My sister chopped all the shrubs down to about 1 foot in height and then sprayed the heck out of them with the insecticidal soap. I received some advice from my friend Brian : It's most likely a grasshopper that's chewing on the hibiscus. Aphids and the like do not chew leaves. They are sucking insects. We have some large grasshoppers here that relish both the hibiscus and some of our more tender palm fronds. We tolerate them because they do not do too much damage. The lubber grasshoppers are another story altogether, but we haven't seen those on the property yet.

I have to admit I haven't seen any grasshoppers around my folks' property, just little frogs, but they could certainly be the culprits making mulch out of the hibiscus leaves. My sister and I will keep an eye out for them to see if that's the problem. We'll keep you posted. Huge thanks to Brian for his suggestions - I really enjoy visiting his site as I learn something every time I do. For instance, the birds I hear at night that are rather breathy-sounding are called Chuck-will's-widow. Next to the mourning dove, they are my favorite. Take some time and visit The Taming of the Band-Aid when you get the chance. Happy Florida Gardening.

I got a call from my sister the other day. She was clearing some of my mother's gardens. As she started on the side yard that is loaded with hibiscus, Carol noticed that the plants appeared to be chewed on and many of the leaves were dropping. So, the call I received was "What's wrong with these hibicus plants?" I asked her to describe what she was seeing. She told me it looked like maybe some white stuff, some black spots and definitely chew marks. I pulled out my trusty Encyclopedia of Gardening and...nothing. I leafed through a few other garden books and again nothing. I've searched on the net and still nothing. By nothing I mean not all the symptoms she has mentioned. The white stuff sounded like a fungus and same with the black spot. The chew marks - maybe a mealybug or aphid? We agreed it would make sense to cut the plants down as much as possible since they were already up to about 5 feet in height. That would get rid of most of the infected leaves. The next step was to get Safer's Insecticidal Soap and keep a close eye on the plants. I'll keep searching for information and, in the meantime, let's hope we're successful. I'll keep you posted. Happy Florida Gardening.

and bit hard! I'm ready to get out there and work in the garden. Sink my fingers into the soil. Drop to my knees in the beds and pull those pesky weeds. Okay, I'm getting a little carried away but you get the idea. My husband and I were at Lowe's the other day. I was looking for a palm tree or two to start landscaping around the pool now that it's almost finished (that's another long, long story since it's only been under construction since 2003!). I saw a few but since I wasn't familiar with all the names, decided it would make sense to come home and do some research before purchasing any. In the meantime, I was itching to buy plants. As I told my husband, "I need instant gratification and I need it now (sorta like deja vu all over again)." Tolerantly nodding his head, he suggested we look at the other trees instead. We found a juniper torulosa and an arizona cypress.

Now those of you who have been reading my rantings for awhile know how enamored I am with blue plants so of course I was in heaven when I saw the arizona cypress. It is a gorgeous tree blue-green in color with a red bark. It is very tolerant of hot, dry conditions and grows up to 50 feet high, 25 feet wide. The cypress does well in sandy soil, which we have, and full sun, which we also have lots of. It's a native of Mexico and should grow well here in zone 9-10.

The juniper torulosa also grows well in full sun, sandy soil and tolerates salt environments. It is susceptible to root rot, but with our lack of rain I don't think we have much to worry about. This tree grows about a foot a year to approximately 15 feet.

I have to confess we also picked up a flame honeysuckle that blooms a brilliant orange-red color, and a small tomato plant. Ok - I cheated. The tomato plant already has some small fruit and is loaded with buds but I'll still swear that I grew it myself. After all, that's what gardening is all about isn't it? Happy Florida Gardening.

Have you ever had a song running through your brain and you just can't get it to stop? Here's the one I've been listening to all day - I love LA, but it's ok because I substitute the word LA for hibiscus. The flowers are vibrant with the various colors, and the plants always greet me in their season with a big smiling bloom. I have three gorgeous shrubs in my front bed - a beautiful red, a fiery coral/orange and a sunny yellow plant - and have been thinking of adding more. They are not expensive and grow extremely well with little fuss. All they ask for is a little water and an occasional hair cut.

I was reading the St. Pete Times on Saturday and immediately turned to the gardening section - my favorite section of the paper. That's when I learned that apparently it is a very easy thing to propogate my own. If I take some cuttings and place them in a well-drained medium, I assume a good soil and peat mix, they should root in about 6 weeks. I've got the rooting powder and I have some good mix so you know what I'll be doing this weekend. I can't wait to try it and I'll share what I learn. Happy Florida Gardening.