Another perspective on the oleander caterpillar

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Geoff Newland, a recent transplant from Pompano Beach, Fla., to Bainbridge, Ga., wrote to share additional information about the oleander caterpillar, which was the topic of a recent column. As the owner of a pest-control business for 28 years, he gained a wealth of knowledge that he’s willing to share. Although most literature says the spines of the oleander caterpillar are harmless, the same literature says it feeds only on oleanders -- which we know is no longer true. It’s a cautionary tale for all us gardeners: There are exceptions to every rule, and things can change.

Here's Geoff's message: “As you know, oleander bushes thrive in great numbers in South Florida, and, in season, the oleander caterpillars are everywhere. A customer of mine and her husband were dealing with an infestation of these critters, and she put her bare arm around her husband’s shoulder, where an oleander caterpillar had found its way. She was severely poisoned and spent time in intensive care, and, at the end of it all sustained a permanent scar in the shape of the oleander caterpillar on her arm.

“The real danger from these highly toxic pests (they actually thrive on poison in the oleander bushes) is the two rows of spines on their backs. To touch those is to become really ill! In Florida, at least, gardening with gloves is a must.”

Other critters that can inflict pain, he said, are scorpions and puss moths, which look like slugs covered in hair and have kick like a mule.

One can easily spot the oleander moth cocoons around a home, Geoff said: they pupate under the roof eaves, door and window frames and are easy to spot, so you can sweep them down and bag them up for disposal.

Thanks, Geoff.

Q: My azaleas are looking a bit ragged and ratty, with some branches much longer than the others. Can I prune them now?

A: You can prune now -- if you don’t mind forgoing the spring display of blooms. Pruning now would mean cutting off the flower buds, which began forming in summer. The best time to prune azaleas is after they bloom in spring but before the Fourth of July.

That said, if a neat appearance now is more important to you than having an explosion of azalea color in March, go ahead and prune them. For adult plants, follow each leader branch back to its base, where it branches off another stem, and cut it there. You don’t want to shear an azalea like a boxwood or privet hedge.

For newly planted young azaleas, prune back at least one-third each year for the first two or three years to encourage it to grow bushy and full.

This goes for the Encore azaleas, too, which repeat bloom throughout the year. Pruning them in spring gives the plant a chance to grow more flower buds during peak growing season.

Mechanical help needed to remove big azaleas

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We bought property near Lake Talquin a couple of years ago, and the former owners had planted azaleas everywhere – and I mean everywhere. There’s no pattern to it, and unfortunately, no lawn. We need to get rid of some of them. What’s the best way? Will Roundup work? They’re about 20 years old and we tried digging one out and it took hours.

A: This is a great example of a bit of ancient gardening wisdom: Any plant in the wrong place is a weed. Some weeds are easier to remove than others, and as you’ve seen, this isn’t one that you can simply tug and it will spring free.

Roundup® and other chemical sprays are designed to be absorbed through the foliage and move through the plant, eventually killing the root. They work fine on soft-stemmed weeds, but they are not the most efficient way to kill shrubs. It would take repeated applications over a long period of time, which would cost a lot of money and likely leave the area so toxic that grass wouldn’t grow. Even products designed to kill woody shrubs take a while, and a 20-year-old azalea in good health could probably withstand a couple of applications. It wouldn’t look good, which would just add to your problems, but it would survive. And you’d still have to dig it out.

The easiest way to get azaleas out is with heavy equipment, such as a backhoe, which can scoop out the bush and its roots in one bite. If that’s not an option, either because of the cost or because of the potential damage to other landscaping, you’re going to have to dig them out by hand.

Before you start hauling azaleas out of there, do a little prep work to make sure you’re removing the right ones. It sounds like you want to end up with a lawn and have the remaining azaleas create a pleasant pattern, Try to visualize what a spot will look like without each azalea that you want gone. One technique is to take a digital photo, then edit out the shrubbery. A low-tech version is to get photo prints and cut out the azaleas you think you want to remove, then lay the photos on paper and color in grass or dirt where the azaleas were. If you like the way it looks, great. If not, it’s easier to print a new photo than re-grow a 20-year-old shrub.

Prune the azaleas to 18 inches to 2 feet high. Rake back all the mulch and cut every surface root you see with a shovel. Then dig about 2 feet down and 2 feet out all the way around, using a pickax or mattock to cut larger roots. The shrub may start to give a little when you pull on it, but it still has a taproot holding it in. You’ll have to dig out around the tap root to be able to cut it.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. If you have a heavy truck or tractor, you can hook a chain around the base of the azalea and pull it out, but it’s much easier if you prune it and cut the side roots first. Also, you can water the azalea to soften the soil before you pull it out, but makes sure you keep the water on the azalea and not on the ground where the truck will be. Otherwise, you’ll end up with ruts in your yard or even worse, your truck mired up to the axles.