Q: I sodded my yard three weeks ago with floratam grass. What is its care?

S.C., via

e-mail

A: Floratam is a variety of St. Aug-ustinegrass, which is popular in South Florida. It used to have resistance to chinch bugs but no longer does. It has very poor shade tolerance. For a new lawn, water it frequently (up to a few times a day) for a short period of time (5 to 15 minutes per zone) until the roots peg down (usually within 5 to 10 days). Then taper off the frequency and increase the irrigation duration for the next two to three weeks so that you are watering no more than two to three times weekly if there hasn't been sufficient rain. Once fully established, water when needed (when 50 percent of leaf blades are folded in the morning before the heat of the day).

The first mowing should be after the roots have pegged down, to avoid scalping. When you mow this variety, remove no more than a third of the blade at one time. St. Augustinegrass requires four to six pounds of nitrogen per 1,000 square feet per year. For information on how to figure out how much fertilizer you need, read fact sheet http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/EP221or call your local extension office (Monroe 305-292-4501, Miami-Dade 305-248-3311, Broward 954-370-3725, Palm Beach 561-233-1712). These offices are busy but messages left are returned within 24 hours. Or visit this website for Florida lawn information: http://turf.ufl.edu

Q: I have a ylang ylang tree and have recently obtained some seeds from it. How do you grow these trees from seed?

S.T., Fort Lauderdale

A: Make sure the seed is fresh. For many tropical plants, seeds rapidly lose viability. Also, many tree seeds are slow to germinate. Some take many months, including this species. Be patient and make sure that the soil doesn't stay too moist.

As a general rule, plant seeds twice as deep as the seed is wide. For seeds with a hard shell, nick them slightly for better water absorption.

Adrian Hunsberger is an entomologist/horticulturist with the UF/IFAS Miami-Dade Extension office. Write to Plant Clinic, 18710 SW 288th St., Homestead, FL 33030; e-mail aghu@ifas.ufl.edu

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