This is the month to really begin...gardening. AND if you are gardening and the garden is growing like gangbusters, then you know you are doing it right..

In my travels, one thing I see not being done, is pruning. You see when we grow these wonderful and beautiful exotic plants, and the bush starts to become a tree.... or even starts to join you on your patio, it is time to get out the trusty, rusty, pruning shears. I am not going to discuss types and brands of shears here, any will do. (I prefer the "old reliable" Felco #2 bypass).

We are going to discuss, 2 types of pruning, and actually two problems of pruning in this article. Yes, I know it is very hard to bring yourself to that beautiful "Blue Butterfly Bush" (Clerodendrum Ugandense) and start cutting off those pretty little flowers. You know after all, you bought the bush and just hoped and worried it would grow for you. Now, it is growing all right, taking over the whole corner of the yard, but how can you just cut off it's beautiful branches and those wonderful flowers. Maybe wait until it stops flowering? Then maybe you will be able to bring yourself to close your eyes and just snip off a couple branches? Maybe it will "get something" and some of the branches will die off and then it won't be necessary to cut it? Maybe if you cut it, it will just shrivel up and die? Nope! Don't wait until it quits flowering, cause you won't do it then either, don't wish it a disease, and no it will not die if you prune it properly, it will thrive........and continue to flower and thrive.

Pruning is an essential for so many of our plants and bushes, perennial or annual. Proper pruning keeps a plant healthy, looking good, and growing well. It makes "prize" bushes and plants. Actually, proper pruning promotes growth. Your Local County Extension Office will be more than glad to send you a brochure on proper pruning practices.

Primarily, as a "Gardener by Trade" I will give you here, some simple basics which if implemented as stated, should give you what is needed for general pruning in your ornamental garden.

1. Do it...prune as soon as you think you should. Especially in the summer season.
2. Any time of the year is the right time if a plant needs pruning. South Florida is not "like up North", where you need to wait for a specific time of year for ornamentals, prune now!
3. And this is the critical one, make the cut ABOVE A NODE.

   What is a node? A jutting out of the branch or stem where there now is or was a leaf or another branch or stem. Think ....on the "sky side" (above) to grow more branches and flowers. ( A cut on the below side of a node promotes root growth). Cut those flowers off folks and get more!

   So that is, as I said earlier, pruning method number one. Some of us can take advantage of pruning method number two, and some cannot. Some of us ARE taking advantage of it and we do not realize it. It is a natural pruning process, or actually complete eradication process, going on in the backyards of our town, and spreading further and faster than most of us are aware. It does prune, and it definitely eradicates, and causes the loss of many of our ornamentals.. It lives and breaths and it is a real cold blooded killer of those precious ornamentals. I see signs of it almost everywhere I go now days. Even as short as a year ago, it was not in some areas and now it is. I am talking Iguanas folks, yes, I said lizards, large lizards, some very large. Now I know this can be a controversial subject. I want to make it clear, I am talking from a "Gardeners" perspective. I know there are Iguana lovers out there. I don't want to start any "Save the Iguana" movements with National acclaim. There is enough misconception and misunderstanding around about these exotics. Yes, they are EXOTICS, not indigenous. Imported, allowed in the Country by the State of Florida and or the US Government, sent to a pet store, bought for love and affection by a local "owner" then grew too big and let go in our neighborhoods to breed and thrive with no natural predators. I am not going to try, either, to be an encyclopedia on these lizards. I am just going to tell you straight, from personal experience, of which I have had more than most. I live on a river bank where there is a herd of, I would estimate, several hundred iguanas.

   If you have not seen one, you are in for an experience. You will either be certain you are staring at something from Jurassic Park and be afraid and grossed out from ugliness, or think it is a beautiful creature (which I am surprised at myself, but I do think they are). Some are 6 inches long, some 4 to 5 feet long. No I am not kidding, they get huge. Bottom line is they trample and eat, decimate and destroy your garden. The bigger the herd gets, the bigger the ultimate devastation. Our problem got so big a few years ago we called the City for help. Ok, so I am from Kansas? They, and the County, could offer no help except to call a professional trapper. Both of these entities could only offer the knowledge base of which I later found was a true fount of learning, they knew the Iguanas ate Hibiscus, so if you had hibiscus cut it down and they might go away. Unfortunately at the time, I believed them and did cut it down. Let me go on record, Iguanas are not selective! If it is a plant material, they will eat it........well... they are selective in that they seem to have the uncanny ability to select the most exotic and expensive plants to eat to the ground first. If you think you don't have them now, don't worry, you will soon, or you do and have just not noticed or recognized the nature of the damage. Believe me folks this is a big problem now and is growing larger all the time. You may want to address it with your local City Officials. I am not a pathologist or whatever it takes to identify what diseases could eventually be spread by all of these "herds", so I am not even going to address that. I do know the news services have told us the latest "reptile craze" has cautioned us to be certain we wash well after handling them. I will tell you no one out there is informed on these beasts, many ARE misinformed. AND, I am no authority, just a good source of first hand experience. I have tried multitudes of ways to remove or control them (I am told, by the local authorities, they are not protected because they are exotics).

   Little known facts about this reptile in Broward:

*Vegetarians after 18 months old. Will eat meat until that time. No way to determine their age when they are in your backyard.

*They need to warm their body temperatures up in order to digest food. You will see them "sunning" themselves. Shortly thereafter, they will begin to eat in your yard.

*In the rainforest, they live in the canopy; that is the very tops of the trees. In your backyard, they will also climb trees; for food, to escape humans and to sleep safely at night. In mature trees, they will defoliate smaller branches and leaves to make their descent faster. If you suspect iguanas in your trees, review the trunk for their claw marks or, if the tree is younger broken branches will surround the base of the tree.

*Favorite backyard meals include blooming plants, and new growth on any ornamental, then the rest of the plant. Your vegetable garden. Fresh fruit is good; bananas, mangos and most anything exotic with a soft skin.

*How did they arrive in Broward? Owners became bored or tired of them as pets and discarded them in our backyards. They are not native to North America and have no natural predators here except humans and extreme cold temperatures. Unless there is a cold snap for a prolonged period of time, populations will continue to increase. The cold weather with cloud cover, prevents the iguanas body temperature from rising to be able to digest food. Not being able to digest food, they starve to death.

   How to get rid of them? Couple of pointers here. Word of caution - don't try to catch them. If you grab the tail, it will snap off. You will be grossed out with a wriggling tail in your hand and the iguana will run off.

   Don't call a trapper. In Broward county reputable trappers will tell you that iguanas can't be trapped and will refuse the business on ethical principles. If you insist long enough, one will agree to come out and set traps, but will charge you by the number of traps they set - usually in excess of $50 per trap and they will charge more if any of the traps after a while trap anything. Very expensive proposition and especially a waste of your money and the trapper's time.

   Using poison is not an option - neighborhood pets are at risk as well as our normal and abundant preferred wildlife.

   Electronic rodent devices - even those that claim to electronically defer rats - make no difference to iguanas. Fences in any variety do not deter them - they go through them or around them. Since they are not considered a threat to Broward County, you cannot call Animal Control to come and round them up. That's what not to do. All a waste of time and money.

   Option #1. On sunny days, when the iguana population comes out to feed, arrange every 20 minutes that one of your family or close friends patrols your property. They should be instructed to walk the entire boundary talking loudly and clapping their hands. If an iguana is spotted, have them yell and run after it. If you are on water; chase them into the water. This lowers their body temperature so until they can bask in the sun to raise it again, they cannot eat. This is the most fun option and will provide good stories and hours of amusement for a family with little to do.

   Option #2 By far, the only effective method to prevent extreme defoliation and destruction of ones garden is to get a dog. Prior to bringing the dog into your family, advise the dog that it must chase iguanas on a daily basis. If the dog is willing to do that - bring it home. I have had two dogs over the years. The Bearded Collie breed was very effective in marking his territory and then chasing them. My current dog (unknown breed rescued from the Humane Society) is equally adept at barking and chasing them. Both male dogs, they marked our property with their scent. This has deterred many of the reptiles, but on a daily basis when the sun is out, he still chases them into the river and off our property

   The iguanas are really my "Thoughts While Watering" for this month folks, I am hoping to head off a problem which is slipping past most of us. Please consider calling or writing your local auhorities.

Dear Bob, I just read your article in this months Coral Ridge newsletter about losing the canopy. I am trying to put a tree in my backyard. I desperately need shade and something that doesn't have a big root system because of a pool. Of course something that does not shed alot because of the pool. I did like some of those flowering trees you spoke of in your article. Without getting to much into detail I'm on a ..............so if you can think of a tree that grows fast and is not that too expensive that would help me out alot. I love gardening when I'm not working. It does get frustrating when this heat and sun destroy what I've planted. That is why I liked your article, I realize I do need more shade. If you could make some suggestions I would appreciate it and I still might plant maybe one frangipani even though its messy and looks like a bunch of sticks most of the year.

   Carrie, the best tree I can think of for your needs as you explain them is a Gumbo Limbo. It is a Florida Native tree and the State tree. This tree can be pruned and kept to a size which you most enjoy. I suggest keeping it about 15 to 18 feet tall and half as wide. The tree can grow much larger. It is a beautiful tree in both leaf shade and bark. It grows fast. Keep in mind, Carrie, the point I was trying to make is that all trees have some sort of shed...that includes palms. For their beauty and what pleasure they provide us, we need to "put up" with their brief periods of transition. A Tabiu or any of the Cassias would also be good but shed more. I think your idea of a Frangipani is a good one, this is another beautiful tree. I have several in my own yard. I attach orchids, tillandsias, and bromeliads to the trunk so when the leaves are shed the tree still has a wonderful eye appeal.