This time of year, you may notice bursts of white-flowered shrubs along roadsides, trails, and other natural areas. If they have monarchs on them, too, the plant is likely saltbush (Baccharis halimifolia). Saltbush is a native shrub in the ... READ MORE
Category: , Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
Story and Photos by Gage LaPierre/UF Native Plant Nursery Project manager After months of growing and preparing, our little green recruits have officially made it into the field! The UF/IFAS Native Plant Nursery Project recently teamed ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Natural Resources
As Florida's summer heat begins to fade, fall offers one of the best opportunities to add native plants to your landscape. Cooler temperatures, lower evaporation rates, and seasonal rainfall help plants establish strong root systems before ... READ MORE
Category: , Conservation, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Lawn, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
Shortly after taking my current position in Chipley, Florida, we purchased a piece of property in what is affectionately (and ecologically) known as the Sandhills. We built a house and left as much of the lot undisturbed as possible which has ... READ MORE
Category: Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS Extension
In Part I of this series, we looked at the plant structures involved in propagation, including stems, leaves, buds and roots. Now it’s time to put that anatomy knowledge to work! A cutting is a portion of a plant that is removed from ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, Natural Resources, UF/IFAS, UF/IFAS Extension, UF/IFAS Teaching
Last week in the middle of that brutal stretch of extreme heat (temperatures in the upper 90’s, heat indexes reading 108-118), I walked out in our office garden to stretch my legs. An overhead irrigation sprayer was on for the parched ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Natural Resources, Wildlife
In Florida and elsewhere, cities are a mixture of exotic and native species. These novel or “recombinant ecosystems” represent unique plant and animal communities that have been purposely or accidentally created by humans. The question posed ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Invasive Species, Lawn, Turf, UF/IFAS Extension, Wildlife
To claim a permanent place in my perennial bed, I ask only three things of a plant: be self-sufficient after becoming established, don’t be invasive in natural areas or overly aggressive in the garden, and look pretty for at least most of ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes
The Grape That Loves a Southern Summer Late summer in the Panhandle has a flavor, and for a lot of us it tastes like muscadines. If you grew up here, one bite can send you straight back to a hot afternoon spent picking grapes off a backyard ... READ MORE
Category: Agriculture, Crops, Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, Horticulture, UF/IFAS Research
If you want to truly solve a problem, it’s always best to go back to the original source. Piecemeal fixes can patch things up for a while, but they won’t last. For well over 70 years, Escambia County and the City of Pensacola have dealt ... READ MORE
Category: Natural Resources