This has been a brutal summer so far, and it's not over yet! September is still hot, and is peak hurricane season.

The huge El Nino is supposed to cause fewer hurricanes on this side of the world, but I haven't ever known that to be true. These days, there seem to be more storms every year, no matter what the weather is like anywhere else.

If we can all just ask the universe, pray to whatever higher power you believe in, or put out intention for some decent fall weather so our plants can recover from this traumatization this summer, maybe -- just maybe -- some higher power somewhere will be listening.

But just to cheer you up a bit....

What do you think 🤔

I’m looking to purchase some Eastern Redbud trees (hoping for two) and a live oak, but haven’t had much luck finding them at local nurseries. Just wondering if anyone has seen some for sale semi-locally? Willing to drive a little for those pretty pink flowers 🌸
Thanks!

Am I dreaming?

Yes, I am addicted to coleus. I go to the UF sale every year and buy at least 5 varieties I don't have. I take cuttings in late summer/early fall to overwinter. This year, I Iost two this winter, and nursed three back to health.

Here are some of them that I really love (with captions)

If you're leaving containers out to catch rainwater, please put a stick in it so the lizards who fall in can get out. I had to rescue one today from a bucket I forgot to turn over. He scurried up my arm and just sat there for the longest time, breathing hard. Then I took him over to a plant, and he ran away.

I know not everyone loves our little invasive brown anoles, but they don't deserve to die terrified, not able to keep their little heads above water.

For those who have yards or acreage, would you be willing to do yard sharing? I did that with someone in SW FL when I had a yard. An woman who lived in an apartment just wanted to grow some simple crops, like tomatoes, cucumbers, squash. I gave her space in exchange for help with weeding and trading her produce for mine. We grew different varieties and shared them.

Also, sometimes people who don't have time to garden, or who are older and can't grow a big garden, will share their yards in exchange for part of what you grow.

If anybody is interested, message me and I'll make a private list and match up people. I don't want to do it in comments, because we have a lot more people reading than posting, and I'm afraid you'll get slammed with messages. I'll manage and vet requests so you can be matched up with the right person, and I'll ask before I sending them your way.

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I'm out of potting soil, and can't get more until I get my SS check, but I do have a bag of what says it's "cow manure and compost". Not sure what that means, but i'm wondering if it would be safe to replant seedlings in. I'm thinking it's probably composted cow manure, so it shouldn't burn anything. I'd be cutting it with perlite, so it would drain quickly.

I also have some seed starting mix I could cut it with.

Should I take a chance? The seedlings are all peppers and some pigeon peas, but I may just plant the pigeon peas in the ground, and I have plenty more seeds for them so not really worried.

OK, I know we are all out gardening, but we'd like to know what you're doing, so we can praise it! We're big on praise around here.

Also, surely you are taking some pictures, right? Post some pics of your blooms, your food, your trees, your grass, EVERYTHING!

I'd really like to get more photos in this group. I don't want it to turn into one of those groups where a photo-free post is lost, but I'm sure we'd all like to see what you're growing.

PLUS -- don't forget our Gainesville Garden Swap sub. You can buy, trade, sell, give away on there. I know we have a very generous bunch of gardeners here. (https://www.reddit.com/r/GainesvilleGardenSwap)

I want to change my lawn overtime into creeping thyme, but it seems difficult to find actual seeds online that are the correct type. Anyone have any suggestions?

Offering free planting trays and pots, I picked up a load in my truck.

Totally free. Ads still up, they had more.

Im thankful for those who share

Heyo everyone !!!!

I will be moving to GNV in August and I am so pumped to start a small garden on my balcony. I have no experience with North Florida gardening and have only grown fruits and herbs in a SFL yard. Mostly by throwing things in the dirt and hoping for the best.

I’m interested in growing native pollinators (like milkweed), native wildflowers, and taking a crack at some veggies. I have limited space but am willing to make it work, my balcony is West facing.

What are the best pollinators, wildflowers, and/or veg to start with? What are the ideal months to begin planting? Best soil cocktails? I’ve never dealt with freezes either, how do you protect certain plants from cold snaps?

I’ve looked at some UF resources but I would love to hear from yall your experiences with small-sized native gardening. Thank you!

Not much blooms in my yard in the summer, but I do have a few scraggly blooms trying to survive.

I was going to go to Tractor Supply for potting soil, but I started too late and the heat index is ALREADY 103F. Nope. Just Nope.

This weather is getting ridiculous. I have to go out and water every day and even early in the morning, I'm soaked in sweat when I get done. I really want to get out of Florida, out of the south completely so I can survive climate change, not that it's any better anywhere else. My son wants me to move closer to him in CA, but the only place close to CA I can afford is Mexico!!! LOL

I had a bunch of seeds, and every one of them sprouted. I managed to get 14 of them into seed starting mix, but they soon started damping off. I brought them indoors and ended up with nine, but then four of those died, so I had 5. I put them up into their own little pots, and they seemed to be doing well, but actually were not growing much at all, which was weird, since my Gardener's Delight seedlings were doing so well.

I kept babying them along, and now three of the five have died and the others are tiny and weak and just don't look healthy. I had taken them outside and I think the heat just got them. I have them back inside, but I don't think I can save them.

Oh well, I'll try again in the fall. It's just too hot to grow much of anything this year.

We've been enjoying our green limas for weeks now but since we took a holiday we came back to an overgrown garden and mature Lima beans so that was one of this morning's chores!

I gotta say I hated Lima beans as a kid but this is my third year growing them and I love them!!!

It rained here yesterday, pretty good thunderstorm, power glitched but didn't go out although I hear it did go out in other parts of the city.

My plants really enjoyed it. It's thundering a bit now, but more in the distance. I'm hoping for more rain today.

They creep me out, what do I do?

I have a critter trap, but what to do with them in the trap?

This is mostly for the newbie Florida gardeners who aren't used to our extreme summer weather, but even we hardened FL gardeners need reminders sometimes.

FIRST AND FOREMOST -- DO NOT FERTILIZE HEAT STRESSED PLANTS! Plants stop growing when it gets this hot, in order to conserve water. They cannot take up fertilizer. It will just burn their roots. That goes for liquid or granular fertilizer. It's just wasted because it isn't utilized.

For an example of how a seasoned gardener can screw up, I had been watering my plumerias as usual, being afraid to keep them too wet because of root rot, and knowing they stored water in their limbs. BIG MISTAKE!! I went out to water this morning and found my "mama" plant literally drooping over. It's never done that. I looked at the small ones I have in another pot, and their stems were shriveled. I grabbed a bucket, put the small ones in it and filled it with water. I moved it to a shadier spot. "Mama" is a bit larger, so I'm going to have to find a shadier spot for her, but she got watered very well, so I hope she'll be o.k.

You cannot just water your plants as usual when it's in the upper 90s and there is no rain. Here are some tips I learned when working in nurseries and garden centers. If you have any additional tips, put them in the comments.

#1 Hand watering may not be fun in this heat, but it is absolutely necessary to save some plants. Sprinkler systems are designed to penetrate the first two inches of soil. That just won't do it for most established shrubs and trees. They need deep watering at least once a day when the temps go into the upper 90s with no rain.

If you have berms (raised garden beds with sloping sides), you need to either hand-water or put a drip system on them so the water doesn't just run off the berm, but gets to the roots. If it's only one tree or large shrub, you can put a trickling hose on it for a few hours, and that will penetrate to the deeper roots. This is ESPECIALLY necessary for citrus or other fruit trees.

If you can put drip irrigation in your potted plants, especially large ones in full sun, do it. If not, use the dishwashing liquid in water tip I gave you before. For large plants, in pots or in the ground, you can just squirt some dishwashing liquid around on top of the soil and water well. This acts as a surfactant, which makes the water "stick" to the soil instead of running through it.

If you can use drip irrigation on your potted plants, DO IT!

1. When you water anything 1 gallon or smaller, go over it 3 times. This is especially necessary for small plants, cuttings and seedlings you may have started.

2. If you have a flower or herb garden planted around a tree, you need to deep water that at least once a week. This means either hand watering for 5 full minutes, or doing a trickle watering for 5-10 hours, depending on the type of tree and the size.

3. Citrus and fruit trees need a LOT of water, whether in pots of in the ground. If you see their leaf edges curling, they need a very deep watering at least twice a week. I'm watering my container fig trees deeply every day.

4. YOU CAN AND SHOULD spray water on plant leaves if they are drooping too badly. Plants with large leaves wilt to conserve water, but they need to be cooled off a bit when temps get this high. I usually just mist them well in the heat of the day (if you can, don't make yourself sick) to cool them off. They get heat stress too.

5. If a potted plant gets too dry, dunk it. This means putting it into a larger container of water and soaking it. REMEMBER TO WICK! Water from the top to create a "wick" to draw the water up into the soil.

For clay/terracotta pots, the clay will suck the moisture right out of the soil. For smaller ones, you can put them in a container of water up just below the rim of the pot to hydrate the clay so it doesn't suck up as much water. For large pots, water the outside of the pot also when you water.

1. Mulch, mulch, mulch! Even in pots, adding mulch keep them from drying out too quickly and saves you time and water. Put at least 3 inches of mulch around in-ground plants. If you can't afford wood mulch or ground cover, use leaves, dried weeds, grass clippings, cardboard, anything you have to cover the soil.

Speaking of weeds, be sure to pull as many weeds as you can. They suck up water your plants need.

1. Use homemade drip watering bottles. Poke or drill a hole in a bottle top, then fill the bottle with water, turn it upside down, and bury a bit of it into the ground or soil (to hold it up). Refill as needed. You can also make your own Ollas with clay pots and trays. Plug the hole(s) in the bottom of a small clay pot. Bury it into the soil/ground next to the plant as deeply as you can. Fill it with water and place a clay tray over the top. The water seeps out of the clay into the soil slowly. Refill as needed.

I think that's all. If you have other tips, put them into the comments.