March 2020 Volume 37, Number 3

Chapter Meeting, March 18, 7:00 pm Seminole Heights Branch Library 4711 Central Ave. Tampa, 33603 Program Lessons Learned in Native Landscaping by Troy Springer

Troy will be presenting an all new talk with the latest ideas and techniques he has learned while building high level self-sustaining landscapes that function properly, are aesthetically pleasing, and preserve the natural character of Florida. In the talk you will learn steps to take to build your own high quality landscape. The talk will be full of pictures he has taken on various projects, as well as his own all native residential landscape. Troy Springer started his career in the landscape business when he founded Springer Lawn Care in 1992 while in college at USF. Springer Lawn Care was predominately a mowing and traditional landscape operation. However, being a devoted wildlife enthusiast, Troy realized that his business practices were harming what was most important to him. He started to learn about natives and began experimenting with them and gradually implemented natives in his landscape projects. He soon dreamed of having an eco-friendly landscape and maintenance operation, and began to sell off most of his mowing operation. Troy opened Springer Environmental Services Inc. in 2005 with a whole new brand of landscape style. Today, 98% of all plant materials used in his design and installations are native. In addition to installing landscapes, over the years Troy has developed maintenance strategies specifically for eco-friendly landscapes. Troy has been an active member of FNPS since 2004. He served as President for the Suncoast Chapter for two years, and served many years on the BOD. During that time, Troy became Chairperson for the 2012 FNPS Conference held in Plant City, and in 2014 received a Green Palmetto award for service. He currently serves on the Board of Directors for FANN (Florida Association of Native Nurseries), and hopes to put in many more years of service for native plant conservation.

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Field Trip Alderman’s Ford Conservation Park

Where: Saururus cernuus (lizard’s- Alderman's Ford Conservation Park, $2 entrance fee tail) 100 Alderman's Ford Park Dr. Plant City, FL, FL 33567 Meet in the parking lot When: Saturday March 21st 2020. Start Time: 9:00 AM Expected duration: 3 hours About the walk: We will first take a short walk around the dirt loop across the bridge from the main bathroom where we have recently seen Jack-in-the-pulpit, Asclepias perennis, lizard's tail (Sarurus cernuus) and goldenclub (Orontium aquaticum). If it has been raining this could be muddy. Then we will be walking the paved loop (1.8 miles) with a detour on the dirt trail to where false dragonhead, butterweed and Browne's savory Arisaema triphyllum (Jack-in- should be blooming. This path has some roots and elevation changes as it the-pulpit) winds along the water for a short distance. Along the paved path there are ferns, false indigo, Matelea and some wildflowers are likely. There may be with spring blooms along the last part of the paved trail. Things to know: Please bring hat, sunscreen, water, etc. There are restrooms and water fountains both in the picnic area and half way around the paved loop. Trip Leader: Janet Bowers

Contact:

o Tina (Mable C) Patterson, SNPS secretary o [email protected] o 305-298-6381 , call or text (please leave name and message) Sulphur butterfly on false dragonhead

All photos by Janet Bowers

2 Suncoast Business The Chapter held its annual meeting on February 19. At that meeting, we approved updated bylaws and voted in our board of directors for 2020. Your 2020 board members (listed alphabetically) are  Niki (Nicole) Cribbs  Shirley Denton  Steve Dickman  Mike Fite  Virginia Overstreet  Tina (Mable) Patterson This is a very small board. We need volunteers for many tasks. Most are small. If you can take on any of these tasks, please let any member of the board know. Open positions are  Membership Manager – This person makes sure new members are welcomed, and calls members whose memberships have lapsed. This person is invited to be on FNPS Membership Committee calls to learn more about membership retention.  Refreshments – This person maintains a list of people willing to bring refreshments to meetings when we meet at the Extension Service. Generally, this means passing a list around a meeting (to build the list) and then calling before the meeting to remind the volunteer to bring refreshments. The chapter reimburses the person who brings the refreshments.  Plant Sale Coordinator – This person coordinates the plant sales in April and October. It is a very important position. We have lots of support, but we have not had an official coordinator for several years.  Field Trip Coordinator. This person works with others to schedule field trips. Individual field trip leaders may be the meeting speaker or any of the many people who willingly lead those trips. Suncoast also has one or two weekend camping trips each year. You can read or download the bylaws at http://www.suncoastnps.org/contacts/by-laws/.

Thank You Thank you to those who brought and items to be auctioned off at the February meeting. Plants came from Janet Bowers, Cliff Brown, and Grayson McCormick. Thank you to Cliff Brown for being the auctioneer. Thank you to Elaine Holmes for setting up the room and managing the door Join FNPS to join our Suncoast Chapter, https://fnps.org/participate/membershipinfo

3 Conference Registration is Open!

The FNPS Annual Conference is your opportunity to learn more about native plants, meet other native plant enthusiasts, and enjoy field trips to places we cannot easily access from Hillsborough County. Attending the Annual Conference is open to every member of FNPS, to your family, and to your friends. Learn more and register online at https://fnps.org/conference/2020.

The year, the conference will be at the University of North Florida in Jacksonville.

Resources for Suncoast Chapter Members Plants for Hillsborough County Gardens – you can create a list for your garden including sun exposure, drainage, soil type, plant characteristics and use by birds and butterflies -- https://fnps.org/plants/refinelist/Hillsborough Native Plant Society Events in Hillsborough, Pinellas, and Pasco Counties -- http://www.suncoastnps.org/calendar/ FNPS Policy on Transportation Infrastructure -- https://fnps.org/assets/pdf/pubs/policy_transportation.pdf Historical Palmetto Articles available on-line for download -- https://fnps.org/palmetto Florida Bunchgrasses as a Turf Alternative -- https://fnps.org/assets/pdf/pubs/fnpsfactsheetbgrass.pdf

Troy Springer (our March speaker) talking about his personal home landscape with John Miller (our February speaker) in October 2019.

Photo by Shirley Denton

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Volunteers are needed for the USF Botanical Garden Spring Plant Festival

This year the sale falls on Easter weekend, so if you are in town, we really need your help! Volunteer Schedule:  Friday, April 10, 9 am - 11 am : set up tables and arrange plants and signs, pricing  Saturday, April 11, 8 am - 4 pm : sales and meeting the public, any hours you can work are welcome --- our busiest time is 9 am-12 pm  Sunday, April 12, 10 am - 4 pm: sale ends at 3 pm and we can always use hands to break down and load supplies Contact: o Tina (Mable C) Patterson, SNPS secretary o [email protected] o 305-298-6381 , call or text (please leave name and message)

Upcoming Events Lettuce Lake Native Plant Walk – Mar. 7 Meeting – Mar. 18 Field Trip – Mar. 21 USF Plant Sale – Apr. 11-12 FNPS Conference – May 14-17

5 o MCORES and Botanizing in North Florida Five Suncoast Chapter and Sierra Club members went north for the dual purpose of seeing spring arrive "up North" and attending MCORES meetings in Madison and Fanning Springs. We stayed at the Suwannee River State Park, and despite unseasonably warm weather, we could tell we were not in Hillsborough anymore by the American beech, loblolly pines, cedar elm, and many other species not found in the Tampa Bay Area.. It was heartening to hear task force members and local citizens raise questions about the purpose and necessity of these roads. Environmentalists, county and city officials, farmers and residents of the affected areas came together to express their reservations and/or opposition. Gene Kelly (FNPS Policy and Legislation Committee Chair) and Shirley Denton spoke for FNPS on the importance of prescribed burns to maintaining conservation, forest and farmlands and how roads cause safety and effectiveness issues. Tina talked about how MCORES goals could be accomplished more economically WITHOUT the new roads, and Barb Toepke spoke on danger to springs, water resources and wildlife habitats. During our off times, we visited Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, Manatee Springs State Park and Suwannee River State Park. Wolf Creek Trout Lily Preserve, GA

This wonderful little preserve is in southern Georgia. We caught the dimpled trout lilies in full bloom.

Manatee Springs State Park

We walked the boardwalk and part of the trail system.

ng State Park, FL Suwannee River State Park

You can express your opinion about the MCORES toll roads.

Go to https://floridamcores.com to learn more about the roads and submit your comments.

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6 Fringetree ( virginicus) Profile by Shirley Denton

Family: Chianothus virginicus Distribution: Central and northern Florida, north to southern Pennsylvania and west to central and Arkansas Zones: 8 and 9 in Florida) Plant Habit: Small , typically to 20- 30 ft tall. Natural Habitat: Moist hammocks : , leaves, entire, dark green, opposite . Bloom: Dioecious (separate male and female plants). Masses of white with slender . Almost white- smoke appearance. Flowering time: Spring. : Bluish-black drupe on the female plants but only if there is a nearby male. Soil: Sandy to loamy. Water: Moist to moderately dry but not highly drought tolerant Light: Full sun to moderate shade Propagation: . Photo by Shirley Denton Availability: Florida native nurseries and native plant sales Landscape uses: Used as a specimen tree. Showy flowers, aroma, fragrance. Does not stand out when not in bloom. Wildlife: Bees are attracted to the flowers and the drupes are used by birds and mammals. Larval host to several sphynx moths. Related Species: (pygmy fringetree) is a dry site (scrub species) listed as Endangered by Florida and the . It is a lovely appropriate to growing in dry sites.

KEY REFERENCES Florida Native Plant Society. 2019. https://fnps.org/plants/plant/chionanthus-virginicus. Florida Association of Native Nurseries. 2019. https://www.plantrealflorida.org/plants/detail/chionanthus-virginicus. Haehle, Robert G., and Joan Brookwell, 1999, Native Florida Plants: Gulf Publishing Company, Houston, Texas, 360 p. Nelson, Gil. 2003. Florida’s Best Native Landscape Plants. Florida Association of Native Nurseries. Osorio, Rufino, 2001, A Gardner’s Guide to Florida Native Plants:University Press of Florida, Gainesville, FL.

7 Officers and Board of Directors Newsletter Submissions Deadline for March Newsletter: Mar. 20

President –open Send contributions to Shirley Denton at [email protected].

Vice President –Virginia Overstreet Contributions should be original, with references where appropriate. [email protected] Photographs and drawings should belong to the submitter or submitted along with written permission from the owner, and be of appropriate resolution for Secretary - Tina Patterson printing (a width of 1000 pixels is generally adequate for this newsletter, but [email protected] err toward larger so that they pictures can be cropped if needed). All submissions should be in formats standardly used in documents and readable Treasurer - Niki Cribbs on Windows PCs. [email protected] Submissions will be reviewed for accuracy with preference for being Directors at Large relevant to the FNPS mission and local environmental events. Mike Fite [email protected]

All content copyrighted by the Suncoast Shirley Denton Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society, [email protected] 2019

Steve Dickman [email protected]

Program Managers

Fieldtrips Shirley Denton [email protected] 813-625-5031

Steve Dickman [email protected] Suncoast Chapter of Florida Native Plant Society, Inc. Tina Patterson P.O. Box 1158 [email protected] Seffner, FL 33583-1158 305-298-6381

Librarian Vikki Sinclair 989-2896

Newsletter Shirley Denton - editor Please deliver to: [email protected] 813-625-5031

Mike Fite – chief assistant [email protected]

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