Pruning Palms
Palm trees are a staple of Florida’s landscapes, but sadly they are also commonly over pruned or poorly pruned as is the case pictured here with these Mexican Fan Palms. Palms pruned this severely are a beacon for… Read More
Category: Pests & Disease
Fig Rust
Is your fig tree losing its leaves? You likely have fig rust. Not to worry, many fig trees including the very common Brown Turkey Fig are quite susceptible to this annual fungal disease in Florida’s heat and humidity…. Read More
Gingers
Ask Master Gardener Volunteer JoAnn Green For a lovely tropical appearance in some of your shady spots, try ornamental gingers. In North Florida gingers are tender perennials that will go dormant in the winter after a frost. Their… Read More
Peters’s Rock Agama on the Treasure Coast
The UF/IFAS Extension St. Lucie County is producing educational information about nonnative Peters’s rock agama that are becoming increasingly visible on the Treasure Coast. An EDIS document is currently under production. You can view the TV show that… Read More
Mealybugs – soft-bodied villains!
By Ralph E. Mitchell They creep in slowly with their unassuming soft-bodied nature settling in on plants like a meeting of tiny, friendly jelly donuts. Unbeknownst to the gardener, these insects, known as mealybugs, have inserted their mouthparts… Read More
Puff goes the weed!
By Ralph E. Mitchell There is a subtropical/tropical plant in our area that in some parts of the horticultural world is a terrarium plant, a greenhouse resident or coveted house plant. Unfortunately, in many parts of central and… Read More
About the Grape Root Borer
Introduction The two types of grapes grown in Florida, Muscadine (Vitis rotundifolia Michx.) and the American bunch (Vitis labrusca L.) grapes, are susceptible to attack from the grape root borer (GRB), Vitacea polistiformis (Harris). The GRB is the most… Read More
Announcing! New Virtual Plant Clinic with Indian River County Master Gardeners
The recent virus concerns have many of the usual county services offices closed to walk in traffic. However, this does NOT mean these services are not available. Some are available through the drive in window. Others will require… Read More
UF Indian River REC Director and Colleague Win U.K.’s Royal Entomological Society’s J.O. Westwood Medal of Excellence
For their work to complete five volumes on New World faunal surveys and taxonomy of a scarab beetle subfamily, a University of Florida scientist and his colleague have won the U.K.’s Royal Entomological Society’s J.O. Westwood Medal of… Read More
Summer 2020 Internship Q&A
Several College of Agricultural and Life Sciences students completed internships during the summer of 2020. The first student to be highlighted is Hannah Baxter, an undergraduate food and resource economics student. During this summer, Baxter interned at BASF… Read More