Category: In The News

By Rob Proctor, Gardening Expert
Thursday, July 27, 2007

This time of year, gardeners watch the weather forecasts diligently, dreading the first time temperatures drop below freezing.

On that fateful night, there are a number of tasks to get done before you go to bed. Prepare now for the first frost.

The good news is that a light frost won’t likely damage most perennials, grasses or shrubs such as roses. The vulnerable plants include tender annuals, vegetables and tropical plants. I usually rush out and harvest remaining tomatoes, peppers and eggplant. For tomatoes, get as much stem as you can, spread them on newspapers and they’ll ripen nicely indoors.

Often we have one isolated frost and then several weeks of warm weather. if you’re an optimist, cover your vegetables with sheets and they may continue to produce. I also use sheets and towels to protect container plants. To keep the weight of the fabric from breaking the plants, use bamboo stakes to support the sheets. Then secure them with chip clips and clothespins in case it’s windy. Use rocks or bricks to hold the sheets down on the ground. Of course, lightweight pots can be moved to the safety of the garage or porch.

Eventually you’ll want to decide which potted plants get saved for the winter. Here’s some help in deciding:

Bulbous plants such as cannas, dahlias, gladiolus, tuberous begonias, and pineapple lilies can be allowed to frost. Cut off the dead foliage, dig up the bulbs and store them in a dark, cool spot such as a corner of the basement.

Annual plants fare badly indoors. Petunias, marigolds, flowering tobacco, impatiens and zinnias should be allowed to freeze.

Most tropical plants are worth saving. You don’t need a greenhouse, just some window space. Consider rescuing potted foliage plants such as palms, ferns, dracaenas, dwarf bananas, New Zealand flax, philodendrons and spider plants as well as cactus and succulents. Blooming tropicals that can be housed inside include bougainvillea, angel trumpets, mandevilla, blue potato tree, gardenia, agapanthus, kangaroo paws, hibiscus, lantana and non-tuberous begonias such as ‘Red Dragon.’

And what about those pretty pots of coleus and geraniums? Save them if you have room. If not, take cuttings of your favorites and grow them on your windowsill. Make cuttings about 6 to 8 inches long. Remove all the bottom leaves as well as flowers or buds. You can root them in water or insert them into fresh, clean potting soil and firm the soil around the stem. Water them and place a clear plastic bag over the cutting, securing it with a rubber band around the rim of the pot. This makes a temporary miniature greenhouse that helps them to root. After a few weeks, tug at the stem gently. If it resists, the cutting has formed roots. Remove the plastic bag and enjoy your new plant, which can carry on next spring on your patio.

(Reprint of KUSA*TV article, All Rights Reserved)

By CAROL WHITAKER, At Home contributor
Friday, June 22, 2007

Using plants that can take the heat and survive on the natural rainfall of Southwest Florida is a trend that grows in area landscaping with each successive drought.

“Water is on everyone’s mind. Florida seems to be feast or famine,” said Ben Bolusky, executive vice president of the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association (FNGLA), which held its annual convention on Marco Island last weekend.

The dry months this year spurred fires throughout the state, burning large portions of the Everglades and prompting local officials to mandate water restrictions. Industry insiders say the popularity of native plants is also on the rise because local governments continue to require their use in commercial and public landscapes — a result of the ever increasing need to conserve water.

The task of industry professionals is to accept the challenge of environmental sustainability without sacrificing the aesthetic of design and plant variety vital to a good landscape.

While plants may survive drought, ultimately all plants need water to thrive.
“No plant can live without water,” said FNGLA member Brady Vogt of Pelican Nursery, Naples. “While native plants are drought-tolerant – tolerant is the operative word.” There is a big difference in surviving and thriving, he says.

Despite water restrictions prompted by the most recent drought, and other challenges the industry faces — which run the gamut from labor and immigration questions to finding solutions for water contamination from fertilizer runoff — the industry is second only to tourism in annual sales, according to Bolusky: “In 2005 we chalked up 15.2 billion in sales in the industry.”

In the last year it has suffered, he adds.

“People who would normally be installing new landscapes are waiting,” said landscape designer Kara Alfaro of Elata Natives, a Fort Myers nursery.
Scott Smith of Bougainvillea Growers International (BGI) in St. James City, a grower of bougainvillea and native plants, says designers are still buying, but sales have dropped.

With upcoming summer rains, gardens and the industry will flourish, the nursery professionals believe. Already-healthy, established native landscapes will have struggled less, still be green, and for the most part recover readily from the drought conditions, say the nursery professionals.

“Native plants are used to these fluctuations – with heavy rains in summer and the dry season.”

Dale Norton, field manager for Christian, Busk and Associates looks to a change from the staple St. Augustine lawns most widely planted in local yards, to a zoysia hybrid from Brazil called Empire, which is more suited to the area’s climate.

“It requires not even a quarter of the water that St. Augustine needs,” said Norton. If it turns brown during drought conditions, it recovers when the rains return. Experts recommend a plethora of great choice plants well suited to the area. Here are some of the plants industry insiders look to for performance through the drought and the summer rains.

Alfaro says coontie (Zamia floridana, also known as Zamia pumilla) is popular. When shrubs are called for, she plants colorful fire bush (Hamelia patens), coco plum (Chrysobalanus icaco), and lantana (Lantana camara).

She also is planting more ornamental native grasses: Elliot’s lovegrass (Eragrostis elliottii), Fakahatchee (Tripsacum dactyloides) and muhly grass (muhlenbergia). She recommends native royal palms (Roystonea spp.) which look healthy and green even through the dry season.

Smith says bougainvillea will remain a staple in the southwest Florida Landscape. While salt-water intrusion will defoliate the plant during hurricanes, it is a great choice for a riot of color. A versatile plant which comes in a wide array of colors, bougainvillea varieties include a low-growing dwarf and large specimen varieties.

“They make a great hedge,” Smith declared. Bougainvillea can also be grown on a trellis or arbor and is a stunner as a substantial freestanding specimen.
Landscape designer Roberta Gerber of Bonita Shores works almost exclusively with natives. She believes education is key to motivating people in the right direction with their planting practices. Gerber notes how native cabbage palms (Sabal palmetto) — commonly used in commercial landscapes with their sturdy fibrous trunks and fan shaped fronds — were growing in the natural native Southwest Florida landscape long before there were any irrigation systems.

© 2007 Naples Daily News and NDN Productions. Published in Naples, Florida, USA by the E.W. Scripps Co.

For the first time in the agency’s history, the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD) declared an extreme District-wide water shortage, directly affecting more than five million South Florida residents and thousands of farms and businesses. At its monthly meeting, the District’s Governing Board adopted a groundbreaking water shortage order, instituting a one-day-a-week watering schedule for residential landscape irrigation to conserve regional water supplies.

Landscape irrigation accounts for up to half of all household water consumption in Florida and totals more than seven billion gallons per day nationwide. Learn about xeriscaping. Highlights of the Modified Phase III water shortage order, which will be enforced beginning Jan.15, 2008 are listed below.

Modified Phase III Restrictions

• Residents and businesses of Okeechobee, St. Lucie, Martin, Palm Beach, Broward, Miami-Dade, Monroe, Hendry, and Glades counties are limited to a one-day-per-week landscape irrigation schedule with two “watering windows.”
  • Odd street addresses may irrigate lawns and landscapes on Mondays between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. or 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
  • Even street addresses may irrigate lawns and landscapes on Thursdays between 4 a.m. and 8 a.m. or 4 p.m. and 8 p.m.
• Residents and businesses with more than 5 acres have expanded irrigation hours, between 12 a.m. and 8 a.m. or 4 p.m. and 11:59 p.m. on their designated irrigation day.
• Residents and businesses in Lee and Collier counties are limited to one-day-a-week watering during specific four-hour “watering windows” directly associated with their unique street addresses.
• Hand-watering with one hose fitted with an automatic shut-off nozzle is allowed for 10 minutes per day for landscape stress relief and to prevent plant die-off.
• Low-volume irrigation, including the use of drip and microjet systems that apply water directly to plant root zones, is not restricted but should be voluntarily reduced.
• Additional watering days and times will be allocated for the establishment of new lawns and landscapes.
• No restrictions apply to other outside water uses, such as for car and boat washing, pressure cleaning of paved surfaces, decorative fountains, and water-based recreation (e.g. swimming pools, water slides).Golf courses must reduce their allocated water use by 45%.

The new, mandatory restrictions apply to all water from traditional sources, including water from public utilities, private wells, canals, ponds, and lakes. Users of 100% reclaimed water are exempt from the restrictions but are encouraged to conserve water voluntarily.

Because jurisdiction in certain counties is shared with other water management districts, the SFWMD has coordinated with these agencies to simplify implementation and enforcement. Residents of Orange and Osceola counties should adhere to any water restrictions set by the St. Johns River Water Management District. Residents of Polk, Highlands, and Charlotte counties should adhere to the water restrictions set by the Southwest Florida Water Management District. However, golf courses, nurseries, and agricultural users District-wide should follow SFWMD water-use restrictions.

For additional information on the water shortage, irrigation restrictions, or water conservation, call the SFWMD’s toll-free Water Conservation Hotline at 800-662-8876, visit www.sfwmd.gov, or contact a regional SFWMD service center. Helpful water conservation tips are available at www.savewaterfl.com.

By DEBORAH ANDERSON
Published May 10, 2006

What would a summer patio be without at least one beautiful Bougainvillea? However, have you ever wondered if it would be possible to bring this beautiful plant indoors to be enjoyed the rest of the year? The answer to this question is definitely “yes”. This plant is considered to be an exotic houseplant and as such can be an interesting and beautiful addition to any home.

Bougainvillea, also known as Bougainvillea spectabilis, is a woody vine with spikes. This exotic houseplant can be trained to stay bushy, making them good for containers which can be a plus when considering them for use inside the home. Cuttings taken can be used as a way to propagate this plant. Use four to six inch cuttings and place in good potting soil. Keep new plants misted and they should be well established in four to six weeks, creating more beautiful Bougainvilleas to enjoy inside or out.

Taking care of a Bougainvillea inside the home is not much different than taking care of one outside, placed on a patio. These plants require very bright light, at least half a day of sunlight. They need to be potted in large containers that are at least five to ten gallons in size or hanging baskets that are at least twelve inches in diameter. Well-draining potting soil should be used when potting these beautiful exotic houseplants. Pine bark can be added to the pot and the potting soil to increase the drainage. Fertilizer should be diluted by fifty percent before adding to plant. Repotting this exotic houseplant should be done annually. To repot, cut off one to two inches of the root ball and return the plant to same pot.

Bougainvilleas tend to bloom on branches that are eighteen to twenty inches long. Blooms are brilliant red, white, yellow, lavender or various pinks and occur early spring to the first frost. Bright sunlight and constant feedings with straight hibiscus food can lead to many months of beautiful full blooms.

These exotic houseplants have very little problems. Usually there will be leaf loss, which results from the light being too low. They have virtually no trouble with insects or pests. With the correct potting soil, which consists of four parts well rotted pine bark, three parts peat moss, two parts course perlite mixed together to create five gallons of soil mixture, added to half cup of Osmocote and two tablespoons of 19-5-9 slow release lawn fertilizer, these beautiful houseplants can be enjoyed for many years.

The Bougainvillea has traditionally been used outdoors on a patio or other locations. Today these beautiful plants have a new location to call home. They can be just as happy inside a home as they are outside. All they need is a little attention and care and the beauty they bestow on the outside of a home can easily be brought inside. So, with this in mind, do not be afraid to consider a Bougainvillea to help create a beautiful area inside the home.

Republished from 2007 Associated Content, All rights reserved.

By Susan Salisbury, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Apr. 17, 2006

Addison Mizner knew a thing or two about bougainvillea. The renowned 1920s-era architect and fashioner of Boca Raton knew the brightly flowering plant lent an air of romance and an intense dose of color to the buildings he designed. The variety he preferred, known as New River or Palm Beach Purple, is still the signature plant on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach today, where it graces archways and walls. But Mizner might not have known one of the most important things to know about bougainvillea — how to avoid the thorns.

The 50 employees at Bougainvillea Growers International west of Boynton Beach do know, and put it into practice every day: Never reach deep within the plant to trim it. With 45 acres devoted to bougainvillea and revenue of more than $3 million on annual sales of 1 million plants, privately held BGI says it’s the largest grower of bougainvillea in the United States. While many Florida nurseries sell bougainvillea, only a few others focus on it, and they are all 10 acres or less.

Although BGI does not sell directly to the public, its plants are sold primarily in Florida and in 39 other states, at retailers and landscapers. The plant, native to Brazil, is a vine that is available in several forms — as a bush in 2- to 25-gallon pots; a trellis in 2- to 45-gallon pots; and a patio tree from 3- to 25-gallon pots. It also comes in a 10-inch hanging basket. Angela Basgan, a Palm Beach Gardens resident and real estate investor shopping recently at an area Lowe’s, loaded her cart with a 7-gallon trellis-style fuchsia bougainvillea. The plant had a BGI tag. “I like the way bougainvillea climbs. I’m going to put it on my fence,” Basgan said. “This is my daughter’s favorite color.”

BGI was founded 12 years ago by Tom Scannell, 44, a soybean, cotton and rice farmer in Louisiana and Arkansas who got tired of growing those crops because of the huge economies of scale they require to succeed. He also wanted to live somewhere more urban, and he had family members in Delray Beach. Scannell bought a 5-acre plot that had been home to a palm nursery that had fallen into disrepair. He said he thought there was a demand for a nursery that grew only bougainvillea, which require a lot less water than the other tropical plants they are sometimes raised with. Other nurserymen told him he was wrong. “I got a lot of negative feedback. They thought there wasn’t a market for bougainvilleas,” Scannell said. “They said, ‘Grow ficus or areca palms.’ I went into it real slow.” Now the bougainvillea business has taken on a life of its own. “You don’t want to be part of the pack. I like doing something different,” Scannell said.

With more than 1,000 people a day moving to Florida, the demand for landscape plants is unrelenting. “Economy of scale is kicking in to the nursery business. Everyone wants more for less every year,” he said. “It’s not an easy business. We are passionate about it.” Carolyn Pendleton-Parker, a landscape architect with Sanchez & Maddux in Palm Beach, said that in her 25 years in the business, bougainvillea has never been out of style. “We just shipped hundreds of them to Paradise Island to a home in the Ocean Club,” Pendleton-Parker said. “It can hide flaws. It also adds romance and a veil of mystery over a building. It is a softening agent.” It’s easy to see the uplifting impact of bougainvillea’s color at BGI, where landscapers and other visitors can’t help but break into a smile when they look over the startling sea of neon purple, pink, red, white, yellow and orange bougainvillea. The company’s focus on the one plant has led to other aspects of specialization, including a bougainvillea-specific fertilizer. After ten years of experimentation, BGI’s growers developed a mixture of potassium, nitrogen and micro-elements such as zinc, iron, magnesium, manganese and copper that yielded healthy plants with bountiful blooms. They named the fertilizer Bougain. More than 10,000 2-pound jars of Bougain have been sold since it was first marketed in 2004.

Paige Boehlke, wholesale manager at Horizon Nursery in Fort Pierce, which buys from BGI, said the diversity of the trainable plant is part of its appeal. “You can get them in a bush form and keep them short as a hedge, or you can teach them to vine. They prefer to be neglected,” Boehlke said. “They can be contorted into all kinds of things to make them cool and are great for getting privacy screening quickly.” Not only that, they need next to no maintenance or water. “The drier they are, the more bloom there is. It is a great combination for developers and for homeowners, or for seasonal people who leave town,” she said. “If it does not get watered, it does not die.” Alice Alexander, a landscape designer who owns Alice’s Wonderland Designs in Boca Raton, said bougainvillea should be placed properly to allow lots of room for growth. “I place them very carefully because they are very thorny,” Alexander said. “They are great to allow to grow out naturally, then cut back real hard. They bloom from new growth. That is where you get the spectacular blooms.”

Copyright (c) 2006, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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By Susan Salisbury, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Apr. 17, 2006

Addison Mizner knew a thing or two about bougainvillea.  The renowned 1920s-era architect and fashioner of Boca Raton knew the brightly flowering plant lent an air of romance and an intense dose of color to the buildings he designed. The variety he preferred, known as New River or Palm Beach Purple, is still the signature plant on Worth Avenue in Palm Beach today, where it graces archways and walls.  But Mizner might not have known one of the most important things to know about bougainvillea — how to avoid the thorns.

The 50 employees at Bougainvillea Growers International west of Boynton Beach do know, and put it into practice every day: Never reach deep within the plant to trim it.  With 45 acres devoted to bougainvillea and revenue of more than $3 million on annual sales of 1 million plants, privately held BGI says it’s the largest grower of bougainvillea in the United States.   While many Florida nurseries sell bougainvillea, only a few others focus on it, and they are all 10 acres or less.

Although BGI does not sell directly to the public, its plants are sold primarily in Florida and in 39 other states, at retailers and landscapers. The plant, native to Brazil, is a vine that is available in several forms — as a bush in 2- to 25-gallon pots; a trellis in 2- to 45-gallon pots; and a patio tree from 3- to 25-gallon pots. It also comes in a 10-inch hanging basket.   Angela Basgan, a Palm Beach Gardens resident and real estate investor shopping recently at an area Lowe’s, loaded her cart with a 7-gallon trellis-style fuchsia bougainvillea. The plant had a BGI tag.  “I like the way bougainvillea climbs. I’m going to put it on my fence,” Basgan said. “This is my daughter’s favorite color.”

BGI was founded 12 years ago by Tom Scannell, 44, a soybean, cotton and rice farmer in Louisiana and Arkansas who got tired of growing those crops because of the huge economies of scale they require to succeed. He also wanted to live somewhere more urban, and he had family members in Delray Beach.  Scannell bought a 5-acre plot that had been home to a palm nursery that had fallen into disrepair. He said he thought there was a demand for a nursery that grew only bougainvillea, which require a lot less water than the other tropical plants they are sometimes raised with.  Other nurserymen told him he was wrong.  “I got a lot of negative feedback. They thought there wasn’t a market for bougainvilleas,” Scannell said. “They said, ‘Grow ficus or areca palms.’ I went into it real slow.”  Now the bougainvillea business has taken on a life of its own.  “You don’t want to be part of the pack. I like doing something different,” Scannell said.

With more than 1,000 people a day moving to Florida, the demand for landscape plants is unrelenting.  “Economy of scale is kicking in to the nursery business. Everyone wants more for less every year,” he said. “It’s not an easy business. We are passionate about it.”  Carolyn Pendleton-Parker, a landscape architect with Sanchez & Maddux in Palm Beach, said that in her 25 years in the business, bougainvillea has never been out of style.  “We just shipped hundreds of them to Paradise Island to a home in the Ocean Club,” Pendleton-Parker said. “It can hide flaws. It also adds romance and a veil of mystery over a building. It is a softening agent.”  It’s easy to see the uplifting impact of bougainvillea’s color at BGI, where landscapers and other visitors can’t help but break into a smile when they look over the startling sea of neon purple, pink, red, white, yellow and orange bougainvillea.  The company’s focus on the one plant has led to other aspects of specialization, including a bougainvillea-specific fertilizer.  After ten years of experimentation, BGI’s growers developed a mixture of potassium, nitrogen and micro-elements such as zinc, iron, magnesium, manganese and copper that yielded healthy plants with bountiful blooms. They named the fertilizer Bougain.  More than 10,000 2-pound jars of Bougain have been sold since it was first marketed in 2004.

Paige Boehlke, wholesale manager at Horizon Nursery in Fort Pierce, which buys from BGI, said the diversity of the trainable plant is part of its appeal.  “You can get them in a bush form and keep them short as a hedge, or you can teach them to vine. They prefer to be neglected,” Boehlke said. “They can be contorted into all kinds of things to make them cool and are great for getting privacy screening quickly.”  Not only that, they need next to no maintenance or water.  “The drier they are, the more bloom there is. It is a great combination for developers and for homeowners, or for seasonal people who leave town,” she said. “If it does not get watered, it does not die.”  Alice Alexander, a landscape designer who owns Alice’s Wonderland Designs in Boca Raton, said bougainvillea should be placed properly to allow lots of room for growth.  “I place them very carefully because they are very thorny,” Alexander said. “They are great to allow to grow out naturally, then cut back real hard. They bloom from new growth. That is where you get the spectacular blooms.”

###

Copyright (c) 2006, The Palm Beach Post, Fla.
Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News.

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