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September 10, 2007 Salter
Tree and Herb Farm
TO: Gary
Henry, Executive Director FROM: Salter Tree and Herb Farm September 7, 2007 Contact:
Purpose: To plant the wildflower Phlox pilosa for community beautification and public awareness in public places in Madison, Florida. This project will beautify public buildings and help to educate the public about Florida native wildflowers. Description: Three sites have been planted with P. pilosa. 1. Madison County Public Works, Department of Roads and Bridges, 2060 Rocky Ford Rd., Madison FL 32340
2. Madison
County Recreation Complex, 753 SW Anastasia Way, Madison FL 32340
3.
Courthouse Annex, 229 SW Pinckney St., Madison FL 32340 Method: Phlox pilosa was grown at the Salter Tree and Herb Farm from cuttings taken from the propagation colony located there. Over 75 plants were used for the 3 sites. Site 1 and Site 2 are designed as protected, low maintenance areas with weed control and mulch. Site preparation, maintenance and survival progress was conducted to establish the planting. Site 3 has concrete cut-outs at the doorway to the courthouse annex. This planting is containerized and maintenance is provided by the building maintenance superintendent as plants are established. Replacement plants were added to all three sites during the acclimation process. A small sign was erected at each site to inform the public about the source of the grant and descriptive information on P. pilosa. Click on small photos to enlarge.
November 2006- January 2007: Set aside pilosa inventory or root cuttings for 75 plants. Prepare sites, including ground prep, soil evaluation, mulching needs and barriers for landscape maintenance. January – March: Plant the pilosa and do twice weekly visits to the sites for 1 month (or longer) to transition plants to a low maintenance schedule. Prepare press releases and photos of progress. April – June: Reduce oversight to once per week, or less if appropriate. Note survival rate and environmental impacts. Replace plants if needed to present positive influence of naturalizing natives in public places. ACTIVITIES COMPLETED June – September Continue to observe progress at all sites. Report on naturalizing P. pilosa in urban and rural locations. Notes and considerations for naturalizing Phlox pilosa in urban environments: Site 1 at the administrative offices for the Madison County Roads and Bridges has a successful planting of Phlox pilosa adapted to an urn at the corner of the building. Plants are growing additional branches and one plant is cascading down the outside of the pot. It receives occasional hand watering but is expected to tolerate drought after it is fully conditioned to the environment. Repeated plantings were necessary during the severe drought April to July. Seeds will be added to the urn in the fall of 2007. Click on small photos to enlarge.
Site 2 at the Madison County Recreational Facility was a complete failure to get pilosa to survive. The site conditions are windy, dry and frequented by a resident flock of Turkey Vultures. It is suspected that the additions of cigarette butts and mischievous hands to the plantings completed an intolerable environment. Urns were located at the concession stands. Though this provided an up-close view, this very high traffic area proved too difficult for Phlox pilosa. These two urns can be relocated to the Courthouse Annex building to add to the planting features there. Click on small photos to enlarge.
Site 3 at the Madison County Courthouse Annex has two concrete cut-outs that were repeatedly planted during the winter of 06 and spring of 07. Although irrigation was available, it was not until April 2007 that water was turned on to deter the effects of the area wide drought. As plants began to thrive, cigarette butts and evidence of dog droppings were showing up in the cut-outs. That suggested that urine was present as well. Some plants turned yellow, some survived. General building maintenance includes occasional weed trimmers. (One man’s wildflower is another man’s weed.) Two large urns were positioned at the front of the building and filled with pilosa plants in April. A photo-op for publicity was scheduled for April 23, 2007 and the Clerk of the Court, Mayor and City Manager visited with Mrs. Anne Mackay and Gary Henry. Click on small photos to enlarge.
Even with twice weekly hand watering of the urns, the heat and drought took a toll. The entire supply of pilosa plants were exhausted in July and further plantings were suspended until weather conditions changed. Purple Jew was planted in the huge urns to provide companion plants for pilosa when more rootings could be developed. It was determined that drip irrigation would be necessary to advance the urn plantings. The county planner and building superintendent approached Salter Tree and Herb Farm to supervise a planting of wildflowers along the entire east side of the annex. This project deserves a Phase 2 and is submitted as a grant proposal for 2007/08. Pilosa seeds and signage have been added to the urns and cut-outs Click on small photos to enlarge.
In general there is a lot of enthusiasm by employees at the courthouse annex and curiosity by the public for this project. While the public does not frequent the Road Department offices as much as the Courthouse Annex building, it is notable that the support of the County Road Department employees will have a considerable ripple affect in the community as well. The county signage department donated materials and labor to create the signs identifying the project allowing for additional funds to be used for the purchase of the larger urns. Madison County is a wildflower welcoming community!
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SALTER HERB & TREE FARM
Madison, Florida (850)
973-3575
joanna@saltertreeandherbfarm.com |