Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 1

Summer 2018

Florida Native Plant Society ~ Sea Rocket Chapter ~ Serving Central & North Brevard County

The purpose of the Florida Native Plant Society is to promote the preservation, conservation, and restoration of the native plants and native plant communities of Florida.

~ Sea Rocket ~

Board of Directors

President

Lois Harris

Vice President

Jim Robey

Treasurer

Karen Lyle

Secretary

Molly Traugott

Chapter Representative

Vacant

Committees

Membership Kate Chiodini

Education/Outreach

Janina Shoemaker

Special Media / Marketing

Arlene Perez-Garrido

Nursery

Lois Harris

Hike Leader

Paul Schmalzer, PhD

Newsletter

Cheryl Tyson

Hospitality

Armand De Filippo

To contact us by email:

searocketfnps@gmail.com

Mark your Calendars for the

Titusville Sea Turtle Festival

June 8 and 9

Jpin us at the Titusville Sea Turtle Festival come as a visitor or vol-

unteer. We still need volunteers to Staff our Tent and Table. Fri-

day evening should be cool, and Saturday is an all-day effort to

spread the Gospel of Native

Plants to save $$, labor, and

H2O. June 8 & 9. This is

great timing as it just before

our plant sale. Please let us

know if you can help for Fri-

day and or Saturday.

Please call (321 567 5210) or

email Janina (janina13@cfl.rr.com) to volunteer for this fun event.

Gardening with your Sea Rocket Chapter

Friends

Get into Gardening every Tuesday by helping at the FNPS Sea Rocket Chapter Nursery Workdays 9am-12 noon. Kid-friendly. Saturday in the Garden: Join us June 23, July 21 and August 11 for maintenance and preparation of our gardens for planting.

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 2

Emergency Preparedness

For more information go to Bre-

vard County Emergency Manage-

ment page at:

http://www.brevardfl.gov/docs/def

ault-source/emergency-

management/all-hazards-

readiness-guide-040417.pdf

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 3

Sea Rocket Chapter Plant Sale

June 16th

10 am to 3 pm

Enchanted Forest Sanctuary

PLANT LIST

American Elm / Ulmus americana

Beauty berry / Callicarpa americana

Black-eyed Susan / Rudbeckia hirta

Blanket flower / Gaillardia pulchella

Blazing star / Liatris spicata

Blue curl / Trichostema dichotomum

Coreopsis / Coreopsis leavenworthii

Elephants foot / Elephantopus elatus

False Rosemary, Lg. / Conradina grandiflora

Florida paintbrush / Carphephorus corymbosus

Goldenrod, seaside / Solidago sempervirens

Green eyes / Berlandiera subacaulis

Ironweed / Vernonia gigantea

Rayless sunflower / Helianthus radula

With Lakeside sunflower/H. carnosus

Red Cedar, Southern / Jumiperus virginiana

Scarlet Sage / Salvia coccinea

Spotted beebalm / Monarda puntata

St. John Wort, scrub / Hypericum tenuifolium

Starry Rosinweed / Silphium atericus

Yellowtop / Flaveria linearis

VOLUNTEERS

NEEDED

Please contact us if you

can help with the plant

sale, an important chap-

ter fundraiser.

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 4

Powerline decline in Palms By David Humphrey

https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep263

Did you know Palm Trees can be damaged by high voltage power lines?

It seems only palms are subject to this malady. Even the native Sable

palmetto will demonstrate signs of decline. Information as to why

only palms are affected does not openly present itself. Possibly be-

cause the economic impact is minimal so little research has been

done, and besides the remedy is simple, don’t plant palms under

power lines. “Powerline Decline” as it is called is rarely fatal to the

tree but will affect the leaf by yellowing or even killing the leaf tips.

Contact is not required, even at a distance of five feet, the visual de-

cline can show. Certainly, it is a result of the electromagnetic field

surrounding the 13,000 or 23,000 volt AC power line. (Maybe that’s

why when a warning of “downed lines” is issued, we really should

take notice and keep clear). But why only palms? This quote from the

UF/IFAS Blogsite may help. “Visual symptoms alone may be sufficient

for the diagnosis of potassium deficiency, although leaf nutrient anal-

ysis may be helpful in distinguishing a late stage deficiency from

manganese (Mn) deficiency. These two deficiencies can be extremely

similar from a distance, but close examination should reveal characteristic spotting and marginal necrosis in

K deficiency or necrotic streaking for Mn deficiency. Potassium deficiency symptoms are also more severe

toward the leaf tip and are less so at the leaf base. The reverse is

true for Mn deficiency.”

http://blogs.ifas.ufl.edu/orangeco/2018/02/27/potassium-

deficiency-palms/

Even though the article is talking about deficiencies the symptoms

are very similar for palm decline. Could it be that the power line

electromagnetic field interferes with the potassium (K) or manga-

nese (Mn) transfer in the palm leaf?

Power companies do not recommend planting any large tree of any variety near power lines due to eventual interference with power delivery and then the mandatory tree “surgery” to remove the offending limbs.

And now you know, and “Knowing is half the battle.” G.I. Joe

For a comprehensive view of Sea Rocket activities go to

https://www.facebook.com/searocketchapter/

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 5

FLORIDA MASTER NATURALIST PROGRAM INFORMATION

AT MAY SEA ROCKET MEETING

G reg Hendricks was our guest speaker at the May monthly meet-

ing for SeaRocket Chapter was . Greg is from the Florida Master Natu-

ralist Program (FMNP) which runs through UF’s IFAS extension pro-

gram. The mission of FMNP is to promote awareness, understanding,

and respect of Florida’s natural world among Florida citizens and visi-

tors and focuses on adult education for people of all backgrounds who

seek to further their knowledge of Florida’s natural ecosystems.

Several sections of classes are offered

by the FNMP: the Core Modules (Coastal Systems, Freshwater

Systems, and Upland Systems), the Special Topics (Habitat Evalu-

ation, Wildlife Monitoring, Conservation Science, and Environmen-

tal Interpretation), and the Restoration Series (Coastal Restora-

tion). The Core Modules are 40 contact hours each and are about

50% instruction and 50% hands on, whereas the Special Topics and

Restoration Series are 24 con-

tact hours long each. The Res-

toration Series on Coastal

Restoration currently includes information about planting

techniques and general restoration for oyster beds, man-

groves and marshes, but they are planning to add classes

including seagrasses and corals as well as dune system

restoration.

These classes that can be taken through FNMP are not

classes that you receive grades in. If you show up with a

good attitude and work through

them, you will receive a certifi-

cate and be in the online data-

base for completing FNMP coursework. You also receive a patch and

pin along with the course manual. If you complete enough of the

classes, you qualify as a FNMP Master Naturalist. The Core Mod-

ules cost $275 each and the Special Topics cost $175 each if you are

interested in trying them out.

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 6

MMMMM My mimosa By Lora Losi

The walking neighbors stop, the neighbors stare. Aren’t the new people (us) going to work and spend mon-

ey on turf?

The answer took a few years to be visible. The answer was MIMOSA.

We didn’t know exactly what would happen 6 years ago when we bought our

house on the “dune of death”. The lawn under the huge oaks had been

mowed too short, blown clear of any organic matter and had become sterile

bare white sand. We knew we had to do something, anything fast to prevent

the sand from being washed away down the front bank and onto the street.

Our first thought was not what the neighbors expected. Instead of buying sod

and fertilizing with chemicals and using copious amounts of precious water we

brought in 17 pickup trucks of free mulch, nature’s fertilizer. Who needs a gym when you could shovel?

And then we planted natives, lots of different native plants. We didn’t know exactly what would grow so

with the help of local nursery folk we dug in.

Fast forward 6 years and we have a nice variety on the front bank. Some things did better than others, Gar-

beria (a scrub bush covered with puffs of pinkish/ purple blossoms in fall) has established itself as nice ac-

cent bushes.

But the real pedestrian stopper is the mimosa. The 6 plants that were planted on top of the bank have

spread like a carpet to places that suit it. The apron along the road happens to have the sun it likes. And the

best thing is that this running vine has stomped out what little grass that was there!

We now have a 75 foot long meadow of lush green carpet

on the street apron with thousands of perky pink pompom

blossoms. This is not because of being watered, mimosa

does not need to be, once established. By the way, the

blossoms support thousands of pollinators, no wonder my

tomatoes set so many fruit!

We proudly put out an informative sign about mimosa. It

tells of not having to use fertilizer or water and the minimal

mowing and trimming needed. Many people stop and read

it! Some take cuttings. On the money we have saved not

paying for the artificial looking turf we can buy A LOT more native plants!!

A neighbor originally from Puerto Rico said that mimosa is also used in her country and is called Mort Y Vive

meaning death and life. The mimosa plants do get a little sparse over the winter but they really turn on

come spring, and beat the grass in to action. The mimosa leaves do curl up when touched, hence another

name” sensitive vine”.

Easy to grow, beautiful blossoms, and supports wildlife (we have a tortoise burrow in the bank).

Now tell me again why I should grow grass?

Summer 2018 Email us at searocketfnps@gmail.com page 7

The Enchanted Forest Sanctuary Education Center 444 Columbia Blvd, Titusville, FL 32780 321-264-5185

Driving Directions to the Sanctuary:

From I-95 Northbound: take SR-407 Exit 212 east 2.7 miles to SR-405 intersection. Turn right onto SR-405 and go east 1.9 miles (the Sanctuary entrance is on the left 0.4 miles past Sisson Road)

From I-95 Southbound: take SR-50 Exit 215 east. Turn left onto SR 50 and turn right onto SR-405 (2nd light) Travel 3.6 miles (the Sanctuary entrance is on the left 0.4 miles past Sisson Road)

From U.S. HWY 1: go west 0.5 miles on SR-405 in south Titusville. Sanctuary entrance is on the right.

Florida Native Plant Society

For membership information, address change: P. O. Box 278, Melbourne, FL 32902-0278 Phone: 321-271-6702; Fax: 321-951-1941; Email: Info@fnps.org/www.fnps.org Sea Rocket Chapter mailing address: 444 Columbia Blvd, Titusville, FL 32780

Sea Rocket Chapter Meeting

Our next meeting will be in September!

Have a great summer!

Sea Rocket Chapter April Board meeting will be held on June 12 at 5:30 pm.

The meeting will be held at (TBD)

All members are welcome to attend. Please RSVP if you plan to attend.

See you in September!

We are changing to have a summer edition of our newsletter to reflect that we do not meet during these months. Our next Chapter meeting will be September 26, 2018 The next newsletter will be sent out September 1, 2018. Have a safe and great summer! May our hurricane season be calm. And our gardens be filled with bright colors.

Travelling this summer? Enjoy your

adventures and be sure to stop and

smell the Native plants!

I saw this sign last summer in the gar-

dens of Malahide Castle outside Dub-

lin, Ireland. I highly recommend vis-

iting these gardens if you find your-

self nearby. - Editor

Be sure to check out the bi-monthly newsletter of the

Florida Native Plant Society

Located online at : http://fnps.org/resources/sabalminor