● Follow the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS) recommendations for specific plants, with respect to rates (quantity), applications timings, and formulas. ● Choose slow-release products that include potassium and little or no phosphorus. To be labeled slow or controlled release a product must contain a minimum of 15% slow or controlled release nitrogen. Optimally, the product should have between 30% and 50% of slow or controlled release nitrogen. ● Keep fertilizer off hard surfaces like sidewalks and driveways. Sweep up and dispose of spilled fertilizer to avoid its being swept into storm drains. ● Collect spilled fertilizer from lawns to avoid excess nutrients leaching through the soil and into groundwater. ● Do not fertilize within ten feet of any body of water. Designate a ten-foot maintenance-free zone between the landscape and the normal high-water mark. ● Do not fertilize before an anticipated heavy rain to avoid leaching or runoff of fertilizer into the ground and/or surface water. ● If recycled or reclaimed water is used be aware that it can contain nitrogen and adjust the amount of fertilizer accordingly. For lawns: ● Apply fertilizer only when grass is actively growing. Many Florida turf grasses become dormant or slow their growth in cooler seasons and periods of less daylight. ● Use a broadcast spreader with a deflector shield. The deflector shield prevents the fertilizer from reaching the ten-foot maintenance zone. Drop spreaders can damage the coatings on slow-release fertilizers rendering them fast-release. ● Avoid using “weed and feed” products that combine herbicides and fertilizer. These products can injure some trees and shrubs. Pesticides should not be broadcast but applied only to affected areas. ● Use chelated iron or iron sulfate on yellow turf grass in summer. ● Water-in fertilizer to ensure that it reaches the grass roots located under the soil surface. Approximately 1/4 inch of irrigated water is required. Slow and controlled release fertilizers provide nutrients to plant roots over an extended period. Fertilizer labels Florida law requires that the manufacturer affix a label to each package, bag, container, or lot of fertilizer offered for sale in the state. The law requires that each label shows specific information about the analysis and composition of the mixture or material. Packaged fertilizer has three numbers printed on the bag that state the percentage (by weight) of the three main plant nutrients, nitrogen (N), phosphorous (P), and potassium (K). Example: The fertilizer bag is labeled with “17-3-6.” The first number refers to nitrogen; the second refers to phosphorouse; and the third refers to potassium.
All commercial fertilizer applicators must have the Limited Urban Commercial Fertilizer Applicator Certificate from the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services (FDACS). As a CAM, I learned that part of proper care and maintenance of a community association’s landscaping is to check for nutritional deficiencies. The association’s landscape service provider often brings such deficiencies to the landscape committee's and my attention. ● A visual inspection can often determine if plants need supplemental nutrients. ● A specific distributional pattern of yellowing on a leaf often indicates a nutritional deficiency. ● A lack of iron results in an initial yellowing between the veins in new leaves which then spread to the older leaves. ● Nitrogen deficiency is frequently indicated by a uniform light green or yellow color on the oldest leaves, and if untreated, the entire plant becomes light green. Iron deficiency in turf grass shows up as yellowing at the tip of the blade. ● Nitrogen deficiency in turf grass appears as yellowing along the entire blade. ● Many nutritional deficiencies appear similar. County extension offices can provide assistance to determine the type of nutritional deficiency a community association’s plants are suffering from and recommend the type and application of nutrients required to restore them to health. Related to fertilization is a concern of water pollution I have had several discussions with concerned association members worried that the landscape service provider is contaminating their lakes when they fertilize. In fact, I’ve had some serious conversations with the board of directors before they’ve made final decisions on the contract that they will accept. I’ve tried to point out that it is in the association’s best interest to confirm who is performing the fertilization services and to be assured that they are aware of and comply with federal, local and state regulations and guidelines when applying fertilizer in a manner that is healthy for the plants, trees, shrubs and waterways in the community. In applying fertilizer, it is essential to prevent water pollution from leaching or runoff. Leaching is an environmental concern when it contributes to groundwater contamination. As water from rain, flooding, and other sources seeps into the ground, it can dissolve chemicals from fertilizer, as well as other sources such as pesticides and carry them into the underground water supply. Runoff is excess water that is not absorbed into the soil and ends up in our streams, rivers, lakes, and eventually the ocean. Preventing water pollution The following guidelines can help to prevent water pollution from the use of fertilizer: Mulch “To mulch or not to mulch?” that is the question.
So, the homeowner association’s president came into my office this bright cheery morning and instructed me to explain what kind of mulch should be put around the common area plants and trees; to look at the landscape contract to see if putting mulch down is an extra charge; and to have the landscape company give the board an estimate for the cost of putting in mulch in those areas That isn’t the CAM’s job ... is it? What do you think? I guess it is, at least part of it. What do I need to know about mulch? Where do I start?
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Book Code: CAMFL1526
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