Southern Charm

 

            Hi everybody and welcome! This week’s topic is about the beautiful southern magnolia tree. The southern magnolia is a large, broad-leafed evergreen tree that can grow to be a huge 60 to 90 feet tall. The tree can also have a trunk diameter of up to 3 feet in diameter. The trees trunk is usually very straight and erect. The tree boasts large leaves that have a leathery texture. The leaves have a dark green color with a slight rusty look on the underside. The trees form a handsome cone shaped silhouette against the Florida skyline but the main attraction are the beautiful flowers the tree produces. The southern magnolia boasts large, fragrant flowers that can be as large as 12 inches in diameter. The flowers typically appear in the spring and summer.

I personally enjoy the wonderful appearance of the southern magnolia. I planted mine about 20 years ago in the front yard and I have enjoyed the wonderful flowers every season since. The tree held up without a scratch through both of last year’s hurricanes. The tree is also extremely draught resistant and requires only minimal care once the tree is established. I have very seldom had to give the tree any extra water other then the normal amount that I use on my lawn. Since pine trees surround my house, I have a very acidic soil and that is one of the reasons the tree is so happy where it is located. If you do have an acidic soil environment, you can supplement the southern magnolia with a soil acidifier such as Miracle Gro for acid loving plants or you can use a good quality plant food designed for acid loving plants.

 During the first three growing seasons, apply 2 cups of 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet of area. The area to broadcast should be about three times the spread of the canopy of the tree. You should do this about four times a year for the first three growing seasons only. The best months are March, May, July and September. This will help accelerate the growth of the tree and ensure lush green leaves. After the third growing season, lower the amount of fertilizer applied and only apply it once a year in the spring.

The tree should require little in the way of pruning. You should leave the bottom branches intact so the tree will retain its unique cone shape. You can, however, prune the suckers that grow from the very bottom directly off the main root system. This will allow all the strength of the tree to go to more development.

            Unlike magnolia trees that grow in Georgia and other areas north of here, the varieties in Florida do not shed their leaves in the winter. They are green all year long.

 

This Weeks Garden Tip.... Controlling Scale.

 

            One of the most common pest problems that we experience in Florida is scale. Scale is a common pest and is one of many varieties of sucking insects. These tiny insects cluster together on plants and basically they suck all the living juices from the plant. This can ultimately lead to the death of the plant. The female insect does most of the damage as the male has no mouth and cannot feed. The insect has a hard scaly shell that is white in color. This where the insect derives it’s name. There are over 2,000 kinds of scale insects and 400 of these varieties live in our country!

Scale can be a major problem on palm trees. Once they get established, they can spread rapidly from plant to plant and from leaf to leaf. Once they get a foothold, they can be very difficult to get rid of. What can make them even harder to treat is the fact they have a hard shell that makes a contact insecticide is hard to penetrate. The best defense is to use a systemic pest control such as Orthene. A systemic insect control is absorbed into the plant itself and makes the plant poisonous to the insects. As they suck the toxic juice from the plant, the pests are eradicated. Always follow label directions and do not use any systemic insecticide on any vegetables or fruit trees as the product can be transmitted into the fruit or vegetable itself.

            Houseplants are also very susceptible to these nuisance pests. For your indoor plants, you need a much milder solution to control your pest problem. Use a commercially available insecticidal soap and be sure to spray both the top and bottom of the leaves. Many insects love to hide on the underside of the leaves. The earlier you catch and treat the problem, the more chance you will have of completely getting rid of the pests.

 

            Next week, color your landscape with beautiful roses!