Post Hurricane Landscape Care: Replant Smartly with Hurricane Resistant Trees
After a devastating windstorm, as we just experienced in the Panhandle with Hurricane Michael, people have a tendency to become unenamored with landscape trees. It is easy to see why when homes are halved by massive, broken pine trees; pecan trunks have split and...
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It’s Never a Bad Time to Plant Arugula
Arugula is a pungent, peppery leafy green native to the Mediterranean. It is in the Brassica or crucifer family, which also contains vegetables such as broccoli, kale, radishes, and cabbage, but is perhaps less common in the edible garden landscape. Although arugula...
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Why Butcher a Nice Crape Myrtle?
Too often people hack away at crape myrtle trees and “butcher” them. The term “crape murder” was coined to describe this drastic topping of crape myrtles. Properly selected and properly placed crape myrtles need little pruning. A crape myrtle that requires routine...
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See the Forest for the Trees
Trees have a pretty bad reputation in north Florida these days. They’re on our homes, cars, streets, power lines, and all over the yard causing a lot of grief. While my heart goes out to all of those dealing with trees in places they shouldn’t be, now’s a good time to...
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Firespike: A Tender Perennial
Looking to add something to brighten your landscape this autumn? Firespike (Odontonema strictum) is a prolific fall bloomer with red tubular flowers that are very popular with hummingbirds and butterflies. It’s glossy dark green leaves make an attractive large plant...
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How to Plant a Tree Correctly
Often, Extension agents are tasked with evaluation of unhealthy plants in the landscape. They diagnose all sorts of plant problems including those caused by disease infection, insect infiltration, or improper culture. When evaluating trees, one problem that often...
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Be Safe During Hurricane Clean Up
When there is so much to do in cleaning up after a storm, sometimes we tend to do too much so that it can all get done. Be safe, don’t add to the disaster. Here are some suggestions: Take breaks and rest often. Mistakes happen when people are exhausted. Only lift what...
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Stinging Wasps Active After Storms
As Hurricane Michael was barreling through the Panhandle region, wasp populations were at their highest of the year. Winds and flooding destroyed many of the nests of paper wasps, hornets, and yellow jackets and now wasps may be aggressive as they defend themselves...
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Salvaging Fall Vegetable Garden After Hurricane Michael
After hurricane Michael many fall vegetable gardens were uprooted, wind whipped or destroyed. All is not lost. The fall and winter vegetable season can recover before cold temperatures set in. The first step is to assess the condition of the garden. Have plants been...
read moreDistorted Leaves Caused by Mites
One of my favorite native plants is winged sumac. I like this plant not only for its ornamental beauty, but also for its fruit that can be dried and used as seasoning and to make tea. So you can understand my concern when one of my prized winged sumac plants had...
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