful not to overdo it – aggressive pruning brings on new growth that will need to harden off before the colder temperatures arrive.  Thinning out a third of the stems will open up the center for new growth and allow the plant to dry out, reducing pests and diseases.  However, don’t just cut all the tops of the stems off and lower the entire plant.  This practice is known as “crepe murder”, as it will reduce the plant’s ability to bloom in future years. 

Reference:  see Angela Sachson's column of 8/10/2008, Crape Myrtle for Florida Yards and Gary Knox’s Crape Myrtle in Florida at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/MG266.  Photo courtesy Carol Cloud Bailey. 

 

Plants or seed?

When is a good time to plant broccoli?  Is it better to plant seeds, or bedding plants?

 

Broccoli can be plant in the vegetable garden at this time.  The choice of seeds vs. plants will depend on what you can find at your local nursery or garden center.   Buying seed will give you more choices of varieties than purchasing already grown bedding plants.  Seed will work better if you start them in trays or flats and grow the plants up to about the 4 leaf stage.  Purchased bedding plants will get up and going faster, and respond well to the application of diluted starter fertilizer solutions added at the time plants are placed in your garden. Check out the Florida Market Bulletin if you are looking for unusual sources of seeds and plants: http://www.florida-agriculture.com/fmb/seeds.htm

Reference:  Refer to Jim Stephen's Bulletin, Starting the Garden with Transplants: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/VH027 .   Photo carleton500gardener 

Snakes in the Lake  

I was adjusting my floating dock after all the rain and this small brown snake slithered across my hand.  I knocked it down and it met its maker, but I’m worried that it may be a baby python.  Can you identify it and let the authorities know about this?

 

 

I took several photos (click on thumbnails above) and your information and received a reply back from UF Wildlife Specialist Dr. Bill Kern.  He identified it as a Brown Water Snake.  According to the book, Florida’s Fabulous Amphibians and Snakes, this snake is found around freshwater lakes and canals and is often mistaken for the Florida Cottonmouth.  It feeds on fish and hangs in vegetation above the water.  Because it can bite aggressively and secretes a foul smelling musk when disturbed, it should not be handled.  Non-native Pythons, although they are known to breed in the Everglades, are not known to be breeding in out area – yet.

References: Brown water snake [Florida Museum of Natural History Herpetology page:] http://www.flmnh.ufl.edu/natsci/herpetology/FL-GUIDE/Nerodiataxispilota.htm; Burmese Pythons in Florida: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/UW286    Photos by Dan Culbert, UF/IFAS

 More information is available on our award-winning Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu. If you need additional information on , please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons.  Go Gators! 

-30-

Trade  names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean. Last update: 09/23/2008.  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert