Pollinator facts:

Our pollinators are in trouble with declining numbers worldwide. There are multiple causes including, habitat loss, pesticide use, invasive plants, climate change, and diseases.

In Florida, we have 300 native bees, 160 butterfly species that breed here and about 200 species that migrate through the state, and 3 commonly seen hummingbird species.

Bees are our most efficient pollinators. Practicing “flower Constancy,” searching for certain plants on their foraging trips. They go to and from the same species of flower. Pollinating a third of the world’s food supply.

Searching for nectar, butterflies pick up pollen and accidentally pollinate, not quite as efficient as the honeybee. Yet, several plant species, like milkweed and other wildflowers, depend on butterflies to transfer their pollen.

Hummingbirds are hungry creatures feeding most of the day. This makes them perfect pollinators for many flowers. Certain flower varieties have evolved to become even more appealing to these tiny birds.

Gardening for Pollinators in your own yard can help! As natural habitats are being destroyed to accommodate new development, the importance of gardening to assist bee and butterfly populations is growing. Planting a pollinator garden in your yard helps combat this loss of natural habitats.

Selecting the right plants for your Pollinator Garden

BEES: Honeybees prefer white, yellow, purple, and blue flowers — they can’t even see the color red! Bees also need a nice-sized landing pad, so broad petal, daisy-like flowers are best. Finally, they need both pollen and nectar to feed the hive. So fruit-producing trees and shrubs, as well as native plants, fill the bill.

BUTTERFLIES: If you want a well-attended butterfly party in your yard, invite your local butterfly species by planting their favorite host plants! Butterflies require specific host plant species to lay their eggs on, along with food and shelter. Then add some nectar plants, preferably with red, orange, yellow, and pink trumpet-shaped flowers, to feed your guest.

HUMMINGBIRDS: Brightly colored, preferably red, tubular flowers that hold the most nectar are particularly attractive to hummingbirds. Plant these sugar-rich plants near and around your home and patio areas for the best opportunity to view these elusive and amazing birds.

Important Tips:

Avoid using insecticides and other harmful chemicals in your garden.

Shop the garden centers at different times to select plants that bloom in different seasons.

Fertilize with organic plant foods, like compost and fish fertilizer.

Choose plants for butterflies that will provide food for caterpillars.

Common caterpillar host plants: Milkweed, Parsley, Dill, Fennel, Dutchman’s Pipevine, Passion Vine, Azalea, Cassia/Senna Trees

Butterfly adults need more than nectar from flowers. Try setting out a dish full of fruit scraps. Fill the bottom with a very shallow layer of water mixed with sea salt and watch which butterflies hang around for a snack.

 

 

 

Useful Links:

https://www.fs.fed.us/wildflowers/pollinators/documents/AttractingPollinatorsEasternUS_V1.pdf

https://gardeningsolutions.ifas.ufl.edu/design/types-of-gardens/butterfly-gardens.html

Consider these October Gardening tips for improved lawn and garden enjoyment during the cooler months ahead of next Spring. These tips are specifically for Northeast Florida gardeners and are heavily influenced by weather changes, including the end of the rainy season, fewer daylight hours, and a 10F degree drop in temperature.

-Pay attention to your plants watering needs as October’s monthly rainfall averages 4′”, a significant drop from rainy season averages between June and September. Although it’s chillier with fewer hours of sunlight, October can still register highs in the 80s, accompanied by windy conditions that rapidly dry out the soil. And remember irrigation schedule water restrictions fall from twice to once per week watering when Daylight Savings Time ends on Sunday, November 5, per the City of Jacksonville Ordinance Code Chapter 366.

-You can fertilize your perennials, bulbs, citrus, palms, and other select trees and shrubs during October. However, how often and what time of year to fertilize for maximum benefit can depend on the type of plant and type of fertilizer NPK assay and whether it’s a liquid, powder, or granular. Even though Florida county Fertilizer blackout periods around the state are typically lifted by the end of September, continue being careful to overuse fertilizers and apply them correctly, as they can harm your plants and cause environmental damage.

-If applying a Winterizer fertilizer on our Florida warm-season grasses, do so with a nitrogen-free product and apply before dormancy.

-Consider applying organic mulch to your gardening beds to protect bare roots and soil from falling temperatures and nutrient runoff. Earth Works Lawn Care can provide you a mulching quote.

-Tender warm-season bulbs and tubers such as caladiums and gladiolus can be dug up, inspected for fungus, cleaned of dirt, and stored in peat moss, perlite, or vermiculite in a cool location until Spring planting season.

-Overseeding with ryegrass can be done in October to add Winter color to your dormant warm-season grass lawn. Both perennial and annual ryegrass is available for those considering these October Gardening Tips.

-Houseplants kept outside during the warmer months should be examined for pests and treated accordingly. Continue with your fertilization requirements for your houseplants and prepare to move them and other tender tropicals indoors ahead of any air temperature drops below their healthy growing requirements.

-Prepare the ground for Fall herbs and vegetable garden beds, perennials, and Spring bulbs. Add compost and soil amendments specifically formulated for the growing requirements of your plantings. For the veggie beds, consider planting beans, broccoli, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, collards, cucumbers, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onions, radishes, summer squash, and turnips.

-Continue weeding warm-season weeds, and if considering using a pre-emergent herbicide, apply ahead of the seed germination of cold-season weeds. “Regardless of where you live, the application window for fall pre-emergents should be when temperatures are below 70 degrees and dropping,” according to Sod Solutions. “It should be noted that a pre-emergent herbicide that is applied before you overseed in the fall will keep your seed from growing.”

-Avoid trimming your trees and shrubs except for instances of dieback, disease, and damage. Trimming your trees and shrubs at the wrong time can jeopardize leaf and flower buds that have already been set, resulting in poorer growth and blooms in Spring depending on whether they set their blooms on old or new wood.

-October is a terrific time to plant trees and shrubs as the cooler temperatures reduce stress and facilitate faster acclimation.

-Monitor the water temperature in your koi pond and reduce the amount of food they are fed and consider lower protein formulations available at the Earth Works garden center.

-Aeration and Top Dressing renews your lawn soil with beneficial microbes, and the required micro-nutrients improve oxygen supply to plant roots, and reduce soil erosion and runoff. Earth Works’ lawn care division provides this service. Our garden center likewise has many varieties of high quality soils for your gardening needs.

-This is a good time to begin planning any landscaping projects on your mind with a member of our landscape design team at Earth Works. Along with being a good time to plant it can reduce wait times for ordering products and beats the Spring rush.

For more specific October gardening tips speak directly with a member of our Earth Works Garden Center staff. And for comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden and landscaping needs contact Earth Works of Jacksonville at 904-996-0712. Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, drainage solutions, water features, lawn care service, and lawn spraying.

Earth Works proudly serves clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park, Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.

MAY LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS: WEATHER

We open May Lawn and Garden Tips recognizing that Mothers Day arrives on the second Sunday of this month the second and final month of Spring before the heat and showers of Summer arrive. Daily high and low temperatures increase 5-10 degrees, typically averaging between 70°F and 87°F. As traffic at the neighborhood garden center suggests, May is prime time for working in your yard, and tending to the lawn and garden ahead of Summer. While April rainfall was 5.22 inches and on paper exceeding the 2.93 inch average for the month, 4.5 inches of it came down in only today’s, April 7 & 17. Heavy rain for a few hours followed by days of drought conditions results in soil erosion and stormwater runoff that isn’t optimum for landscapes or the environment. The other four days of rain in April were clustered together with long dry spells most of the month. Our lawns and gardens do better with three weekly rain events that for best results require supplemental irrigation and hand watering during dry periods. Don’t wait until after the damage is done. Look for signs of heat stress and supplement your plant’s water supply, which besides hydration reduces their susceptibility to pests and disease. May is normally slightly drier than April ahead of nearly tripling the rainfall during June and July, when monthly rainfall averages are 6.5 inches. Hurricane Season starts June 1.

MAY LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS: PLANTINGS
Suppose you didn’t get your pollinator-attracting flowering perennials and annuals planted in April. May is a good time in the middle of Spring to keep planting. A few of the long list of bloomers ready to pick out and plant from the Earth Works garden center include Begonias, bougainvillea, coleus, coral honeysuckle, cuphea, hibiscus, lantana, mandevilla, milkweed, passion vines, roses, and salvia. Did we mention palm trees? Yes, we have a wide selection of both small and large, container and field-grown palm trees in stock with designers and staff that can pair you up with the right variety. How about houseplants? Did you make it to our Houseplant Social? Lots of great houseplants are in stock.

It’s not too late to grow herbs and vegetables. While it can be a little late for tomatoes that don’t like the oppressive heat of summer switch from planting seeds to growing seedlings that already have a good start in their growing cycle. Container gardening is a terrific option for starting a wide variety of plants. It allows you to move them to varied light positions and see where they are best suited for your landscape design. Earth Works garden center, landscape designers, and lawn care staff are available to assist you in developing a beautiful, healthy, and manageable lawn and garden.

MAY LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS: PRUNING

In May, your plants should already be putting out new growth, and for ones that aren’t, look for Winter cold, disease, or parasite damage. Prune your spring flowering plants and hedge plants such as azaleas and oleander back after blooming to allow maximum growth ahead of their next bloom cycle on new growth. Remove dead, damaged, and diseased growth. Consider sterilizing your lawn and garden equipment with diluted chlorine/bleach solution to avoid transferring fungus, disease, pests, and parasites from one shrub or plant to another.

MAY LAWN AND GARDEN TIPS: FERTILIZATION

Your fertilization needs are going to depend on the nutrient requirements of your specific plants, soil composition, and fertility. Native plants are adapted to local soil conditions and need less fertilization than plants categorized as moderate and heavy feeders. Heavy feeders such as fruits, vegetables and flowering ornamentals benefit from weekly, bi-weekly, and monthly fertilization that can include a combination of foliar sprays, teas, and time-release granular. We recommend Espoma Organic’s full line of products enriched with beneficial mycorrhizae fungi for improving root function. We stock Espoma Organics Biotone for new plantings planting and other formulations to fertilize established plants.

“Macronutrients are essential for plant growth and a good overall state of the plant,” according to AGQ Labs. “The primary macronutrients are Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K). Of the 60 chemical elements that comprise plants, 16 of them are essential. Of those 16, some are extracted from the air in the form of CO2 or water. These are carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen. If for now we set aside leaf fertilization and the three above-mentioned elements, the remaining 13 are extracted from the soil. These are divided into macronutrients and micronutrients, all of which are essential for crops.”

Soil pH can bind up nutrients, making them unavailable in slow-release granular. In contrast, foliar sprays deliver those same micronutrients to the plant. Thus, it’s also essential to know your soil pH, a free test with recommendations for amendments where necessary by the University of Florida is encouraged. For more information, read “Soil Testing in Northeast Florida.”

MAY LAWN & GARDEN TIPS: PEST CONTROL

If your soil forms crusts and pools water, it’s compacted and not allowing proper percolation or nutrient absorption. Consider doing core aeration and top dressing to increase the organic matter in your soil and improve soil retention and the bioavailability of micro-nutrients. Be on the lookout for signs of weeds, insects, mold, and fungus in the lawn and garden. We recommend treating Leaf miners and other varieties of sapsuckers with Spinosad, a derivative of the soil bacterium Saccharopolyspora available in Capt. Jacks Deadbug Brew.
Protect pollinators and other beneficial insects by reducing reliance on synthetic controls with spot treatments of organic solutions of neem oil and the beneficial bacteria strain Bacillus thuringiensis sold by Bonide as BT. Be on the lookout for pests and address their potential threats in advance of infestations.

When using weed and feed products in May avoid those with a pre-emergent herbicide and opt instead for the post-emergent as temperatures are above 55F. Reduce plant stress and susceptibility to pests by planting in the best light position and fertilizing appropriately for that specific plant variety. Get a quote for Earth Works Lawn Fertilization and Pest Control service.

For comprehensive solutions to your specific lawn, garden, and landscaping needs, contact Earth Works of Jacksonville online or at 904-996-0712.
Earth Works operates a retail Garden Center/Plant Nursery in Jacksonville and provides landscaping, hardscaping, water features, lawn care service, lawn spraying, and drainage solutions.
Proudly serving clients in Northeast Florida, including Jacksonville, Ponte Vedra Beach, Atlantic Beach, Neptune Beach, Jacksonville Beach, Nocatee, St. Johns, Fleming Island, Orange Park,  Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, Amelia Island, Fernandina, and St. Augustine.