by Taylor Vandiver | Apr 14, 2015
Rain gardens are an easy way to return water to our aquifer, reduce erosion, and help prevent stormwater runoff.
Running down the driveway or patio, rainwater can pick up lawn chemicals and pesticides. A rain garden is basically a low section of the landscape planted with native plants that like to get their “feet” wet. The garden collects rainwater, giving it a chance to “strain” out impurities before draining into the aquifer.
Swamp sunflower. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.
They work best when they’re placed at the bottom of downspouts or naturally low spots in the landscape, usually where water tends to puddle. They’re especially useful for collecting runoff from paved surfaces. Rain gardens can be any size or shape and can attract thirsty wildlife.
When selecting plants, you’ll need to consider how much sun your site gets and how much space is available. Make sure you select plants that are not just water-tolerant, but also drought-tolerant for the times between rains.
Rain gardens rely on plants that will survive dry spells but then soak up excess stormwater during Florida’s rainy months, preventing the water from running across your landscape.
Blue flag iris. Photo courtesy UF/IFAS.
Include different types of plants in your rain garden to create a complete and cohesive look that will provide year-round interest. The following is a short list of flowers, shrubs, and grasses that would perform well in a rain garden.
Flowers:
- Blue flag iris
- Goldenrod
- Swamp sunflower
- Spider lily
- Milkweed
Grasses:
- Florida gamma grass
- Muhly grass
- Wiregrass
Shrubs:
- Virginia willow
- Buttonbush
- Wax myrtle
Here is a list of native plants that will do well in your North Florida rain garden. As always consult your local Extension Office for more information. All of the information in this article was provided by UF/IFAS Extension.
by Sheila Dunning | Dec 23, 2014
A frozen perennial plant. Photo credit: Taylor Vandiver UF/IFAS Extension.
When you look out at your landscape nobody has to tell you that winter temperatures in Northwest Florida Afterwards, the temperatures warm up and you feel compelled to do something about it. You just need to “turn your back and slam the door”. “Conceal, don’t feel; don’t let them know”. Cold injury can affect the entire plant or just certain plant or parts such as fruits, flowers, buds, leaves, trunks, stems, or roots. Many plant parts can adapt to tolerate cold. Root systems in the landscape are seldom ‘frozen’ in Florida. “The cold never bothered” them “anyway”. While dead, unsightly leaves may be removed as soon as they turn brown after a freeze, the remaining dry looking stems serve as food storage and should be allowed to remain. If they are removed before the weather is warm enough for the plant to resume growth, the root system may not be enough to support the plant and it will die. So, “let it go, let it go, let it go”. “The perfect” landscape “is gone”. “The past is in the past”. “It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem so small”.Tropical plants and summer annuals do not adapt or harden to withstand temperatures below freezing, and many suffer injury at temperatures below 50°F (10°C). Subtropical plants can harden or acclimate (become accustomed to a new climate) to withstand freezing temperatures, and properly conditioned temperate plants can withstand temperatures substantially below freezing.
Recently planted, unestablished plants may be more susceptible to cold injury. One type of winter injury is plant desiccation or drying out. This is characterized by marginal or leaf tip burn in mild cases and totally brown leaves in severe cases. Desiccation occurs when dry winds and solar radiation result in the loss of more water from the leaves than can be absorbed and/or transported by a cold root system. Plant water needs should be checked after a freeze. Plants may have lost substantial moisture during a windy freeze. Plants will transpire (lose water vapor) on a sunny day after a freeze. Cold injured wood can be identified by lightly scraping the bark with your fingernail and examining the color of the cambium layer (food conducting tissue) just underneath. Green tissue indicates the plant is still alive at that point; black or brown coloration indicates dead or injured tissue. 
After a particularly harsh cold event, some plants may be very slow to recover, so some patience is required. “It will rise” with “the break of spring”. Branch tips may be damaged while older wood is free of injury. Delay pruning until new growth appears next spring to ensure that live wood is not removed. In the meantime, take Elsa’s advice and “let it go, let it go, let it go”. You may be “too relieved to grieve”. I hope I haven’t infringed on any copyrights by letting you know “It’s okay to put off the yard work in the name of plant physiology”.
Enjoy the holiday season!
For more information please see:
Treating Cold Damaged Plants
by Mary Salinas | Nov 18, 2014
Blue Mistflower – Image Credit Mary Derrick, UF / IFAS
Here’s a beautiful native perennial wildflower that is easy to grow and generally available in the independent nursery trade. In the wild, you can encounter them at the edges of woodlands and ponds as they prefer moist areas. Blue mistflower, Conoclinium coelestinum, performs well as a perennial in the home landscape but does spread easily by seed and will spread in the garden. It also spreads through underground rhizomes which allow it to form large clumps. This is an advantage for the informal garden, however, the gardener who prefers a more formal look will have a bit more maintenance in controlling that spread.
The abundant flowers look like bluish-purple puffballs on the top of the stems. The color is unusual and adds a striking touch in the garden. The bloom season is mid-summer to mid-fall. Butterflies are frequent visitors, making this an excellent addition to your butterfly garden.
Blue mistflower has a full rounded form and will grow to 3 feet under optimum conditions. Leaves are opposite and have a triangular shape. Growth and blooming is best in full sun to part sun conditions.
Give it a try!
by Beth Bolles | Nov 4, 2014
Take a walk through the garden or woods this fall and you are sure to pass by a Green lynx spider. Unless you are very observant though, you will probably not realize that this common spider is perched upon flowers and low shrubs, ready to catch an insect meal.
An adult spider blends in well with plants. Photo by Beth Bolles, Escambia County Extension
Even though Green lynx spiders are very large, they are often well camouflaged in plant material. Spiders are bright green with a lighter color on the abdomen including some small red markings. The legs have distinctive black spines.
This spider does not spin a web but actively hunts insects using a dragline as it quickly moves or jumps over plants. It is an opportunistic feeder catching many types of insects that are visiting flowers. It has been noted as an important predator of some crop damaging insects.
Females will normally lay one egg sac in the fall and guard it from predators. It is constructed in the upper portions of branches and has webbing connecting it to nearby plant leaves. This webbing becomes a protective area for the emerged spiderlings until they are able to take care of themselves.
Lynx spiders pose no harm to people and should be considered one of many beneficial arthropods that we see in Florida.
Young spiderlings on a blackberry guarded by the adult. Photo by Beth Bolles, Escambia Extension
by Larry Williams | Oct 14, 2014
Goldenrod are easily recognizable this time of year with its showy yellow flowers held high on stems moving back and forth by autumn winds. A field full of these vivid yellow blossoms is a sight to see with a bright blue fall sky as a background. But too often this plant is blamed for the sneezing, runny nose and itchy eyes that many people suffer while goldenrod is blooming.
The common culprit causing these allergy symptoms is ragweed, not goldenrod.
Ragweed blooms at the same time as goldenrod, August to frost.
Ragweed releases its billions of tiny, lightweight pollen grains into the air this time of year. This windborne pollen causes much of the hay fever problems. Goldenrod pollen is too large and heavy and sticky to be windborne. It relies on insects to carry its pollen. I suppose if you put your nose right up into a cluster of goldenrod flowers and took a big sniff, you might be bothered by the pollen. But otherwise, it is not going to get into your nose.
Goldenrod is an innocent bystander as ragweed remains camouflaged releasing its pollen. Ragweed visually blends in with other green plants. Despite the fact that common ragweed, an annual, can grow three to greater than six feet in height, it just does not get your attention. It is quite common along roadsides, vacant lots and abandoned fields. Its inconspicuous flowers start out as green, similar in color to the leaves, turn a yellowish-green and finally dry to a brown color. They are never showy.
Goldenrod in bloom Photo credit: Larry Williams
Ragweed in bloom Photo Credit: Larry Williams
Enjoy the bright yellow flowers of goldenrod this fall. But please do not blame them for your allergies.
by Mary Salinas | Sep 23, 2014
In the midst of your September strolls through natural Florida, you may come across this native beauty, the narrowleaf sunflower, Helianthus angustifolius. Another common name is swamp sunflower. I found this gorgeous patch in the photo close to the shore of Apalachicola Bay. It occurs throughout Florida and north throughout much of the eastern United States. Florida is fortunate to be home to over 20 native species of sunflower.
Narrowleaf Sunflower. Photo credit: Mary Derrick, UF/IFAS Extension.
This perennial starts blooming in late summer and dazzles admirers throughout autumn. The 2 to 3 inch flowers with bright yellow petals and brown centers are attractive to butterflies and other pollinators. What a great addition to your butterfly garden!
Plants generally grow to about 2 foot tall but they can grow a bit leggy to 6 foot. If desired, keep them more compact through pruning in late spring. Clumps can be divided every few years to spread them out or to share with friends and neighbors.
Like all sunflowers, it loves full sun but can tolerate some light shade. Narrowleaf sunflower is salt and flood tolerant and will do well in most soil types, however it does best in consistently moist conditions.
Narrowleaf sunflower plants may be difficult to find in the nursery trade but they can be readily started from seed.
For more information and seed sources:
Florida Wildflower Foundation
Atlas of Florida Vascular Plants: Helianthus species
Common Native Wildflowers of North Florida
