Camellia sasanqua

On the other hand, Camellia sasanqua has smaller flowers but blooms earlier, from late fall into winter. Sasanquas are more sun-tolerant and can be used as hedges or screens due to their compact growth habit.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

Southern Magnolia

The Southern Magnolia is a true icon of the South, known for its large, fragrant white flowers and glossy, evergreen leaves. This tree not only provides ample shade but also adds year-round beauty to any garden. Its deep roots make it drought-resistant, while its dense canopy offers excellent cooling.

Bald Cypress

A native to Florida’s wetlands, the Bald Cypress is well-suited to both wet and dry conditions. This deciduous conifer is unique in its ability to thrive in waterlogged soils, making it perfect for areas prone to flooding. Its soft, feathery foliage creates a light, airy shade that cools without overly darkening the landscape.

FOUNTAINS

The sound of water from a fountain adds a soothing element to your garden while also cooling the air.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

The Role of Organic Matter

The addition of organic matter to the soil is another crucial step in nurturing a healthy lawn. Organic matter has a multitude of benefits, including:

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

Insect secretions of honeydew and the resulting sooty mold biofilm buildup are why your plant’s leaves turn black. The sooty mold has a mutualist relationship with sap-sucking insect pests that create favorable growth conditions for the fungus. Blocking photosynthesis is the only harm to the plant caused beside the unsightly appearance of this fungus. “On pecan (Carva illinoensis) these molds can reduce light penetration and photosynthesis by factors of from 25% to 98%,” according to Science Direct. “In addition, the darkening of the leaf surface can result in an increase in leaf temperature of 4°C.”

Plants whose leaves turn black include azaleas, camellias, citrus trees, crepe myrtles, gardenias, elms, hollies, maples, podocarpus, and mostly evergreen plants. Susceptible plants tend to have rigid leaves that hold up well to prolong infestations.

Aphids, scale, mealybugs, mites, scale, and whiteflies pierce and suck out nutrients from the host plant. They then secrete the sticky honeydew waste product that fungal spores attach to as the leaves turn black. While other plants, such as herbaceous perennials, can be affected by the same insects, they are more likely to die before the buildup of secondary black sooty mold.

While the type of sooty mold commonly encountered can dry up and flake off during cool and dry seasons, it’s most effectively removed by washing with soap and water. Soaking the leaves and hand washing will loosen the mold away. This can be also be done with insecticidal soap or horticultural oil that also treats the primary pests. However, horticultural oils should not be used during freezing or over 90F temperatures or drought-stressed plants. You might see mention of ‘dormant oils’, which are horticultural oils used to treat overwintering aphids, mites, scale, and other sap suckers’ eggs. Always read label directions making sure that the treatment suits your specific plant. And don’t use horticultural oil on azaleas, begonias, or succulents. 

Beneficial insects such as Ladybugs, Lacewings, and some predator wasps are a long-term natural remedy for sap-sucking insects. However, maintaining a sufficient population can take time and effort. If you want to introduce them in your yard, consider available species from Arbico organics. Earth Works garden center has the organic treatments mentioned in this article available for purchase.

Earth Works Lawn Care provides Integrated Pest Management treatment programs based on what we see with pest populations throughout the community and your specific landscape.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

For North Florida lawns we recommend clients apply Weed & Feed fertilizer and herbicides no sooner than March 1. Applying Weed & Feed fertilizer at the proper time is critical to its success in providing nutrition to your grass and eliminating and/or preventing new weeds. The University of Florida recommends considering the application of weed and feed beginning on February 15 for Central and South Florida and March 1 for North Florida. Some suggest waiting until the warm-season grass begins to green up on its own or until April to fertilize. “Waiting allows for more efficient use of the fertilizer. You will not injure your lawn by waiting to fertilize, but you can certainly injure your lawn by fertilizing too early,” writes Larry Williams, the Residential Horticulture Agent for the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Okaloosa County.

“Knowing how to manage and prevent weed intrusion is an important part of integrated pest management (IPM),” University of Florida Gardening Solutions. “Gardening Solutions has an extensive list of common weeds, and identifying plant pests is the first step to managing them effectively.”

Crazy Weather Impacts When To Apply Weed and Feed Fertilizer

Average high and low temperatures per week heading out of Winter is the critical factor in when to apply weed and feed. North Florida lawns experience widely varied high & low average temperatures coming out of Winter. Rainfall is another crucial factor and is challenging to forecast with changing climatic conditions. Lower average temperature and increased precipitation would undermine any potential benefit of weed and feed application in North Florida in February. Applying Weed and Feed fertilizer too early results in the nitrogen in the fertilizer component benefiting the existing weeds and little to no benefit to the dormant sod. Excessive rain can result in Weed and Feed fertilizer being washed away and polluting nearby surface waters such as the St. Johns River, its tributaries, and area lakes.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

The seasonal lawn fungus threats are at their peak in Spring and Fall when nights are cool and humidity is high here in Northeast Florida.  A good lawn fungus application is recommended. There are natural solutions such as baking soda and neem oil but rarely do lawn care pest control companies go that route for commercial applications.

A well-maintained lawn is the best defense against most lawn issues. A healthy lawn is less susceptible to long-term fungal disease outbreaks. Plus, minor outbreaks may go away on their own as some die with seasonal temperature variations and increases or decreases in rain and watering. Those same variations in temperature, water supply, and nutrition put the poorly maintained lawn at greater risk of damage from disease when an outbreak occurs. To understand this better consider that a healthy body heals quicker than a sick one.

Dethatching and aerating the turf along with the proper type of fertilizer at the proper timing for fertilization improves turf disease resistance. Mowing the grass at the proper height with a sharp blade likewise reduces turf disease susceptibility. And no good deed goes unpunished as putting out that same high nitrogen fertilizer you were using earlier in the year will mostly grow weeds and forms of fungus in the Fall. Reduce the days and duration of watering in the fall and increase again in spring.

Lawn fungus appears in many forms including white, yellow and brown patches, multiple colored spots on the grass blades, a powdery or stringy coating on the grass and slick, slimy darkened colored grass. Whatever type of fungus you may have, know that it spreads by spores. So walking on it increases the risk of spreading the spores to other parts of your lawn.

There are two types of lawn fungicides, foliar liquids and granular systemic. The liquid is fast-acting with less residual benefit whereas the granular works its way up through the root system over time. For long-term treatment, alternate both modes of application foliar and granular since different fungicides absorb differently and build resistance to treatments.

For seasonal lawn fungus here at Earth Works we use and recommend a broad-spectrum fungicide that is available in both foliar and granular form by the brand name HeadwayG with azoxystrobin & propiconazole. This treats various brown patches, rust, ring spots, powdery mildew, blight, red thread, and root rot. Typically treat twice and fourteen days apart. The untreated fungus can spread and be very damaging to the lawn over time. So don’t mow when the fungus is present which would encourage its spread.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day

Florida Winterizer Fertilization of warm-season grasses if done should be done with a nitrogen-free product and applied prior to dormancy. Although many brands promote the sale of Winterizing fertilizers that include nitrogen, these are not appropriate for warm-season grasses. They encourage new grass blade development that alters the dormancy cycle that, by design, is nature’s way of protecting the plant from cold damage—waking the plant before a freeze puts it at risk of increased stress and death. “Many of the so-called winterizer fertilizers available in our area can cause more damage than good,” according to UF/IFAS. “The time to fertilize our warm-season grasses in Florida is during the growing season, not when the grasses are going to “sleep” for the winter.”

The three macro-nutrients listed on the label of all fertilizers are nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, abbreviated as NPK. If choosing a Wintering lawn fertilizer, we only recommend an NPK with phosphorus and potassium. “Adding phosphorus to soil low in available phosphorus promotes root growth and winter hardiness, stimulates tillering, and often hastens maturity,” according to University of Nebraska Plant & Soil elibrary. “Potassium is a vital component of numerous plant functions, including nutrient absorption, respiration, transpiration, and enzyme activity.” Both phosphurus and potassium are essential for plant maintenance and support, according to the Noble Research Institute.

Our Florida Winterizer Fertilization recommendation is for an NPK of only phosphorus and potassium. This nitrogen-free formulation is most readily available for retail sale with a 0-10-10 NPK.

It’s also essential to know your soil pH when supplementing with fertilizers. These macro-nutrients are only fully bioavailable at a pH of 6.5 or above and decreasingly available below. “In a very acid soil of pH 5.0 only 40% of the nitrogen is available, 35% of the phosphorus and 50% of the potassium,” according to Allotment Garden.org. “Increasing to an average plot’s pH 5.5 takes the nitrogen and potassium up to 70% availability but the phosphorus is still only at 45% availability. It’s not until the pH hits 6.5 that all the big 3 nutrients are fully available to fuel the plants.”

Where can I get my soil analyzed?
The University of Florida Extension Office in Duval County provides free soil pH analysis that takes typically 7-10 business days to get results. Samples should be dry which is best provided to them in paper bag whereas plastic holds moisture. Samples should be gathered from a few different areas of the landscape and dropped off in person at the extension office.
Contact the University of Florida Extension Office in Duval County for more information at (904)255-7450. Find out more about soil and soil testing in our article Soil Testing In Northeast Florida.

For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden and landscaping need contact Earth Works of Jacksonville online and at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.

GARDEN CENTER
12501 Beach Blvd
Jacksonville, FL 32246

LANDSCAPE OPERATIONS
(not open to the public)
St. Johns Bluff
1057 St. Johns Bluff Rd. N.
Jacksonville, FL 32225

Monday-Saturday 9-5
Sunday 10-5

HOLIDAY CLOSINGS
New Year’s Day • Easter • Memorial Day
July 4th • Labor Day • Thanksgiving Day
Christmas Eve • Christmas Day