by Beth Bolles | Nov 13, 2024
Although not native to Florida, the Loquat or Japanese plum is adapted to North Florida conditions. Unlike its relatives, apple, peach, and pear, the loquat is an evergreen tree providing a tropical look with attractive dark green leaves.
Flowers appear in Fall and are pollinated by many insects. Orange fruits are ready for harvest in spring if temperatures have not been too cold.
Bees will visit loquat flowers in the fall. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
Loquat trees can reach 20 to 25 feet in height with a good spread. Seedling trees will produce fruit but improved flavors are available with different cultivars.
One of the loquats in the Escambia County Demonstration garden was damaged by a hard freeze and succumbed to a secondary bark beetle attack the following spring. The 2nd tree is thriving as a key feature in the tropical garden. The downside to the location of our tree is that is surrounded by informal walkways that can get messy from fruit that falls in the spring. This may be a consideration when you install your own loquat tree.
Loquat at Escambia Extension. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
by Daniel J. Leonard | Nov 13, 2024
One of my favorite landscape plants is blooming right now in Panhandle landscapes – ‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia. ‘Soft Caress’ was first introduced into the commercial nursery trade in 2006 and included in the Southern Living Plant Collection, but didn’t achieve garden fame until 2013 when it won first place in the Royal Horticultural Society’s (RHS) prestigious Chelsea Flower Show. I first planted a group of ‘Soft Caress’ about ten years ago and as those plants have matured, so too has my appreciation for them. The following are a couple of my favorite outstanding aspects of these small shrubs.
Fall Flowers. Other than camellias, there isn’t a lot else in Panhandle landscapes blooming from mid-November to January and ‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia helps fill that flower void. Brilliant yellow flower spikes rise above the deep-green fernlike foliage and very welcome in this otherwise drab and dreary gardening season.
‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia’s winter flowers are excellent pollinator attractors. Photo courtesy Daniel Leonard.
Quick growing but small statured. If you’ve gardened very long, you’ll know this is a tough ask! Plants that reach mature size relatively rapidly but also don’t get very big are a rare breed. ‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia grows quickly but also maxes out in size rather quickly – mine are very easily maintained at 3-4’ in height with a single annual trim.
~10-year old ‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia Shrub. Photo courtesy Daniel Leonard.
Extremely tough and adaptable. My Mahonia plants have persisted through drought, hurricanes, floods, and freezes and have never looked better. These little plants are simply tough. They’ve had no disease issues and no pest problems (except for a little deer browsing one year, but that appears to be an isolated incident). While they prefer shade, they can also handle several hours of morning sun without incident.
‘Soft Caress’ Mahonia is a standout plant that fills a mostly flowerless period in landscapes, fills its designated landscape spot quickly but won’t outgrow it, and is truly tough. Add a couple to your landscape this winter!
by Julie McConnell | Oct 31, 2024
A recent visit to the Dothan Area Botanical Garden (DABG) reminded me that although many of our summer flowers are winding down, we have a great garden show coming this winter when the southern classic camellias start to show their stuff. DABG has a large collection of camellias that will start blooming in the coming months. Here is a little background on the two most common types of camellias grown in our area.
Camellia japonica
Also known as Japanese Camellia, C. japonica thrive in partial sun to full shade. Direct morning sun with some shelter from the sun in the hottest part of the day is a good compromise. Too much shade can reduce flowering, so aim for at least partial sun.
Most Japanese Camellias bloom from January to March, but some may start earlier in the season. Flower shapes include single, semi-double, anemone, peony, and formal double. Flower colors are white, pink, red, and sometimes a combination of multiple colors! Camellia japonica mature at 10-15’ tall and wide but may get as big as 25 feet. This makes them ideal to create privacy in the garden or have the lower limbs trimmed into a tree-form.
Camellia sasanqua
Sasanqua camellias also prefer part sun but can also thrive in full sun once established. Leaves and flowers are typically smaller than C. japonica which is an easy way to differentiate. Although most have upright habits and can grow 10-15’ tall as well, there are a few cultivars such as ‘Shishi Gashira’, ‘Bonanza’, and ‘Mine-no-yuki’ that have more horizontal branching making them good options for foundation plantings. Sasanqua camellia are usually in full bloom in the fall, but may bloom as late as January. Flower shapes are similar to C. japonicas, but many varieties have more open flowers with exposed stamens that are beneficial to pollinators.
by Beth Bolles | Oct 24, 2024
If you love wildflowers, the Fall season has so many plants for you to enjoy. We often think of wildflowers as those in natural settings, on roadsides, or in drainage spots. Here are a few wildflowers that make excellent landscape additions.
Goldenrods (Solidago spp.) are everywhere and the yellow blooms are stunning. If all the incorrect information about goldenrod as an allergy causing plant never existed (ragweed is the main culprit), we would see selections of goldenrod available in every commercial outlet. Many selections have an upright growth so add goldenrod against fences, in back of borders, or large clumps in sunny areas of your landscape.
Goldenrod as a landscape feature at Escambia Demonstration Garden. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
If you have a moist area and love purple, Mistflower (Conoclinium coelestinum) makes a wonderful fall blooming feature. Plants will colonize an area with running stems so it tends to form a large clump in moist soils. You may notice this in ditches on a drive around your county. The clusters of flowers look fluffy and will be present for many weeks in both full sun or partial shade.
A clump of mistflower in a moist plant bed. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
For dry and well drained spots of your landscape, the Woody goldenrod (Chrysoma pauciflosculosa) is a good choice. The small shrub offers bright yellow fall flowers that extend above a 2 foot tall plant. Plants tend to be evergreen when in the right location and additional new seedlings will emerge each spring if your landscape is suited for this plant.
Woody goldenrod in a home landscape. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
For those enhancing a butterfly garden, add Purple false foxglove (Agalinis purpurea), a host plant to the Buckeye butterfly. Plants grow well in our acidic well drained soils with a little moisture. Numerous tubular pink flowers occur in the Fall until a frost. Plants reseed well.
The Purple False Foxglove with vivid pink blooms in a natural setting. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
If you love all the colors and variety of wildflowers, it is a good time for finding seeds and plants to grow your own. Native nurseries and online retailers carry a wide selection for all seasons and many are low maintenance enhancements for our home landscapes. Like any other ornamental or grass, be sure to match the wildflower with your specific growing conditions.
by Beth Bolles | Oct 17, 2024
UF IFAS Extension Escambia County was recently able to offer a native tree and shrub giveaway to our community. A county partner had some grant funding remaining and chose a nice selection of plants grown by a local native nursery. After seeing the plant selection, I was really excited that a few participating homeowners had the opportunity to take home one of my favorite native plants, the Sparkleberry, Vaccinium arboretum.
The Sparkleberry in the corner of my back yard. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County
Twenty-three years ago, I saved a sparkleberry on my new home lot because I loved this native tree. It has interest in all seasons in my opinion, including flowers, small fruit for wildlife, attractive bark, and an interesting shape as it matures. It has been a slower growing tree than others in my yard but I have enjoyed watching the tree develop its form and the bark develop the beautiful flaky cinnamon-brown look.
Sparkleberry bark and structure are attractive features in the landscape. Photo by Beth Bolles, UF IFAS Extension Escambia County.
The small tree is now about 12 feet tall and has never had any issues in the sandy, well drained soil. It can tolerate some moisture as long as the soil drains well. A grouping of trees from my neighbor’s lot keeps the plant in partial shade and we can often find sparkleberry specimens in the filtered light of woods. It can tolerate a sunnier location if that is the spot you have available for a small tree.
In addition to our enjoyment of this native tree, pollinators and other animals will appreciate the flower nectar, pollen, and berries. If you have a native nursery close to your home, be sure to ask for your own Sparkleberry if your site is suitable.
by Daniel J. Leonard | Oct 4, 2024
It’s hard to have a great yard full of Centipedegrass isn’t it? All the fertilizer, watering, aerating, weed spraying, fungicide spraying, insect spraying, the list is never-ending and wallet draining. Except, it’s not hard and doesn’t have to be expensive. It’s easy. In fact, it’s so easy that people even make it hard because they think it should be. The list of basic tips to achieve a great yard of Centipedegrass is very short, let’s get into it.
Fertilizing Properly – Keep it to a minimum! Centipedegrass has a very low Nitrogen (N) requirement for optimum growth and development (0.4 lbs – 2 lbs/1000 ft 2 per year). Centipede is naturally light green in color and trying to force the deep green of Kentucky Bluegrass upon it will almost certainly do it harm. There are many excellent quality Centipedegrass lawns in the Panhandle that have never received a single prill of fertilizer. Don’t take my word for it though, the UF/IFAS publication Centipedegrass for Florida Lawns says, “Established centipedegrass lawns require about 50% less nitrogen fertilizer than other lawn grasses grown in Florida. Centipedegrass is a low maintenance turfgrass and does not respond well to excessive use of fertilizer, especially nitrogen.”
Centipedegrass lawn that has never been fertilized and mowed regularly when it reaches 3″ to achieve a 2.5″ cut height. Photo courtesy Daniel Leonard.
Timely Mowing – Other than overfertilizing, the next easiest way to cause significant damage to a Centipedegrass lawn is to mow it incorrectly. Centipede prefers a mowing height of around 2.5” and actively growing grass should be mowed every 7-14 days, removing no more than 1/3 of the grass blade. In my experience, this is much higher and often less frequent than many people mow their lawns. All too often, I see Centipede lawns that are allowed to grow tall and unkempt and then mowed to near golf course fairway height with the occasional bare “scalped” spot where the mower ran across an unlevel area of lawn. Mowing short and infrequently is harmful because mowing is inherently a major stress to the grass. You’re asking a lot of a plant by removing a large chunk of photosynthetic leaf tissue and then repeatedly asking the plant to regrow. Be kind to your grass and mow correctly. *Additionally, try to not mow your lawn in droughty conditions as this can exacerbate mowing stress and cause serious lawn issues.
Right Plant, Right Place – Much of the bad rap turfgrass receives comes from people trying to force it to grow where it shouldn’t be. If your yard has areas of significant shade or receives significant foot or vehicle traffic, Centipedegrass (or most any grass for that matter) may not be for you, in those areas at least. Like all turfgrasses (though some are more shade and traffic tolerant than others), Centipedegrass does best in full sun and detests having the soil its roots are going in repeatedly trampled and compacted. In areas with those conditions, maybe having a mulched landscaped bed with shade tolerant plants or a rocked walking path would be more appropriate. You and the grass will certainly be happier working with those options than fighting against your site conditions.
Though maintaining a Centipedegrass lawn is simple, that isn’t to say that if you follow all these tips that your yard will be perfect all the time. There will still be the occasional dieback, weed ingression, mole cricket infestation and the like, however, following the above tips will make your grass much more resilient and equipped to handle those stresses. For more information about Centipedegrass or other horticultural topics, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension office. Happy gardening!
