Caribbean & Hawaiian Style
Landscaping Florida Landscaping at it's best!
Tampa Landscaping, St Petersburg (St Pete) Landscaping, Clearwater Landscaping, Seminole Landscaping
Pinellas County Florida (FL) Landscaping Services and more! Please visit our sister site also: stpetelandscaper.com Where you can see the very latest in conditions and comment and ask questions about your landscape issues.
Native Earth, Inc.
Landscape Maintenance and installation servicing Pinellas, Hillsborough and Manatee Counties including St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Bellaire, Seminole and Tampa.
Native Earth Plant Advisor Check our notes below for the latest conditions and tips on gardening. May 2010 After all that rain we are starting to really dry out. We have been fixing a lot of sprinklers. If you need help with yoursprinkler system let us know.
April 2010 Sad to say but all the adonidida(Christmas) palms are dying. Even the ones that looked like they survived the cold are now dying due to fungus. If the heart of your plam turns brown and gets loose, it's best to dig it out and start over. We may never see a winter that cold again but we will see occ. freezes. The last one before this winter was 15yrs ago and the popularity of adonidia's soared during those 14 warm winters we had. So it is up to you if you want to replant adonidia or switch to a more hardy variety like robellini palms which will not be damaged by a Tampa Bay area freeze.
March 2010 3/1 Started getting lots of calls today for new landscapes. Everyone is tired of this cold weather. We are still waiting to fertilize. A couple more weeks when we get consistent mid-70's. We want to be your landscaper. Contact us at nativearth@gmail.com.
February 2010 Still very cold. Ok to cut back damaged shrubs like hibiscus but hold off trimming damaged palms or fertilizing. Wait for warmer weather. From AccuWX.com: An unusually strong and persistent area of high pressure over northern Canada has been forcing much of the cold air well south into the southeastern United States, leaving much of central and northeastern Canada relatively mild with a lack of snowfall. Have a specific question about your garden? Contact me at nativearth@gmail.com, Str8 to my cel phone. Thanks!
January 2010 Very cold to start off 2010. Normally, in the winter we get a front and it's cold for a couple days then the high moves into the Atlantic and we warm right back up. Not the case this time. There is a big low anchored over New England and a big high over the plains and the gradient between the two is just funneling in cold air to Florida. Fortunately, it is just above freezing in Pinellas so we don't have to cover our plants. If you kept your plants healthy and fed over the summer and fall this is when it really pays off. Healthy plants will survive cold weather much better than plants that have been neglected. We are taking on new accounts for 2010. Get in touch with us at the e-mail address above of call us at 727-455-0078. We got lots of new buisness off the internet in 2009. We have a second website now: www.stpetelandscaper.com. Check it out!
Here is our new video:
Born and Bred in the Land of Flowers
December 2009 El Niño has brought us a very rainy December. Shut your sprinklers off to conserve water and prevent fungus outbreaks like brownspot from affecting your grass. We did a big landscape job on Gandy Blvd. that turned out incredible(see the photo posted above). We needed a light-colored mulch but we wanted to stay away from cypress mulch for environmental reasons. So we got with the City of St Petersburg and used their Double Chipped log mulch. Let me tell you, it is a superior alternative to cypress mulch: Number 1: They are not cutting down native cypress trees to produce it. It is a recycled product made from logs thrown away at the brush sites. Number 2: It looks like cypress mulch but has superior color and moisture retention in comparison. Number 3: When it breaks down it actually builds the soil by decomposing into organic matter in a much more beneficial way than cypress mulch. Number 4: It lays better than cypress mulch. Number 5: It is less than one third the price of cypress mulch. This is a huge improvement in the way we mulch our gardens. Please consider this wonderful alternative to cypress mulch. Check out the new ground cover/mulch page.
November 2009 We've updated the before and after page! October was so hot. Seems like the heat has abated. Now is a good time to plant new sod and plants. The roots have a chance to get established during cooler weather. So when spring comes you will really have a beautiful lawn and garden. We R&R St Augustine turf for $450 per 500sq ft. Quality floratam prepped before planted.
October 2009 Record heat for the first half of October. Late update we have been working hard on a big landscape job in Harbor Isles, St Petersburg. Before and after shots coming soon. Now is a good time to treat for grubs and mole crickets. You know you've got them when the ground is soft and tunneled and your St Augustine dies and look sod cut by the insects chewing the roots off. Contact us for effective control ideas. September 2009 Tons of rain... Seems to me the rainiest summer in awhile. At least the heat has temporarily abated. Lots of mole crickets and chinch bugs pounding the St Augustine grass. Break out the pesticide. If your tired of the St Augustine problems, rip your grass out and use bedding plants in those spaces. We have had alot of success with this type of application in areas where St Augustine turf does not want to grow. In a green sense, forward thinking now is native plants, shrubs, ferns, ornamental grasses that are disease and drought resistent cultivars. Imagine not having to worry about pesticide and water? Liberating and we make money off St. Augustine grass but it's 2009 and time to start thinking differently. Florida is running out of water. St Augustine is the biggest waste of a non-producing crop ever! We can help: Rapid Response at nativearth@gmail.com
August 2009 On and off rains and lots of heat. We are finally in that SE wind pattern pushed by the Bermuda High. Rains should occur late in the day rather than early. Insects are bad this year. Sod web worms and chinch bugs are damaging untreated St. Augustine turf as you read this. This is really unecessary. I saw a 55 and older duplex property in Largo that was losing 1000's of dollars worth of turf in the front lawns simply because neither the management company(Resource) or the lawn company was on top of the damage being done by chinch bugs. This happened even though they had been notified of the problem. It's not rocket science. Killing chinch bugs is easy. Also, make sure your lawn is cut tall (4 plus inches) with a sharp blade. This helps the grass not to get stressed out. These next 2 months will make or break your St Augustine lawn.
July 2009 The drought is over and copious rains are falling, shut your sprinklers off to conserve that ever valuble resouce, water.
May 2009 Super dry with no rain in the forecast. Heavy duty water restrictions got you down? We can help, hit us up at nativearth@gmail.com. Mole cricket nymphs are hatching out. Gotta get on them now with some good bait or they will destroy your bahia and damage your St Augustine turf by late August. April 2009: Our long, cold winter is over. Well, cold for Florida that is. It's good to cut back and fertilize flowering shrubs like hibiscus to get them going again. We use a fertilizer called 'color burst' for promoting lots of beautiful blooms. Also, it's now safe to cut yellow and brown fronds off your arecas and other palms. April showers bring May flowers. St. Petersburg received an inch and a half of rain on 4/7 and another chance for rain is in the forecast so that will help the drought a lot. We are very up to date with all the water restrictions in the different municipalities so if your having trouble understanding them give us a quick e-mail to nativearth@gmail.com.
March 2009: The oak trees are dropping leaves like crazy and the pollen is falling like snow. Don't get mad and cut them down! It will be over soon and you will appreciate the shade come July! Oak leaves make great compost. This should be our last bit of cold and then it's time to Landscape! Contact us at nativearth@gmail.com for a consultation.
February 2009: It has been so cold! Our poor tropicals. Remember to cover them during bouts with frost and freeze. Looks to warm up a bit but winter is not over yet.
January 2009: A return to cold weather and frost is in the forecast. Get ready to cover your plants and move potted specimens to protected locations.
December 2008: After a cold start to the month we have experienced a mid-winter warm up. Now is a good time to fertilize plants and turf with a low nitrogen/solid potassium balanced fertlizer so that the plants will be healthy and hearty before the next cold snap comes along. We have openings for new accounts, commercial and residential so get in touch with us at nativearth@gmail.com.
November 2008: We had record cold during the latter half of October. Many tropical plants were shocked. It is time to fetilize all turf, shrubs and palms with a low nitrogen blend with minors for winterizing. Do you have a plan in case of a freeze? Now is a good time to start thinking of how you will protect your investment this winter. October 2008: 10/6/08(NEW): Check out the landscape 'clean up' we did in October 2008 (before and after shots). 9/16/08: Check out the landscape we did in September 2008 (before and after shots).
We specialize in fertilizing palm trees! Palmanator® Palm Fertilizer Our own custom blend of micro-nutrients and fertilizer guaranteed to blow your palms up with lush green foliage. Protect your investment against cold and disease by palmanating your puppies today!
We sell Sandvik Pradines. The best gardening tools. E-mail us for information.
September 2008: How is your property looking? We have our current liability and WC insurance. Need bids for 2009? E-mail us at nativearth@gmail.com and we will have them for you quick...
Left to Right: Micah (President), Shaun (tech), Juan (tech), Rudy (tech), and Abiel (Our bilingual foreman). Tampa Bay's Best Landscape Services. Se habla español. We make Beautiful Places. We are not just a 'mow and go' service. We concentrate on the details!
August 2008 Lots of rain lately. It's good to shut your sprinklers off during periods of heavy rain. The ground here is saturated. Chinch bugs continue to be a problem so keep an eye out for yellow then brown spots in your turf.
July 2008: We are into the rainy season and it's hot and humid and the chinch bugs are showing up. We've picked up some incredible new accounts that we are so excited about. One thing we notice is that at our exisiting accounts where we use pre-emergents for weed control, we see excellent results with very little amounts of weeds. At the new accounts where pre-emergents were not used, there are a lot of weeds and these are taking a bit to get under control. We fight weeds in 4 different ways; Manually pulling them, non-selective herbicides, selective herbicides and pre-emergents to kill the weed seeds.What is that saying? An ounce of prevention... E-mail us if you want a professional to work with your landscape.
June 2008: So Far it's hot and dry. We are cutting the grass as tall as we can with sharp blades and working hard on sprinkler systems to ensure our customers have green and clean lawns. Team Native Earth went 'Back to School'. We picked up our CEU's to maintain our LCLM license that allows us to treat beds and ornamentals. We learn the difference between a broadleaf, a grass and a sedge. And we learn the difference between chewing insects and peircing, sucking insects. Most importanly, we learn to use IPM (integrated pest management) in our daily buisness practices. This helps us to be more effective gardeners, protect our natural resources and conserve our natural surroundings. nativearth@gmail.com
'Back to School'
May 2008: The rainy spring is over and the drought is upon us. We are checking sprinklers and getting all of our customer's systems tuned up. If you need sprinkler work let us know. nativearth@gmail.com
April 2008: Our rainy spring continues here in West Florida.
March 2008: We've been blessed with lots of rain recently. Now is a good time to install plants and sod before the summer heat arrives. We are also fertilizing our lawn accounts.
February 2008: Plant forecast for all of Central Florida. The weather has warmed and continues mild. This is the time to attack the weeds. There are many good pre-emergent weed seed herbicides on the market for beds and turf. Get a jump on the problem and you will have less weeds this spring in summer. We are also getting ready for our annual weed and feed. Let us know if you need this service. Nativearth@gmail.com.
January 2008: Plant forecast for all of Central Florida. That freezing weather we had has left many tropicals burned and wilted. It's good to cut the dead plant material out so that with warmer weather it will regrow. Also, a good time to check sprinkler systems. We are offering free estimates and bid packages on commercial properties, condominums, housing complexes and more. Our licenses and workman's comp insurance certificates are available for reference. Servicing St. Petersburg , Tampa and Clearwater. Give us a call for all your landscape maintainence needs, 727-894-1674.
Does your spray company blow off after they fertilize or treat with pesticide? Fertilizer runoff is horrible for Tampa Bay and the Gulf. It aggrivates algae blooms like red tide. By being aware of the dangers we can lessen the impact we have on the wetlands and bodies of water around us. Be sure to let us no if you have any landscaping needs. We can be contacted at nativearth@gmail.com or 727-894-1674. Thanks!
Owl's live in hollow tree cavities. If you don't have to cut down dead trees, or cut out dead wood, don't. It's good to leave a few around for owls and wood peckers. We sell owl boxes.
Nativearth@gmail.com.
We are a landscape company serving St. Petersburg, Tampa, Largo, Bellaire, Seminole and the beaches.
We specialize in detailed, manicured maintainence and installation.
Landscaping in St Petersburg, Florida Part 1 Introduction and Water Sources
By Micah Weaver, Master Gardener
President, Native Earth, Inc.
St Petersburg is one of Florida's finest cities. It has lots of parks and trees. It is a clean and well maintained city. The community is young and thriving. There are tons of things to do. St. Petersburg is surrounded by water. There is boating and sailing on Tampa Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. The fishing can be very good. St Petersburg offers a fine quality of life for it’s more than 250,000 residents. The geology of St Petersburg like the rest of Florida varies greatly from one area to another and this affects the flora and fauna in each of these micro-climates. From the coastal dunes of St Pete Beach and Pass-a-Grille to the Oak Hammocks of the Jungle Prada area to the tall Pine trees of Coquina Key the terrain varies. When thinking of Landscaping one should consider what area your living in. What is the terrain like? What plants thrive best in your neighborhood? And what is the availability of that all important resource: water.
My father, who had a lawn and landscape business is the area during the 1970’s when I was a small boy told me that "if you water it and fertilize it, it will turn green". Lately, we have had severe droughts, one of which we are currently in. Water is super important to St. Petersburg landscapes.
St Petersburg is a semi-dry area with only 49.58 inches of rain per year. Most of that rain comes during afternoon thunderstorms during the summer rainy season June-August. Much of the rest falls during brief rains that accompany passing cold fronts.
Water for landscapes in St Petersburg comes from five main sources:
Reclaimed water: The Best. This is available only in the neighborhoods that have the hook-up. 10, 480 residents currently use this source in St Petersburg. This is the best option because it provides almost unlimited watering potential on a regular basis without fear of receiving a fine for illegal watering.
Well water: Most of Florida has easy access to shallow (15-40ft deep) and deep wells (100-200ft deep). The sand is quite easy to jet through and a good well-man can find a full vein of water to tap into in many areas. These provide good sources of ground water but require a pump to bring them up. Well water is subject to heavy water restrictions. Sometimes the water has a rotten egg smell to it because of sulfur content. Other times it can stain surfaces rust-colored because of it’s iron content.
Public Water: This is the same water we use to bathe and drink. It generally comes from well fields in counties to the north of us. This water is highly treated with chlorine and is expensive.Public water is also subject to heavy water restrictions.
Lake Water(pond fed): There are quite a few fresh water lakes in St Petersburg and some of these have been used for irrigation. Normally, a pipe is laid into the body of water with a screened "T" on the end and the water is drawn up and sprayed onto the lawn through a sprinkler system with a pump. This can cause lake water table to fall and deprive fish of adequate water levels and oxygen.
Rain Collection: Many residents are turning to this method as a really good way to water potted plants and small landscape areas. A rain barrel is attached to a down spout or placed under an area of heavy run-off where it can collect rain. Then, during dry times it is watered back onto the plants. Rain-water is wonderful because it it a renewable resource, free and contains some nitrogen but no chlorine. Plants love it. We install rain-barrels so let us know if you need one at nativearth@gmail.com.
Conclusion: What kind of water supply should be considered before you design your landscape. It will have a major impact on what you can and cannot grow.
Our next installment will consider four main types of popular landscapes in St Petersburg.
