The University of Florida (UF) provides numerous plant information PDFs through its IFAS Extension and the Florida-Friendly Landscaping program. Key publications include the Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Guide to Plant Selection & Landscape Design and guides on low-maintenance and regionally specific plants, such as the one for south Florida. Other PDFs cover specific topics like vegetable production, tree fact sheets on planting and pruning, and invasive species information.
82 Issues in this Publication (Showing issues - 1) Previous
Herbs in the Florida Garden
CIR570
Herbs are plants which are grown for the special flavor and aroma of their various parts. They are used mainly to season, enrich, or otherwise improve the taste or smell of certain foods. Since they are not primary dishes, they are not classified as vegetables. However, due to similarity of their growth habits and cultural requirements, herbs are often included with vegetables for discussion and in the garden.
Most of the common herbs can be grown seasonally in Florida in sufficient quantities for home use. In south Florida, many herbs may be grown in the home garden throughout the year. Since only a small portion of the plant is usually needed at any one time and because the plants are generally small, herbs are adapted to container culture. Their attractiveness as an ornamental plant makes them fit well into the home landscape, either in a border planting, or included in the flower garden. Specially designed formal herb gardens are both practical and attractive. to popular belief, herbs are sometimes planted among vegetables to repel certain insects and other pests. While pest control with herbs is undocumented in scientific journals, this practice will at least reward the gardener with a steady supply of various herbs.
1. This document is CIR570, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date March 1994. Revised March 1998. Reviewed March 2014. Visit the EDIS website at http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu.
2. James M. Stephens, professor (retired), Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, 32611.
Abiu Growing in the Florida Home Landscape
HS1050
Scientific Name: Pouteria caimito
Common Names: abiu (English), caimito amarillo, caimo, madura verde, and luma (Spanish), abiu, abio, abieiro (Portuguese)
Family: Sapotaceae
Relatives of Abiu: mamey sapote, canistel, green sapote, sapodilla
Origin: Amazonian region of South America
Distribution: Abiu has been distributed throughout the tropics of Latin America and Southeast Asia.
1. This document is HS1050, one of a series of the Horticultural Sciences Department, UF/IFAS Extension. Original publication date January 2006. Revised November 2016. Reviewed December 2019. Visit the EDIS website at https://edis.ifas.ufl.edu for the currently supported version of this publication.
2. Jonathan H. Crane, professor, tropical fruit crop specialist, UF/IFAS Tropical Research and Education Center; and Carlos F. Balerdi, professor, multicounty tropical fruit crops Extension agent (retired), UF/IFAS Extension Miami-Dade County; UF/IFAS Extension, Gainesville, FL 32611.
