By BJ Jarvis
Spring has sprung and we’re all getting outdoors to enjoy this glorious weather. Every garden holds surprises for us.
Some plants are already responding to longer days and warmer temperatures with new shoots. A few plants may look dead, but wait and see to be sure before pulling them out.
Daffodils are blooming in the Pasco County Extension garden. Yes, some daffodils will grow and bloom in central Florida.
Visitors to the extension office, in person or by phone, are asking questions about challenges in their gardens. Several calls this week were about oaks that are yellow and losing lots of leaves. Because large trees are the anchor to our landscapes, it is understandable that residents are concerned about the health of evergreen trees.
Rest assured that even evergreens lose and replace their leaves. That seems like an oxymoron, but if you think about it, evergreens don’t grow a stem with leaves and keep those leaves for their entire lives. Unlike deciduous trees that drop their leaves each fall, evergreens wait until spring to push off last year’s leaves at the same time that new leaves are emerging. In this way, they never look bare.
Don’t worry about leaf yellowing or leaf drop on oak trees in the springtime. Another common thing on oaks that are not a true problem are small raised bumps on the leaves. It is called oak leaf blister and is when a fungus infects new leaves, which is rarely a problem for the tree. Blisters are especially noticeable following winters that are cool and moist, but rarely causes significant leaf drop or other long-term problems with trees in the landscape.
Once the blisters appear, applying fungicides are wasted effort and money. The leaf damage is primarily cosmetic, so don’t do anything. Occasionally, oak leaf blister is prevalent enough to cause a significant number of leaves to shed, usually on a young tree. You should then rake fallen leaves and dispose in the regular trash to avoid reintroducing the fungus to other trees in the landscape.
So if your oak trees are losing last year’s leaves, remember this is normal. And if your oaks are afflicted with a minor number of blister bumps, don’t sweat it. Oaks are very resilient and sturdy members of our landscapes. Spend gardening time, energy and worry on those things in the landscape that are truly a problem and where your energy can make a difference.
For gardening questions, visit Pasco Extension’s gardening website www.pasco.ifas.ufl.edu/gardening.
-BJ Jarvis is Horticulture Agent and Director of Pasco Extension Service, a partnership between Pasco government and the University of Florida. She can be reached at .
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