It's chilly in Acadiana right now, so stay a little longer in Key West. Stroll down Truman Avenue to White Street, and behold trees that look as though they're being supported with flying buttresses. They're really extensions of my trunk and can reach out up to 30 feet. Which is a good thing, because I can grow to 150 to 200 feet tall.

I'm a native of South America and am drought deciduous, dropping my leaves in the dry winters in the northern hemisphere. My flowers usually appear before my leaves return, and are clustered on small, new branches. To humans, they have an unpleasant odor, but bats are attracted to them. They carry pollen from flower to flower on their fur. Then my pods appear, as many as 4000, they contain 200 seeds each in a cotton like fiber. These pods burst, casting seeds in the wind to colonize open areas. Because my pods float, they may have been carried to West Africa by the ocean. I'm now also found in Malaysia and Indonesia.

My white, fluffy seed covering is also buoyant and water-resistant, leading to its use in flotation devices such as the famous Mae West lifesaver of World War II fame. Soap is made from the oil in my seeds, which is also used in medicine. My leaves may be boiled and eaten. Dugout canoes and coffins are made from my lightweight wood. Because of the length of my trunks, it's straight grain, and its beautiful colors, my lumber is very desirable. I hope these characteristics don't lead to my extinction.

​Do you know what plant I am?
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The weather is certainly not cooperating with my plans for the garden right now. On December 30th the overnight temperature is forecast to be 29⁰ F. That is a hard freeze for us here in south Louisiana this early in the season. Right now, the Christmas tree and poinsettias in my living room are sharing space with about two dozen tender perennials in pots. It’s truly a lovely display. I’m waiting for the Architectural Digest photographers any day now.

Believe it or not, now is the time to start seeds indoors so that you will have plants to set out in early spring. So why would you want to start seeds yourself when you can buy transplants in any big box store or nursery come spring? Well, cost is one reason. You can buy an entire pack of seeds for the cost of a single transplant. Choice is another, wonderful reason to choose seed. Transplants are available in a very limited variety. Take tomatoes for example, there might be a dozen varieties in a big box store; in a good nursery, you might find two dozen varieties. In the Seed Savers Exchange catalog, you will find seventy-two varieties; in the Territorial Seed catalog, you will find 110 varieties. Among these, you will find ultra-early, early, main season, and storage tomatoes, as well as sauce/paste tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, grape tomatoes, currant tomatoes, greenhouse tomatoes, and heirloom tomatoes. You will find red, pink, orange, yellow, white, purple, brown, and striped tomatoes in seed packets that you will never find in transplants. And peppers? Seed Savers offers sixty-three, Totally Tomatoes over one hundred, but I think you are beginning to get the idea - seeds, especially those offered via catalogs or online, offer myriads of varieties that you will never see if you only rely on what the local nurseries offer as transplants. Now granted, not all of these varieties are good for our particular climate, so it is always a good idea to plant one or two varieties from the LSU Ag Center recommendations to improve your chances for a reliable harvest, but for the cost of a packet of seeds, you can afford to experiment. Who knows, you may be planting your new favorite.

Now that I’ve covered the dreaming part, let’s get down to details. Start the new year off by planting seeds indoors to produce transplants for setting outdoors later. Beginning now, you can plant tomatoes, broccoli, and kohlrabi seeds, then about mid-January, plant peppers, cauliflower, and eggplant seeds. These will all be ready to set out between six and eight weeks later. Plant sequentially to extend the harvest. For example, plant some tomato seeds this week, then plant a few more every two weeks until March 15th .

Transplant each group into the garden starting mid-February. Do not try to plant all the seed at the same time, and then hold some of them. Keeping the seedlings in small pots can stress the plant and can produce a number of problems, so make sure you plant your new seedlings at the right time. Make certain to maintain a consistent, recommended moisture level for these seeds, and the seedlings they will produce, until time to set them out in the garden. Allowing them to dry out may cause some of them to bolt (go to seed), and it can cause others, like broccoli and cauliflower, to produce tiny little heads, called button heads – edible, but far from the production that you were expecting.

In our wonderful climate, you aren’t restricted to only planting indoors in January, you can start planting outdoors in mid-January. Plant carrots, cabbage, radish, leek sets, beets, lettuces, English peas, and chard in nice sunny spots in the garden. Starting about January 20th you can plant Irish potatoes, too. So, if it’s just too cold to go out, or raining, plant seeds indoors, it will give you that gardening ‘fix’ you need. If it’s not raining, put on your sweater, gloves and a warm hat and get outside. The weather may be cold, but now is the best time to start your spring garden – from seed. Until next month—Good Gardening.

Hello Master Gardeners,

Beginning in late April and continuing through May, I receive many calls from homeowners who, when walking barefooted across their lawns, feel the pain of a winter annual weed called lawn burweed (Soliva sessilis), a member of the aster family. It is also commonly called sticker weed, spurweed and sandbur. By that time of the year, its spines have already been produced; killing the weed in late April or May will not eliminate the spines.

The LSU AgCenter recommends applying herbicides from December – March to kill the lawn burweed and eliminate production of the sharp spines. Lawn burweed is a winter annual that sprouts in the fall and winter and remains rather small during the winter months. As spring arrives with warmer temperatures, this weed goes in to a reproductive stage which begins the formation of seeds and sharp spines as it approaches maturity. As I’ve stated in the past, the best way to prevent or diminish the invasion of weeds in any lawn is to maintain a healthy lawn that out competes weeds for water, nutrients, space and light.

However if your lawn has a history of sticker weed or lawn burweed, you should be able to identify it in your lawn now. Look for a green low growing weed with leaves resembling parsley. See the picture of lawn burweed, below, taken recently in my St Augustine lawn. Applying a post emergence broadleaf herbicide when our daytime temperatures are 60 degrees or above will control this weed. Either one of two herbicides, Weed B Gon Max for Southern Lawns by Ortho or Weed Free Zone by Fertilome, will give satisfactory control. The recommendation is to make an application, wait 10 – 14 days to evaluate its effect, and make a second application if needed.

It is recommended that no applications be made on windy days and that none of the herbicide come in contact with desirable bedding plant, shrubs or trees. Both herbicides are labeled for warm season lawns. If this weed is not controlled by mid–to-late-April, the spines will already be formed and anyone walking barefoot on the lawn will experience the pain of sharp spines.

Many people call and ask me if they could apply Weed & Feed to control lawn burweed.
Dr. Ron Strahan, of the LSU AgCenter, told me that he wouldn’t recommend Weed & Feed during the winter months because it contains fertilizer. Applying fertilizer to St. Augustine grass or any other warm season lawn grass during the winter months could aggravate brown patch disease or increase susceptibility to winter injury. Any fertilizer applications should not be made until early April.

It is extremely important to follow all label directions for the mixing and application of all pesticides. Remember that the label is the law and any time you use a pesticide in a manner that is inconsistent with its label you are breaking the law.

Hoping everyone had a happy and safe holiday season and I look forward to a very productive 2014 – HAPPY GARDENING!!!

Gerald P. Roberts