Meet Daniel Leonard!
Daniel is the UF/IFAS Calhoun County Extension Director and the Agriculture, Horticulture, and Natural Resources Agent in the county also! Daniel is a fifth generation native northwest Floridian, born and raised near Blountstown on a timber farm. This experience...
Video: How to Control Azalea Caterpillars on Azalea Bushes
In late July, Larry Kinsolving, a Jackson County Master Gardener, noticed an insect pest in the beautiful, large azalea bushes that frame the front entrance to his home in Marianna, Florida. The azalea caterpillar is found in Florida from late summer to early fall on...
Overcup Oak – The Best Landscape Tree You’ve Never Heard Of
Haunting alluvial river bottoms and creek beds across the Deep South, is a highly unusual oak species, Overcup Oak (Quercus lyrata). Unlike nearly any other Oak and most sane people, Overcups occur deep in alluvial swamps and spend most of their lives with their feet...
Aphids & Milkweed
Milkweeds are appreciated for their beauty, but often we cultivate it for the benefit of the monarch butterflies who lay their eggs only on this plant genus. Avid butterfly gardeners want the monarch caterpillars to eat up the milkweed and become beautiful...
Advice for Vegetable Garden Success
The University of Florida Vegetable Gardening Guide is a wonderful resource for those who are getting started gardening and growing some edible plants. As you look through the publication, you will see a chart for the different portions of Florida about when to start...
Meet Matt Lollar
Matt has served as a Horticulture Agent with the University of Florida/IFAS Extension for the past 10 years. He began his career in Seminole County, FL as a multi-county agent focusing on vegetable crops and landscape installation and maintenance. Being an Alabama...
Vacation Hitchhikers
Remember last year’s vacation trip? You picked the perfect location, checked into the hotel and made sure to check every mattress corner for bedbugs. Bugs can hide in the strangest places. Now with COVID-19 those people insisting on still taking a vacation are...
Meet Dr. Gary Knox!
Gary Knox is professor of environmental horticulture and Nursery Crops Extension Specialist at the University of Florida/IFAS at the North Florida Research and Education Center (NFREC) in Quincy. Dr. Knox is heavily involved in research and extension on...
Citrus Rust Mite is a Mostly Cosmetic Problem
In recent years, not a summer has gone by in which I did not see citrus rust mite (CRM) damage in a garden. I thought this year would be the first. Unfortunately, recently I saw my first rust mite damage of the year. Unlike the myriad of pests that have been recently...
Recycle Yard Waste – APPROPRIATELY!
As a compost fanatic, one of my favorite Florida-Friendly Landscaping principles is Recycle Yard Waste – Principle #7. Since the practice of gardening typically leads to various debris, including herbaceous weeds, lawn clippings, woody stems after pruning, and just...