PLANT CLINIC

Adrian Hunsberger
Adrian Hunsberger is the Urban Horticulture Agent and Master Gardener Coordinator at the University of Florida/Miami-Dade County Extension office in Homestead. She has a bachelor's in horticulture from Virginia Tech and a master's in entomology from UF. As the Extension office's resident entomologist, she draws on her more than 13 years of research experience at UF to teach pest management to homeowners with a special emphasis on biological and organic controls.

Write to her at aghu@ifas.ufl.edu.

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Plant Clinic

Important to keep mulch away from trunks

First, it is important to understand the difference between organic and inorganic mulch. Organic mulch refers to organic matter such as bark, wood chips, leaves, straw, etc. Inorganic mulch is made of stones, glass, ground tires and other materials.

Plant Clinic

How to take care of sooty mold

The black mold is sooty mold, which is not a plant disease. It does however indicate that the plant has a sap-sucking insect infestation such as scales, mealybugs or aphids. Once the insects are under control, the sooty mold disappears. A fungicide treatment would not be effective.
Plant Clinic

Plants don’t need as much water as we may think

Saving water is easier than you think! Most people overestimate the amount plants require. Keeping soil constantly moist or wet reduces oxygen in the soil, which is needed for roots to function. It also leaches plant nutrients from the soil, causing nutritional deficiencies (for palms, some deficiencies are lethal). It causes stress, which makes plants more vulnerable to disease and insect infestations. It increases weed problems. And most importantly, it wastes water. Remember, fresh water is a limited resource.
Plant Clinic

How to send samples for identification

To send insect samples, place as many undamaged insects as possible in a hard plastic container such as a pill bottle. You can put the container in the freezer for one to two days to kill the insects before sending the sample. Mail the container in a box (preferably) or padded envelope. Never submit any samples, whether insects or plants, in plastic baggies.
Plant Clinic

When jackfruit is ready to be harvested

Your photo shows the tiny male flowers that are on a fruit-like structure that has rotted. After the pollen has been shed, this structure rots away. So what you are seeing is perfectly normal.
Plant Clinic

Brown patch means lawn likely overwatered

Your great images helped me diagnose the problem. Your lawn is most likely infected with brown patch disease. Read this fact sheet to make sure that the symptoms of this disease match up to the symptoms in your lawn: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/lh044.
Plant Clinic

Rugose spiraling whitefly is a messy nuisance

Based on the photo you sent, your plants are infested with the rugose spiraling whitefly. It used be known as the gumbo limbo spiraling whitefly.
Plant Clinic

Miami-Dade soil hard to test

With very few exceptions, the pH of Miami-Dade County soils is between 7.4 and 8.2 (very alkaline). Because of the nature of our soils, the pH can’t be lowered.
Plant Clinic

Make a statement with a bed of amaryllis

Amaryllis grow well outdoors in South Florida and a whole bed in bloom can be stunning.
Plant Clinic

Yellow palm frond sign of potassium deficiency

If the spots are translucent (light can be seen through them), it is not a disease but potassium deficiency. This deficiency is very common on palms in South Florida. Potassium is rapidly leached for our soils and if the proper fertilizer is not being applied or at the correct rate, this deficiency shows up.
Plant Clinic

Caring for poinsettias year-round

You can plant your poinsettia outdoors in a container or in the ground. Choose a sunny spot that will not receive artificial light at night. Plant your potted poinsettia(s) as soon as danger of frost is past. Place the plant in the soil at the same depth it was growing in the container. Keep the plant mulched and soil moist until established. Once established, watering is usually not needed.
Plant Clinic

Small trees perfect for little front yard

Almost all trees in South Florida are evergreen or are briefly deciduous. You can choose a tree species that naturally stays small or you can prune it to keep it small. And tall-growing shrubs can be pruned to form a single trunk so that it looks more like a tree.
Plant Clinic

Keeping millipedes out of the house

What you found are indeed a species of millipedes, locally known as the yellow-banded millipede.
Plant Clinic

Slow-growing liriope establishing root system

They are growing, underground that is. The plants are developing their root systems. Next year in spring, you’ll see new growth. Keep in mind that liriope is not a fast-growing plant. You’ll see little spurts of growth in spring and summer.
PLANT CLINIC

Live oaks will snap back from cold snap

Q: I have a live oak in South Dade that only grows half the leaves. The leaves at the end of the branches are disappearing rapidly, have small brown spots and are eaten around the edges.