Two months ago, this was a huge healthy avocado tree with dozens of tiny fruits growing. It’s rapidly declined recently, starting from the top down. I noticed dropping branches first and thought maybe it was heavy with fruit. But it’s dropped leaves, the leaves look sad and brown. Worsening from the top down. It looks thirsty but it’s been raining so much and we have sprinklers running twice a week (and it did fine all winter with the drought). I inherited this with the house, I know nothing about fruit tree care and I haven’t seen a full season yet with this tree. I did fertilize and mulch this spring and it seemed healthy and thriving until recently. What do I do?

Southeast Florida. I don't see any bugs yet it looks like it's getting munched on. Right next to it is a Clementine that is untouched. Particular bug that prefers grapefruits over those or what?

The lady who owned this house before me apparently loved invasive plants (lantana, brazilian pepper, vinca minor) and I have been on a uphill battle for the past 4 months.

She had a large pot with bushy lantana in it, which I had removed. It is now coming back, and I don't know to to kill this thing. If it gets mowed, it still won't die and I read that it comes back with a vengeance.

Since it's growing near a pond, I can't treat it with regular herbicides, but this thing is class I invasive and needs to go. It is apparently toxic for the wildlife and the ecosystem. So damned if I do, damned if I don't.

And yes, I tried reaching out to the Florida bureau of invasive plants and the one for my county, trying to see how to do this right. I always get voice mail and nobody ever calls back.

What do I do here? Will Acquatic Killzall do the trick? Please help.

Really, it's a beautiful insect. I'm in central Florida. He had a sudden accident and was not able to age past a few more minutes.

My luffa vines are growing so beautifully but the flowers keep snapping off and I don’t know why. I thought nothing of it when the plant was only a foot long but it’s much larger now and it’s still happening. I’ll go out there in the morning and they are open so beautifully then by the afternoon it’s snapped off and not like the flower petals are falling but the whole thing is. There’s always been a lot of ants but I didn’t think they would be the cause so I left them alone. I also noticed the leaves have internal dots that I’m not sure are pest or part of it. Please help any advice is appreciated!

Hi! Zone 11a -Anyone have luck sprouting fruitful lemon tree from seed? If so what kind? I don’t want to spend $100 on another lemon tree that dies. TIA

Any idea what type of bug this is? Friend or foe? Climbing around on bean plants

I tried getting a strawberry tower going and my plants keep giving me mixed signal lol, one week they’re all showing new growth and looking happy and then all of a sudden half of them die immediately 😞…Am I doing this wrong is South Florida just impossible to grow strawberries?

I like to try growing some new crops each Fall. This year it will cucamelon and bunching onions. I am also jumping the gun and planting a compact tomato variety called Floradade this week. It is a determinate, developed for our near tropic climate. I don't have a lot of experience with determinate tomatoes so getting a single flush will be different.

I would love to try growing something like flax for the seed and fibers to make fabric. I know some weeds like Caesarweed can be used to make rope, but does anyone know of a native or Florida friendly plant that can be processed to make textiles?

Taking care of the garden and noticed this leaf with all this going on 😳

A little surprised how well the peppers and tomatoes bounced back after dragging them under a tree last month. The peppers are Marconi and banana peppers and toms are everglades and some unknown volunteer from compost.

I’ve fought spider mites all summer on these guys but I think I got them sorted. I start every day BLASTING them with the hose. Hoping for blooms and more growth soon! I’m extra excited because I have FIVE bridal veil plumeria cuts coming in the mail!

Hi all, I've been following this thread and getting plenty of great info from you all. I am wondering what these bugs are. I just assumed they were dangerous/harmful to my tomato plants (Everglades tom) and broke off the stems that had cluster on them. What exactly are these things? And how can I get rid of them. I would like a more organic option to pest control but I will use a chemical solution if it is what I need to do to protect my plants.

Thanks in advance for your help. 😁

Today's harvest for me and my little birdies

This Stilt-Legged Fly is walking on some of my Billbergia pyramidalis, Flaming Torch bromeliads. They grow so safely around the base of many different trees around here that I thought for sure they were native, but no. I’ve seen these flies in other parts of our property, too, but they do seem to heavily favor these bromeliads.

Jubilee seeded watermelon .

Central southeast florida.

Started with walmart seedling.

I'm still looking for watermelon pruning advice.

Some say to cut the new small watermelons as they sprout and leave only two on one vine.

Does that mean the original stem can have several watermelons? But only 1 to 2 on each vine?

I've got this nice looking one that i'm watching carefully.

And second smaller one that might be forming slightly irregular.

Several leaves are browning and spotting.And the original seed spot is sparse. So i'm trying to create some shade.

Rains almost everyday.

It would be great to have several watermelons. But should I be cutting the small ones off the same vine?

My green beans failed and I think it was because I planted at wrong time.

Most seeds sprouted, but one by one they all didn't make it past 4 inches tall.

I'm not a huge fan of eggplants, zucchinis pumpkins or squash. I'd like to grow at least one vegetable I really like.

Any recommendations for varieties and seed brands?

Central southeast Florida.

I'm reading August is good time so I need to start ordering seeds

I’m looking to add some landscaping to my front yard but I’m unsure about how well flowers would do with the sandy soil. The soil in my yard is the sugary sand that seems to repel water, doesn’t drain well and stays dry below the surface. Lantana and Biden Albas grow naturally in my yard for reference to the type of plants that seem to thrive.

I spread some Zinnia seeds in the spring and have been pleasantly surprised at the luck I’ve had with them. I don’t tend to do well with flowers, but they’ve been kicking for a few months now so that’s been nice. I’d like to create a full sun flower bed and would love if others could share their experiences who have similar soil.

Flowers that peak my interest would be Coneflowers, Black Eyes Susans, Salvia, Bee Balm, etc. I’d be looking for low maintenance, minimal watering required, and would attract pollinators. Any suggestions or advice would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance! :)