Feature Article - for release the week of New Years, December 30, 2007

Angela Sachson - Extension Florida Yards & Neighborhood Program

This year I resolve to…

Today’s column is, of course, about resolutions.  It’s the end of December and time for our lists to be written.  Somewhere on your list, maybe down a ways, might be something about your Florida Yard, garden, or landscape.  I asked some Okeechobee folks I know to think about gardening, and they came up with some interesting and varied ideas for gardening resolutions for 2008. 

Pat Miller, County Extension Director, on the subject of landscaping — “don’t plant anything you will have to prune”.

Okeechobee Master Gardeners:

*       Learn Bonsai—the National Bonsai society is meeting at Cape Canaveral June.6-9.  

*       Learn pruning techniques,   In fact, the extension office will offer a class on home tree pruning in early 2008.

*       Label my 200 iris,

*       Plant some native palms—did you know that cabbage palm is our state tree? 

*       Design and plant a butterfly garden for my grandkids to enjoy.

*       Use native plants to attract native butterflies including our state butterfly the Zebra Long wing. 

*       Learn how to keep my orchids alive – a good place to learn would be the 19th World Orchid Conference International being held in Miami January 23-27, 2008.

*       Several MGs suggested that this be the year that we landscape the Extension office entrance.

Judge Bill Hendry, our veteran Okeechobee Master Gardener, and also famous for his croton collection--plans to cut back and air-layer his crotons in March and April.  (Mrs. Hendry’s resolution is to stem the tide of His Honor’s Croton acquisition but she doubts that will happen.  Too many beautiful new varieties appear regularly.)

Dan Culbert, Okeechobee Horticulture Agent:  find ten people who want to be Master Gardeners and enroll them in the next class beginning February 20, 2008.   I second that.  If you think you might be interested please call us at 763-6469 or stop by the office on a Tuesday afternoon to hear how much fun Master Gardeners have.  Sometimes people say they think they are not knowledgeable enough - but the class teaches you all you need.  In fact, the most valuable skill for a Master Gardener is the ability to search creatively and with determination.  Dan also vows to scout his landscape regularly to look for potential problems and “nip them in the bud,” no pun intended.

Harry Hoffner, president of the Okeechobee Orchid Club wants to make sure everyone remembers that Orchids don’t like temperatures below 40 degrees.  He turns on the heat in his greenhouse and reminded me that I should bring my tender orchids inside on cold nights.

Most interesting to me was the response from Okeechobee Mayor Jim Kirk.  He hadn’t made any gardening resolutions, but expressed a concern.  In the face of increasing scarcity of water we must find ways to landscape which do not require intensive irrigation. He believes we need to research use of native plants and others which are less thirsty than turf grass.

(Not long after my conversation with the Mayor, the South Florida Water Management District issued its new water restrictions.  Effective January 15, limit landscape watering to once a week.)

Angela’s Edicts:

Which brings me to my own resolutions - I want to increase the number of people in Okeechobee who do the following:

*       Reduce the amount of turfgrass in the landscape.  Use more groundcovers, shrubby plants, trees and natives.  Use turfgrass only where you really need it.

*       Mow High. Most Florida grass varieties should be mowed to height of three to four inches.  The height of the lawn is roughly the depth of the root system.  Tall lawns have deeper roots and therefore they are more drought tolerant.  St. Augustinegrass should never be cut shorter than 2.5 inches.

*       Water Deeply.  Deep watering encourages longer roots which produces drought tolerance.  Use cups or cans to find out how long it takes your sprinkler to put ¾ inch water on your lawn.  That should do it.

*       Water Infrequently.    The water management district is making this resolution happen.  Please comply with their requirements

Oh, and also I vow to resist buying new plants without a plan.

 

Ghosts of Christmas (Articles) Past

If you need more information on the many different kinds of  holiday plants or want to know more about the folklore and traditions associated with them, go to our county Extension website and take a look.  And if you have any special holiday plants that I’ve not covered, please let me know and I will see what I can find.

I’ve placed more information on our Okeechobee web page, http://okeechobee.ifas.ufl.edu.  If you need additional information on  caring for your Florida Yard, please email us at okeechobee@ifas.ufl.edu or call us at 863-763-6469.  Local residents can stop by our office at 458 Hwy 98 North in Okeechobee, and visit our Okeechobee County Master Gardeners from 1 to 3 PM on Tuesday afternoons. HAPPY NEW YEAR – and GO GATORS!

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Trade  names, where used, are given for the purpose of providing specific information. They do not constitute an endorsement or guarantee of products named, nor does it imply criticism of products not named. The Florida Cooperative Extension Service - Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is an equal opportunity/affirmative action employer authorized to provide research, educational information, and other services to individuals and institutions that function without regard to race, color, sex, age, handicap, or national origin.  Florida Cooperative Extension Service / IFAS / University of Florida.  Larry A.  Arrington, Dean. Last update: 12/21/2007.  This page is maintained by Dan Culbert