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 the leaves that fall from your trees, gardeners must somehow manage all of this material.
Rather than tossing it to the curb, where it goes to the landfill and very slowly breaks down in anoxic conditions (lacking oxygen) leading to increased methane emission, a more sustainable approach is to utilize these materials on site. On-site recycling of garden debris can be done through, my favorite, composting, especially when dealing with herbaceous material.
Grass clippings are best left on the grass, as long as not in excessive clumps. Woody debris can be piled in not-too-conspicuous areas to create brushpiles that will provide wildlife with cover. While many think of snakes and other creepy crawlies in piles of brush, many birds, lizards, mammals, insects, and fungi will call a brushpile home. Fallen leaves can be raked into garden beds to act as mulch, another Florida-Friendly Landscaping principle! Besides not using the energy required and creating the extra methane (a stronger greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide) produced by sending materials to the landfill, recycling materials on-site returns the nutrients in that debris to your soil for future plants to take up.
However, there is a fate of yard debris that is even worse than sending to the landfill (cue scary music) – illegally dumping the materials in a natural area!!
Landscape debris dumped in a natural area can spread invasive plants, insects, and disease. Credit: Mark Tancig.
You may have seen this in a local natural area you visit or heard of folks that try to skip paying solid waste fees by dumping it elsewhere. Unscrupulous landscape companies and homeowners have been known to do this, especially when the work site is near a large natural area, such as a state or national forest. The main problem with this, besides that it is illegal, is that invasive species can be spread with debris directly into a native forest. Invasive plants are documented to be spread in this manner, especially those that are easily rooted from stems. Additionally, illegal dumping of plant material can spread non-native fungi, insects, and animals into these areas and disrupt natural ecosystem functions and the organisms that rely on them.
Not only is illegal dumping bad for our natural areas, but it’s illegal! Credit: Mark Tancig.
Homeowners can make sure they don’t contribute to this problem by recycling as much on-site or properly following local guidelines to dispose of landscape debris. Many municipalities have separate bulk collections or drop-off sites for landscape materials. If hiring a landscape contractor, ask where they take the collected material and/or request that it stay on the property. For large jobs, such as tree removal, the estimate should reflect dump fees. If you notice materials dumped in a local natural area, report it to the land manager so they can investigate and/or clean it up and dispose of properly.
On June 6th, we held an Invasive Species Workshop: Air Potato Challenge and Species Awareness day at the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Panama City. Over 700 air potato leaf beetles were distributed to more than 30 sites in Northwest Florida by citizen scientists to help manage the invasive air potato vine!
Rick O’Connor, UF/IFAS Extension, tells us about the ball python, a potential invasive species. Rick also provides an overview of keeping pythons and other snakes as pets. http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/pdffiles/UW/UW34100.pdf
Holli Nichols, FWC, tells us about the Wildlife Assistance program for homeowners and property owners. Holli helps out find solutions for negative encounters with Wildlife. Most problems are easily solved and she provides a few tips. Holli also tells us about the FWC Pet Amnesty Program for Exotic Pets. Watch to learn more. http://myfwc.com/conse…/you-conserve/assistnuisance-wildlife
Kira Burdeshaw, SCN of NW FL, shows off the tokay gecko we found at the Extension office on the front porch earlier in May. The Gecko moved in with Kira and her other reptiles at the Science and Discovery Center.
…http://myfwc.com/wildlifeha…/nonnatives/reptiles/tokay-gecko
Derek Fussell with FWC Invasive Aquatic Plant Management talks about Giant Salvinia, a species of concern for Deer Point Lake in Bay County, Florida. Here’s a link to a story about the discovery of giant salvinia in Bay County from 2016 https://nwdistrict.ifas.ufl.edu/…/nisaw-2016-working…
Derek Fussell shares a behind the scene’s view of their new boat for controling aquatic plants in Bay County and Northwest Florida. We will visit with Derek and Jamie later and show some of the aquatic invasives they work to control everyday!
Dwarf lantana – Image UF IFAS Extension, Matthew Orwat
With the heat of summer already here, we all know that our pansies, petunias and snapdragons are on their way out. This leaves us wondering what we could plant that will give us color throughout summer and fall to the first frost.
Many are weary of Lantana camara, the common garden lantana, because of its potential as an invasive species and large rampant size. Good news, there are several dwarf cultivars that have no invasive potential because they are sterile. Additionally, many other dwarf cultivars grow slow and produce few seed, so they have low invasive potential.
Dwarf lantana. Image credit UF/IFAS, Matthew Orwat
Northwest Florida is not in the natural range of the endangered South Florida native Lantana depressa, so the outcrossing danger does not exist in our area.
Dwarf lantanas are available in either mounding or trailing types. Mounding types rarely get over 1 foot tall and have an equal spread while trailing lantanas stay lower to the ground but can spread several feet. They are available in several colors including yellow, purple, white, multicolor and red. They provide reliable color in flushes from late spring until first frost
When mature, dwarf lantana are drought tolerant but need supplemental watering to get established. They also thrive in poor soils and need little fertilization.
Dwarf lantana usually acts as a perennial, but die to the roots during extremely cold winters.
Lantanas that are known to be relatively non-invasive include Patriot, Hallelujah, Sunburst, and Cowboy. Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council recognizes the cultivars ‘Gold Mound’, ‘New Gold’, ‘Alba’ and ‘Patriot’ as cultivars that are not known to produce viable seeds. Other newer dwarf varieties need to be evaluated on a case by case basis, but varieties the author has observed as no to low seed set in the landscape. Also if home gardeners are worried about seed production, spent blooms can be pinched off so no seed can form. This pinching off practice also speeds up re-bloom and is thus highly encouraged.
Maybe you have been seeing the Chinese wisteria, Wisteria chinensis, sporting its lavender blooms along the roadways this time of year. This vine may add a pleasant splash of color to the green leafy backdrop, but this is an invasive vine that has escaped our yards and gardens and is spreading on its own in natural communities.
The University of Florida Assessment of Invasive Plants determined that this vine has caused long-term alterations in ecosystem processes and displaces native vegetation. According to the non-profit Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (FLEPPC), Chinese wisteria is a category II invasive which means that the species has escaped cultivation and is spreading on its own into other unintended areas.
American Wisteria ‘Amethyst Falls’ at GCREC Teaching Gardens. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.
Fortunately, there are several great alternatives to Chinese wisteria. A native vine, American wisteria, Wisteria frutescens, is a great alternative. The native cultivar ‘Amethyst Falls’ displays lovely fragrant lavender blooms in the spring and summer.
Evergreen Wisteria at the GCREC Teaching Garden. Photo credit: UF/IFAS Extension.
Another alternative is evergreen wisteria, Millettia reticulata, a twining vine (the stems twist around upright supports) that is semi-evergreen in the Florida panhandle. The deep mauve blooms appear throughout the summer months and persist often into the autumn.
So how do you get rid of the invasive Chinese wisteria? The vine can be severed at ground level and the stump immediately treated with a 25% solution of triclopyr or glysophate. There may be some resprouting of the vine from unaffected roots that would require retreating. Please click here for more details. The best time to control this vine is in the spring or summer when it is actively growing so that it will transport the herbicide to the roots and kill the plant.
On June 6th, we held an Invasive Species Workshop: Air Potato Challenge and Species Awareness day at the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Panama City. Over 700 air potato leaf beetles were distributed to more than 30 sites in Northwest Florida by citizen scientists to help manage the invasive air potato vine!
