Florida Native Plant Society Blog

When scheduling Butterfly Holiday trips to all parts of the world, I always leave open the months of September and October. During this time, the greatest diversity and number of butterflies and many other N.E. Florida pollinators are attracted to  flowering plants in the Genera: Carphephorus , Liatris , Dalea , Vaccinium , Dioda , Elephantopus , Bidens , Lachnanthes , and  others. Southern Dogface on Liatris pauciflora When conditions are right, in the dry pinelands and sand hill areas in Julington-Durbin Preserve, Ralph E Simmons and Jennings State Forests, acres of Summer Farewell ( Dalea pinnata ) can be in bloom attracting multitudes of butterflies and other Northeast Florida pollinators. Summer Farewell ( Dalea pinnata ) There are eight native Dalea species growing in Florida. Three are vouchered in Northeast Florida, D. carnea , D. carnea var. albida , and D. pinnata , with D. pinnata being the most common. Summer Farewell ( Dale...

Are you planning  native wildflower garden this year? If your garden design is calling for more than a couple of containers or a small patch, then you will love these tips straight from an expert, Jeff Norcini (OecoHort, LLC), a contractor for  the FloridaWildflower Foundation.     First of all, says Jeff, choose a site that has a good chance of being successful. Your wildflower garden needs to be in a place that: is free from established populations of weeds like nut-sedge and torpedo grass gets plenty of sunlight, at least 6 hours, mid morning to afternoon is best and, is well drained Jeff Norcini   Weeds are the number one downfall of wildflower gardens! So start with an  area that has few to no weeds: advance planning is critical. You can kill your turfgrass by smothering it, and then plant into the decomposing matter. Jeff is very definite about the DO NOT TILL mantra. Tilling just brings more weed seeds to the surface where they can germi...