Have you been fortunate enough to get some much needed rain this week? We did today, but not very much – our first rain in more than 3 weeks. Hopefully you’ve fared better than I.
Prior to today’s brief shower, I walked around my yard and landscape beds and checked our soil moisture. I was surprised that the top 3-4” of soil held very little moisture, as did some places 5-6” deep. This is not good. Like us, plants need water to survive, yet when I looked at some of my plants, I noticed that they were not putting out flushes of new growth as they usually do about now, and some were even showing signs of stress and tip dieback.
If you haven’t checked your plants lately, I strongly encourage you to do so, and if you see symptoms like mine, thoroughly water any problem areas with a hose.
Right now, azaleas and other early spring blooming plants need adequate moisture for flower bud development and citrus need extra water in June and July for the fruit to fill our properly.
Even if you have an automated underground irrigation system, you still need to see that your plants receive enough. Watering 2 days a week with our 90°+ temperatures is usually inadequate for most plants.
One final comment about our current weather conditions, because of the hot, dry temperatures, we’re still being plagued with spider mites, thrips, and aphids. And also grasshoppers – many of which are already 2 inches in length, and they’ll be getting even larger.
As always, treat according to IFAS recommendations, which can be found at solutionsforyourlife.com website.
Until my next update – happy gardening!