Sometimes, north Florida gardeners have to really work to keep their plants happy. Harsh droughts have become a regular occurrence; in many years, we experience stretches of a month or more without rain. And then, many of our rain events are strong storms that drop inches of precipitation on the landscape. Temperatures are rising, and while we experience days over 100 degrees Fahrenheit, we also often experience hard freezes in the winter. This includes five days during which the panhandle was covered in inches of snow and ice.
What can we do to make our outdoor spaces resilient to weather and climate extremes? To answer that question, we welcome Mark Tancig, the Commercial/ Residential Horticulture Extension Agent for the UF/IFAS Leon County Extension. We talked about selecting the best plants for your space, creating healthy soil, encouraging toughness in your plants, and much more.
And while much of our discussion was specific to north Florida, the principles apply to any location.