No matter what gardening project you are planning (vegetable garden, replacing your lawn, planting a tree, etc.), the best place to start is with a soil test. The University of Florida's Soil Testing Lab will analyze your sample for levels of ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping
Every summer we get a flood of emails and samples from residents who have problems with spots on their plant’s leaves. Florida summertime weather is perfect for fungi and a variety of insects who may be to blame for this problem. ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Work & Life
Ginger is a perennial plant that can be grown for culinary uses and is a great addition to food forests and edible gardens. The leafy foliage looks very tropical and it grows well in Central Florida. It helps if you add compost or organic matter ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping
According to Legend, Juan Ponce de Leon arrived in our fair state on April 2, 1513 and promptly named it La Florida, or “The Land of Flowers.” Perhaps he was honoring the Easter Holy Week in which he landed. Perhaps he was the first Marketing ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping
Growing pineapples at home is easy! Interested in adding a patch of pineapples to your home garden? Learn how to grow perfect pineapples from University of Florida researchers and take home 3 Ananas comosus 'Florida Special' pineapple plants ... READ MORE
Category: Fruits & Vegetables, Home Landscapes, SFYL Hot Topic
Bring on the Monarch butterflies! The fall eastern migration route of the world’s most famous butterfly, the North American Monarch (Danaus plexippus), may include the Florida peninsula as they fly south to Mexico, with some staying in ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Work & LifeHit the “easy button!” American beautyberry (Callicarpa americana) is very easy to grow, requiring no maintenance other than elective pruning. The light green deciduous native shrub grows 3-8 feet high and 4-8 feet wide in Florida’s USDA ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Work & LifeWith the botanical name Psychotria nervosa you ask, “why put this plant in my yard?” The name translates “life” and “sinewy,” describing red berries that birds and small mammals eat and green shiny leaves with pronounced veins. ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Work & Life
Are you frustrated that with all the energy and money devoted to your yard, you still have patchy turfgrass or weed spots? Or you are spending too much money to keep your grass green? Did you know... it all starts with irrigation! In this ... READ MORE
Category: Conservation, Events, Florida-Friendly Landscaping, Home Landscapes, Lawn, Natural Resources, Pests & Disease, UF/IFAS Extension, Water
Every spring our office receives dozens of calls about certain insects that emerge around this time each spring. The problem is that some years these insects come back in massive numbers, which can make some folks understandably nervous. One ... READ MORE
Category: Florida-Friendly Landscaping