Imagine your are about to buy a lovely little plant from a store and suddenly you wonder…is it healthy? Will it survive in my yard? Will I be able to take care of it?
Most of us who love plants have experienced this. Coming up soon in Sarasota is an event which will take the guess work out of plant buying. The 20th Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale returns to the UF/IFAS Extension Office in Twin Lakes Park, 6600 Clark Rd. on October 10, 2026 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
This popular event offers an incredible array of hundreds of Florida Friendly plants, including shrubs, trees, palms, wildflowers, pollinator plants, natives, herbs, edibles and more at better than typical retail prices. There will be Master Gardener Volunteers on hand to offer wagons, directions and friendly plant advice. Feel free to bring in a problem plant you have at home or a question for the Plant Clinic which offers personalized assistance at the sale and weekly at the UF/IFAS Extension Office.
What are Florida Friendly plants for your landscape and why does it matter? Researchers at the University of Florida, Institute of Food and Agriculture, continuously evaluate which species survive best in our 9B/10 zone of Southwestern Florida. They consider drought tolerance, soil composition and nutrients, and water pH and salinity, to determine which landscape plants survive best with minimal intervention and damage to the environment.
UF/IFAS puts out regular information on new additions to the invasive species list for Florida. One of these plants was recently seen on sale at a popular garden store locally. These plants can be problematic in your garden as they tend to overtake the existing space and can be hard to eradicate. So you want to avoid purchasing invasive species.
In addition to the science behind the plants for sale at the Annual Master Gardener Sale Oct 10, there is the loving care of the propagation team made up of Master Gardener Volunteers. These are dedicated folks who toil through the Sarasota summer days to propagate, grow, and tend lovingly to the plants that are growing now to be ready for sale in October. Yes, love goes into the plants you will buy at the Sale so that they will be beautiful and in their best form for your purchase in October.
A special highlight of coming to the Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale is the setting. Nestled into the Demonstration Gardens at the UF/IFAS, the sale location is worth visiting alone. There are gardens with a focus for the discerning gardener: Drought Tolerant Garden, Snowbird Garden designed to bloom in the winter and take care of itself in the summer, displays of gorgeous Florida Friendly ground cover as an alternative to turf grass, a large native garden and bioswale to show what you can do with a swampy area, Rose Garden for the Rose lovers who want to know what grows well in Sarasota, and many fruit and edible trees you can plant, so you can eat your way around your garden.
Come and join in the learning and the fun at the Annual Master Gardener Plant Sale October 10, 2026 8 am to 1pm. Admission is free. Come early for the best selection, as people can line up before 8 am. Bring the whole family.
This article was written by Master Gardener Volunteer, Anne Bauer.
For more information call 941-881-5000, or visit http://sarasota.ifas.ufl.edu/plantsale.
5
