Weed of the Month – Florida Pusley

As the year passes, and as each new season settles upon us, we are blessed with abundant and various seasonal crops and produce. While in most mainstream grocery stores, we can now find our favorite foods all year round; however, many prefer to eat what is being grown specifically in that season. Here in South Carolina, entities such as Certified SC Grown is just one example of an organization that is working to bridge the gap between field and plate, making finding local, seasonal fruits and vegetables more attainable.

Most lawn maintenance chores coincide with the mowing season. If you live in Florida, lawn care can be a year-round task. Luckily, most other Southeast gardeners are able to take a break during the winter. Yet, no matter how many months of the year you tend the yard, proper lawn care is essential to grow lush, green turf in Southeastern US states.

Check out How to Grow Perfect Bunch of Peace Lilies with These Tips and ensure you have a blooming and thriving plant always!

No other plant native to South Carolina has such fragrant and beautiful spring blooms and stunning fall color as the witch-alders. Fothergilla was named after Dr. John Fothergill, an English physician and gardener who funded the travels of John Bartram through the Carolinas in the 1700’s. These beautiful shrubs have been planted in both American and English gardens for over 200 years, including gardens of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson.

Want to add a tropical flair to your garden this spring? Elephant ears will add a bold statement to a filtered sun or high shade spot. These striking “drama queens” of the garden may be either in genera Colocasia or Alocasia. The easiest way to tell these beauties apart is that colocasias (Colocasia esculenta) will have leaves that point downward, and alocasia (Alocasia species) leaves will point upward. Depending on the species or cultivar of each genus, the size can range from 3 to 10 feet tall and 2 to 10 feet in width. Both types of elephant ears are native to the tropical regions of Southeastern Asia.

Springtime color in the residential landscape is never lacking with the multitude of flowers of many species of annuals, perennials, and shrubs. However, autumn colors may be a bit more lacking in the average home garden. This is why I have included deciduous viburnums in our landscape design. Not only do many species have outstanding fall color, but most have beautiful clusters of red, blue, pink, or glossy black fruit. Additionally, for the native plant enthusiasts, there are many species of native deciduous viburnums from which to choose. Of approximately 18 deciduous species that grow well in South Carolina, six are natives.

It never fails that come March and April, the desire for many of our lawns to begin to breaking dormancy is met with the horror that the only things that seem to be green are the weeds that we have been ignoring throughout winter. This may include white clover, dandelions, chickweed, the painful lawn burweed, or so any other species. These weeds may be welcome to some homeowners as some serve as early pollen sources for pollinators, but they can also be a nuisance to others.

Smilax vines go by the common names greenbrier or catbrier due to the thorns covering their stems. There are 300 to 350 smilax species worldwide. Approximately twenty-four species are native to North America, with fifteen species growing in South Carolina. Smilax grows well in moist shade and is an important food source and habitat for wildlife, including birds, rabbits, and deer.

After 17 long years, billions of cicadas are ready to emerge from the ground, and we’re going to hear about it! Cicadas are harmless insects with big, bulging eyes and see-through wings held like a roof over their large bodies. Some cicadas appear every year, some every few years, and some, like the “Brood X” cicadas, are about to emerge throughout the mid-Atlantic, appear periodically every 17 years.

Unlike other native shrubs and trees that have become the darlings of nationwide advertising campaigns, Florida anise-tree (Illicium floridanum) struggles to achieve widespread interest. This shade-adapted understory shrub can be found growing naturally in shaded, moist to wet areas where it can reach a compact height and width of 6 to 10 ft. The olive-green leaves are 2- to 6-inches long (reminiscent of rhododendron foliage) and release a fragrant anise scent when crushed.

Lily of the Nile or agapanthus (Agapanthus africanus and hybrids with this species) is a blue-flowered perennial that grows from a rhizome (fleshy root). Each rhizome sends up several shoots. Rhizomes also reproduce, so over time, a one-gallon plant of a vigorous cultivar like ‘Blue Storm’ will make a clump 2.5 feet wide. One of my large-leaved, unnamed cultivars has spread 3.5 feet in all directions.

Prediabetes is a growing problem in the United States. In South Carolina alone, 31.2 percent of adults have prediabetes. Having prediabetes, or blood sugar levels higher than normal, can put you at an increased risk for developing type 2 diabetes. Other risk factors for developing type 2 diabetes include: