My Florida Tropical Garden

The first day of September is welcoming after enduring two of the warmest months of the year. July and August have an average daily high of 92°F in Orlando. Even though it's still very hot and wet for weeks ahead, this day marks the beginning of a seasonal change. It means the beginning of Fall-Autumn on September 23, 2011. As days move on we can expect a slow transition of color and weather.

Gall Midge Treatment Update
Only a couple days after my gall midge treatment and the hibiscus look like they are pest free right now, not even an aphid was found last time I checked. I'm pretty sure it's killing the gall midge larvae too since I've noticed a few more healthy blooms on the white hibiscus.

Upcoming First Blooms
I have 2 more hibiscus plants that are blooming for the first time which means sometime this month I'll have a few new hybrids to show off. These hybrids were grown from seed for the last 2 years.
Also my Becky's Blue/White passion flower is blooming well, another first flower on this one too. I purchased this plant on eBay this year.

Milkweed Bug Control
Another pest this summer is the Milkweed bug. Once established, they do alot of cosmetic damage to your milkweed. They don't actually kill the plant as milkweed just grows back when it's cut down, but the Monarchs need healthy leaves in order to grow properly. Getting rid of an established milkweed bug colony means cutting back my plants, throwing away the stems with the bugs still on the cuttings. The cuttings go into a trashbag that is sealed leaving the bugs trapped. I absolutely don't use pesticides on my milkweed plants as I don't want to harm the baby caterpillars or poison the leaves. It doesn't take long for milkweed to grow back, in fact they actually look better when you do occassionally cut them back.

Some milkweed and alyssum 'snow crystals' started from seed...


Here's a group of cosmos I started from seed

I found these red/orange and black colored insects gathered on some milkweed plants. In fact, they have established a large population on one plant to the point where some leaves are growing deformed and some leaves have been sucked dry of plant tissue. These insects are called the Milkweed Bug, and are more of a nuisance than a threat to the milkweed plant. They are commonly found in small groups on stems, leaves, and seed pods sucking the juices from plant tissue. Controlling these bugs can be tricky because you don't want to spray the Monarch larvae with harmful chemicals. So you can either live with the damage, squish the bugs, or spray with a low dose of insecticidal soap.

Pictured below is the Milkweed Bug life cycle.