Full House

During this season, the area’s insects are diligently expanding their numbers. Tallahassee’s home landscapes, with their wide variety of plants and shrubs, attract many of these bugs, the most popular being butterflies and moths. 

Whether large and brightly colored or small and unembellished, all these delicate fliers hatch from eggs, become caterpillars and spend their days munching on plants as they develop.

Some are picky eaters, dining only on specific plants. For example, monarch caterpillars consume only milkweed, fritillaries eat passionflower leaves and orange dog caterpillars are seen only on citrus trees.

Others will defoliate almost any greenery available. Tobacco horned worms and armyworms (both caterpillars) can be found on most plants valued by people.

To minimize the potential for damage, frequently monitor your plants.

If the leaves appear chewed, check the plant for caterpillars. If the damage is minimal and the caterpillars are few, it may be worth ignoring for the pleasure of keeping the butterflies and moths in the environment.

However, if the damage level is extreme or there is a large amount of caterpillars, then a response is necessary. 

Summer Landscape Tasks

Photo by iStock / Getty Images Plus: unalozmen

Summer is a great time to solarize garden plots and landscape spots. You can accomplish this soil sanitizing technique with a heat-trapping cover, which will kill some, if not most, of the weed seeds and insect eggs lodging in the ground.

A large trash bag with bricks, boards or rocks will work for small areas. But for larger areas, a roll of plastic sheeting will be necessary.

The July and August heat trapped under the plastic will slowly bake the potentially harmful organisms and render them inert. Luckily, earthworms will leave the area when the heat climbs but return when the temperature cools.

There are popular herb transplants that you can install during the midsummer heat. Rosemary, ginger, Mexican tarragon and others will flourish in a properly prepared site or large container. And August is an excellent time to plant tomatoes. Use nutrient-rich growing media in a transplant container to start preferred varieties.

The growing media or soil should be moderately fine, with ample organic matter and effective drainage. Maintain the moisture in the soil, but do not saturate the containers, as fungal disease will result.

You can start many cool-season crops the same way. Installing healthy transplants can give the home gardener a head start on the autumn growing season.

Backyard Wildlife Pantry

Beautyberry blossoms appear spring through summer and mature into berries by September. Photo by iStock / Getty Images Plus: passion4nature

Many home landscapes have a full production of summer’s fruit, berries and nuts. Yaupons, sparkleberries, dogwoods, pines, persimmons, oaks, hickories and many more have a nutritional offering to keep wild creatures with space in their stomach or cheeks nearby.

The summer’s heat and rain provide an ideal growing environment for the plants, which support these animals in the coming months; the blooms you’re seeing now will be the life-sustaining nuts, dried fruit and seeds of winter. The plants and trees also provide this cornucopia to prepare their progeny for the next growing season.

While most of their output is consumed by birds, mammals and insects, a small percentage of seeds will survive to expand the plant species range and replace winter losses. Bright orange persimmons, red dogwood, holly berries and blue beautyberries use their distinctive color and shape to attract birds and animals. In exchange for a free meal, some seeds will be relocated and provided with a convenient fertilizer package.

Les Harrison is a retired University of Florida/Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences Wakulla County extension director.