When is a honeysuckle not a honeysuckle?

A flowering shrub that always caught my eye is called the Cape Honeysuckle.  The Cape honeysuckle is a vigorous evergreen shrub that produces reddish orange, apricot-orange, salmon-orange, or yellow tubular flowers.  Originally from South Africa, the Cape honeysuckle is not a true honeysuckle, its flowers simply resemble this other well-loved plant.  A wonderful fall/winter bloomer, the cape honeysuckle is a flowering treat. 

By nature, the Cape honeysuckle is a very vigorous grower best suited for full sun with well-drained, average soil.  Once established, they are pretty drought tolerant and take salt spray well.  In addition to the glossy green foliage, the flowers are attractive to butterflies such as Sulphur butterflies, bees and hummingbirds. 

You can get the Cape honeysuckle in four color cultivars.  The red one is most common and is very vigorous growing well over twelve feet if left unpruned.  You could almost consider this shrub vine-like and train its sprawling growth by attaching it to a fence.  The Cape honeysuckle can also be trained as an espalier, over walls, or over an arch.  For more compact growth, the salmon-orange cultivar is a good selection.  The color really appealed to me as did the more controllable growth.  This cultivar still needs some pruning to keep it in bounds, but otherwise it is very manageable.  In addition to these varieties, there is an apricot version with orange pinkish flowers, and a nice clear yellow cultivar which rounds out a nice choice of colors. 

While you will get a smattering of blooms throughout theb year, fall and winter flowering will be most abundant.  The Cape honeysuckle is extremely easy to propagate by softwood cuttings and/or seeds.  The shrub also has the ability to root when the branches lay on the ground while still attached to the mother plant. 

The Cape honeysuckle is an amazing flowering shrub that should have a niche in your landscape!  For more information on all types of flowering shrubs suitable for our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

 Resources:

Christman, S. (2008)  Tecomaria capensis.  Floridata.com, Tallahassee, FL.

Gulf Coast Research and Education Center Plant City Teaching Garden. (2016) Cape Honeysuckle Tecoma capensis.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Lemke, C.  (2012) Cal's Plant of the Week:  Tecomaria capensis - Cape Honeysuckle .  The University of Oklahoma Department of Microbiology & Plant Biology. 

Padded cactus – watch the spines and especially the glochids!

Did you know that we have a native prickly pear cactus?  It is called the Eastern Prickly pear and is found along the East Coast and in parts of the Mid-West.  This low-growing species has attractive yellow flowers and grows in a spreading clump.   Prickly pears or Opuntia such as the Eastern Prickly Pear are classic cactus all native to the New World.  In addition to cultivated ornamental oddities suitable for succulent gardens, some types are even used and grown commercially for food.

All Opuntia are similar in form- generally round to oval, flat to cylindrical connecting pads studded with spines and smaller glochids.  The glochids are particularly irritating tiny spines that can imbed tenaciously to both your cloths and skin.  On the opposite end of the spectrum, some types of Opuntia are spineless or practically so.  Beyond the attractive structural pads which make up the plant, spring flowers in red, yellow, orange or pink are an added welcome feature.  These are in turn followed by attractive edible fruits in shades of red, yellow and orange. These berries are up to three inches long and mature in summer.  They have their own set of tiny irritating glochid spines that must be gingerly prepared.  Peeling the skin off the fruit reveals sweet tart flesh with plenty of seeds.  Special low-spine varieties are grown specifically for the production of nopales and used as vegetable. 

Prick pears do best in sunny sites with well-drained sandy soil.  They are well-adapted to alkaline soils and even tolerate coastal conditions and rock garden habitats.  If they are in a low area where water accumulates after a rain, they will most likely rot out in short order.  While used mostly as a unique specimen, Opuntia may be purposely placed as a protective barrier that no one will want to cross.  Handled carefully with heavy gloves or padded tools made from rolled-up newspaper, these cactus can be moved and planted with relative safety.  Propagation is as easy as simply taking pads removed from the mother plant.  Allow these pieces to dry and callus off at the cut end.  Propagate in moist sand for easy and rapid rooting. 

One of the few pests that your prickly pear may encountered is a certain caterpillar that only feeds on prickly pear cactus.  Appropriately named the Cactoblastus moth, these orange and black spotted caterpillars bore in and hollow out cactus pads.  Secondary rots set in and destroy the pads.  The only control is to remove the infested pads (which may contain numerous caterpillars) and destroy it.  Interestingly enough, this Argentinian moth has been used as a biocontrol in some counties where Opuntia cacti are an invasive pest.

All in all, the Opuntia cactus is an interesting ornamental with edible features.  Carefully handled, specimens can make attractive landscape features.  For more information on all types of cacti suitable for our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resource:

Culbert, D. (2006) Prickly Pear for Pain and Pleasure.  The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS – Okeechobee County.

The blackberry-lily – a dependable perennial

One flowering perennial plant that does well in our area is the blackberry-lily. We have a planting at our East Port Environmental Campus and it has done excellent!  Often called leopard-lily because of the spotted flowers, the blackberry-lily is really named after the mature inedible fruit that is shaped like a blackberry. A member of the Iris family, the blackberry-lily is a colorful and durable perennial that needs to be planted in more of our local landscapes. If you have never seen a blackberry-lily, the following description will help you appreciate this plant.

Growing at least two feet tall, the leaves of the blackberry-lily are like those of an iris. During our warmer months, the flowers bloom vigorously, lasting only a day or two, but are followed by a constant supply of new blooms. The two-inch flowers are bright orange-yellow in color with reddish spots. A fruit then develops in the form of a three-chambered capsule that opens when ripe to reveal a set of clustered black seeds looking just like a blackberry. This long-lasting seed cluster is often used in dried flower arrangements. While in the northern parts of Florida blackberry-lilies perform as a short-lived perennials, in our area they are evergreen. In the landscape, use blackberry-lilies as a groundcover, along a walkway or in mass planting as a focal accent. In a mass planting, set individual plants about three feet apart for best coverage. While blackberry-lilies like full sun, these perennials have the ability to flower abundantly even in partial shade. One source even indicates that they do best in light to moderate shade in our climate – I would recommend this. In fact, leaf scorch can occur during the summer in full sun, so keep this in mind when picking a planting site. Plant these lilies in a well-drained site with plenty of organic matter. Well-drained soil is a must as crown rots can develop in wet soils. Blackberry-lilies are drought-tolerant once they are established and are considered Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ plants.

Blackberry-lilies can get crowded as they develop into larger clumps and will benefit from division from time to time – every third or fourth year – to encourage top flower production. Seeds can also be germinated to produce more plants. There are other blackberry-lily relatives sometimes available including the dwarf blackberry-lily and candy-lilies. The dwarf blackberry-lily only grows about 12 inches tall and has yellow flowers occasionally spotted with orange. Candy-lilies are hybrids that produce spotted or streaked flowers in many different colors including red, orange, blue, purple, pink and yellow in single and bicolor cultivars. They are much more colorful than the other blackberry-lily relatives and are worth growing. Where can you find these perennials? Check at local garden centers or explore mail-order Internet sources. If you don’t see them locally, ask to see if a garden center will order them. If you like perennials, blackberry-lilies are a good selection!  For more information on all types of perennials suitable for our area, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resources:

Garofalo, J. (2002) Blackberry-lily, A Flowering Perennial for South Florida. Miami-Dade County - the University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

Gilman, E.F. (2014) Belamcanda chinensis. UF/IFAS Extension Service.

The Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design (2010) the University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.

The wheel bug is a real bug

One fairly large true bug found throughout Florida (and Charlotte County) is called the wheel bug.  The wheel bug is a true bug (Hemiptera) growing well over one-inch long.  This insect is called a wheel bug because of the stunning crest on the thorax that reminds one of a cogged wheel.  An interesting large insect in its own right, the wheel bug is also know to deliver a bite more painful than a bee sting if handled.  To its favor, the wheel bug is also a superior beneficial insect feeding on many landscape pests.  Have you seen one?

To see an adult wheel bug is to see a strange creature which is dark brown to gray in color with long legs, long antennae and a long, wicked-looking robust curved beak attached to its narrow head sporting beady eyes.  The crest is also very noticeable almost looking like a small chicken comb attached to its back.  The females are larger than the males and lay eggs side-by-side in large clusters above ground level.  The eggs actually look just like tiny brown bottles with while stoppers.  The eggs hatch into miniature versions of the adults (minus the crest) called nymphs.  The nymphs are red and black in color and are voracious feeders of aphids and defoliating caterpillars.  They are also known to be cannibalistic and may feed on each other in a pinch.  Adult females have also been known to eat males after breeding.  Being a member of the stinkbug family, they also have the ability to release a pungent odor if bothered.

It is not likely that you will want to bother this beneficial assassin bug.  As mentioned earlier, the bite inflicted by the stabbing beak injects a toxic salvia that causes a stinging sensation worse than most stinging insects.  The bite may remain numb for several days becoming red and hot to the touch.  The spot may turn white and hard and slough off leaving a small hole.  Complete healing may take up to two weeks.  Seek emergency medical assistance if any allergic  reactions occur. 

The moral of this story is to remember not to handle a wheel bug.  These insects have beneficial qualities as a biological control for some insect  pests, but they do not want you to handle them!   Enjoy them from a safe distance!  For more information on all types of beneficial insects, please call our Master Gardener volunteers on the Plant Lifeline on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 1 to 4 pm at 764-4340 for gardening help and insight into their role as an Extension volunteer.  Don't forget to visit our other County Plant Clinics in the area.  Please check this link for a complete list of site locations, dates and times - http://charlotte.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/Plant%20Clinics%20Schedule.pdf.

Resource: 

Mead, F. W. (2014) Wheel Bug, Arilus cristatus (Linnaeus) Insecta: Hemiptera: Reduviidae). The University of Florida Extension Service, IFAS.