Spring and summer bring an explosion of color to gardens, and among the most resilient yet misunderstood flowers are marigolds. Growing up in a small Caribbean town, marigolds were everywhere. Locals called them “Stink and Pretty” or even “graveyard flowers” for their bold scent, but their benefits were undeniable. Whether used in traditional medicine, religious rituals, or tucked into garden beds to keep pests at bay, marigolds have always been more than just a flower.
More Than Just a Bloom
Belonging to the Tagetes genus, marigolds come in a variety of cultivars, each offering unique traits and advantages. Beyond their beauty, they play essential roles in soil conditioning, pest control, especially against nematodes, and companion planting.
A Closer Look at Marigold Varieties
Marigolds fall into distinct categories, each with different growth habits, flower forms, and benefits. The two most common types are Tagetes patula and Tagetes erecta.
French Marigold (Tagetes patula)
Compact and bursting with warm hues of orange, yellow, and mahogany, French marigolds are excellent pest deterrents. Often planted alongside vegetables, they help manage soil nematodes while thriving in borders and containers.
African or Perfection Yellow Marigold (Tagetes erecta)
Despite the name “African,” this species hails from Central America. Taller and more dramatic than French marigolds, it produces large, showy golden blooms ideal for cut flowers and mass plantings.
Signet Marigold (Tagetes tenuifolia)
Delicate foliage, small dainty flowers, and an edible twist—Signet marigolds are a favorite for adding color to salads and attracting pollinators. Plus, their milder scent makes them perfect for gardeners sensitive to stronger fragrances.
A Common Mix-Up
It’s worth noting that while often called “Pot Marigold,” Calendula officinalis is not part of the Tagetes genus. Though it shares similar colors and benefits, calendula is better known for its medicinal properties and edible petals.
Calendula in the Royal Botanical Garden of Madrid, Spain. Photo by Jean-Pierre Dalbéra.
Next time you pass a tray of marigolds at a plant sale or see them brightening a garden bed, take a second look. These unassuming blooms do far more than add beauty—they may just be the unsung heroes of your summer garden.
The telltale intense growth of a witches’ broom in a pine tree. Photo credit: Keith LeFevre
Our topic today might seem better suited to late October, but it can be observed in the woods year-round. During a recent Master Naturalist class, we discussed the various species of pines that grow in northwest Florida. All seven Florida native species—longleaf, loblolly, pond, slash, shortleaf, sand, and spruce—grow in our area of the state. While they can be differentiated based on growing location, needle length, and growth pattern, one of our class members had seen something really bizarre in the local pines.
A witches’ broom in this spruce tree has resulted in a miniature version growing along its primary trunk. Photo credit: American Conifer Society
What he described was essentially an intense burst of pine needle growth at the tip of a branch. It stands out as deep green, dense, and unusual among the regular growth pattern of needles. The end result is essentially the production of a “mini-me,” a miniature copy of the normally growing tree, hanging off one of the branches. That afternoon while touring Blackwater River State Forest with a professional forester, we asked him about the strange phenomenon. He’d seen it many times and referred to it as a “witches’ broom.”
Mistletoe growing in a tree results from the same type of auxin disturbance as witches’ brooms. Photo credit: Carrie Stevenson, UF IFAS Extension
In normal tree growth, the trunk produces hormones called auxins, which control the division, expansion, and differentiation of cells. The hormones are concentrated in the growing tips of roots and shoots, and auxins maintain normal growth and keep smaller branches from overtaking the “leader.” Unusual growth occurs when the presence and concentration level of auxin is interfered with by an outside factor. The intense growth seen in these affected trees may be triggered in several ways, including pest, fungus, or mistletoe infestation, or death of terminal buds by environmental conditions. Phytoplasmas—bacteria that infect the phloem tissues—transferred by insect vectors (usually leafhoppers) are also blamed for the odd growth in some plants. Pines aren’t the only species affected; witches’ brooms can be found in other conifers like firs and junipers, nut species like hickory, pecan, and walnut, or in ashes, peaches, and elms.
The prolific growth of witches’ brooms is of great interest to horticulturists hoping to propagate dwarf varieties of the trees. This post by the American Conifer Society goes into great detail on how to “hunt”, cultivate, and encourage the growth of witches’ brooms into dwarf plants for the home landscape. Ecologically, witches’ brooms are not a huge problem for their host trees. Unless vulnerable to a massive outbreak of parasitic mistletoe, trees usually continue growing around them and live normal lifespans. The dense brush can even benefit wildlife, becoming a ready-made nest for birds or tree-dwelling mammals.
Pine Bark Beetles are an ever-present issue in both the urban and rural landscape across the Panhandle. If you have pines in your landscape you very well may experience issues with pine bark beetles. The tiny insects can decimate a pine rather quickly, and there are more than one type that can infest a tree. The Southern Pine Beetle is the bark beetle that most people are familiar with and most concerned about. In forestry settings the Southern Pine Beetle can have epidemic outbreaks that can devastate large areas of pine forests and plantation. While the Southern Pine Beetle is very destructive and a concern to forest health, there are other common pine bark beetles that often attack trees in our area. The two other common bark beetles are Ips pine engraver beetles and Black Turpentine Beetles. In urban settings these two beetles often are more common but they can easily wipe out several trees or more, which may pose a significant issue in the landscape.
Resin pitches on bark that indicate pine bark beetle infestation. This shows a pine that is actively colonized by bark beetles and should be removed. Photo Credit-Ian Stone
There are multiple species of Ips beetles and these tend to be a significant issue in landscapes, because they can easily wipe out most of the trees in a yard or park. They almost always target stressed or damaged trees, but they usually do not wipe out large areas like Southern Pine Beetle. Different Ips species will often attack different portions of the tree which can result in partial dieback of the crown or a slow yellowing and browning of the foliage. These beetles are very small, smaller than a grain of rice, and often are not seen readily without close inspection. Like other bark beetles the bark will often have resin oozing out and forming small pockets resembling popcorn. Other signs include yellowing and browning foliage and an accumulation of sawdust like material around the base. You may also see exit holes in the bark about the size of a pencil lead.
The Black Turpentine Beetle is closely related to the Southern Pine Beetle, but much larger and often attacks the lower portion of the tree. These beetles commonly attack older, damaged, and weakened trees. Historically they were often associated with turpentining operations and trees that had been worked for resin production, hence their common name. They are very attracted to trees that are damaged by equipment or that have had construction occur around them recently. The symptoms are generally the same as other pine bark beetles, but the resin pitches are larger and the exit holes are about the size of an eraser. While they are larger than other bark beetle they are still quite small by comparison to other insects, not much larger than a grain of rice and somewhat smaller than a pea.
If you notice pines in your area with bark beetle symptoms it is natural to be concerned. As the weather warms bark beetle activity increases and you may notice these symptoms on your pines. If you had bark beetles attack a tree in your yard last year you will want to keep an eye out for other pines being attacked in the spring. With the drought last year bark beetle activity increased and if the infected trees were not removed spots may reactivate in the spring and summer. Unfortunately, once bark beetles attack a pine there is really nothing to do other than removal. Insecticides and sprays will not do anything against bark beetles that are already in the tree. If you have high value pines in your landscape you want to preserve, prevention is key. First and foremost avoiding issues from equipment damage and construction is key as this will attract beetles. Preventative injections with systemic insecticides by a licensed professional can protect trees in your landscape. If you have noticed bark beetle activity in the area or have had to recently remove trees that died from bark beetles, consider preventative treatment to preserve trees that are at risk. Otherwise removing trees that become infested with bark beetles promptly is the best solution. Sometimes it can be difficult to determine what trees to remove, but any trees showing active bark beetle activity should be removed to prevent spread. Once bark beetles have colonized a tree and it is in decline preventative insecticide treatments are not going to be effective. You also don’t need to remove every pine in your landscape just because a single tree has bark beetles. At the following link you will find an IFAS EDIS article that is helpful in identifying bark beetles and making a decision about an infected tree https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/publication/FR399.
If you see bark beetle activity on your property this spring contact your local IFAS extension office or your Florida Forest Service County Forester’s office for assistance and information. A Certified Arborist can assist you with determining how to remove infected trees or apply preventative treatments to trees at risk. With good decision making and management pine bark beetle attacks can be managed before they grow and spread. Now is a good time to keep an eye out and get ahead of any infestations that start.
In Florida, we have plenty of native critters trying to find their way into our homes – cockroaches, mosquitoes, lizards, squirrels, mice, and even alligators and bears every now and again. So, we don’t really need any more non-native critters to worry about, but we do. The Argentine ant is one of these non-native nuisances that can be quite difficult to control.
The Argentine ant is from South America and has become a pest worldwide. Although these ants don’t sting or bite, they can be a major nuisance in the home as they search for food and water. A unique feature that makes these ants especially difficult to deal with is that they form multi-queen colonies that can form a network of interrelated colonies. Unlike other ant colonies that may compete with each other, Argentine ants are able to spend less time defending their nests and more time looking for resources. These ants are also really small, with the workers only about 2.2 to 2.6 mm (around 1/10 of an inch). The Argentine ant emits a musky odor when crushed, helping to identify it among other small pest ants.
The Argentine ant is a small, nuisance pest ant that readily invades structures, especially during the warmer months. Credit: April Noble, from www.antweb.com.
These minute, cooperative ants can quickly invade a structure looking for food and water, especially when it warms up. At 70°F, it takes 25 days for the pupa to change into an adult compared to only 8 days at 86°F. This ability to reproduce quickly is a trait shared by most invasive species, whether plant or animal.
While not a health threat to humans, they are very annoying pest. In the home, they are attracted to sugars and oils and like to hide in the soil of potted houseplants. Outdoors, they nest in mulch, leaves, and rotting logs. You can often find them “tending” to insects on your outdoor landscape plants. The ants eat the sugary feces of sap-feeding insects, called honeydew, and provide these insects protection in exchange. In citrus groves, the Argentine ant has been known to help the Asian citrus psyllid better compete against predators, allowing this other invasive species to potentially spread citrus greening.
This Argentine ant is “tending” a scale insect. Credit: Alex Wild, University of Texas at Austin, alexanderwild.com
To help control the Argentine ant, you need to start with the perimeter of the home. It’s best to keep a 2’ barrier around the home free of leaves, mulch, woody debris, and landscape plants. This minimizes areas to nest near the home. If they begin to enter the home, place ant bait stations or gel baits along their trail. Argentine ants tend to like sweet baits. Broadcast pesticide spray treatments are not as effective because the nest is usually located far enough below ground where the pesticides can’t penetrate. Pesticide powder formulations are available to treat small crevices. These ants are difficult to control and you may want to consider hiring a professional pest management company for backup. For more information on the Argentine ant, it’s identification and control methods, please see the UF/IFAS Argentine Ant Factsheet. For any questions on ants or other structural pests, contact your local county extension office.
The kudzu bug, an invasive pest, has been a significant concern in soybean cultivation in the southeastern United States since 2009, particularly in Georgia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Alabama. Beyond its impact on agriculture, the kudzu bug proves to be a nuisance to homeowners and outdoor enthusiasts during both early spring and fall. In the winter months, the kudzu bug becomes inactive and actively seeks overwintering sites in the fall.
Credit: Worrel Diedrick, Florida A&M University.
If you observed a substantial number of small, greenish, round, flattened insects on the exterior walls of your home, there is a likelihood that you, like many others in your community, were visited by the kudzu bug. This relatively new invasive insect from Asia has become an unexpected guest for numerous residents and business owners, as it landed on homes and other structures in search of suitable overwintering sites.
Fortunately, the overwintering flights of the kudzu bug are relatively brief, lasting only a few days in the fall. However, if your residence becomes one of their chosen landing sites and they manage to infiltrate by crawling into cracks and crevices, the issue may escalate to the interior of your dwelling, posing a more significant problem than their presence on the exterior.
Kudzu Bug Habitat
Outdoors, kudzu bugs tend to congregate in gaps under the bark of trees, gaps under the siding of homes, and higher elevations such as fascia boards and gutters on the edges of homes. They are attracted to light-colored surfaces, with a particular fondness for white. Kudzu bugs will congregate on white siding, white cars, or white attire. In early fall, they often gather on light-colored exterior walls before moving into gaps and cracks, seeking shelter and warmth for overwintering.
To mitigate the possibility of infestation, the most effective preventive measure is to seal all openings where kudzu bugs could potentially enter your dwelling using caulk. While insecticides might be considered for control, it’s crucial to note that this option is challenging to time accurately and often proves mostly ineffective in addressing the problem.
