by Daniel J. Leonard | Apr 27, 2016
People are, by nature, skeptical. Humans are and have always been questioners of the world around them and that’s a good thing! For instance, when one reads a sensational article on Facebook or watches an infomercial selling a too-good-to-be-true product he/she is immediately dubious of the veracity of the claim. Given this innate sense, why do consumers take plant tags displayed on retail plants and the information listed there as infallible fact when in reality they are often full of hyperbole and misleading?
I do not mean to insinuate that nurseries and landscape professionals are intentionally leading consumers astray. They are not. However, there is much incorrect information disseminated to consumers by the green industry on plant fact sheets. Take my titular example, ‘Little Gem’ magnolia is widely advertised and sold as a “dwarf” magnolia, only growing 15’-25’ tall. If given proper care, it will grow to that height…in seven to ten years. Given enough time, ‘Little Gem’ has will grow in excess of forty feet. People plant this cultivar under the eaves of single story houses on a regular basis! I promise that cute little magnolia you were told would grow 15’ tall will look rather silly when it is four times the height of your house. Take another example, how many times have you seen or heard of ‘Acoma’ crapemyrtle being sold as a “semi-dwarf” cultivar that grows to 10’ in height for use in a tight spot of the landscape in lieu of the much larger ‘Natchez’? It will fill that tight spot and fill it rather quickly. ‘Acoma’ can easily reach 20’ in height and width at maturity, engulfing its intended area.
Typical plant tag. Notice the “Average Size” section. This is where consumers should use discretion.
So why does this happen? Why are plant tags so often mistaken? There are two primary reasons that correct mature sizes are not given. First, in the competitive world of plant breeding and introduction where there can be hundreds or thousands of cultivars of a single species, it is of utmost importance to introduce plants as quickly. Quick introduction is necessary because others are probably working to find similar traits; therefore, if one notices that a plant possesses a drastically different flower, flowering pattern, leaf shape, leaf size, or growth habit, the plant is often rushed to market. This leaves little time for complete trials of the plant to see what it would look like at maturity.
Secondly, most well-adapted or native trees/shrubs have relatively long life spans. A crapemyrtle or magnolia can easily grow and thrive in a landscape for thirty years or more before reaching maximum size. Nurseries simply do not have time to evaluate plants that long. Many nurseries, due to vagaries of economic cycles and length of career spans, don’t even exist for thirty years much less trial a single plant for that length of time!
In conclusion, nurseries are not likely to change their plant tag practices, but there are a couple of checks consumers can use to make sure they buy an appropriate plant for the scale of their site. First, it is a good rule of thumb to double the advertised plant height to arrive at a better idea of the plant’s mature size. Second, drive through established neighborhoods and observe what certain plants look like in a mature landscape. This will give one an idea of what the plant is capable of. The third and best option is to consult your local County Extension Office. They will be able to offer research-based information to help you make the right decision in your plant choices. Keep this in mind the next time you are thinking of buying the latest, greatest plant at your local nursery!
Happy Gardening!
by Julie McConnell | Mar 28, 2016
Clusters of tiny white flowers on abelia. Photo: Julie McConnell, UF/IFAS
Abelias have been a landscape staple in the Southeastern United States for over a century. Numerous types have been used over the years, but two of the oldest forms still used in landscapes are Glossy Abelia Abelia x grandiflora and Abelia ‘Edward Goucher’, dating back to the early 1900s.
Glossy Abelia is a large informal shaped shrub with ½ – 1 inch glossy green leaves and large clusters of tiny white flowers. It can grow to 8 feet wide and tall and tolerates tough landscape sites such as full sun, low moisture (once established), acidic or slightly alkaline soils. It blooms prolifically and is attractive to butterflies and pollinators. New stems are reddish colored which contrasts nicely with dark green foliage which may be evergreen if winters are mild. After blooms are spent the pink sepals remain on the plants carrying more color through the season.
‘Edward Goucher’ Abelia does not grow quite as large and is a good performer with pink flowers. It is smaller than Glossy Abelia, but can still reach 5’x5’ when mature. It is also tolerant of hot, dry spots in the landscape.
Over the past few decades there have been many new introductions of abelia cultivars to the market. A major goal of breeders was to offer abelias that would fit into smaller landscapes and there has also been a trend towards variegated foliage color. There are dozens of abelias in production, but a few listed below are usually easy to find in local garden centers and have proven reliable in Florida landscapes.
- Abelia x ‘Rose Creek’ Rose Creek Abelia, low mounding growth habit reaching 2-3’ tall and 3-4’ wide, green foliage, new reddish stems, large clusters of white flowers
- Abelia x grandiflora ‘Hopley’s Lemon Zest™’ Lemon Zest Abelia or Miss Lemon™ Abelia grows 3-4’ tall and wide, has yellow and green variegated foliage, light pink flowers
- Abelia x grandiflora ‘Confetti’ Confetti® Abelia, matures at 3’ tall and wide, new foliage has pink, white, and green variegation and mature foliage is green and white variegated, pink and white flowers
- Abelia x grandiflora ‘Kaleidoscope’ P.P.#16,988 Kaleidoscope Abelia, compact growth 2-3’ tall by 3-3.5’ wide, gold and pink new foliage that matures into gold and green variegation, white flowers
All abelias perform best in full sun to part shade and have low water requirements once established. They are not salt tolerant, so avoid planting in coastal landscapes or in areas where salts are an issue. Abelias have few pest problems, but aphids have been known to feed on new growth – avoid over fertilization.
by Carrie Stevenson | Mar 2, 2016
Even large, healthy oaks may fall during a tornado. Photo credit: northescambia.com
When we think of bad weather in Florida, hurricanes are typically the first thing that comes to mind. In reality, Florida is 4th in the nation in tornado frequency—and when adjusted for frequency per square mile, we are actually number 1. Residents of Escambia County are believers now, as the community reels from enduring two tornadoes in the span of a week. Both rated as EF3 storms, the winds in the twisters (136-165 mph) were nearly equivalent to a Category 4 or 5 hurricane. The western Panhandle and much of south Alabama were under tornado watches as the most recent band of thunderstorms moved through.
Based on a thorough study of surviving trees after hurricanes in Florida, there are several species of trees best suited to windstorms. For north Florida, some of the top species are: Florida scrub hickory, several native holly species, Southern magnolia, sand live oak, myrtle oak, and bald and pond cypress. Data from the full study and an in-depth overview is available from the University of Florida. To prepare for a heavy thunderstorm or a milder hurricane, it is wise to replace or plant trees with the most wind-resistant species. Because of the damage from falling trees in storms, many homeowners are nervous about planting trees. However, there are so many benefits to healthy trees in a landscape that they vastly outweigh the small risk of them falling.
Keep in mind that tornadoes are the most violent natural disasters and may cause complete devastation of homes, neighborhoods, and forests in a matter of seconds. After the Escambia County tornadoes, we witnessed large uprooted trees, downed power lines, flipped vehicles and blown-off roofs. Several homes and apartments were completely flattened or blown off their foundations. Luckily, the odds are in one’s favor of not getting hit directly by a tornado—because there’s often little anyone can do for a landscape in that situation. It’s best to hunker down in a windowless inner room or hallway, which saved the lives of hundreds during the last round of bad weather.
Wind entering the garage of this house may have caused the roof blowout above it. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson
However, there’s good news that work that can be done to help protect a home during storms. Hardening homes through “windstorm mitigation” techniques can prevent updraft from strong winds. A house is only as strong as its weakest area, and those are typically the connections between the walls, roof, and foundation. A wind-rated garage door and/or brace are crucial, as strong winds can enter a garage and blow out the roof above it.
When strong winds enter a home, their force moving out can cause an updraft and lift off the roof. Graphic courtesy UF IFAS.
In Escambia and Santa Rosa County, the local nonprofit “Rebuild Northwest Florida” operates a cost-sharing program to help residents harden homes. After the tornado in Century (near the Alabama border in north Escambia County), engineers from Rebuild examined a home that suffered a direct hit from a tornado. The home had been retrofit with crucial wind mitigation techniques and sustained no structural damage. Buildings, sheds, and homes all around it were destroyed. Examples of several wind mitigation techniques, including storm shutters, wind-rated windows, garage door braces and a tornado shelter are available for public viewing at the Escambia County Extension office in our windstorm mitigation building.
As the spring storm season heats up and rolls into hurricane season, keep in mind these suggestions for both the landscape and home. As always, contact your local Extension office if you have any questions.
by Beth Bolles | Feb 24, 2016
Magnolias are well known plants to gardeners and many are familiar with the foliage and flowers of these plants. If you are looking for another earlier bloomer, you may want to consider adding a specimen selection to your landscape, the Star magnolia (Magnolia stellata).
Although not native to the United States, star magnolia is a slower growing multi stemmed deciduous shrub reaching about 15 feet in height over time. The best feature are the bright whitish pink star-shaped blooms appearing in late winter before leaves emerge. The flowers offer gardeners a peek of the spring to come and remind us that our Gulf Coast winters are not that long. 
Plants do best in soil with some organic amendments and mulch over the root systems. A planting area that receives a little afternoon shade is ideal but established plants will adapt to sunnier locations when irrigation is provided during drier weather. Only occasional pruning is required to remove crossing branches or those that grow out of bounds. Prune after flowering if needed.
by Les Harrison | Feb 16, 2016
Last Week’s temperatures have confirmed the winter of 2016 is not 100% over. Now is the time to plan that spring garden!.
Garden catalogs from every part of the nation are finding their way into many area homes. Their pages promise the buyer the potential for legendary success and the envy of their friends and neighbors.
After all, who can resist the full color beauty of giant flowers, large luscious fruit and vegetables which are sure to win a prize at the fair? There is not a runt, reject or cull in all the pages of these publications offering the mortal version of horticultural heaven.
Before ordering, the would-be gardener should consider several factors to increase the likelihood of a positive gardening experience. A failure will waste not only funds, but also much time and hard work and may introduce a long-term problem or two.
Cultivar selection for a tree, shrub, vegetable or fruit is critically important to producing the desired results. While a specific plant cultivar may grow and produce in one environment, it may not do so in all situations.
A common example of this problem is grape vines offered. Only muscadine grapes will grow and produce locally because Pierce’s disease kills other varieties.
Carefully examine the growing zones recommended by the catalog for specific cultivars. Check with fellow gardeners and the UF/IFAS Extension Office to see if they have any information or experience with any cultivars under consideration.
Heirloom varieties are especially sensitive to the variances in growing conditions. While they offer unusual and sometimes unique taste and culinary traits or landscaping characteristics, these antique varieties can be a challenge to grow.
Their genetic potential can make a consistent yield, especially for the novice growers, a real effort. Also, as an open pollinator variety, the results can be inconsistent.
Another question for the catalog company customer is new or untried plants varieties. Some of these plants are patented and few or no trials have been performed with them in north Florida’s growing zone.
Caution should be used when ordering these seed or plants. Being the first in North Florida to cultivate a new variety may require a large commitment of time and resources, and may produce only a large disappointment.
Check with fellow gardeners, local nurseries and your UF/IFAS Extension Office for available information on these new or patented varieties. It may save much wasted motion.
Lastly, be sure the plant or seeds under consideration do not have the potential as exotic invasive pests. As hard as this may be to believe, this does occur.
Some catalog vendors will advise buyers in the ordering instructions or at the time of ordering. Either way, the purchaser should check to verify the plant ordered does not have the potential to escape control and damage the environment.
Check out the following publications to assist with finding adapted fruit and vegetable varieties for North Florida.
by Molly Jameson | Jan 13, 2016
Volunteers after lots of hard work mulching and adding compost to eight raised beds at The Shelter garden.
Have you ever been interested in volunteering at a school or community garden? Are you involved with a garden that could use some help? Well, UF/IFAS Leon County Extension recently started an Adopt-a-Garden program for volunteers to “adopt” a school or community garden for volunteer credit. Volunteers can teach hands-on gardening techniques, conduct educational talks and present displays at garden workdays, assist with garden planning and networking, encourage gardeners to work together, and help with any other activity that adds to the vitality of the garden. The program focuses on garden education and outreach as the primary objectives.
Volunteers hard at work planting fall vegetables in The Shelter garden.
The first major project of the Adopt-a-Garden program has been very exciting, with UF/IFAS Leon County Extension Master Gardeners “adopting” the new homeless shelter at the Kearney Center in Leon County. Master Gardeners lead the way in the organization and construction of eight raised bed vegetable gardens located on site directly behind The Shelter facility. They were awarded a community garden mini-grant from Leon County, which helped to cover garden supplies.
The Leon County Master Gardeners have received assistance from UF/IFAS Extension Agents, Florida State’s College of Social Work, and many other members of the community in gathering supplies and donations, recruiting volunteers, communicating with The Shelter staff, building and filling the raised beds, planting the garden, and maintaining the garden.
The gardening materials for The Shelter garden were generously supplied at no coast or at discounted costs by Lowe’s Home Improvement, Britt’s Dump Truck Services, Tallahassee Nurseries, Native Nurseries, Asplundh, and the FSU College of Social Work.
Shelter resident watering freshly planted lettuce.
Leon County Extension and Leon County’s Office of Resource Stewardship will conduct shelter resident and staff garden trainings to ensure the garden is maintained and successful going forward. Extension’s Family Nutrition Program is currently offering nutrition education classes to shelter residents as well.
This project will allow shelter residents to get hands-on experience working in a vegetable garden, learn about different vegetable varieties, and taste their harvest, as vegetables that are grown in the garden go directly to The Shelter kitchen for meal preparation. The garden was officially dedicated as the Wendy Crook Memorial Garden by Leon County Government, with the dedication event reported by local television station ABC 27 WTXL. The article and video clip can be viewed here.
Along with the Wendy Crook Memorial Garden, other school and community gardens have been “adopted” by volunteers. If you are in the Leon County area and are interested in becoming a volunteer with the Adopt-a-Garden program, you can find out more information at the Leon County Adopt-a-Garden website or contact Extension Agent Molly Jameson, at mjameson@ufl.edu. Volunteers are encouraged to team up on garden projects and all levels of gardening experience are welcome.
