Eileen Ward

Plants can be propagated by sexual or asexual means. Sexual propagation is starting plants from seed. Multiplying of plants from vegetative plant parts such as shoots, roots and leaves or bulbs and corms is called asexual propagation. Asexual propagation will ...

Blossom and fruit drop and fruit splitting are fairly common problems for fruit trees. While losing blossoms and small fruit from your fruit trees can be disturbing it is usually a natural process.

As I mentioned in my last column, many pests can feed on hibiscus making this a very high maintenance choice for your landscape. Chewing insects include caterpillars, grasshoppers, snails and slugs, beetles, cut worms and leaf miners. Piercing-sucking insects include ...

Hibiscus plants are blooming profusely all over Marco right now. This plant seems to love the cold weather. Perhaps it is because the severe cold helps control some of the insects that constantly cause the blossoms to drop. Whatever the ...

January is here and we will still experience cold temperatures since it is the second coolest month of the year. The average will be in the 65 degree range with highs in the 70s or low 80s and lows in ...

Christmas in Florida. The balmy weather, palm trees swaying in the gentle breezes off the Gulf of Mexico with Christmas lights twinkling on their fronds and yards with green grass and colorful flowers.

I have often encouraged Marco Island residents to become better stewards of our land by learning good horticultural practices and how to identify and remove invasive, exotic plants. When nonnative plants spread extensively and displace native plants they become invasive ...

The winter cold has not really arrived yet this year! As a northern transplant, I love the cold weather because it always puts me in the holiday spirit. It makes my work a lot easier as well and this is ...

What is that weed that reminds us northerners of snow on our lawns? The weed is Florida pusley (Richardia scabra) and is a native to Florida.

Cooler weather means that it will be safe to have your lawn treated with a herbicide to try and bring those pesky weeds under control. Treating your lawn for weeds with temperatures in the 90s can stress and damage your ...

It is time to think about fertilizing your shrubs, trees and lawns. Our sandy soil allows nutrients to readily leach from the soil so it is important to replenish these nutrients with fertilizer. You want to apply fertilizer while it ...

Thatch is that brown layer of living and dead organic material that develops between the green vegetation and the soil surface. It imports a sponginess to the turf. Thatch consists of dead and dying leaves, stems, stolons, rhizomes and roots. ...

September is here with another month of heat and heavy rain. This month is the height of hurricane season, so tropical rains and wind are likely. Remember all of the hurricane preparation and clean up tips to help you through ...

Whew! Summer temperatures are here. Just walking from the house to the car is grueling. If your job involves work in that grueling environment for eight to 12 hours, every day it can become dangerous enough to kill you. Outdoor ...

The ixora are in their full flowering glory right now. During the summer months the ixora is one of the most colorful flowering shrubs in our landscapes.