Tag: pests

What do we really lose when we lose a tree? A thousand silent voices removed from the universal chorus. The tree is not a stand-alone unit, a single entity, a monument of stony bark, the tree is they. A connected symbiosis of lichens, fungi, epiphytes, ferns, mammals, birds, reptiles, and multitudes of insects. A mature,…

Dear King Phillip Thousands upon thousands of plants exist in the world. To better understand the thousands of plants, we use plant taxonomy to organize and classify different plant groups. You may remember the phrase from high school biology, “Dear King Phillip came over for good soup.” This mnemonic allows us (or me) to remember the varying levels of taxonomic classifications we…

As a commercial horticulture agent, I have been asked many questions about turfgrass. The following are some of the questions and answers. ■ Can I use an herbicide to control torpedograss in the St Augustine lawn?  Ans: No herbicide is available to control torpedograss that will not injure St Augustine grass. ■ Is ProVista St. Augustine more resistant…

Happy National Pollinator Week! Please join us in celebrating a week full of pollinators of all shapes, colors, and sizes! First incepted by the US Senate on September 21, 2006, National Pollinator Week was initiated to “recognize the importance of pollinators to our ecosystem health and agriculture.” Really, the importance of pollinators cannot be understated.…

Gulf Fritillary butterfly on native scarlet salvia. A. Marek, UF/IFAS If you’ve noticed a decline in butterflies, bees and birds, you’re not alone. Worldwide, pollinators are in drastic decline. Approximately 3 billion birds from the United States to Canada are gone, and 90% of monarch butterflies in North America have vanished. And for the first time…

Many of you may love to travel by plane, and if you’re anything like me, you may enjoy getting a window seat.  I think that there is something wonderful about looking down on the earth, seeing     Groundwater discharges into freshwater springs and is affected by higher groundwater nitrogen. people moving about their day, fields in…

Let’s travel back in time—to an early 16th century summer. You’re standing in an uncut longleaf pine forest in Florida; you have a ¼ mile view in every direction. Yellow and purple flowers dot the landscape of wiregrass, saw palmetto, and blueberry bushes. In one step, you cross over a hundred species of plants. A…

 Hello Avid Readers and welcome back! This week we will be celebrating slightly in advance of Pollinator Week. Our vegetable and flower gardens serve as a point of pride for many of us green thumbs. We want to protect our veggies from pests, but it is important to keep our pollinator friends in mind. So,…

June offers hotter temperatures, humidity and possible thunderstorm activity. In addition, school is out and many people take time to go on vacation. This leaves less time for landscape and garden chores. But there are things to do in the June landscape and garden here in the Northwest Florida area.  In today’s article, I’ll share…