On today’s Sustainable Living Program we started on the topic of Florida Native Plants with Craig Huegel, owner of Hawthorn Hill Native Wildflower Nursey and currently a biology teacher at St. Petersburg College. He’s a co-founder of the University of Florida Cooperative Urban Wildlife Extension Program and is the author of several books; his latest being “The Nature of Plants: An Introduction to How Plants Work”. Also joining us was Bruce Turley, the owner of Wilcox Nursey and Landscaping Company that has been in business since 1951 in Largo. Bruce is the president of the Native Horticulture Foundation and the Florida Association of Native Nurseries. Native Plants are becoming more popular over recent decades, but Bruce feels that there still aren’t enough in Florida landscapes. Craig mentioned several times that it takes education to become knowledgeable about natives and both recommend attending Florida Native Plant Society Meetings. There are chapters in both Pinellas, Hillsborough and surrounding counties.
We finished the program with a scientist with the University of Florida Citrus Greening Program, Niki Barber. She feels that they are really close to finding a cure, but they are not done with their research, which often takes many years.
For more information check out these links: http://hawthornhillwildflowers.blogspot.com/ . https://www.aphis.usda.gov/aphis/resources/pests-diseases/hungry-pests/the-threat/citrus-greening/citrus-greening-hp
Here is some information about native versus non-native milkweeds and butterflies https://www.wilcoxnursery.com/harming-monarch-butterflies/
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