By Ralph E. Mitchell Blooms at this time of year catch the eye and draw you to a passing landscape. I have been seeing powderpuff shrubs in bloom with their puffy pink to red flowers punctuating the green background foliage like exploding ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
By Ralph E. Mitchell My first experience with a ylang ylang tree was living next door to one in the West Indies. At night, the heavenly fragrance would slowly drift through the air currents and eventually float into my house. Living next ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
By Ralph E. Mitchell I recently visited the Naples Botanical Garden and was overwhelmed by the beauty and the splendor of the plantings – my first visit! Of all the plants I could have focused on, the firespike collection was very attention-getting. ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
By Ralph E. Mitchell Unawares, you could be walking on a Lilliputian orchid in your own lawn and not know it! This orchid is known as the Soldier’s Orchid or Lawn Orchid. I have always known it as the Soldier’s Orchid as I for years have ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn
By Ralph E. Mitchell One problem of roses, and hundreds of other plants, is a disease called crown gall. It is caused by a bacterial disease that produces tumor-like growths on the stem of the plant near the soil level. Sometimes an ailment ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease
By Ralph E. Mitchell Some of our flowering ornamental plants are well-known for their toxic properties – oleander for example. The beauty hides a toxic nature that must be taken into consideration. One such plant that many gardeners may ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
By Ralph E. Mitchell Insect pests feed in a number of ways and caterpillars use chewing mouthparts to make their mark. One such caterpillar that does some real precision work is the palm leaf skeltonizer. This small drab caterpillar slowly ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Pests & Disease
I am going to have to repeat myself, but in addition to not liking red beets as a youth, I also did not like kale. It was probably in the manner it was served, but my mother said that once I was grown up I would like kale! Well, it did happen ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture
ORLANDO, Fla. – Spring is around the corner, and Master Gardeners across central Florida are gearing up for festivals and plant sales. The UF/IFAS Extension Master Gardeners Volunteer program, part of the University of Florida Institute ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
It is an industry standard to use dried hops in the beer production process for both Florida hop growers and hobby brewers. This EDIS publication focuses on the drying of post-harvest hops (Humulus lupulus) before storage to prevent mildew or ... READ MORE
Category: Horticulture, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research