Category: Agriculture

Join the 42nd annual Master Gardener Volunteer training class in 2025.

by Paul Schumaker
December 4, 2024

By Ralph E. Mitchell Are you a candidate for the Charlotte County Master Gardener Volunteer Program? Do you enjoy meeting and talking with people? Do you like searching for answers to gardening questions that you or others have? If so, ... READ MORE

A legion of common names, but all the same plant

by Ralph Mitchell
October 23, 2023

The botanical name given to plants is always exacting in that no matter where you are in the world, the Latin name is used. Common names associated with plants often get in the way and can introduce confusion, but they also can bring descriptive ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Cestrum, Cestrum Nocturnum, Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Shrub

Foolproof Palm Care: Florida Silver Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
November 7, 2022

Although Florida is home to countless numbers of palms, the list of palms that are actually native to Florida is remarkably short, among them being the Florida Silverpalm (Coccothrinax argentata), so named because of the bluish-silver undersurface ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Ornamental, Palms

Foolproof Palm Care: European Fan Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
November 7, 2022

Among the short list of cold-hardy palms which can tolerate temperatures below freezing, the European Fan Palm (Chamerops humilis) is the only one native to - you guessed it - Europe. It is also one of the slower-growing palms, but its curved ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Ornamental, Palms

Foolproof Palm Care: Areca (Butterfly) Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
October 28, 2022

The Areca palm aka butterfly palm (Dypsis lutescens) like many other palms, is notable for high wind resistance. It also makes a great privacy screen plant due to its clumping growth habit, with multiple stems arising from a central growing ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture,
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Low-maintenance, Ornamental, Palms

Foolproof Palm Care: Bamboo Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
October 28, 2022

Bamboo palms (Chamaedorea erumpens) and many closely related species in the genus, are among the few palms that thrive in shade and low-light conditions. For this reason, they are widely used as potted indoor palms and in interiorscapes. Their ... READ MORE

Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension,
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Flowering, Gardening, Low-maintenance, Ornamental, Palms

Callus after the storm – time to seal

by Ralph Mitchell
October 27, 2022

We have an abundance of wounded trees after the hurricane, and they need some time to heal. But trees never heal their wounds – they seal them up! A wound causes the tree to react by putting down layers of wood to shut out the outside ... READ MORE

Category: Disaster Preparation, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Damaged Tree, Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Recovery, Proper Pruning

Wishbones

by Ralph Mitchell
October 20, 2022

As you are driving around Charlotte County, you are probably astonished by the amount of tree damage. A postmortem on some of this damage may show a defect called a codominant stem. This is a place where two or more stems (branches/leaders) ... READ MORE

Category: Disaster Preparation, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
Tags: Codominant Stem, Florida Certified Arborists, Hurricane Ian, Hurricane Recovery, Proper Pruning

Foolproof Palm Care: Fishtail Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
September 27, 2022

Fishtail palms (Caryota mitis) are distinctive in appearance and get their moniker from the unique shape of their leaflets which resemble the tail-fins of many common fish. Unlike most landscape palms, Fishtails can tolerate growing in shade, ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Palms

Foolproof Palm Care: Pindo Palm

by Marguerite Beckford
September 27, 2022

When it comes to lanscape palms, Pindo palms (Butia capitata) are remarkable in that they are one of the few cold-hardy palms, tolerating temperatures below freezing, without the customary 'freezer burn' typically seen on other palm species ... READ MORE

Category: Horticulture
Tags: Florida-Friendly Landscaping™, Palms

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