The Pansy Delta Fire features 2.5 to 3 inch blooms coming in Red, Scarlet & Yellow with Mahogany Red accents on compact 4 to 6 inch plants that keep the blooms from flopping over. All Pansies can take the cold, but the Delta series can take more heat than almost any other (Matrix is great for warm days too), which come regualry in Gainesville landscape as we bounce back and forth from cold to warm this time of year.

The Delta Fire is definitely something different and we love to see it in a bunch of pots or small beds.

It is best planted when soil temps are between 45-70 degrees and in a raised bed for good drainage.  Pansy's planted when soil temps are below 45 will be stunted exhibiting little growth or flowering.  Plant 6 to 10 inches apart in full or part sun.  Water thoroughly for the first time 5 days after planting and then it is best that they receive a thorough watering once or twice a week and feed once every two weeks.  Regular dead heading of faded blooms can extend & increase blooming.  Surrounding, with approx 2 inches of mulch will help conserve water and protect against the cold.  The Delta Series exhibits great heat tolerance though all pansy's will begin to decline as the days heat up.  Be careful if you live in the Millhopper Road area of town though, because deer love pansy's!

If we can help you with your Gainesville Landscape improvements, please give ua a call or text at (352) 378-5296. 

A common question we get about Landscaping in Gainesville, Florida is what plants do we recommend that are low-maintenance and offer great curb appeal to use in Gainesville Landscape Designs. In this quick video, we show off a design we implemented for a client with 7 of our favorite Gainesville landscape plants.

We go over the Flax Lily, Drift Roses, Agapanthus, Regina Iris, Salvia, Oyster Plant, and Angelonia as great plants to use to brighten your Gainesville lawn.

If we can help you in your Gainesville landscape, don't heistate to give us a call or email us at (352) 378-5296. 

One of our favorite cool-season flowering plants to brighten Gainesville Landcsaping is the Diascia 'Juliet'. Diascia has prolific, showy blossoms on a low-mounding habit. Diascia can be used interchangeably with Alyssum, Pansies, Nemesia, and other cool season annuals.  These plants love cooler weather, so they are covered in blooms.  While perennial further north, Diascia will likely not make it through our summers - making it a cool-season annual for Gainesville, Florida lawns.

Diascia is sometimes referred to as "twinspur" because the flowers feature two spurs coming out of the back of the blossoms. Within these spurs, the plants produce an oil that is collected by a species of bees that have evolved alongside the plants. Diascia grows as a compact mound 1-2 feet in spread and 2-3 feet high.

North Florida Landscape companies are usually very familiar with planting common snapdragons (Antirrhinum), but may not know their semi-trailing cousin Diascia or Twinspur. Like snapdragons, Diascia can withstand multiple light frosts without skipping a beat. But Diascia wins in the maintenance category as its burgeoning blooms are produced profusely without any deadheading.

Diascia is frost tolerant to 28 degrees, so below that we recommend some covering to protect them - but those night are rare in our area.

This South African plant grows best in fertile, well-drained soil with consistent moisture. Diascias tolerate drought once they are well-established. These plants will benefit from regular fertilization, especially during the spring.

While they do not require deadheading to keep up with their blossoms, diascia will benefit from a shearing back to encourage a flush of new growth.

If you would like to see Diascia or other Gainesville Landscape installation, please don't hesitate to reach out to our office (352) 378-5296 or info@themasterslawncare.com

The Viola is a beautiful cool-season annual. It offers amazing uniformity across a wide range of dazzling colors for Gainesville Landscaping with more blooms on every plant than most other flowers. It is also more tolerant of Florida's warm days in the middle of the winter well, too. It's excellent for massing, edging, rock gardens and in hanging baskets and other containers.

These little beauties were imported from Europe in the 18th century.  Viola flowers are smaller than their Pansy cousins – about the size of a nickel – but much more abundant. Violas also tend to be more heat and cold tolerant so that means an extended blooming season.

Viola cornuta looks like a Pansy. They actually belong to the same family, but the viola is much more hardy than the pansy is. The petals are how you can distinguish pansies from viola cornuta. Voila cornuta numbers 2 petals facing upwards, and three facing downwards. 

Here are some photos of Violas and Poinsettias planted in Butler Plaza this week! They aren't in full bloom yet, but will be within a week or two. 

If you would like to see Violas planted in your Gainesville, Florida lawn - please contact our office by calling (352) 378-5296 or emailing info@themasterslawncare.com

The 2  two biggest mistakes I see when homeowners (and even a few Gainesville landscape companies) plant trees and shrubs are planting them too low, and applying too much mulch. In today’s quick tip, I’ll give you my secrets to planting a healthy tree in your Gainesville lawn.

Mistake 1: Planting Plants/Tree Too Low

This simple mistake is the most common one we see and does major damage to the plant. It also is the main reason that we see trees and shrubs planted for a while and not actively growing. Most people think a tree is supposed to be planted with the root ball flush with the soil level, but that is incorrect. This results in people planting their trees too deep which makes it hard for your newly planted tree to thrive, as the base of the plant cannot breathe.

What should be done is to install the tree so the root flare is flush with the soil level, which looks like the tree is planted too high to the untrained eye, like the photo below:

The reason this is bad for your tree is that this excess dirt rots the bark off of the tree and prevents valuable nutrients from moving from the roots up to the branches. One of the symptoms of a tree that has been planted too deep is if you lean on a tree that has been in the ground a few years and that tree’s trunk rocks easily back and forth in the ground, that tree is slowly rotting. The only fix to this is digging up the tree or shrub and replanting correctly to see if it can be salvaged.

Mistake 2: Too much mulch (mulch volcanoes!)

This is a case of too much of a good thing can be a bad thing, like candy. Mulch is great for plants and trees and overall is beneficial to landscapes by controlling weeds as well. The problem is when a person goes overboard piling too much mulch up against the tree trunk. The next time you are out and above, pay attention to the mulch volcanoes in your neighborhood. Most people, including far too many landscape professionals and lawn care workers, make this mistake. Here are some funny photos of "mulch volcanoes:"

Make no mistake, you need to mulch your new tree, plants, and landscape, but the way to do is to leave a gap of about 2-3" away from the trunk of the tree. Here is an image showing how we recommend trees to be installed correctly including the mulch and planting height:

For a tree to thrive, nutrients, fertilizers, and oxygen pass back and forth in a layer just underneath the bark. A telling example of how important this is for a tree - years ago, when a farmer wanted to kill a tree on their land, they would take their knife and cut through the bark all the way around the tree. This cut effectively cut off the tree’s supply of nutrients. This is called girding a tree and that’s exactly what happens when you pile too much mulch or soil up around the trunk by the two above mistakes. The bark rots and begins to cut off the supply of nutrients.

If you are thinking about planting a tree or making any updates to your Gainesville, Florida landscape, give us call at 352-378-5296 or email info@themasterslawncare.com. We’ve been helping our community improve the health and beauty of their lawns and landscapes for over a decade and have a lot of experience and knowledge in what plants and trees will thrive in our Florida weather, which will save you time and money in the long run. We look forward to working with you. 

The Bird of Paradise is highly valued for its large, exotic, colorful blooms in a bold blend of orange, blue, and white (Go Gators!) It adds amazing color and lends a tropical look to any landscape.  Crowns of long stalks with large grey-green leaves provide year-round interest. Very useful as a specimen planting, especially on a patio or near a pool. Evergreen.

October is always that in-between month that feels like one foot is still in summer while the other foot steps toward fall. It’s a great month to add new landscaping such as sod, trees, and shrubs and to start planning for your fall / winter annuals.

It’s finally officially fall, and there are several things you want to be aware of in this transitional season as the owner of a Gainesville landscape. 

Lawns
While we’re still getting some leftover summer afternoon rains, it is typical that we experience a little dry spell between now and winter. It can be a tricky time of year irrigation-wise. If you don't have a smart controller that knows to increase the settings to account for dry weather patterns, watch your turf closely. When you see grass blades folded in half and the overall turf color turning bluish-gray, run the sprinklers and add some extra time to the run-cycle for the next couple weeks to get us through to winter. It's also a season we commonly notice shortcomings in our irrigation systems (adjustments off or lacks of coverage) as the supplemental rains aren't there to cover up the incosistencies. 

Your turf will still be growing in October, but in general shouldn't grow as rapidly as August and September due to the shortening days and lowering soil temperatures. It’s an ideal time to add new turf or replace problem areas that may have struggled due to lawn pest activity, too much shade, weeds, or lack of water.

If you want your grass to be dense and thick, I highly recommend a good dose of lawn fertilizer to help promote root growth and dense growth. Iron will add some deep green color back into your lawn as well, if it's yellowing. Certainly, fall weed control in the lawn is important as dove weed, basketgrass, crabgrass, and Chamberbitter lawn weeds are fighting to take over Gainesville lawns. There is still some lawn pest activitity in October for Gainesville lawns as well, so watch for chewed and browning grass. 

Flowers
Most warm-season annuals are starting to struggle in North Florida with the shorter days and cooling soil temps. In fact, it’s the month to be thinking about transitioning to cool-season annuals and starting to get beds ready for them toward the end of the month. November and December will be the time to plant cool-season annuals. Popular annuals to plant for high-visibility beds and planters are pansies, violas, flowering kale, dianthus, snapdragons, and petunias.

Keep an eye on your perennials to make sure they’re getting enough water. Refresh mulch layers to a depth of 2-4 inches in the fall to insulate soil and weed pressure. Don’t allow mulch to closely surround the base of the plant as that can lead to root rot. Apply a final ornamental fertilizer treatment for the year.

Citrus
A number of citrus varieties will have ripe fruit that’s ready to harvest, including Satsuma, Ambersweet, navels, Hamlin, Fallglo, Robinson, and Osceola. Some fruit is ripe even though it’s green. Don’t wait for it to turn orange. Taste a sample fruit to determine if the crop is ripe and ready to eat.

Do not spray citrus trees for pest control. You shouldn’t have to because by October, pest activity has lessened. Save the spraying for later, after the harvest has been picked as you don't want the treatment to affect the edible fruit.

Trees & Shrubs
October is a good time of year to add new trees and shrubs to your landscaping. The heat, being less intense, won’t stress the plants as much as summer or spring droughts do. They will need to be watered, however, until they’re established. Water daily for a couple of months, then every other day for several months.

Established trees and shrubs should have been fertilized in September. If that feeding was missed, apply the fertilizer in October. A general florida landscape fertilizer (with no weed killer in it) is fine, cast over the ground from the trunk to just past the edge of the leaves. This will help promote root growth and health for a boutiful spring. 

If we can help you with any of your Fall Gainesville Lawn tasks, don't hesitate to give us a call. We offer Gainesville Lawn Fertilization Programs, Landscaping Installations, and Irrigation as well. Our phone number is (352) 378-5296 or feel free to contact us via the form at the top of the page. 

Plants, shrubs and flowers thrive when the weather isn't extreme – not too hot and not too cold, not too wet and not too dry. It is important to understand the best seasons for landscaping in Gainesville, because although we do plant landscapes year-round, there are seasons when it is better than others, and fall is certainly one of those seasons. 

For many novice landscapers, selecting the right type of plants and the right time to install them can be confusing. Whether your objective is to improve curb appeal, create a space for entertaining, or minimize your maintenance, your effort and investment needs to thrive in order to succeed.  To make sure it's the most successful, it is important you know all the facts and particulars about your soil conditions, desired plants, irrigation needs, sun/shade needs, and fertilization / pest control requirements.

Factors also include the amount of sunlight that will be projected in the morning or the afternoon? Or do your landscaping beds get any sun at all? And, how good is the drainage of your landscaping beds during thunder storms?  Too much sun, not enough sun, too much water, not enough water, and poor soil conditions all contribute to a failed garden design.  Knowing these perspectives and plant needs heelps our team design a landscape that will thrive with minimal miantenance and special care.

Though many of us get the planting bug on the first beautiful day of spring, it is not necessarily the best time to start your landscaping project.  Unexpected heat waves, late cold spells, or excessive drought conditions can place stress on newly installed plants, shrubs and flowers.

Also, if you plant during the latter part of spring or summer, you will need to pay a little more attention to making sure your plants withstand the heat and humidity.  The hot and humid days of summer place more stress on your plants, shrubs and flowers, and therefore will require routine watering, and a little extra TLC.

As fall lends itself to cooler temperatures and lower humidity, it is the most favorable and most comfortable time of the year to embark on your Gainesville, Florida landscaping project.  Planting trees, shrubs, and perennials in the fall allows for them to establish their root system longer in milder seasons (winter is also a milder season in Florida) so they are strong when spring arrives.   More developed root systems help plants perform better in the summer, more so than those planted in the spring. Perennials will flourish and be ready to bud.  Fall is also the best time of the year to divide perennials and transplant them too, such as Irises, Lillies, and  others.

If you are still set on planting in the spring rather than fall, make sure you do so with a funtioning irrigation system, as spring brings our driest season of the entire year.  

As the fall holidays approach, it is a good time to plant cold-tolerant annuals like Diasica, Pansies, Violas, Nemesia and Kale - the flowering cabbage that seems to be installed in every landscape bed in October.

As with any home improvement project, it is always best to consult with a professional who specializes in Ganesville Landscape Rennovations. If you would like assistance with your Gainesville landscaping project, please call us at (352) 378-5296 or fill out our contact us form at the top of the page. 

This is the perfect perennial for Gainesville lawns because of it's tolerance for hot temperatures, dry, and sandy soils, and it provides color throughout the warm months in our area.

It blooms repeatedly with cheerful flowers that are yellow or orange, depending on the variety. It makes a great ground cover since each plant will grow over time to form a clump that can reach up to four feet wide. This clumping habit also makes bulbine a great passalong plant for other Gainesville gardeners, as well.

The succulent, grass-like foliage grows to about a foot tall, while the flower stalks typically reach two feet, dancing above the leaves throughout the summer months.

Bulbine was named a 2006 Plant of the Year by the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association and has continued to increase in popularity since.

Bulbine will grow best if it is planted in a spot that receives full sun and has well-drained soil, though it can be grown in a site that gets shade for part of the day. Once established, bulbine is very drought tolerant.

Deadheading and removal of spent stalks will encourage the plants to produce more flowers, but it is not necessary. Our Gainesville landscape management plans include this if you're interested in discussing with our team. 

If you'd like to see more curb appeal, and possibly even a Bulbine, in your Gainesville landscaping - give us a call or text at (352) 378-5296 or fill out the contact us form at the top of the page. 

Pineapple guava plants, also called feijoa plants, are large shrubs or shaped ornamental trees that add interest to Gainesville, Florida landscapes in more ways than one. Their visual appeal created by this plant's grey-green foliage and showy warm-season flowers make it a wonderful specimen plant in any landscape Design. Additionally, the pineapple guavas produce delicious and edible fruit with a flavor similar to a pineapple. With a dense habit and a height and spread of 8 to 15 feet, these landscape pest- and disease-resistant evergreens are suitable for several uses within your lawn. 

Pineapple guava was named a Florida Garden Select plant in 2009 by the Florida Nursery Growers and Landscape Association. It can be grown anywhere in Florida and is even able to handle the salty soils near the coast and sandy soils in Alachua County.

The plants are versatile and easy to grow with an upright branching form, and can be pruned up into a tree-form by the right landscape professional. Fleshy white flower petals have showy red accents, contrasting nicely with the foliage, as you can see in the photo. The tasty fruit ripens in late fall.

The Master's landscaping installation team commonly uses them as a privacy hedge, specimen tree, or corner anchor plant for a bed. They are evergreen and look great year-round when properly irrigated, fertilized, and maintained. 

If this is a plant you would love to see in your Gainesville landscape design, call our office at (352) 378-5296 or fill out our online contact form at the top of the page so we can schedule a meeting to discuss how to add it into your garden design.