Florida Spring Landscaping Wildlife & Environmentally Friendly Approach

As Spring gets into full swing, now is the time alot of people turn to landscaping improvements.  Small, well planned-out changes go along way immediately and long term.  When choosing landscaping several factors should be considered. Our climate extremes. Choose a native species that has evolved over time to survive these conditions. Down the road it will benefit your property, Wildlife, and the Environment. Choose a plant that can thrive in the space provided-your more apt to take care of it -and it's more likely to survive.

Fertilizers are a HUGE pollutant, so much so that special legislation is in place to control the formula allowed to be sold in Florida. When choosing one make sure you check the package for Phosphate content. Fertilizer bags are labeled with contents such as 8-2-10 or some other set of 3 numbers. The 1st number is nitrogen content, the 2nd is the phosphorus content and the 3rd number is the potassium content Look for a fertilizer where the ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus (the first to second number) is a minimum of 4 to 1. For example, a 12-3-10 and a 15-0-15 fertilizer would follow this recommendation. These are the three major nutrients your lawn needs to thrive. Plant Natives that give back to the creatures our suburbs have displaced, Dahoon Holly, Beautyberry, Coco Plum. Consider a 'Wild Patch" for Butterfly Blossoms & Larvae.  Add a Birdfeeder stocked with a simple 'Wild Bird seed" mix to start, until you become familiar with the species you attract-then you can add more species specific seed as you are able to identify your diners! Some possibilities for the smaller beaked birds such as Goldfinches, is Niger-or Black thistle seed, small or crushed Peanuts & Sunflower meats.  .

In South Florida, feeding #1 would be late winter, perhaps March 1st or so.  Why feed then?  Because that is when plants start their growth period.  Feed often all the way to September or October in Florida zone 10.  Last feeding is August or September zone 9.  Last feeding in zone 8 would be August.  If we get into a spell of ongoing heavy rains, consider the fertilizer washed away and re-apply to replace.All fertilizer labels have three bold numbers.

In general, select a fertilizer where the first and third numbers on the label are equal or in a 2:1 ratio and the middle number is zero or as low as possible.

 For a listing you can check out further recommendations at the IFAS website at:http://livinggreen.ifas.ufl.edu/landscaping/landscaping_for_wildlife.html
Another great site for further recommendations is: http://www.swfwmd.state.fl.us/yards/fertilizing/



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