by Julie McConnell | Nov 24, 2015
You may have heard “group plants with similar needs together” but struggled to come up with some combinations that work. The most important things to consider when creating functional garden space is the cultural needs of the plants you want to combine. Sunlight, water, and fertilizer needs should be very similar when planting multiple plants together. For fall and winter gardens, choose annuals that are frost tolerant and/or evergreen perennials.
Here are some plants that work well together in cool weather:
- Strawberries and romaine lettuce – both are cool season annuals that can be planted in late October or early November. The lettuce can be harvested from outside leaves after growth begins or let it form a head and cut the entire plant. Strawberries will spread out but remain fairly low growing compared to the upright lettuce. These plants combine well in a container if given room to expand.
- Rosemary and oregano – these culinary herbs thrive in sunny, well-drained spots. Rosemary is an upright woody perennial and oregano spreads along the ground making a fragrant groundcover for a tough spot.
- Snapdragons, pansies, and parsley – this combination gives foliage contrasts in addition to colorful flowers. This combination will work in full sun or a slightly shaded spot in th
e garden. In the spring, replace the snapdragons and pansies for warm season annuals for continued color.
- Cabbage, cauliflower, and strawberries – all cool season edible crops that have attractive foliage and similar needs.
- Snapdragons, violas, and petunia – this colorful combination has three height levels of tall snaps, bunching violas, and trailing petunias.
To learn more about these plants and other options Growing Strawberries in the Florida Home Garden, Herbs in the Florida Garden, and Gardening with Annuals in Florida.
by Julie McConnell | Oct 27, 2015
Variegated lemon thyme. Photo: JMcConnell, UF/IFAS
If you have ever thought about gardening but feel too intimidated to give it a try, consider starting with a herb garden!
Culinary herbs are generally very easy to grow and very forgiving of the neglectful gardener. They have relatively few pest or disease problems and thrive in hot climates on poor soils. An added benefit of growing herbs is that some parts are edible and can really liven up a plain dish.
Just like with other plants, there are both annual and perennial herbs. Annuals only live for one season and will need to be replanted or allowed to go to seed for the next season’s plant. An example of an easy to grow herb with an annual life cycle is basil. Basil comes in many different flavors and can be purchased as a transplant (small plant) or grown from seed. It performs well in warm weather and will be killed by a hard frost. Basil grows well in part to full sun and when it flowers it is attractive to bees and other pollinators. If you allow it to go to seed, you will have more plants throughout the growing season and more the following year.
Some perennial herbs that are easy to grow are rosemary, thyme, and mint. All of these plants can live for many years in the home garden. Rosemary and thyme like sunny spots but have very different growth habits. Rosemary will grow into a large woody shrub while thyme is low growing and hugs the ground. Both like full sun and good drainage. Another perennial herb that fits into shady sites with moist soil is mint. Mint has a vining habit and can either trail over the edges of pots or can form a dense mat in a flower bed. It will root wherever the stem touches the ground, so it is also easy to divide plants and share with friends.
To learn more about herbs read Herbs in the Florida Garden or attend our upcoming class “More Cooking With Herbs” where you will learn how to grow and cook with them! Class will be held on Saturday, November 14th from 9 a.m. – 12 noon. Pre-registration and payment of $10 is required no later than November 9th to attend the class. For more details or to register, call our office at 850-784-6105.
by Julie McConnell | Oct 15, 2015
White by the Gate, Magnoliaeflora, and Spellbound camellia flowers
Are you looking for an evergreen shrub with showy flowers in the fall or winter? Look no further than an old Southern favorite, the camellia.
Large camellias dot landscapes of historic homes throughout the Florida Panhandle, and although they look like they’ve been here forever.
Camellias are not native to North America, but were originally brought here from Asia in 1797. There are many different types, but the most common camellias found in Florida are Camellia sasanqua which bloom in the fall (October – December) and Camellia japonica with larger leaves and a later bloom time of January through March. Some other types of camellias are Camellia reticulata, C. hiemalis, C. vernails and their hybrids; and Camellia sinensis is the source of tea which is made from the young leaves of this plant.
Flower colors range from a crisp white to a deep crimson and there are even some cultivars with variegated flowers! There are six recognized flower forms and they are single, semi-double, anemone, peony, formal double, and rose form double. Although most camellias have the potential to get over ten feet tall and five feet wide, there are some that grow slower and can be maintained at lower heights. Camellia sasanqua ‘Bonanza’ and C. sasanqua ‘Shishi Gashira’ have more horizontal branching habits and can be kept under five feet tall, however they will need more width than a more upright growing camellia.
Camellia sasanqua ‘Bonanza’
When choosing a site for your camellia, look for an area with light shade, good air flow, and well-drained soil. Test your soil to determine pH and fertilizer needs before planting; soil testing kits can be picked up at your local county extension office. Camellias prefer acidic soil with a target pH range of 5.0 to 6.5, and benefit from organic matter amendments in sandy soil. Plant camellias slightly higher than the natural grade; dig a hole that is wide and shallow. After planting check that the top of the root ball is one to two inches above the soil line to allow for some settling. Mulching helps to conserve moisture and regulate soil temperatures, but be careful not to cover the root ball with thick mulch layers.
For more information about camellias and their care in Florida, please see Camellias at a Glance at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/EP/EP00200.pdf .
by Julie McConnell | Sep 29, 2015
Giant Swallowtail on citrus leaf. JMcConnell, UF/IFAS
Adult butterflies are pretty easy to attract to your landscape if you provide flowering plants, but getting them to lay eggs in your garden is a little trickier.
Butterflies go through complete metamorphosis which means that they have four main life stages. The first is the egg, second they hatch into caterpillars (larvae) which feed and molt many times, the third stage is the pupa or chrysalis, and finally they emerge as colorful adults. Complete metamorphosis is considered a more advanced life cycle than incomplete and one of the reasons is because most insects that go through this process do not compete for food at different life cycles. For example, the gulf fritillary butterfly larvae needs passionflower (Passiflora spp.) to feed on – no other plant type will do. The adults visit many flowering landscape plants such as zinnias, butterfly bush, pentas, etc. The adults are feeding on nectar while the caterpillars are eating foliage.
Because the larvae are very host specific, you must offer the correct plant to attract particular butterflies. Luckily, we have many options in the Florida panhandle! Just remember if you would like to attract butterfly breeding to your yard, you must sacrifice some foliage to support the caterpillars.
• Gulf Fritillary – Passionflower
• Monarch – Native milkweed
• Giant Swallowtail – citrus
• Eastern Black Swallowtail – plants in the carrot family including dill, celery, fennel, and parsley
• Tiger Swallowtail – sweet bay magnolia, tulip poplar, black cherry
• Zebra Swallowtail – pawpaw
• Luna Moth – walnut, hickory, sweetgum, persimmon, winged sumac
If you would like to know more about individual butterfly species please visit UF/IFAS Entomology & Nematology’s Featured Creatures website.
by Julie McConnell | Sep 3, 2015
Broccoli, a popular winter vegetable. Photo by Mary Derrick, UF IFAS
As the days get shorter and temperatures decrease, it is time install your cool season vegetable garden. Many vegetables can be grown in Florida, but it is important to understand what the climatic requirements are for each crop to have the most success.
To get the most of your garden space know the recommended months for planting and the turnaround time for harvest so that you can stagger plantings or change out crops as needed.
September is the ideal time to plant cabbage, beets, kale, lettuce, mustard greens, onions, and radishes. After the New Year some options include eggplant, potatoes, English peas, and turnips.
Many gardeners start their tomatoes and peppers as early as February, but they are frost sensitive and early planting carries some risk of cold damage.
If you are interested in learning more about fall vegetable gardening, join the UF/IFAS Bay County Master Gardeners on Friday, September 18th for a free vegetable gardening workshop. This class will be held at the Bay County Extension Office at 2728 E. 14th Street in Panama City. To register please call 850-784-6105 or email bay@ifas.ufl.edu. Fall-VegMG2015
For more information and a full chart of what to plant when see Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide.
You may have heard “group plants with similar needs together” but struggled to come up with some combinations that work. The most important things to consider when creating functional garden space is the cultural needs of the plants you want to combine. Sunlight, water, and fertilizer needs should be very similar when planting multiple plants together. For fall and winter gardens, choose annuals that are frost tolerant and/or evergreen perennials.