Test PB Collection: FTE

Jacaranda trees are native to Brazil. As such they should be considered a subtropical species. Here on the Central Coast, although they survive and some even flourish, they should be considered as being on the edge of their range.

Do children often come into the house itching and sometimes develop small red welts on their legs and arms? The itching is probably due to the drying of dust and sweat on the skin, but the welts may have several causes. Your child(ren) may be allergic to the grass.

The following are a few tips that may help you improve the looks of your lawn and be environmentally conscious as well. Many of the soils on the Central Coast are light and sandy.

I like this topic because it gives me a chance to comment on one of my pet peeves. I see many lawns whose owners do not cut the grass at the right height. When turf grasses are cut too short, the grass is stressed, vigor is reduced, and the grass tends to die back creating bare spots.

Lawn grasses are very competitive with trees and shrubs, especially young stock, for nutrients and water. Grass roots will slow down and restrict the growth of tree and shrub roots that are planted in a lawn.

Marginal leaf browning or leaf scorch can be caused by several environmental stresses, which I will discuss briefly. Drought stress, a lack of water in the soil, can cause the plant to sacrifice leaf tissues in order to reduce water use.

Lichens are a fungus body, usually one of the Ascomycetes with apothecia, enclosing a green or blue-green alga. The fungus receives some food from the alga and the alga some food and protection from the fungus. This relationship is termed symbiotic.

The genus Lilium contains many species that can cause gastric distress if ingested. Apparently, cats are super-sensitive to some of these toxins. Many plants in nature have evolved defense mechanisms to ward off or resist predation by whatever wishes to consume them.

There are indeed some special factors to keep in mind when homeowners have established oaks on their property or are considering incorporating oaks into an existing landscape. There are twelve species of oak ( Quercus sp.) that are found on the Central Coast. Some, the live oaks, are evergreen.

Mosses are primitive, non-flowering, rootless green plants with simple stems and leaves. They produce a thread-like growth that forms a fine-textured mat on soil or lawn surfaces.