QUESTION:  My neighbor suggested I plant rain lilies but I don’t know anything about them.  Can you give me more information?  KW

JORDI:  I was unfamiliar with these plants, too, until we decided to add them to our demonstration garden.  You can go to our website and check out the information  on all the plants but I am going to copy the information directly from our site regarding rain lilies.

“This group of charming bulbs, also known as pink fairy lilies, Zephyr lilies, and rain lilies is native to North America. In the wild, flowers bloom after a rain. Incredibly climatically diverse, they can be found wild in tropical lowlands, rain forests, and arid deserts. There are rain lilies for every climatic zone that does not experience long periods of freezing weather. They seem to be quite happy under domestication, and can be planted year round in North Florida. Rain lilies thrive in conditions not favorable for true garden lilies. They produce lush clumps of foliage in the fall when the weather is cool and can be mistaken during the winter for liriope.”

Spectacular effects can be achieved when used in mass plantings. Each species has a different time schedule for flowering, reaching a peak in July and August. With careful selection of at least six species you can have orange, pink, yellow, white, rose, or red rain lilies flowering for nine months of the year from mid-March until mid-November.”

QUESTION:  Can you identify the weed that is all over my yard? SB

JORDI:  The weed you brought to the office is called Japanese clover, Lespedeza striata, or Common Lespedeza.  It is a prostrate, freely-branched summer annual.  The leaves are very tiny and they form a dense mat.  Japanese clover produces small purple or pink flowers, which are actually quite striking up close but the plant is basically too small to have much ornamental value.  Flowering occurs during July – October and it reproduces by seed only.

Common Lespedeza can found in fields, pastures, open woods, stream banks, roadsides, railroads, waste ground, disturbed and cultivated sites. This plant is utilized for horse and cattle forage.  It was brought to this country around 1850 and has spread rapidly.

It is difficult to kill a mature, seed producing plant once it has reached its maturity.  When I say maturity I mean it has reached the stage of its life cycle where it is capable of producing seed.  You might consider pulling it up prior to it releasing seeds and/or use a pre-emergent herbicide next spring to possibly prevent the dormant seeds from germinating.  Of course, our major focus should be taking care of the lawn so it is strong by proper fertilization, watering and mowing.  Check out the University of Florida website on residential St. Augustine grass,

QUESTION:   Can you tell me what kind of ant I have found?  BW