by Gary Knox | Jun 23, 2015
Figure 3. With proper cultivar selection and placement in the landscape, crapemyrtle develops into a beautifully shaped tree that rarely needs pruning. This crapemyrtle is ‘Muskogee’. Image Credit Gary Knox
Crapemyrtle flowering is set to be spectacular this year! While most other garden plants droop from summer’s heat, humidity and heavy rains, crapemyrtle thrives and puts on an outstanding show of flowers all summer and fall. Thanks to modern breeders, we have all sizes of improved hybrid crapemyrtles with flower colors of lavender, purple, white, pink, or red.
Just say “No” to Pruning
Crapemyrtle varieties come in tree-size, patio tree and shrub categories. Tree-size crapemyrtles grow 25 ft. tall and are ideal as flowering trees. Patio tree-form plants (up to 12 ft.) are beautiful as small, flowering specimen plants near patios, walkways, and entrances. Shrub forms (up to 6 ft.) make excellent accents in a shrub border and smaller types are effective as large groundcovers or container plants. Make sure you buy the right size crapemyrtle for your home. Don’t make the mistake of planting a tree-size crapemyrtle in an area too small for its ultimate size, or you’ll find yourself pruning it hard – and often – to keep it from out-growing its place.
Recommended Varieties
Some of the best tree-size (25 ft.) types are Natchez (white), Red Rocket® (red), Sioux (pink) and Apalachee (lavender). Superior patio tree crapemyrtles (12 ft.) are Acoma (white), Cheyenne (true red), Tonto (fuchsia red), Hopi (pink) and Catawba (purple). Smaller shrub (6 ft.) crapemyrtles are hard to find, but Cherry Dazzle® is a nice mounding red and Pixie White and New Orleans (purple) are good selections.
Planting and Garden Care
When it comes to planting, crapemyrtle is very tolerant and forgiving with three exceptions. Firstly, crapemyrtle needs sun to flower freely, so plant it in a site receiving at least six hours of direct sunlight each day. Secondly, crapemyrtle will not grow in wet soils. Finally, never plant crapemyrtle too deep — if you do so, it will punish you by not flowering for years and years. Planting too deep literally smothers the roots, requiring the crapemyrtle to regenerate a new root system in the soil above.
Crapemyrtle is very drought tolerant and almost seems to thrive on neglect. On the other hand, regular watering and fertilizer will help crapemyrtle grow faster and bigger.
More Beauty on the Way!
Breeders are continuing to improve and introduce new crapemyrtles. Many new varieties were released in the last couple years. In particular, watch for new types with purple-burgundy leaf color all summer long! Time will tell which new ones grow best in our area. Stay tuned as the world of crapemyrtle continues to evolve and improve!
*Gary Knox is Professor of Environmental Horticulture with the University of Florida. He is stationed at the North Florida Research and Education Center in Quincy, where he evaluates more than 100 cultivars of crapemyrtle.
by Mary Salinas | Jun 23, 2015
Night blooming cereus makes a stunning display. Photo credit: Sally Menk, Florida Master Gardener.
Many of us are working during the day and are not enjoying our gardens during the daytime. And maybe it is just too warm in the summer to be outside during the heat of the day. That leaves us to enjoy our gardens later in the day when the sun fades and evening approaches.
As the sunlight diminishes, the bright colors fade slowly to a black, gray and white world. The first colors to fade are the blues, purples and reds. Pastel pinks, yellows, oranges, grays and blues remain more visible for a longer time and take on a luminescent quality in the pale light. White blossoms now have their time to shine as they stand out against the darker hues of foliage and flowers.
White four o’clock. Photo credit: Sandra Sherman, Florida Master Gardener.
If you find that your time in the garden is late in the day and into the evening, consider planning for that in your plant selections.
Here are some suggestions when planning your twilight garden:
- Add some late-afternoon and night-blooming plants such as four o’clocks, moonflower and night-blooming cereus
- Plants with silvery gray or white foliage glimmer in the moonlight. Consider white caladium, lamb’s-ears, silvery agaves, dusty miller and licorice plant among others. The white in variegated leaves of plants such as pentas, hosta, ginger and dogwood will stand out when dark green leaves have faded into the darkness.
- The tranquil sounds of a fountain will enhance end of the day relaxation.
- And, of course, add plants with white or pastel-colored flowers. The effect will be enhanced when luminous white blossoms are at different levels; for instance white spider lilies near the ground, white roses at eye level and white sparkleberry high above.
Pastel four o’clock opens late in the day. Photo credit: Linda Griffin, Florida Master Gardener.
by Gary Knox | May 26, 2015
Summer is here, along with its heat, humidity, drought and stress! One easy way to garden during summer is to use succulents and other drought adapted plants.
The sea urchin cactus (Echinopsis spp.) produces large, stunning flowers.
Succulents are heat-adapted, water-efficient plants often associated with deserts and dunes. Usually succulents have thick leaves or stems that store water. A cactus is a familiar type of succulent, as are agave, aloe, yucca as well as bromeliads like dyckia. Other dry-adapted plants can retreat into bulbs, rhizomes or other thick plant parts to go dormant until rains resume. A few other strategies used by plants to save water include: waxy or hairy coverings to reduce water loss; extensive root systems to absorb water; and silver- or blue-colored leaves and stems to reflect light and reduce heat.
Succulents’ tough qualities make them well-adapted to the harsh conditions of urban living amid concrete, brick, asphalt and other “hardscapes”. This adaptability translates into low maintenance since they need little or no irrigation, fertilization, pruning or spraying. Do you like container gardens? Succulents are almost the perfect container plant, because they hardly ever need watering!
The American century plant (Agave americana) is a large growing succulent with silver-grey leaves.
Above and beyond their toughness, succulents capture our imaginations because they are often dramatic, dangerous and slightly unpredictable. Drama stems from the architectural forms of many thick-leaved plants like agave. Danger arises from the thorns and spines of plants like cactus. Unpredictability results from bulbs and perennials that can quickly explode into flower, and then disappear just as suddenly. Often succulents have outrageous flowers with wild, bold colors and strange shapes!
While many succulents are native to deserts, others are Florida natives where they can be found in coastal dunes or in areas with sandy soils that have little water-holding capacity. For example, many native yuccas are excellent succulents for use in dry gardens or in containers.
For best growth and appearance, most succulents require well-drained soil and full sun (at least 6 hours of direct sunlight per day). Succulents are ideal plants for garden beds near roads, sidewalks, driveways and south-facing walls because they tolerate limited soil moisture, higher soil pH and reflected heat and light usually associated with these areas. On the other hand, try to avoid planting succulents in shady areas, wet areas, low areas that collect water and areas with heavy soils.
Summer gardening is easy with succulents!
For more information:
Agave and Yucca: Tough Plants for Tough Times
by Mary Salinas | May 12, 2015
An easy to care for perennial to add to your flower garden is the coneflower, Echinacea purpurea. The daisy-like flowers stand tall above the foliage on sturdy 2 to 4 foot stems. Blooms appear about the last part of April or the first of May in the Florida panhandle and last throughout the warm season until late fall. This Florida native reliably comes back year after year. Plant coneflower in part to full sun in rich but well-drained soil for best results.
White coneflower. Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS Extension.
Coneflowers are traditionally purple but many new colors and variations of their form have become available from the horticultural industry. You can find them in white, yellows, pinks, oranges, and greens as well as all shades of lavender and purple. No matter what color you choose, the blooms will attract a host of butterflies and other pollinating insects. In order to protect these delicate creatures, avoid the use of pesticides when they are present.
Once you have a few coneflowers, you will notice that the clumps will grow in time and new plants will sprout from seeds left behind by the spent blooms. In our demonstration garden, this has created a stunning display that has been allowed to take over one of the garden beds. When any one clump gets too big, the number of blooms can decrease and it may be time to dig up the clump and divide it. This is a great opportunity to expand your coneflower bed or share them with some friends or neighbors!
For more information:
Ornamentals for your landscape
Butterfly Gardening
by Julie McConnell | May 6, 2015
Peach Drift® Rose blooming in Quincy at the UF/IFAS NFREC Photo: J.McConnell, UF/IFAS
Growing roses in the South can have challenges and many gardeners think that they are just too high maintenance to plant. Plant developers are aware of this opinion and have worked to develop low maintenance roses that can make a novice gardener look like a pro.
The trend in horticulture is to develop and release plant series where closely related plants have similar characteristics but offer some diversity such as different flower color and size. A new series that is performing well in North Florida is Drift® Groundcover Roses. Available with flower colors ranging from white, yellow, pink, apricot, to red. All exhibit a low growing habit and will remain under three feet tall and spread up to four feet wide. Flowers are born in dense clusters for most of the year, only taking a break in the winter months.
Although not completely disease free, these roses do show resistance to rust, powdery mildew, and black spot which are common problems with roses. Deadheading is not necessary, but can be done to increase bloom and keep plants looking tidy. One of the best characteristics of the Drift® Groundcover Rose series is that they don’t get very tall, so they fit in small spaces. If you are looking for incredible color in a sunny site with limited space give this series a try.
Although low maintenance, roses do still require some attention, for more information read Growing Roses in Florida.
by Carrie Stevenson | May 6, 2015
Just over a year ago, southwest Alabama and northwest Florida experienced a devastating storm that left hundreds without access to their homes and businesses, flooded out and stranded by a hurricane-force storm that didn’t come with the luxury of a week’s warning. Rainfall records in Pensacola go back to 1879, and the April 29-30 storm broke them all, estimating just over 20 inches over the two days. Not only was the rainfall heavy, but the torrent was high in both velocity and volume—at one point, a mind-boggling 5.68 inches fell in the span of one hour. That’s half the annual rainfall of many cities in California and Texas!
A residential street in Pensacola became a raging river a year ago during the torrential floods, putting dozens of people out of their homes. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson UF/IFAS Extension.
With every dark storm cloud comes a silver lining, though, and just like the millions pumped into our regional economy from oil spill-related fines, the April 2014 floods have awakened a “greener” ethic among many residents, business owners, and politicians. According to a study just released by an environmental consulting firm, when asked about infrastructure changes and improvements to flooding and stormwater, attendees at community meetings overwhelmingly preferred “low impact” solutions such as expanded green space, cisterns, rain gardens, and stream restoration to “hard” structures such as bigger underground pipes and more pumps. While traditional engineering infrastructure is still crucial to a community that must maintain roads, stormwater ponds, and buildings, I find it encouraging that residents are interested in trying different techniques that have proven successful both here and in other parts of the world.
The new Langley Bell 4-H Center has four large rain barrels around the building, used to collect roof runoff for landscape design. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson UF/IFAS Extension.
So, how does one prepare for unexpected rain and floods? The first thing is to realize that northwest Florida receives the most annual rainfall (over 60”) of any region of the state, and sometimes it seems to come down all at once. Preparing landscapes to handle both frequent and heavy rains is an important place to start. This article will begin a series of articles delving into those “low-impact” stormwater management techniques that can help lessen the impact of the intense storms we experience here in northwest Florida. Many of these practices, such as creating mulch pathways, harvesting rainwater, and installing shoreline vegetative buffers, can be implemented by individual homeowners and help reduce the impact of flooding on a neighborhood and city-wide level
