Category: Lawn

Chinch bug challenges continue in 2025


August 6, 2025

2024 was arguably the most challenging year in the past decade for Florida chinch bug management. Phone call after email after meeting, I was hearing pest control professionals describe their struggles to control chinch bugs in lawns. None of ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Lawn, Pest Control, Resistance, Southern Chinch Bug, St. Augustinegrass, Turf

Reclaiming Water: Reclaimed Water Usage, Part 2


August 5, 2025

What is ‘Reclaimed Water’? According to the USEPA and UF/IFAS, reclaimed water is recycled wastewater that has been thoroughly treated, at least to the secondary level, for reuse. This treatment removes harmful organisms and substances, ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Coasts & Marine, Conservation, Crops, Farm Management, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Professional Development, Recreation, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, , Water
Tags: Alternative Water Supply, Florida Water, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Irrigation, Irrigation Calibration, Irrigation System, Residential Irrigation, Sustainable Landscape, Wastewater, Wastewater Treatment

Create a Buggy Yard!


August 4, 2025

Insect populations are on the decline. This is a serious problem because insects are a primary source of food for any ecosystem. Birds, reptiles, and small mammals rely on insects as a major part of their diet. There are TEN simple things ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching, Water, Wildlife
A green, leafy pile of freshly washed purslane stems.

Purslane in the Garden


August 1, 2025

Summer vegetable-garden weeds can be a problem for gardeners.  It's too hot to check weed growth every afternoon.  And we really only have a few vegetable plants which will survive the heat of a Florida summer.  Deciding to let the garden ... READ MORE

Category: Agriculture, Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Food Safety, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Home Management, Horticulture, Lawn
Tags: Eat The Weeds, Edible, Florida Foraging, Foraging, Free Vegetables, Nutrition, Pickling, Purslane, Weed Identification, Weeds, Wild Edibles
a view of kids playing on synthetic turf

Scorching temps from California turf raises questions about artificial turf, xeriscaping in humid states like Florida


July 30, 2025

While artificial turf and rock-heavy xeriscapes are marketed as low-maintenance, drought-resistant alternatives to traditional lawns, research by University of Florida scientists shows it comes at unexpected environmental and public safety ... READ MORE

Category: Conservation, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, SFYL Hot Topic, Turf, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research
Tags: Artificial Turf, Drought, Drought-resistant, Enrvironmental Horticulture, Environmental Costs, Florida Law, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fort Lauderdale Research And Education Center, Heat, Institute Of Food And Agricultural Sciences, Marco Schiavon, Natural Turf, News, Public Safety, Rock-heavy Xeriscape, Surface Temperatures, Synthetic Turf, Traditional Lawns, Turfgrass Science, UF-IFAS, University Of Florida, Weeds
A thermometer placed on green grass

Las abrasadoras temperaturas del césped artificial en California cuestionan su viabilidad en regiones húmedas como Florida


July 30, 2025

Creado por Lourdes Mederos, gerente de relaciones públicas en español para el Departamento de Comunicaciones de UF/IFAS. Si bien el césped artificial y los xerojardines con abundantes rocas se comercializan como alternativas a los céspedes ... READ MORE

Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Natural Resources, SFYL Hot Topic, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Research, Water
Tags: Ahorro De Agua, Alternativas Sintéticas, Cálido, California, Calor, Centro De Educación E Investigación De UF/IFAS Localizado En Fort Lauderdale, Césped, Césped Artificial, Césped Natural, Césped Sintético, Césped Vivo, Céspedes, Conferencia Internacional De Investigación Sobre Céspedes, Español, Exceso De Agua, Extensión De UF/IFAS, Florida, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, FLREC, Grama, Jardines, Marco Schiavon, Ordenanzas Locales, Riego, Rocas, Spanish, Temperaturas, Temperaturas Abrasadoras, Temperaturas Superficiales, UF, UF-IFAS, Xerojardines, Zonas Verdes

Butterfly Attractor: Passion Vine


July 24, 2025

Passion Flower is a very special Florida Native Vine - it is a larval (caterpillar) host plant for two beautiful butterflies. What this means is that if you grow Passiflora incarnata, you will probably have a visit from Zebra Longwing and Gulf ... READ MORE

Category: 4-H & Youth, Agriculture, Crops, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension

Hillsborough County Plant Clinic Offers Free Service to Answer Lawn and Landscape Questions


July 23, 2025

Plant Clinic Services UF/IFAS Extension Hillsborough County has trained Master Gardener Volunteers and staff to answer your questions about turfgrass, vegetables, fruit trees, ornamental plants, shrubs, trees and more. We offer insect and ... READ MORE

Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Invasive Species, Lawn, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension
Tags: Disease, Free, Garden Help, Help Desk, Hillsborough County, Insect, Plant Clinic, Soil, Tampa Bay, UF/IFAS Extension
Hand lens being used to view brown leaf spots on plant leaf

July Plant Clinic in Fort Walton Beach this Friday


July 16, 2025

The July Plant Clinic will be held 9 a.m. to 11 a.m. on Friday, July 18 at the temporary UF/IFAS Extension Annex located at the Okaloosa Technical College (OTC) in Fort Walton Beach. The plant clinic is designed to provide a place and time ... READ MORE

Category: Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Pests & Disease, Pests & Disease
Tags: Insect Identification, Plant Clinic, Plant Diagnostics, Soil Testing, Weed Identification

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