NORTH FLORIDA: Rain Lilies, Crazy Ants, Gardening Tips

EDITOR'S NOTE: A University of Florida faculty member and Nassau County Extension Horticultural Agent,  Rebecca Jordi addresses some of the questions she receives about landscaping and gardening in northeast Florida, in GARDEN TALK.  The Extension also offers helpful clinics throughout the year, providing assistance to local gardeners on Amelia Island and in the surrounding areas of Nassau County, Florida. __________

Rain lilies can be planted year round in North Florida

QUESTION:  My neighbor suggested I plant rain lilies but I don’t know anything about them.  Can you give me more information?  KW

JORDI:  I was unfamiliar with these plants, too, until we decided to add them to our demonstration garden.  You can go to our website and check out the information  http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu/horticulture/demogarden/demogarden.html on all the plants but I am going to copy the information directly from our site regarding rain lilies.

“This group of charming bulbs, also known as pink fairy lilies, Zephyr lilies, and rain lilies is native to North America. In the wild, flowers bloom after a rain. Incredibly climatically diverse, they can be found wild in tropical lowlands, rain forests, and arid deserts. There are rain lilies for every climatic zone that does not experience long periods of freezing weather. They seem to be quite happy under domestication, and can be planted year round in North Florida. Rain lilies thrive in conditions not favorable for true garden lilies. They produce lush clumps of foliage in the fall when the weather is cool and can be mistaken during the winter for liriope."

Spectacular effects can be achieved when used in mass plantings. Each species has a different time schedule for flowering, reaching a peak in July and August. With careful selection of at least six species you can have orange, pink, yellow, white, rose, or red rain lilies flowering for nine months of the year from mid-March until mid-November.”

QUESTION:  Can you identify the weed that is all over my yard? SB

Japanese Clover

JORDI:  The weed you brought to the office is called Japanese clover, Lespedeza striata, or Common Lespedeza.  It is a prostrate, freely-branched summer annual.  The leaves are very tiny and they form a dense mat.  Japanese clover produces small purple or pink flowers, which are actually quite striking up close but the plant is basically too small to have much ornamental value.  Flowering occurs during July – October and it reproduces by seed only. 

Common Lespedeza can found in fields, pastures, open woods, stream banks, roadsides, railroads, waste ground, disturbed and cultivated sites. This plant is utilized for horse and cattle forage.  It was brought to this country around 1850 and has spread rapidly. 

It is difficult to kill a mature, seed producing plant once it has reached its maturity.  When I say maturity I mean it has reached the stage of its life cycle where it is capable of producing seed.  You might consider pulling it up prior to it releasing seeds and/or use a pre-emergent herbicide next spring to possibly prevent the dormant seeds from germinating.  Of course, our major focus should be taking care of the lawn so it is strong by proper fertilization, watering and mowing.  Check out the University of Florida website on residential St. Augustine grass, http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/LH010

QUESTION:   Can you tell me what kind of ant I have found?  BW

 

Crazy Ant

JORDI:   The ant you brought into the office is called a crazy ant, Paratrechina longicornis, occurs in large numbers in homes or outdoors. They often forage long distances away from their nests, so nests are often difficult to control. The name "crazy ant" arises from its characteristic erratic and rapid movement not following trails as often as other ants.

The crazy ant is not native to the United States but originally from Asian or African.  In the United States the crazy ant can be found from Florida to South Carolina and west to Texas.

The antennae of the crazy ant have 12-segments without a club and are extremely long. The stinger is lacking but the crazy may bite an intruder and curve its abdomen forward to inject a formic acid secretion onto the wound. On warm, humid evenings, large numbers of males gather outside nest entrances and may mill about excitedly. Workers patrol vegetation and other structures nearby. Workers feed on live and dead insects, seeds, honeydew, fruits, and many household foods.

The crazy ant thrives in places such as gasoline stations, convenience stores, and sidewalk cafes where workers may be seen transporting crumbs and insects attracted to lights. They obtain honeydew by tending aphids, mealybugs, and soft scales.  In cold climates, the ants nest in apartments and other buildings where they are potential pests year round. The crazy ant is highly adaptable, living in both very dry and rather moist habitats. It nests in such places as trash, refuse, cavities in plants and trees, rotten wood, in soil under objects and also have been found under debris left standing in buildings for long periods of time.

Non-chemical control is based on exclusion through good housekeeping practices and cleanliness eliminating food sources. Crazy ants nest outdoors so prevention of their entrance by caulking exterior penetrations and weather-stripping may aid in their control. Indoors chemical controls are based on baits, dusts, and spot treatments with residual sprays. Outdoor treatments include chemical formulations as baits, granules, dusts, and sprays. Read and follow label instructions and precautions before using any insecticide.

 

_________________
Rebecca L. Jordi
University of Florida/IFAS
Nassau County Extension
Environmental Horticulture Agent III
543350 U. S. Highway #1
Callahan, FL 32011
904 548-1116 or 904 879-1019
http://nassau.ifas.ufl.edu