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Each fall, nature puts on a brilliant show of color throughout the United States. As the temperatures drop, autumn encourages the “leaf peepers” to hit the road in search of the red-, yellow- and orange-colored leaves of the northern deciduous trees. In Northwest Florida the color of autumn isn’t just from trees. The reds, purples, …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/10/02/native-fall-wildflowers/
Florida is known for many things, however sweeping vistas of hillsides covered in the orange, red, and yellow foliage of fall is not one of them. Our long, hot summers and short, cool (not cold) winters, and lack of anything of substance resembling a season in between, precludes the fall color show our neighbors to …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/09/25/create-your-own-fall-color-with-annual-foliage-plants/
Why would anyone allow dozens of wasps to thrive in their garden? Why would they let caterpillars keep moving through their pepper bushes? Don’t they know you can spray for that? As Extension agents, one of the tenets we “preach” in gardening is the concept of Integrated Pest Management (IPM). This technique involves a series …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/09/18/beneficial-wasp-is-effective-and-dramatic-control-for-tomato-hornworm/
A few months ago I visited a property that had been renovated to clean up some limbs that were in danger of falling on the house. Pruning tree limbs that are in danger of hitting a structure is always a good idea, but it’s important to look at the impacts this practice may have on …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/09/06/camellia-think-before-you-limb-up/
Chaste tree. The showy chaste tree makes an attractive specimen as the centerpiece of your landscape bed or in a large container on the deck. Easy-to-grow, drought resistant, and attractive to butterflies and bees, Vitex agnus-castus is a multi-stemmed small tree with fragrant, upwardly pointing lavender blooms and gray-green foliage. The chaste tree’s palmately divided …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/08/29/whats-that-tree-with-the-purple-blooms/
Versatile, easy-care, beautiful, native – what’s not to love about muhly grass? How is it versatile? It makes a perfect border along a fence or structure. Plant it in a single or double row depending on available space. Use a single plant as a specimen in a smaller landscape. Muhly grass can also be planted …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/08/29/florida-native-muhly-grass-muhlenbergia-capillaris/
It is not uncommon to see leaf spots on your hydrangeas during late summer and fall. These spots are caused by a number of fungal diseases. Plant fungi and wet weather go hand-in-hand. Florida’s high humidity, heavy dews and frequent rains during spring and summer provide perfect conditions to allow fungal diseases to flourish. Bacterial …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/08/20/leaf-spots-abound-on-hydrangeas-this-time-of-year/
A very popular landscape shrub installed by both professionals and homeowners is Loropetalum or Chinese fringe. This shrub offers attractive foliage and flowers along with being evergreen. When you visit a nursery to select this plant for your landscape, realize that there are now many selections of Loropetalum available. Learn about a few of the …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/08/10/the-right-loropetalum-for-your-garden/
Too often, would be gardeners travel to exotic locales, become intoxicated with the beautiful floral display of Plumeria, Jatropha, Bird of Paradise and Bougainvillea, and come home with visions of homemade leis picked from the garden dancing in their heads. As anyone who has attempted to grow any of the aforementioned plants in the Panhandle …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/07/20/bring-the-color-of-hawaii-to-the-panhandle-with-ti-plant/
National Pollinator Week is only recognized in June, but efforts to encourage pollinators shouldn’t end then. Pollination occurs when pollen grains are moved between two flowers of the same species, or within a single flower, by wind or animals that are pollinators. Successful pollination, which may require visits by multiple pollinators to a single flower, …
Permanent link to this article: http://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/hort/2018/06/28/summer-is-time-for-pollinators/
