by Matthew Orwat | Nov 20, 2015
Although it seems like summer outside, especially with such warm weather the week before Thanksgiving, winter temperatures will be coming. Possibly sooner rather than later. Perennials that are meant to die to the ground each winter look ugly and decayed after the first frost. Faced with such unattractive plants, most gardeners are inclined to cut them to the ground right away. That action might be a mistake.
Many perennials, such as hibiscus species, hydrangea, salvia species, firebush (Hamelia patens), rudbeckia, echinacea, lantana and others still have a large amount of starch stored in their branches, even after the first frost. Although it is very tempting to remove these unattractive reminders of the beautiful spring gardening season, it is better to wait to allow the starch to translocate (move) down to the root system. The time that this takes varies by plant species, but can be as late as February.
To determine if there is “life” left in those burned and singed stems, just scratch off the top layer of the stem. If any nutrients remain in the stem, it will be green or yellow where the scratch was made. If it is brown and dead, it is safe to prune the perennial back.
If you can stand to wait, allow those unsightly stalks to remain until February. If they contain any plant nutrients this will give the plant some energy during the winter months. This is not possible in every situation, but following this practice will bring stronger flowering perennials next season!
by Larry Williams | Nov 4, 2015
Fall is a good time to evaluate your landscape, learn from what has and what has not worked and formulate plans to improve your landscape.
Evaluate problem areas in lawn. Photo Credit: Larry Williams
Before your lawn and landscape plants go dormant, do a walk through of your landscape, make notes if necessary and visually inspect the plants. You get to see the plants that did great as well as the plants that were not so successful. You can make decisions on which plants to do away with, which to keep, which that might benefit from being moved to a more appropriate location, etc.
As you inspect your landscape, ask yourself questions. You can easily identify problem areas in the lawn now. As you identify problem areas in the lawn, attempt to determine why those areas aren’t doing so well. Begin formulating plans for correcting/improving those problem areas. Decide if renovating and replanting with grass is your best option. Or, something other than grass may be the best option, particularly if there is a history of problems with grass in a specific location.
It may be time to remove and replace an older, declining plant with something new. There may be a plant that hasn’t performed up to par but that would do better if moved to a more appropriate location – fall is a great time to relocate plants. Now is a good time to take a soil sample and take the guesswork out of liming or fertilizing. The UF / IFAS Extension Office in your County can provide information on how to have your soil tested.
This only represents a few ideas related to evaluating your landscape. You’ll probably think of many more as you’re out in the landscape. Taking notes will allow you to implement your ideas later.
Not only is fall a great time to enjoy the outdoors, there’s much that we can learn from our own landscapes this time of year. We can gather Information that will allow us to improve our own landscapes.
by Gary Knox | Sep 28, 2015
The University of Florida/IFAS presents Art & Garden Fall Family Festival, October 3, at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC), Quincy Campus. Join us that day and discover creative ways to explore visual art and the art of gardening through demonstrations and fun activities for the whole family. Speak with experts about all your gardening questions or purchase unusual, hard-to-find, top-performing plants for our area. Take a tour of the Gardens or a trolley ride highlighting fruits and nuts that can be grown in our area. Locally grown produce and garden plants as well as arts and crafts will be for sale along with food and refreshments. Children’s arts and crafts activities will take place in a huge “Kid Zone” located in a shaded, garden area.
The Art & Garden Fall Festival is free and open to the public from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, October 3.
The festival takes place in Gardens of the Big Bend, located in Quincy at I-10 Exit 181, just 1/8 mile north on Pat Thomas Highway (SR 267). The Gardens are located on the campus of University of Florida/IFAS, North Florida Research and Education Center, off Pat Thomas Parkway, SR 267 at 155 Research Road, Quincy, FL. Located just north of I-10 Exit 181, 3 miles south of Quincy.
Presented by the University of Florida/IFAS, North Florida Research and Education Center in collaboration with the Gadsden Arts Center, Gardening Friends of the Big Bend, the Quincy Garden Club and other area garden and arts organizations.
For more information: http://nfrec.ifas.ufl.edu/art-and-garden/ or 850-875-7100.
by Mary Salinas | Sep 24, 2015
Native Lanceleaf Coreopsis. UF/IFAS Photo: Thomas Wright.
In our demonstration garden we are enjoying the small but vibrant blooms of our state wildflower Coreopsis, also commonly known as tickseed. After many years of its use in the Florida highways beautification program, Coreopsis was adopted as Florida’s official state wildflower in 1991.
Florida can boast of 16 different species of Coreopsis that occur in the state with most blooming in the spring but some species blooming in the summer to later in the fall. Some of those species are rare, endangered or only found in very limited areas of the state, while others are quite common throughout the state.
Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS.
Many lovely new cultivars have been introduced for our enjoyment by plant breeders through cross-breeding and selection. Some you can see in the accompanying photographs in this article.
Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS.
Coreopsis is an annual or short-lived perennial that makes a great addition to your garden beds. And the bees and butterflies will enjoy them! The numerous flowers readily produce seed for naturalizing in the landscape. Plant them in a sunny spot in the landscape in evenly watered but well-drained soil. Removing the dead blooms will encourage plants to prolong their blooming; you can also save the seed for replanting in new areas of your landscape.
For more information:
History of Coreopsis as Florida State Wildflower
Gardening Solutions: Coreopsis
Florida Wildflower Foundation
by Mary Salinas | Sep 9, 2015
You’ve grown some wonderful vegetables, annuals or perennials and you would like to save some of the seed from those plants to have for planting in the future. This is a great way to get more of the plants you know and love while saving on the expense of new plants. One exception are plants that are F1 hybrids; seeds from these plants will produce crops quite dissimilar to the parent.
First, you need to collect ripe seed from the desired plants. How do you know when the seeds are ripe and ready to harvest? The strategies for annuals/perennials and vegetable plants differ.
The ripe seedhead of a coneflower. Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS Extension.
For annuals and perennials that flower without making a fruit, wait until the flower has dried up and the seed head is brown and dead-looking. The seeds are then mature and ready to harvest. Take a look at the photo of the coneflower seedhead for reference. These seeds are already dry and can be put into an envelope and then into a sealed jar or plastic stage bag that contains a desiccant to absorb any excess moisture. There are a few options for desiccants: the little packets that come in vitamin bottles and purses to keep them dry, cornmeal or dried milk in bottom of the bag. Be sure to label your envelope with the date and name of your plant seeds. Store in the refrigerator.
When you are saving seed from a vegetable that has seeds inside it such as a tomato, pepper or squash, harvest the vegetable when it is ripe and ready to eat and scoop out the seeds and wash away all other plant parts from the seed. These seeds are very moist and if stored in this state, they will rot into a mess. You want to get the moisture content below about 8% for long term storage. There are several methods:
- If the humidity is low and the temperature high, (I know, those can be rare conditions for Florida) you can put the seeds in a single layer on a baking sheet in the shade to let them dry all day.
- Another option is to take that baking sheet with a single layer of seeds and put it in a 100° oven for 6 hours with the door open. It’s crucial to monitor your oven temperatures as those above 100° will kill the seeds.
Once the seeds are dried sufficiently, store them as described above for flower seeds. Your seeds can then last for several years.
For more information:
Seed Saving from Colorado State Extension
Saving Vegetable Seeds from University of Minnesota Extension
by Mary Salinas | Sep 9, 2015
After a few years, many perennial plants have grown so large that they need to be divided in order to be revived. Overcrowding causes them to bear fewer flowers and, sometimes, to die in the center. Fall is a good time to divide perennials that bloom in spring and summer and are now done blooming for the year. This is a great way also to expand your perennial beds or share some of your perennial favorites with friends and neighbors.
Vibrant blue Stokes’ aster. Photo credit: UF/IFAS.
Some examples of perennials to divide in the fall are:
- Stokes’ aster, Stokesia laevis
- Daylily, Hemerocallis spp.
- Black-eyed Susan, Rudbeckia hirta
- Yarrow, Achillea millefolium
- Crocosmia, Crocosmia spp.
- Flax lily, Dianella tasmanica ‘Variegata’
- Liriope, Liriope muscari
- Cast iron plant, Aspidistra elatior
The first step is to dig out the entire clump. If there is enough clearance in the garden bed, start digging about six inches out from the plant and dig straight down beyond the root zone. It’s best to get as much of the roots as possible to lessen the shock of transplanting. If the clump is too heavy to remove, make your divisions right there with a sharp blade, trowel or shovel. Often, you can just pull them apart with your hands.
Before replanting the divisions, consider adding some nutritious compost to those areas of your garden bed to ensure healthy plants. Be sure to replant as soon as feasible to protect the roots from drying out. After replanting, water the transplanted divisions well and mulch appropriately.
To explore further please see:
Gardening with Perennials in Florida
Propagation of Landscape Plants
