Yesterday afternoon the temperature rose enough that the cats were rolling on the warm concrete and today my window are open, yea! It seems like I haven’t been warm in two months. It was a temptation to get out the pruning shears and fertilizer this weekend; there are ugly plants in the landscape begging for a bit of rejuvenation.

The seagrapes have take a hit from the cold during the winter of 2010.

But a check of the long-term forecast made me frown and put the tools back in the garage. Typically in this part of Florida the cold weather is done by the end of February. However, that pesky forecast says we are in for another round of temperatures in the lower 40s and maybe the upper 30s and frost this coming weekend. This is just not acceptable for the first weekend in March!

My tomatoes have a constant companion during winter 2010, a frost/cold cover.

If cold is still predicted for your southern garden or normally warm-weather area, hold off on  pruning and fertilizing for another 2 or 3 weeks, it looks like we are still in a cold weather pattern for a while.

A warm breeze is a good thing!

With a sigh and a prayer, I will take a walk with Hairy the cocker spaniel and enjoy these few days of warmth. Also, I will leave the tomato covers nearby and vow to remember these days and not complain in the heat of September.

It is stating the obvious, but it has been cold here in south Florida. This is not a good thing and I don’t like it! Even the sky looked cold with an unusual occuance know as fallstreak or punch hole clouds.

These unusually clouds are explained at earthobservatory.nasa.gov/IOTD/view.php?... . Fallstreak or punch hole clouds are a strange phenomenon which results from a combination of cold temperatures, air traffic, and maybe unusual atmospheric stability. For these clouds to form, a cloud blanket must consist of supercooled clouds which contain water droplets that remain liquid even though the temperature is well below freezing. As aircraft or other disturbance passes through the supercooled clouds, tiny particles in the exhaust come into contact with the supercooled water droplets which freeze instantly. The larger ice crystals fall out of the cloud deck, leaving behind the “holes” while the tiniest ice particles in the center remained aloft and can become wispy.

So it turns out even the clouds where cold!

The problem with this cold spell has been its duration. Though it has been below freezing - I even had ice on the turf and covering a few plants, there have been days when the temperatures did not make it out of the 40s. The National Weather Service reports the previous cold spell of similar length occurred in 1956.

Ice is extremely damaging to tender tropical plants. The sharp ice crystals which form inside cells are the most damaging; they perforate the cell walls and the cells burst leaking their contents into the spaces between the cells.

Even without ice, some plants in the South Florida landscape do not standup well to temperatures near 50 F much less lower. Now the damage is showing up in an abundance of brown leaves. Other symptoms of cold stress and injury may include wilting, curling leaves, split bark, yellow leaves, and cracked stems or trunks. However, many plants will continue to develop signs of damage from the cold for months to come. There may plants which suddenly die this summer from the effects of the winter cold.

There will a temptation to hard prune damaged plants, fertilize early and heavily and water frequently in an effort to push plant into growth. Avoid these temptations. Though some plants may respond to such treatments, many others will not be able to take the stress and this will cause them to fail.

Prune damaged plants when you can no longer stand the brown, but try and wait until the possibility of more cold has past - at least a few weeks. When you do prune, trim below any noticeable damage but try and remove no more than 1/3^rd of the plant. Many folks will want to cut plants all the way to the ground. This practice causes more harm than good, remove only damaged plant tissue.

Many tropical palms have taken a hard hit. If the cold was severe and drained into the palm buds, the cells wounded can provide an opening where bacteria and fungi can enter plant tissues causing further damage. It is good idea to contact a Professional Pest Control Operator to apply a copper-based fungicide to the bud of damaged palms as soon as possible after the cold.

Palm pruning should wait until the weather warms permanently and then remove only dead brown leaves. If you must prune early, trim only the brown portion of the frond and allow the green portion to stay on the palm do the work of recovery.

Folks, send me some warm weather soon! Please!

Green is a relaxing color and nature provides it in many shades and textures. This driveway surrounded by a myriad of greens is a sure sign you are home.

I give thanks for all things green

I give thanks for all things green;

For trees and leaves, caterpillars and beans.

For the algae and moss that grows where the world is wet;

And for succulents growing in soils with a water debt.

I give thanks for all things green;

They furnish our world with oxygen and caffeine.

Green chlorophyll is queen, a molecule most supreme;

She captures energy for us to live and move and dream.

I give thanks for all things green;

And flowers which bloom in all colors including aquamarine.

I give thanks for bugs and fungus and slimy things all around;

Our earth would not be as lovely or function as well with out them in our town.

Green stink bugs mar the tomatoes; green mantises eat the bugs;

Not all which creep and crawl are thugs, some even deserve hugs.

I give thanks for the veggies in my garden most green;

And sharing with birds, bees and worms a pleasant routine.

For kids with faces and tongues made green from a Popsicle;

I hide spinach in spaghetti sauce for eaters most fickle.

I give thanks for all things green;

My table is full and my family and friends healthy and serene.

I give thanks for the balancing act that sustains the earth;

We all have a role to play and all of us are of great worth.

Have you notice how many shades of green Mother Nature uses to paint the earth? From green-gold to green black and every shade in between, the earth is a feast of green for our eyes.

Flowers are brighter and more effective with a foil of green. The color pops and the eye is drawn when color is an accent against a lush back drop of green.

 Salvia 'Black and Blue' is a lovely sight. It brightens gardens year 'round in warm climates and spring though frost in cooler locations. The ladybug and the bloom benefit from the presence of the other. The blooms attract insect visitors, the ladybug feasts on those visitors. I give thanks for the colors of the rainbow, the royal purple of a bloom, the orange of a ladybug and the green of life-giving leaves.

The rainy season ended abruptly and early here in South Florida and the landscape is showing the stress. Some lawns are turning brown and a few trees and shrubs a dropping leaves. But one sign of fall is still showing up at least in irrigated lawns, the fairies have been dancing leaving behind a ring of mushrooms.

The term "Fairy Ring" conjures up visions of sugar plums maybe? The term has been around for centuries and mentions of the phenomena can be found in English myths and superstitions dating back to medieval times where it was believed that the rings were formed by dancing fairies and the area a place of enchantment.

Actually, Fairy Rings are the result of the growth of various fungi and occur in all types of turfgrasses. They tend to occur where quantities of organic matter, such as lumber, tree stumps, logs, etc., are located either naturally or from having been buried during construction. The fungi are simply doing their job, which is decomposing the organic matter. The highly visible mushrooms are the fruits of the hard working fungus.

There are three types of Fairy Rings. Type I rings have an area of dead grass inside a zone of dark green grass. Type II rings tend to have a band of dark green turf, with or without mushrooms. Type III rings do not exhibit a dead zone or a dark green zone, but simply have a ring of mushrooms present. Typically we see only Type II or III Fairy Rings here in Florida. Type I rings and the disastrous results occur more often in more northern regions and cool-season turfgrasses.

Rings can be present anytime of year, however we generally see mushrooms during the late summer and fall. Fairy Rings can be small, sometimes less than 1 foot across and usually grow larger each year. Older rings can be 6 feet or more in diameter. Not all rings are complete circles; they vary considerably and can appear as half-moons, quarter-circles, or irregular shapes.

Most of the mushrooms are safe, but some are poisonous. If there are concerns about kids or puppies eating them, the mushrooms should be removed or destroyed. Remember; never eat a mushroom that you are not absolutely sure of its identification, even experienced and trained mushroom collectors use extreme caution when sampling their harvest.

There are no controls recommended for home lawns with fair rings. However, it is possible to mask the dark green ring symptoms with an application of fertilizer. It is very difficult to dig up and remove the under ground organic matter which the fungus feed on and even if you try, it is likely that he rings will return. Fairy Rings will usually disappear naturally, but it may take several years.

You may find a fungicide that list Fairy rings on its label, be aware that many fungicides only inhibit the fungus growth, not completely stop it, and do not eliminate the dark green bands of turfgrass.  My suggestion is to make up a story of the Fairy party last night on your lawn, and live with the Fairy Rings.

The hottest part of the year is upon us, August and September can be brutal temperature wise. It was mid-morning and I was out sweating and taking pictures and yet I was calm and happy when the reason for such struck me, there was a loud buzzing accompanying me as I worked - the cicadas were singing.

I have always associated the loud sound of cicadas in the woods with the lazy days of summer. The sound transports me to the days of lawn chairs set on the breezeway or under a tree while a breeze - cool or not - blew in from the ocean. As teenagers it was comic books and gossiping with friends; as a young adult heaver and lighter chick lit books were my choice of entertainment, but when it's too hot to be working a break in those chairs with the cicadas singing was always welcome and often lured me into a sweaty nap.

Cicadas are interesting insects. They spend most of their lives underground as juveniles emerging only in the last phase of their lives to molt into an adult, mate, lay eggs and die. The whole adult phase only takes a few weeks.

Here in Florida, we do not have the periodic cicadas which are the ones which hatch on a predictable schedule - a 13 or 17 year life cycle. But there are 19 species of these insects which call this state home. They all have a life cycle which is several years long, however each year there are some cicadas which mature, emerge and serenade us.

Most of the species lay their eggs in living or dead branch tips in late summer and fall. The eggs may hatch in the same year or next spring. When the small ant-like nymph hatches, it falls to the ground and burrows. The immature cicadas feed on the watery xylem of roots but the damage is usually insignificant. They will molt four times over a period of about four to ten years depending on species. A fifth molt is needed for the cicada to emerge as an adult. This molt is done above ground and the cast of skins are commonly seen on trees and shrubs.

Cicadas are not usually considered damaging insects to Florida gardens and landscapes. Their root feeding is of no consequence and the adults consume small amounts of plant material. The main interest of adults is mating. In most species, it is the male which "sings." He produces his call with a pair of drum-like organs on either side of the abdomen known as timbals which are a complex arrangement of cuticle, stiff rib-like structures, plates and air sacks. These songs vary by species and attract females of the same species. If you would like to here cicada songs, check out Species of cicadas commonly heard in northern Florida by T. J. Walker at entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/walker/buzz/c700... or the Cicada Link Directory of Cicada Mania at www.cicadamania.com/cicadalinks.html, look for the sites with the word AUDIO highlighted in yellow at the end of the link.

The song of cicadas transports me to a simpler time when few houses were air conditioned and summers were long, hot and lazy. If I listen closely, I can hear them today calling me outside to play.