Author: Wendy Holtz

4 Flowers That Bloom All Year in Florida

Are there flowers that bloom all year in Florida? Yes! Thanks to its warm, sunny climate, many blooming flowers and plants thrive in gardens all year round. With the right combination of plants, you can add perennial color to your yard and outdoor space. What are the flowers that bloom year-round in Florida?—here are four to add to your yard to enjoy gorgeous color from season to season.

Blanket Flower

A gorgeous plant native to Florida, the Blanket flower makes an excellent ground color. Most species feature multi-colored flowers in bright red, yellow, or orange tones, with blossoms bursting in early summer until the first frost—which usually never comes in most parts of Florida. This flower is easy to grow since it thrives in nutrient-poor soil. All it needs is plenty of sun and minimal rainfall to enjoy the vibrant colors of the blanket flower year-round.

Bougainvillea

The bougainvillea is a favorite flower for many people, thanks to its gorgeous color and impressive size. This versatile vine or shrub can grow along the ground or up walls, trellis, or other supports. As a vine, a healthy bougainvillea can reach heights of up to 30 feet. Grown along the ground, it can spread up to 10 feet, making an excellent ground cover. This Florida perennial plant blooms profusely, and in Central Florida’s hardiness zone, you can expect vibrant flowers to bloom on and off throughout the year.

Bougainvillea is easy to grow in Florida’s climate. It needs full sun, with slight shade in the afternoon in summer to protect the vine from the heat. Make sure to keep this plane well-watered, especially in summer.

Firespike

Another flower that grows in Florida year-round is the Firespike. This tiny but mighty shrub shoots up flares of tubular, bright red flowers when it blooms—which can be all year long in Central Florida. The Firespike can reach several feet in height, and it even looks attractive at times when it’s not in bloom. If you’re looking for a great plant for a pollinator garden, the Firespike is a great option. Its nectar attracts hummingbirds and butterflies, so you can enjoy some colorful visitors in your yard. It grows well in full sun in moist soil, so water daily during dry spells.

Gerbera Daisies

The beautiful Gerbera daisy blooms all year long in Florida, especially in Central and South Florida. The large blooms in orange, pink, purple, red, or white can appear throughout the year and last for several weeks at a time. While they’re easy to care for and require full sun most of the year, make sure Gerbera daisies get some afternoon shade during hot weather.

Give Your Yard the Royal Treatment with Evergreen

Florida’s unique climate lets home- and business-owners grow beautiful perennial flowers and plants all year round but caring for them isn’t always easy. Leave lawn, tree, and shrub care to the experts at Evergreen Lawn & Pest Control – Apopka, and enjoy a beautiful landscape, without ever lifting a finger! Call us today at (407) 880-6655 for your free consultation.

4 Tips for Protecting Your Children from Fire Ants

While many people love living in Florida thanks to the state’s sunny, warm climate, pests love the weather here, too. Fire ants are one common nuisance pest found throughout Florida, and their painful stings can keep adults and kids alike from enjoying the outdoors to the fullest. Luckily, there are proven ways to keep fire ants away from your kids, so they can relax and play in your yard to their hearts’ content. Here are four helpful tips to remember for protecting your children from fire ants.

1. Teach Your Children About Fire Ants

One of the best ways to keep kids away from fire ants is to instruct them about what fire ant mounds look like. Inform children that they need to leave these nests alone; otherwise, the consequences can be painful. If you’ve discovered a nest in your yard, don’t try to deal with it yourself. Instead, call your local pest control experts immediately.

2. Keep Your Lawn Trimmed and Tidy

Fire ant mounds are large, and they’re easy enough to spot if you keep your grass trimmed. The secret to keeping kids away from fire ants is to mow your grass regularly, so the mounds are clearly visible.

3. Wear Insect Repellent

Like many other stinging insects, insect repellent is an effective deterrent for fire ants. Before you send your kids outdoors to play, spray shoes and legs with an insect repellent that contains DEET. While this won’t keep an entire nest of angry fire ants from going on the attack if their colony is disturbed, it will keep away any fire ants your kids happen to walk past in the yard.

4. Invest in Reliable Pest Control Services

Want to guarantee your yard is fire ant-free and safe for your whole family to enjoy? It’s wise to rely on routine, managed pest control services from your local pest control experts. Look for a service provider who offers eco-friendly treatments that are safe for both your family and your pets. Aside from applying specific treatments geared toward the pests in your yard, they’ll look for developing fire ant mounds before they become a problem.

Keep Fire Ants Out of Your Yard, So Your Family Can Enjoy Your Outdoor Space to the Fullest

Fire ants are an ever-present threat in Florida, and their painful stings can keep you and your family from making the most of your yard and outdoor spaces. The best way to prevent fire ants is by investing in regular pest control from the experts at Evergreen Lawn & Pest Control – Orlando. Using an Integrated Pest Management approach that emphasizes both removal and monitoring, we’ll use eco-friendly treatments to make sure your yard isn’t just fire ant-free, but completely pest-free. We’ll create a safe outdoor environment for the entire family. Call us today at (407) 880-6655 for your free consultation!

Most Fragrant Flowers to Grow in Your Florida Yard

One of the perks of living in Florida is that you can grow spectacular plants that can’t be grown in many other parts of the country. Florida’s unique climate, featuring plenty of warmth and rainfall, makes it an ideal place to grow some of the most exotic, beautiful, and fragrant plants. Here are some of the most aromatic and fragrant flower blooms you can grow in your Florida yard as well as their names.

Gardenia

Florida gardeners love gardenias, and it’s easy to see why. These flowers thrive in the Florida sunshine, with lush flowers blooming from summer to fall. Gardenias are prized not only for their beautiful scent but also for their irresistible appearance. They feature snowy white blooms contrasting with glossy, dark green foliage.

Camellia

Camellias are friendly, fragrant flowers that come in shades of white and pink; red; blue; and even some combinations of colors. These ruffled flowers can grow around 4 inches across, and they feature a more delicate look than the gardenia. The camellia is treasured for its fragrance just as much as its beauty. They grow best in partial sunlight, and blooms can appear in early spring and even during the winter. It’s a great flower to grow if you’re looking to add some pops of color to your garden during the cooler months of the year.

Albuca

This unique-looking plant features tight, corkscrew-like leaves set on short stems, as well as a fragrant flower. Albuca blooms during the spring and its aroma is best compared to sweet, mellow vanilla. This plant likes full to partial sun and soil that offers plenty of drainage. It’s an easy plant to grow in a pot, both indoors and in your garden.

Jasmine

If you’re wondering which flower smells the best, well-known for its intoxicating smell, jasmine is one of the most fragrant plants you can grow in your Florida garden. These vines are perfect for adding life, color, and fragrance to trellis or pergolas on the sunny side of the house. They bloom from spring until fall, and some are ever-blooming, so you can enjoy their pleasant scent for months on end.

Passionflower

This delicate climbing flower produces incredible 4-to-6-inch blooms that are as fragrant as they are beautiful. The Passion Flower gets its name from its reproductive organs, which resemble a cross, and its aromatic blooms that pop during the spring and fall ripen into flavorful passion fruits you and your family can enjoy! They grow best on a strong pergola or trellis, in either full sun or partial shade.

A Perfect Garden Pairs Well with a Perfect Lawn

Florida’s hardiness zone is just right for growing some unique, fragrant plants and flowers. Remember that the perfect complement to a beautiful garden is a beautiful lawn. Need help getting your grass in great shape? Reach out to the lawn care experts at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Apopka and look forward to a lush, green lawn in no time. Call us today at (407) 880-6655 for your free consultation!

How Can I Prep My Christmas Tree to Protect It from Bugs?

Decking the halls this holiday season? Many Florida residents enjoy the look, feel, and smell of a live Christmas tree, but they often come with an unwanted surprise—creepy-crawly bugs! Here’s an introduction to the types of pests Christmas trees can attract, as well as effective ways to prevent them.

Insects That Are Attracted to Christmas Trees

There’s a certain set of pests that are drawn to Christmas trees. Unfortunately, many of these pests are common throughout Florida, since they thrive in warm climates. Some of the most common pests you’ll find in or around your Christmas tree include:

  • Aphids: Be on the lookout for aphids—not only do they like Christmas trees, but they love to feast on other houseplants and destroy them. Aphids often make themselves at home in the lower branches of Christmas trees, especially the balsam fir, evergreen, Fraser fir, pine, and white fir trees. These bugs can quickly multiply and become a nuisance, affecting all the plants in your home. The most effective way to rid your Christmas tree of these pesky bugs is by relying on the pest control experts at Evergreen to provide eco-friendly treatments that tackle the problem quickly and effectively.
  • Mites: Mites are either brown or red, and they’re drawn to tree sap. If you choose a Douglas fir, Fraser fir, spruce, or white pine, be on the lookout for mites. Spruce spider mites are one of the most common mites you’ll find in Christmas trees, but they can’t stand up to the eco-friendly treatments provided by your professional Evergreen pest control technician.
  • Scale insects: These reddish-orange insects have a hard exoskeleton. Like mites, they feed on tree sap. Scale insects are particularly drawn to Douglas fir, Norway spruce, and Scotch pine trees. Again, you can rely on your Evergreen pest control experts to provide safe, eco-friendly treatments to rid your tree—and your home—of these nuisance pests during the holiday season and beyond.

How to Prep Your Christmas Tree

The best way to keep pests from ruining your Christmas tree—and your holidays—is by preventing them from setting up shop in your home in the first place. If you spend a little time prepping your Christmas tree before bringing it in and decorating it, you increase your chances of having a pest-free holiday season. Here’s how to prep your tree to keep it bug-free:

  1. Inspect before buying. It’s always wise to check trees for insects before you buy. Perform a close inspection, looking for any insects or spider webs. It doesn’t hurt to bring a flashlight with you as you make your choice.
     
  2. Give the tree a shake. Before you bring your Christmas tree inside, give it a good shake. Some lots even have a mechanical shaker that removes loose needles, bugs, and eggs. You can simply shake the tree on your own by lifting it off the ground a few inches and letting it thump down. It shakes off any loose critters, and it also opens up the branches again if the tree was wrapped.
     
  3. Clean up. After you’ve brought your tree in and decorated it, make sure to keep the area around it clean. Vacuum anything that falls from the tree. It’s best to stick to a daily schedule for vacuuming, so you can prevent an unwanted buggy surprise on Christmas morning.
     
  4. Prep your home with proper pest control. The best way to ensure a bug-free Christmas—and peace of mind in the new year—is to prep your home for the holidays with professional pest control solutions from Evergreen. Using an Integrated Pest Management approach, we’ll tackle even the toughest pest problems with fast-acting, proven-effective, eco-friendly treatments.

Get Your Home Pest Free This Holiday Season—and beyond!

Are pests keeping you and your family from having the absolute best holiday season? No matter what type of pest you’re dealing with—from insects to rodents—the pest control experts at Evergreen Lawn and Pest Control – Orlando are standing by to help! Using safe, efficient, and family-friendly pest control methods, we’ll get your home pest-free this holiday season and beyond. Give us a call today at (407) 880-6655 to schedule your free consultation!

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