Life and Lawns

I wanted to share with you some pictures of garden flowers I took on our recent Caribbean vacation. We took a Carnival Cruise to Cozumel, Grand Cayman and Jamaica.

I grew up in Florida, but was unable to identify most of these flowers as they are unfamiliar to me living up here in NWI, Zone 5. I did recognize the beautiful pink Hibiscus flowers that were spilling over someone’s garden wall in Cozumel, Mexico. As for the others, your help would be appreciated if you can ID them for me.

Each of these flowers was photographed as I looked over or thru a fence into someone’s tropical garden. I just love the fact that gardeners exist in all countries all over the world, and I wanted to see what tropical gardening produces.

There is also a picture here of a 6″ long beetle we saw in Jamaica! I have no clue what it is, but I sure wouldn’t want it in my landscape! I also included a picture of a peaceful palm tree on Seven Mile Beach in Grand Cayman with the cruise ship off in the distance. I have always been fascinated with the life and culture in the Cayman Islands (British West Indies) and was very happy to finally visit there.

Your comments are welcome! Enjoy the beautiful pictures.

I previously wrote about Red Thread disease that occurs in late spring turf when conditions are hot and humid. Following are more lawn tips relating to fungal problems in lawns in the Midwest and how to identify and treat them.

Dollar Spot Lawn Disease

This one is very often confused with Red Thread as the early symptoms are very similar in appearance. The difference is that Dollar Spot lawn disease occurs in summer, around July, and Red Thread shows up in later May and June.
Another difference is that Dollar Spot patches are brownish and not pink like Red Thread. In addition, severe dollar spots will join together, forming large brown areas in the turf.
If you’re adamant about identifying your particular problem as dollar spot, look for hourglass legions on the leaf blades. If they are there, you know it’s Dollar Spot.

Controlling Dollar Spot in Lawns

Just like Red Thread, this one is normally not a serious concern for long. It appears with 80 degree + temps and humidity, and slows down when the air dries out.
A good dose of nitrogen will help the lawn grow through the condition as well; however, I never recommend quick-release synthetic nitrogen for this. I like Milorganite Organic Lawn fertilizer because it won’t cause the lawn to stress with over-growth.
If you truly are concerned, granular fungicides available will do a fair job in “preventing” dollar spot but they must be applied prior to the problem becoming visible.
As always, you should mow properly and catch your clippings during fungal breakouts and never water at night.