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LCMSW students are excited about signing up
for clubs during Club Rush Week. Students
can choose from over twenty clubs. Club Rush
week is held September 6 -9 for both middle
schools.
The University of Georgia • Cooperative Extension Service
FI
Do You Need to Apply
a Fall Fertilizer
Application to Your Lawn?
Doug Collins, Lee County
Extension Coordinator
P utting j^nowledce to Work I ^
Warm season grasses such as centipedegrass
do not need a fertilizer application in the fall.
Do You Need to Apply a
Fall Fertilizer Application
to Your Lawn?
This time of year, there
are advertisements on
the radio and television
urging homeowners to
make a fall fertilizer ap
plication to their lawns.
Is this necessary? The
short answer is “no”.
Most of the grass spe
cies we grow in South
west Georgia are warm
season species. These
include centipedegrass,
Bermudagrass, St. Au
gustine grass, and zoysia.
The proper times to fer
tilize these grasses are in
the spring and summer.
They go dormant in the
winter, and therefore
don’t utilize much fertil
izer in the fall as they
are about to go dormant,
and basically none dur
ing the winter dormancy
period. Any fertilizer
elements that are pres
ent during the winter are
subject to being taken
up by weeds or lost from
the root zone of the grass
through leaching.
There are some situ
ations in which a fall
application of fertilizer
is appropriate. Persons
growing tall fescue, a
cool season grass, in
North Georgia, may
properly make a fall
fertilizer application to
their lawns. Homeown
ers who overseed their
lawns with a cool season
grass such as rye or rye
grass may properly make
a fall or winter fertilizer
application.
If you apply fertilizer
to a dormant or about to
go dormant warm season
grass, you are just feed
ing weeds or putting fer
tilizer where it can leach
out of reach of the roots
of your grass before the
grass starts growing
again in the spring.
If you test your soil
and the analysis results
indicate that the soil
needs lime, it’s perfectly
alright to apply lime in
the fall. In fact, applying
the lime in the fall will
give it time to change the
soil pH before the grass
begins growing in the
spring. Don’t apply lime
unless the results of a
soil test call for it.
For more information,
call the Lee County
Extension Office at
759-6025 or email me at
collinsd@uga.edu
The Lee County Ledger, Wednesday, September 7, 2016, Page 11A
Copper Worth Every Penny
In the Summer Landscape
Photo by Norman Winter
‘Java White’ looks as though it has been
kissed by snow, creating a daring look on a
porch patio or in a landscape. ‘Java White’
looks as though it has been kissed by snow,
creating a daring look on a porch patio or in
a landscape.
Special to the Ledger
By Norman Winter
UGA Extension
This morning in
Savannah, Georgia,
the heat and humidity
were simply stagger
ing. But, as I drove into
the Coastal Georgia
Botanical Gardens at
the Historic Bamboo
Farm, there they were,
two acalypha plants, the
tropical troopers of the
landscape. I was looking
at ‘Java White’ and the
bright red, cattail-like
blooms of the chenille
plant.
When it comes to
August temperatures,
we gardeners need some
tough tropicals to help
the landscape dazzle un
til cool-season planting
time arrives. When you
think of the dog days
of summer, the copper
plant is one that comes
to mind.
Calling ‘Java White’
“copper” is certainly a
misnomer. It’s funny that
it’s in the same genus
and species, which is
Acalypha wilkesiana,
where you find plants
with foliage that is truly
copper, many as showy
as a new penny. But, the
foliage of ‘Java White’
appears as though it has
been kissed by snow. It
features various pat
terns and variegations of
green, white and cream,
with leaves that are like
snowflakes in that no
two are alike. Like the
others, it too maintains a
shrub-like habit in sun to
partial sun, and certainly
offers an exotic appeal
all its own.
The copper plant,
or copperleaf, has its
origins in the Pacific
islands. It is in the Eu
phorbia family, making
it related to the poinset-
tia, croton and chenille
plant, the latter of which
is known botanically as
Acalypha hispida. In the
South Pacific, copper
plants may reach 10 to
15 feet in height, a stun
ning sight.
In addition to the ‘Java
White,’ keep your eyes
open for ‘Beyond Para
dise.’ The name is well
suited as this plant thrills
with its brilliantly var
iegated leaves in shades
of copper and rose. That
is its full-sun color. In
the shade it is not quite
so bright, but is equally
stunning as the leaves
feature various blends of
copper, green, cream and
rose red variegation. ‘Be
yond Paradise’ reaches
36 inches in height and
will be a beacon in the
garden, mesmerizing all
who pass by it. It also
makes a visually stimu
lating companion in
mixed containers.
A fairly new intro
duction called ‘Jungle
Cloak’ has a unique
camouflage pattern
featuring green, cream,
red and copper. It too
reaches about 36 inches
in height and spreads to
24 inches.
But I also mentioned
the chenille plant, which,
by the way, is officially
red hot cat’s tail. This
pendulous, blooming
jewel is from Malaysia
and New Guinea. There
and in similar tropi
cal climates it grows to
be a 6-foot-tall shrub
adorned with 18-inch
long, drooping, tail-like
structures of deep red.
In the Savannah sun, it
seems to glisten. At the
garden, we grow ours in
a planter box-like setting
that allows the flowers to
cascade over the edge.
Whether you choose a
variety of copperleaf or
the chenille plant, well-
drained soil will be your
friend. If the soil’s drain
age is the least bit sus
pect, incorporate several
inches of organic matter
while preparing the bed.
These plants grow quite
large, so space them
adequately. At 18 inches,
they will quickly form a
hedge-like look. Depend
ing on the variety, you
will want to space them
24 to 36 inches apart.
They are incredible in
mixed containers with
both flowers and foli
age. The copper partners
well with blue flowers,
whether salvias or my
favorite, the light blue
plumbago. Create thrill
ing partnerships with soft
orange and apricot.
Copper plants were
sold generic ally for
years, but that is now
passe thanks to variet
ies like ‘Beyond Para
dise,’ ‘Bourbon Street,’
‘Ceylon,’ ‘Tricolor’ and
‘Jungle Cloak.’ The che
nille plant, on the other
hand, is still pretty much
generic, but wonderful
nonetheless.
Unless you live in zone
9 or warmer, these plants
will be grown as an an
nual, but are worth every
penny. Certain gardeners
take them inside for the
winter to bring a touch
of the tropics indoors.
Because of their rugged
nature, many garden
centers bring them in for
a late summer landscape
pickup. You could hardly
do better.
Follow me on Twitter
@CGBGgardenguru. For
more information about
the University of Geor
gia Coastal Botanical
Gardens, go to coastal-
georgiabg.org.
(Director of the Coastal
Georgia Botanical
Gardens at the Historic
Bamboo Farm, Savan
nah GA, University of
Georgia Cooperative
Extension)
J&J Enterprises, LLC
2815 B Palmyra Rd • Albany, GA 31707
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