Landscape Lingo

If the old saying, "an apple a day keeps the doctor away" holds true now is the time to stock up on one of nature's most delicious fruits. Many local orchards are into the busiest time of the 'apple picking' year. When the ultimate taste is desired in apples and assuming they will be used within a month, the best time to pick apples is just before they begin to "watercore." This is when the high sugar content of the apple produces areas around the apple core that are "watery" in appearance. Hence the name "watercores." These clear areas are loaded with sugar and the apple is at maximum ripeness and flavor. Some favorite eating varieties available now include Cortland, Jonathan, Jonagold, Gala, Golden (Yellow) Delicious, Ida Red, Melrose, Northern Spy and Red Delicious. Fairfield County residents are fortunate to have several fine orchards all within a short driving distance from all areas of the county. Call our office for details.

LADY BEETLES WILL RETURN . . .

As the temperatures turn cooler and daylight hours shorten several winter intruders will seek to avoid the cold winter months by invading the warmth and protection of your homes. The multicolored Asian lady beetle's habit of invading homes in the fall will seriously challenge this insect's "beneficial" status. Also called the Halloween lady beetle, this introduced predator tends to congregate on homes and other buildings in the fall and with little encouragement, the aggregations may move inside. A few of these pesky insects have been seen gathering around structures, presumably planning a little breaking and entering.

Exclusion is the best method to avoid surprise visits from winter interlopers. Homeowners should closely inspect their homes for cracks around windows, doors, siding, utility pipes and other openings. If cracks are found, they should be filled with a good quality silicone or silicone-latex caulk. Also, screens should be placed over vent openings such as a those used for attic and exhaust vents.

RUST DISEASES ON TURFGRASSES

The incidence of rust on turfgrass seems to be expanding rapidly this fall. Rust can occur on all turfgrasses; however, most rust problems occur on perennial ryegrass and certain cultivars of Kentucky bluegrass.

The appearance of small light-green to yellow flecks on leaves and leaf sheaths is early evidence of rust attacks on grasses. A few days later, orange to reddish-brown uredinial rust pustules break through the host epidermis. Initially, these pustules may extend in a longitudinal

direction in rows parallel with the leaf veins. Contained within each uredinial pustule are thousands of microscopic urediniospores. Exposed urediniospores may be yellow, orange, brownish-yellow, chestnut-brown or brick-red; and they appear powdery enmass.

Those of stem rust are chestnut-brown to brick-red, whereas urediniospores of crown rust are orange. In severe attacks, the entire turf may be a yellow to orange to brownish-orange color. The powdery urediniospores are easily dislodged from the pustule. Shoes, clothing, hands or implements disturbing the turf can become coated with spores. Homeowners have complained about clouds of orange dust when they mow the lawn in September.

Control measures include selection of disease resistant turfgrass cultivars, a good fertility program, proper mowing and watering practices, and fungicide applications. For more fall lawn care tips including lawn renovation and types of grasses to use, contact our office at 653-5419 and request a copy of the FALL edition of the FAIRFIELD GARDENER.

SPIDERS "FRIGHTEN" HOMEOWNERS

Late summer is also a time that many spiders cause concern. First, most spiders that have a single generation each year reach maturity now and their webs become apparent as they get larger. Second, the males of most of these spiders must wander about in search of a mate. These males get into the house and upset folks. And, third, some spiders lay eggs at this time which hatch and the tiny spiderlings must disperse to find an overwintering site.

The two most commonly noticed web spinning spiders have been the funnel web and orb web spiders. The funnel web spiders make a horizontal sheet of webbing, often covering a square foot or larger area from which a funnel like tube descends from one end. The orb web makers build the classic vertical sheet of webbing that consists of central spokes and a spiral of webbing.

Because of the lack of rainfall, the funnel web spiders have been able to cover many landscape shrubs and flowers. They seem to especially relish building their webs side-by-side in ground covers of juniper. If an insect drops into the webbing, the disturbance causes the spider to dart out, assess how big the prey is, and retrieve it if it is of the correct size. The spider will often dart out and back as you walk by the webs. The spiders are generally gray with darker stripes and if out of their webs look much like wolf spiders. The males develop long black forelegs and often enter homes during their wandering about in search of a mate.

Though the literature suggests that these funnel web spiders are essentially harmless, new evidence is accumulating to suggest that the bite from these spiders can cause a severe necrotic sore (blister like sore in which the tissues decay and often get infected unless kept sterile).

The orb weavers are usually tolerated by most home owners, though they often like to spin their webs under or near the porch light. Nothing like running into the web in the morning as you rush out the door for work! Fortunately, during the day, most of these orb weavers hide in a convenient nook or cranny at the edge of the web.

However, the golden garden spider (argiope) is an orb weaver that stays in the web during the day. This spider often "suddenly appears" in the garden at this time. In fact, it's been there all summer! It was just too small to be noticed. The females often have an inch long body with long legs that may span three inches. The abdomen is a velvet black with golden-yellow markings. The thorax is usually a silvery color. Males are much smaller and may be more silver in color.

What makes the garden argiope interesting is the zig-zag strand of heavy silk that runs down the center of the web. This is called a stabilmenta. Occasionally, people will interpret words (obviously words with a lot of v's, m's and w's!) being written in the stabilmenta.

Orb weavers are considered harmless and should be conserved as beneficial predators in the landscape.

The sac spider is one that does not build a recognizable web for trapping prey. They are active predators in leaves, lawns and plants where they may build a silken retreat in which they rest. Because of the sleeping bag shape of these retreats, the spiders are called sac spiders. The spiders are usually yellowish-tan or yellow-green in color and appear hairless. Upon close inspection, they have a dense pile of short hair covering the body.

During the summer months, these spider build their "sacs" in trees, shrubs and turf, but they seek out more sheltered sites as winter approaches. Because of this, they frequently end up in our homes, from basements to attics. In our houses, they often build an inch long by ½-inch wide sheet of white webbing in the corner of a room. The spider gets under this cover during the day and will remain there unless disturbed. They emerge at night and can often crawl across sleeping people.

It might be best in the fall to make it a "normal operating procedure" to sweep up these webs and the spiders during the weekly house cleaning.

Previous issues of Landscape Lingo
Back to Horticulture Home Page
Back to County Home Page

All educational programs conducted by Ohio State University Extension are available to clientele on a nondiscriminatory basis without regard to race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, gender, age, disability or Vietnam-era veteran status.

Issued in furtherance of Cooperative Extension work, Acts of May 8 and June 30, 1914, in cooperation with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, Keith L. Smith, Director, Ohio State University Extension.
TDD # 1 (800) 589-8292 (Ohio only) or (614) 292-1868