Pensacola News Journal

For:  Saturday, April 26, 2003

By:   Daniel E. Mullins

        Extension Horticulture Agent

        Santa Rosa County

What’s New in Horticulture? – A Lot

            This is an exciting time for those of us who enjoy horticulture.  New plants and plant care products are being developed at a rapid rate.  And, thanks to recent advances in communication technology, finding information and products is easier than ever.  Following are examples.

            Plant sap testing is being used by some local vegetable growers to fine tune nutrient levels as the plants grow.  Using ion specific electrodes, sap squeezed from the leaf stems reveals nitrogen and potassium levels almost instantly.  Optimum growth parameters have been developed for several, but not all of the vegetable crops.  In the future, we might be able to press some sap from our lawn grass, flowers or shrubs and learn exactly which nutrients are needed, and in what amounts.

            Lawn and garden fertilizers have come a long way in the past few years.  Several companies are developing and marketing products for special purposes and some are formulated for specific regions of the country.  Slow release products are already on the market and “controlled release” products are on the horizon.  The technology has already been developed that allows the manufacturer to coat each granule with a material containing tiny holes that release nutrients at a predetermined rate.

            Several species of tissue cultured plants are now available.  This method of plant propagation involves taking a few cells from the bud of a plant and starting it under very sanitary laboratory conditions.  Tissue cultured plants offer two major advantages.  First, many identical individuals can be produced from a single parent plant.  Tissue culture is also used to remove latent viruses from a plant species or cultivar that has been propagated by conventional means for many generations. 

            Net search engines and web sites have become much more gardener friendly.  As an example, I recently needed some information about the yellow-bellied sapsucker.  This is the little woodpecker that makes small holes in a circular pattern around tree trunks and branches.  Though the damage is generally not severe, I nevertheless wished to be able to describe the bird, learn about its migratory habits and a few other details.  Instead of looking up a bird site, I simply typed the name of this bird on a good search engine and found plenty of information.

            Several insecticides have recently become available that were developed using new chemistry.  Some are very specific as to the insects controlled and are easier on beneficial organisms.  There are also some biological control products and improved horticultural soaps and oils.   

            Even recommended tree planting techniques have changed over the past couple of years.  The old recommendation was to plant so that the top of the root ball was level with the top of the ground.  New studies reveal that trees planted shallower, with 10 percent of the root ball above the ground establish and grow better.

Question of the Week:  I have recently moved to the area and would like to grow herbs.  Can they be grown here?

Answer:  Herbs grow well in our area.  In fact, some can become aggressive and crowd other plants.  The mints and oregano are especially fast growing and might be better contained by growing them in pots.  Our Extension publication lists 29 species of recommended herbs.  They can be grown under the same conditions provided when growing vegetables.