Roselle, a relative of hibiscus, was once used widely as an edible plant in Florida. The flowers are less showy than other hibiscus varieties, but their calyces (sepals at the base of the flower) are amazing! As the… Read More
Updated 03/16/20 As we continue to monitor COVID-19 in Florida, I wanted to take a moment to update our UF/IFAS Extension community about our current status, best practices and next steps. Please call your local UF/IFAS Extension office… Read More
National Invasive Species Awareness Week is Monday, February 25th through Sunday, March 3rd. And here in the Florida Keys, we are no stranger to opportunistic invaders trying to takeover habitats that aren’t rightfully theirs. SITUATION An invasive plant… Read More
Almost as if a starting bell rang, hundreds of Royal Poinciana caterpillars can be seen ascending Royal Poinciana trees just after sunset. Then, nearly in harmony with daylight cresting over the horizon, their decent begins and the caterpillars… Read More
This is the time of year where there is an increase in disease and pest pressures with our high temperatures and summer rains. So if you find bugs on your plants, before you reach for your arsenal of… Read More
Come out next Saturday, June 16th, to the Tropical Fruit Festival in Key West at The Truman Little White House. The event starts at 9:00 am and goes till 1:00 pm. This is a free event for residents… Read More
Hurricane Season begins June 1st and many are still putting the pieces back together from Irma. So what does landscape hurricane preparedness mean? Address the Hazards Hurricane Irma created a lot of damage to our mature tree canopy… Read More
Skeletonized leaves; Help! Help! What’s killing my Ficus trees? These are the questions, subject lines, and visits to our Extension office that have filled my days the last couple weeks. Residents saying, “It sounds like it’s raining under… Read More
I recently had the pleasure of visiting Bok Tower Gardens in Lake Wales, Florida and experienced one of their newest additions, a children’s garden. As much a playground as a place for growing plants, it was full of whimsical… Read More
Aphids are soft bodied pear-shaped insects generally less than 1/8 inch long and usually green in color but many are black, brown, pink, yellow, blue, or white. Most aphids are wingless but when colonies become overcrowded or the… Read More
