Sun Rose Rock Rose

/Sun Rose Rock Rose/

Sun Rose Rock Rose

110 species of Rock Rose Family plants are native to the Old World, North America and South America - but most cultivated plants are forms of garden origin.you may know it as sun rose.

Helianthemums are noteworthy for the masses of colorful, 1-inch, saucer-shaped flowers that appear in early summer and last well into autumn. As sun roses have become more popular, the range of available colors has expanded. There are now soft yellows, a variety of pinks, oranges, reds and apricots.

While the flowers are the main attraction, I find the range of foliage almost as compelling. Some varieties have soft, grayish leaves, others a light green while some even have crinkled bright green foliage.

These opposite, oblong or linear evergreen leaves, to an inch and a half long, cover stems that will spread to 3 feet. Because of its ground-hugging nature, sun rose makes an excellent low ground cover for a sunny location.

Helianthemums are workhorses. Once established, these Mediterranean natives are very drought tolerant and quite tenacious, without being invasive.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:29-07:00 January 1st, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
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Tomato Hornworm

Manduca quinquemaculata, the five-spotted hawk moth/tomato horn worm. A large pale-green caterpillar with white and black markings. The caterpillar can reach 3 Œ_ to 4 in. when fully mature. The spike on one of the last abdominal segments gives the caterpillar the name äóìhornworm.äó The adult moth, called a sphinx or hawk moth, is a medium to large, heavy-bodied moth with narrow front wings. The moth has a spindle-shaped body which tapers at both ends and fairly thick antennae. The adult is a mottled gray-brown color with yellow spots on the sides of the abdomen and a wing spread of 4 to 5 inches.

Injury: The hornworm feeds on the leaves and new stems of the tomato plant, causing extensive damage. During July and August they also occasionally feed on the fruit.
In your case he seemed to think that this would be a good plant to eat also. If you recently took this photo, you can simply leave him out in the cold to die. They are sometime infested with a parasitic wasp eggs that hatch by the young basically eating their out of the caterpillar. You would see tiny little egg casing sticking out of the back. If you see them you should allow the caterpillar to live since it is already dying but the parasitic wasps need to hatch first. That is their job in life to destroy these caterpillars.

By | 2016-01-01T01:08:30-08:00 January 1st, 2016|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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Croton

Known for their bold, tropical foliage, crotons are perennial evergreen shrubs. Not only can these plants be grown outdoors in warmer parts of Florida, but some cultivars can be raised as decorative houseplants as well. The beautiful leaves of the croton are also used to enhance floral arrangements. Grown for their beautiful leaves; crotons (Codiaeum variegatum) come in a wide variety of leaf shapes and colors which include reds, oranges, yellows, pinks, purple, greens, and white. Native to India and Malaysia, this tropical plant usually quite full and the leaves form clusters to create maximum color patterns. This shrub can grow up to 10 feet tall, but there are both dwarf and larger varieties. Many crotons grow best in full sun, but many cultivars can tolerate, and even prefer, light shade partial shade. Crotons are best grown subtropical South and Central Florida. Frosts or freezes will damage them, but they quickly recover. When used outdoors this plant looks most attractive when grown in groups. Use them to accent green shrubbery and add a splash of color to any yard or container.

By | 2016-01-01T00:59:04-08:00 January 1st, 2016|Shrubs|0 Comments
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Willowleaf Cotoneaster

We can't quite see the leaves of this, as closely as we'd like, but based on the graceful shape of the branches, we believe it may be willowleaf cotoneaster, particularly the large leaf form.

Great drought tolerance and pretty red fruits that accentuate the glossy leaves well into winter make willowleaf cotoneaster a plant deserving more use as a groundcover or tall screen. A native of the Himalayas and western China, this typically evergreen plant has a spreading form with long, gently arching branches. In spring fragrant white flowers are borne in clusters that will develop into small, showy red berries. When cooler temperatures arrive in autumn, the green leaves change to an attractive reddish-purple and contrast the red berries that persist well into winter. Unusually cold winters or lack of a protective snowcover may cause partial leaf drop. Note that there is variation in mature plant height. The natural form of this species is tall and rounded, while many cultivars are significantly shorter and better utilized as smaller shrubs and groundcovers. Many cultivars exist to meet many needs of the gardener. 'Scarlet Leader' and 'Repens' are often available and are taller and very broad varieties, while 'Gnom' is a very short form and 'Emerald Carpet' has a much denser appearance.

By | 2015-12-31T22:12:40-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Shrubs|0 Comments
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Ficus Problem

This looks like it could be a moisture problem-probably too much water. Also Is the drainage good? The soil looks compact. Is this your native soil or did you use a commercial, sterile potting mix? In containers, native soil tends to compact too much which may lead to root rot. Dig around in the soil and see if its wet. A weekly deep watering should be enough. You may need to water more as the weather warms, but twice a day is too much. Ficus do best with regular water but not soggy conditions. Feed with a slow release or organic fertilizer formulated for container plants. The mushrooms should be composted before adding to plants. Make sure you also examine the plant for any insect pests but we think this is more of a water or light issue. Outdoors, your Ficus will do well in full or partial sun. Indoors, it needs bright indirect light, and suggest you rotate the plant periodically so that all parts of the plant receives adequate light. Also, once it is happy in one place, keep it there - if you move it to a different location, it may drop its leaves to adapt to a new site with a different light situation.

By | 2015-12-31T21:37:55-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Trees|0 Comments
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Rose Issues

There are a couple of things troubling the rose in this photo. First, the yellow areas on the leaf indicate that the rose is possibly suffering from a nutrient deficiency. Probably Iron deficiency due to a high pH of the soil (alkaline - salt). There may be iron in the soil but it not available to the plant because of the pH. Second, the brown edges of the leaves looks like a salt burn or underwatering. Again, that word salt...If they are planted directly in the ground, you might want to give them a good deep watering a couple of times a week until you see improvement. If they are in a pot, you would want to water them thoroughly until the water is running out the drainage holes in the bottom of the pot. You might want to start a regular fertilizer program by getting a fertilizer especially for rose plants (that includes iron) and a pH test kit for the soil. Follow all directions on the fertilizer container. Third, the white fuzz on the leaves might be Powdery Mildew (it's hard to tell for sure from this photo). You might want to take a bagged sample like this into your local garden center for a hands on diagnosis of the problem and possible solution options.

By | 2015-12-31T19:29:04-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Plant Diseases|0 Comments
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Damage Looks Fungal Or Contact Created

Although it's impossible to diagnose a plant problem from a photo alone, especially of one leaf, this does not look like a pest or nutritional problem. Pests (bugs and larvae) do three types of damage: some chomp on leaves making holes, some scrape leaf tissues from underneath leaves creating a paper-thin or "skeletonized" look, and others pierce the leaf with tiny "soda straw" mouth parts making stippled leaves that might be contorted. Your leaf doesn't look like any of these.

The edge that's tan and brown looks like fungal damage - most fungus grow when foliage is frequently splashed with water. Water mint that's in the ground once a week and water a pot of mint every two to four days depending on the weather. Try to water in the morning when the plant has all day to dry, rather than in the evening when it will stay moist all night so fungi can grow.

It is possible that these spots were caused by something hitting the leaves - from one leaf it's impossible to tell. It might have been hot water from a sun-heated hose, a cleaning product used in the area or a garden product such as fertilizer in the water. Clip off the worst of the leaves and alter the watering as recommended and see if that solves the problem.

By | 2015-12-31T17:29:25-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Herbs|1 Comment
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Bean Issues

Sometimes a plant that has a different coloration than the original plant can be a weaker plant (purple, white, etc.). They might have a tougher time fending off diseases that might attack. The spots on the purple part of the leaf look like they may be the beginning of a bacterial or fungal leaf spot disease. You really can't tell for sure without lab testing. That being said, there are precautions to take to fight against this: 1 - remove and dispose of all affected plant parts; 2 - provide the plant it's optimum growing environment regarding light, water, soil type; and 3 - avoid overhead watering as this can spread the disease with the splashing water.
Beans and peas are members of the Legume family of plants. The following quote from the website www.groworganic.com explains this principle perfectly: "Legumes work in harmony with a group of bacteria that live on their roots. These bacteria take nitrogen from the air and äóìfixäó or concentrate it in pink root nodules, adding nitrogen to the soil in a form the plants can absorb. We advise using inoculants with legume cover crop seeds to give an extra boost of rhizobacteria. Average soil has some rhizobacteria, but not enough to fix a large amount of nitrogen." This could be your missing piece of the puzzle as to why your peas and beans are a little yellow.

By | 2015-12-31T14:55:17-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Vegetable Plants|0 Comments
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Turf Grass

From this photo alone it's impossible to tell which turf grass this is. In general, however, most turf grasses in the northeast are a combination of grasses including bluegrass, fescues and perennial rye. What looks like one lawn of one type of grass is often actually several types of grass so that the lawn greens up early in the spring and stays green into the fall (fescues do this) plus off the rich darker blue-green color (bluegrass) and are tough enough to withstand foot traffic (ryegrass) - a mix provides it all.

Another generality is that sod lawns are usually bluegrass which takes more resources to keep looking good. Bluegrass doesn't green up in the spring as early and it doesn't do well in the shade, but given fertilizer, water and warm temperatures it makes a beautiful lawn.

Without seeing the turf in person, and how the grasses behave in spring and fall, it's impossible to know what you're looking at. If there's a particular reason you'd like to know, however, or if you are looking for a turf grass for a special location, let us know and we're happy to help.

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:29-07:00 December 31st, 2015|Grasses|0 Comments
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Pests

Please accept our apologies for the delay in responding to your request! The leaf damage on your plant could one of the following: On some leaves it looks very much like a fungs called Sooty Mold, but its not actually a plant disease. And on other leaves it looks like it could be damage cause by spider mites. We've included links and info about both. Sooty Mold is a secondary issue caused by the excretion of sucking insects that are feeding on the leaves above those that have the black mold on them. These insect excretions (which contain sugars) are a perfect place for the sooty mold to grow, but it does not infect the plant. You can wash off the mold with a high pressure spray of water (and maybe a little rubbing of the affected leaves). But, in order to get rid of the mold permanently you'll need to control the sucking insects on the undersides of the leaves. If it is an insect, you can send us a picture of what you see on the underside of the leaves and we can try again to help. If its spider mites causing the damage, you will want to take action as the damage appears to be heavy. Please refer to these references for more info on both possiblities.
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74108.html
http://msucares.com/pubs/infosheets/is1938.pdf
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/invertebrates/links.mites.html

By | 2015-12-31T07:32:55-08:00 December 31st, 2015|Plant Pests|0 Comments
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