by Carrie Stevenson | Sep 23, 2015
As September rolls into October and we finally experience cooler temperatures, I always look forward to seeing one of my favorite native grasses in full bloom. Muhlenbergia capillaris, or Muhly grass, is an extremely versatile plant in the home landscape. It is both flood and drought tolerant and easy to maintain. A true local, it is typically found growing in beach dune areas, sandhills, pine flatwoods or coastal uplands. It provides nesting material and shelter for birds and small animals, and is known to attract beneficial ladybugs.
The dramatic color of Muhly grass in the fall makes it a favorite for home landscapes. Photo credit: UF IFAS Escambia Extension
Muhly grass grows in a clumping form, usually 2-3 feet in height and width, and looks great in clusters as a border along the edge of a building or lawn. It can also be used as an eye-catching centerpiece in a landscape. The plant’s most notable feature, however, appears in late September and early October. This is when hundreds of filamentous blossoms form a dramatic display of deep pinkish purple. When the wind blows the colorful blooms, it creates an appearance of a pink cloud hovering over the grass.
Muhly grass is semi-evergreen, turning more copper in color as it gets colder. The only maintenance needed is voluntary; in late winter it can be trimmed down to 6-8″ to remove older, dead blades before the growing season. This plant was chosen as the 2012 Plant of the Year by the Garden Club of America, and is a great selection for our area.
For more information on the plant, please visit UF IFAS “Gardening Solutions” or speak to your local UF IFAS Extension horticulture agent.
by Carrie Stevenson | Aug 26, 2015
About two years ago, my son was mowing the lawn when he came across something orange and furry lying in the grass. He backed away and yelled for his dad, but the damage had already been done—he had come across the remains of our orange tabby cat, killed overnight by a larger predator. Emotional repercussions aside, it was startling for our family to realize that even in a residential neighborhood within the city limits, animals were hunting nearby. Based on the experience of seeing one in our own yard just a few months earlier and from other neighbors’ stories, we realized we’d had a coyote attack. Our neighborhood is located relatively close to a large wooded area and a local bayou, and there are plenty of places for coyotes to find shelter.
Always feed your pets indoors and keep them inside at night to prevent coyote attacks. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
We learned several lessons after our incident that could be helpful to others living in areas populated with coyotes. Like sharks, coyotes are crepuscular creatures—most actively feeding at dusk and dawn. While they prefer to eat small animals like lizards, rodents, and young birds or deer, they are omnivorous and will also eat fruit and grasses. Not unlike other urban wildlife such as raccoons, they are opportunistic feeders and will scavenge dead animals and garbage. One of the best ways to protect small pets is to keep them (and their food) indoors at night and early morning. Pet food left outdoors often attracts coyotes’ normal prey and therefore the coyotes themselves. It is extremely rare to hear of a coyote attacking a human, but if threatened it is recommended that you yell, throw something, or spray a water hose. Stand your ground and fight back—don’t run, as this will encourage them to give chase.
Coyotes are social animals and often hunt in packs, and like the dogs they’re related to, have excellent vision, hearing, and sense of smell. They will howl and bark to communicate with one another, and hearing these vocalizations is often the first sign that there are some living nearby.
Coyotes are common throughout Florida. Photo credit: W. M. Giuliano
Floridians are no strangers to living with wild animals—we all routinely hear stories of alligators, black bears, venomous snakes, and sharks interrupting our attempts at taming the former wildlands that we now occupy. As urban development marches through the landscape, the large tracts of land once used primarily by animals for hunting and shelter are occupied by human dwellings and transportation routes.
While coyotes are relatively new to Florida (they are native to the western US but entered northwest Florida in the 1970’s), they’ve filled in the ecological gap left by a reduction of native wolves, bobcats, and panthers. Research has shown they now reside in every Florida county and can range the entirety of North America and most of Central America.
Most homeowners will never encounter a coyote, but it is helpful to know they are out there and to take precautions with pets and yard practices to prevent attracting one into your backyard.
For more information on managing coyotes, please visit the UF publication Managing Conflicts with Wildlife: Living with Coyotes.
by Carrie Stevenson | Jul 27, 2015
Late summer brings hot, humid temperatures, and many Floridians are retreating from the heat into their air-conditioned homes. Unfortunately, those comforts of home also come with a price tag. When people think about energy efficiency, practices like turning off lights, purchasing energy-efficient appliances, good insulation and windows, and managing A/C temperature settings are the first things that come to mind. These are very important steps to take, not only to save money but also to conserve energy. The US Department of Energy has an excellent publication that can take you step-by-step through a home evaluation, and many energy companies offer a similar walk-through energy audit for free.
However, there are many best management practices that can be done outdoors to offset expensive home power bills. Planting trees is one example. Department of Energy studies have shown that when compared to a home in full sun, a shaded home may experience up to a 25% decrease in energy for cooling.
This home uses passive cooling from a front porch and numerous shade trees. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
Trees planted to shade eastern and western facing walls of your home can be the most effective, as these areas receive direct sun in the morning and afternoon. By preventing heat from entering your home, you prevent straining an air conditioning system that would otherwise have to counteract that heat. It is also helpful to provide shade over an air conditioning unit. Deciduous trees are ideal, as they have leaves to provide shade in the summer but drop them by winter, when you might want sunlight to passively heat your home.
In addition to shade, transpiration—the process of plants emitting moisture as they release water from leaf pores—creates cool spaces around vegetation. Grasses and shrubs along the edges of a home, or vines on nearby trellises, can cool walls and windows in this manner.
Finally, consider sprinkler systems. A home irrigation system can use a significant amount of energy to pump water throughout your yard. Calibrating your system and even reducing run time or frequency can also conserve water and reduce water bills.
For more information on energy-efficient landscaping, please visit www.myfloridahomeenergy.com or contact your local Extension office.
by Carrie Stevenson | Jun 29, 2015
These fledgling doves were found out of their nest and on the ground in late May. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
A few weeks ago, the neighbor boys came running over to show my children the baby birds they found in their front yard. We expected they would lead us to a tree and point out fledglings in a nest, but instead the young mourning doves were lying on the ground in a pile of pine straw. Their nest had fallen from a perch in a low windowsill. According to the local Wildlife Sanctuary of Northwest Florida, mourning doves are notoriously bad nest-makers.
Doves in their new nest! Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
Close-up of young doves. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
So, with no regard to the (untrue) wives’ tale that human scent affects a mother bird’s willingness to return to her babies, I scooped up the birds and kept them in a box inside for the night. Our neighborhood has plenty of roving cats, raccoons, and even coyotes, so this protected the vulnerable young birds from predators.
The next morning, the kids and I made a new perch for the birds from an old basket by placing the nest inside it and hanging it from a nearby tree. At that point, we left the area alone, so as not to frighten the mother bird away. Within hours, she was back, fussing around the nest and bringing food.
Establishing a conservation ethic towards land, water, and wildlife while children are young will ensure good stewardship for generations to come! Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
This happy ending illustrates a an important point—trust nature! Often, out of well-intended concern, people bring young (uninjured) animals to a wildlife sanctuary simply because they are afraid they’ve been abandoned. If young are moved, their parents will never find them again. While rehabilitation facilities do their best to return wildlife to their native habitat, there is no substitute for a young animal to learn to find food, hide, or fly from their own kin. In our situation, we intervened enough to keep the birds safe from predators, but didn’t completely relocate them from their home.
It was a lesson that these four budding wildlife conservationists will never forget.
by Carrie Stevenson | Jun 2, 2015
Hurricane Season began June 1. While storm experts are predicting a slower year due to El Nino conditions, it only takes a single storm landing nearby to cause millions in damage, uprooting trees and lives.
Tree damage to homes and property can be devastating, and one of the first instincts of many homeowners when they see a big storm in the Gulf is to start trimming limbs and removing trees. However, it is wise to fully evaluate one’s landscape before making an irreversible decision. Trees are crucial for providing shade (i.e. energy savings), wildlife habitat, stormwater management, and maintaining property values.
Downed trees in a row along a hurricane-devastated street. Photo Credit: Mary Duryea, University of Florida
University of Florida researchers Mary Duryea and Eliana Kampf have done extensive studies on the effects of wind on trees and landscapes, and several important lessons stand out. Keep in mind that reducing storm damage often starts at the landscape design/planning stage!
- Select the right plant for the right place.
- Post-hurricane studies in north Florida show that live oak, southern magnolia, sabal palms, and bald cypress stand up well compared to other trees during hurricanes. Pecan, water and laurel oaks, Carolina cherry laurel and sand pine were among the least wind resistant.
- Plant high-quality trees with strong central trunks and balanced branch structure.
- Longleaf pine often survived storms in our area better than other pine species, but monitor pines carefully. Sometimes there is hidden damage and the tree declines over time. Look for signs of stress or poor health, and check closely for insects. Weakened pines may be more susceptible to beetles and diseases.
- Remove hazard trees before the wind does. Have a certified arborist inspect your trees for signs of disease and decay. They are trained to advise you on tree health.
- Trees in a group (at least five) blow down less frequently than single trees.
- Trees should always be given ample room for roots to grow. Roots absorb nutrients, but they are also the anchors for the tree. If large trees are planted where there is limited or restricted area for roots to grow out in all directions, there is a likelihood that the tree may fall during high winds.
- Construction activities within about 20 feet from the trunk of existing trees can cause the tree to blow over more than a decade later.
- Plant a variety of species, ages and layers of trees and shrubs to maintain diversity in your community
- When a tree fails, plant a new one in its place.
