Florida Native Plant Society Blog

 A guest post by Kari Ruder owner of Naturewise Nursery in Cocoa, FL. in response to Monday's post Supporting the Native Plant Industry . Be sure to respond to Kari and all the other native plant professionals who work so hard to bring you locally-grown natives. Dear native plant customer, As a native plant enthusiast, I had found it difficult to find nurseries specializing in native plants when I was ready to do some landscaping. While I had some experience in gardening and Environmental Science degrees, I didn't have Florida plant specific knowledge other that what I gained through my job working for my county's Natural Resources Office and through attending talks, field trips, and conferences as a member of FNPS. I started playing around with growing a few plants on the side from seed, and after time, the idea of starting my own native plant nursery popped into my hand. There seemed to be many other people like me wanting to use native plants but not able to find e...

s The Sea Oats chapter's table with lots of literature, and sample native plants including this lovely white-flowered swamp milkweed ( Asclepias perennis ) When I read last week’s post about Diane Neill's landscape transformation, “ Keyhole Garden In –Lawn Out ,” I was surprised at the landscape guys’ comments that native plants weren’t pretty ("The doom and gloom guys"), but last weekend I heard a grower say the exact same thing and more. I was a vendor at the Garden and Home Show in St. Augustine October 1 & 2. While I’m not on an official book tour, it was fairly close to home and I was available with a box of books to sell. The weather was gorgeous and a fair number of folks came out to buy plants, participate in the 4-H activities, and to hear presentations. The Sea Oats FNPS chapter had a table at the entrance to the hall. A swamp sunflower ( Helianthus angustifolius ) next to my table with a Sleepy Orange butterfly guest. I'd also bought ...

I have never hidden my great love of hawthorns (Crataegus spp. ).  I am unabashedly fond of them for a great many reasons and I have promoted their use in Florida landscapes for more than 20 years.  My love of haws comes from both their beauty and utility; traits that make them especially useful in landscapes designed for wildlife and for aesthetics.  And, given the large number of native species possible, there are excellent choices for nearly every setting likely to be encountered. Hawthorns belong to the Rose Family, along with the plums, cherries, serviceberries, and crabapples.  Roses are revered for their beautiful 5-petal flowers, which are often present in the spring, and the production of nutritious fruit, generally high in vitamin C.  Florida’s hawthorns all produce white blooms; either solitary, in small clusters, or in large masses across the canopy.  The fruit are Green haw: small flower clusters variable in color, size, and time of ...

Tillandsia fasciculata, or Cardinal Airplant, a native epiphyte   Spring is here, at least in South Florida, and it will be coming your way soon even if you are in the northernmost regions of the state. That means the cypress needles are stretching upward, with the beautiful luminescent green of their new growth. The pink fetterbush, red tillandsias and firebush are all showing cheerful color. Spring is traditionally a time when people begin to be serious about deciding for sure which plants will be going into their landscapes, so it's  a good time to remind gardeners about the need to plan for cold hardy plants. We had plenty of cold this winter, and the results were obvious in landscapes that had not been well-planned. In February I was trying to sell, for a relative, a house that had been planted with a row of areca palms to provide screening. The cold weather turned these palms completely brown. They weren't dead; but they might as well have been dead, because they l...

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...

Ardisia in bloom An electrifying event occurred at my house last week when I received the newest copy of the Palmetto , our FNPS flagship magazine. When the Palmetto arrives here, all decks are cleared and I sit down for a soothing session of uninterrupted native plant bliss.  On this particular day, I had just posted an article here about marlberry - Ardisia escallonioides. You may remember that I LOVE this shrub and had been liberal with descriptions of its virtues. Imagine my dismay when I read in Craig Huegel's Palmetto article that he classified marlberry as a plant with a deficiency!! (Don't worry, this has a happy ending.) Dr. Huegel states, "Species such as marlberry, myrsine ( Rapanea punctata ), and coffees ( Psychotria spp. ) are good examples of woderful wildlife plants that need to be carefully placed within the landscape to get their full value." Well, I can tell you, I leapt up and ran to my computer to beg for clarification. I am delighted to te...

Our native butterfly sage is buzzing with bees and swirling with butterflies. Four mockingbirds take turns feeding on the red berries, and two brown thrashers sift through the leaf litter for insects - all within view from our patio. Flowers and fruits are important for wildlife, yet insects and spiders are the main diet of young, growing birds. Many species of native insects eat the leaves, buds and seeds of our native plants, while only a few have gotten past the chemical defenses of introduced exotics. Thousands of caterpillars and other insects and spiders are hiding in most large native trees. During the nesting season, it is important to have these trees so as to supply the insect food for our next generation of birds. Insects contain more protein than beef does. Exotic plants are sold as pest-free. This sounds great to most people - until we realize that "pest-free" means that the plant arrived here without any of the insects that feed on it back home. Even if a pest...