How hurricane winds help move plants
What did Hurricane Irma’s high winds mean to the spreading of plants? Will we see more plant movement as a result? The answers depend on a variety of factors.
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Fall planting – it’s the perfect time for wildflowers
“Fall is for planting” has been the unofficial promotional campaign of the nursery industry for many years. This slogan applies to sowing seeds of native wildflowers and grasses as well, at least here in Florida. Learn how to establish a planting of wildflowers, whether as a garden or converting some turfgrass to a low-maintenance meadow.
When wildflowers blow in the wind
As summer progresses many of our fall-blooming wildflowers become tall and stately, forming backdrops and filling fence rows as they reach peak bloom from September through December. But this also is when storms increase, bringing intense waves of wind and rain. And there are always those unpredictable hurricanes. Here’s how one wildflower garden survived Hurricane Irma’s big blow and steps you can take to hopefully rescue your own plantings.
Layering is key in Orange County meadow design
Central Florida gardeners will soon a have a new location to see and explore Florida’s native wildflowers and grasses. A no-mow wildflower meadow is being installed at the Orange County UF/IFAS Extension’s Exploration Gardens in Orlando, funded by the Florida Wildflower Foundation’s Viva Florida Landscape Demonstration Garden grant. The meadow will be approximately 2,700 square feet and will include 25 species of Florida native wildflowers and grasses. Eventually, it will connect two sections of a planned native tree walk.
Know your native pollinators: Sweat bees
Halictidae, or sweat bees, are an extremely diverse group that are often abundant year round. Some are metallic green, others are smaller than a grain of rice, and nearly all are valuable pollinators.
A retirement and a new face in the Panhandle
Eleanor Dietrich stepped down July 28 from her post as the the Florida Wildflower Foundation’s Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT)/Panhandle Wildflower Alliance (PWA) liaison. Liz Sparks, a veteran of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC) and state Department of Environmental Protection, will take over Dietrich’s responsibilities.
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Dr. Walter Taylor presents at the 2014 Florida Wildflower Symposium.