January 2025
Your newsletter this month features what to do in the landscape, what's blooming now, upcoming workshops, and more!
Welcome to January in Your Central Florida Yard!
It’s a chilly welcome to 2025, and if you have questions on how to protect plants please contact our Plant Clinic. There are some resources in this month’s newsletter that can also help you protect those precious plants!
We are continuing to update our 2025 workshop calendar! Make sure to check our event page for any updates and new workshops added.
Have you been staying up-to-date with our monthly podcast, Your Central Florida Yard? We are excited to share information to help you garden successfully, and if you are listener, we would love your feedback and ideas for episodes. Our latest episode is linked at the end of the newsletter and we have some fun episodes planned for this year. Subscribe, rate, and review if you enjoy it!
Let us know how we can help by contacting our Plant Clinic with your questions or visit a with a Master Gardener Volunteer at a local farmer’s market booth (see schedule of markets at the end of the newsletter).
Happy Gardening, Central Florida!
What do you know about protecting plants from cold temperatures?
While central Florida offers year-round gardening, it is not unusual for brief, but devastating cold temperatures to occur in the months of January and February. These brief periods can be very frustrating as we witness plant damage from brutal temperatures. For tips on how to properly cover a plant, check out the video below:
Your Central Florida Yard Monthly Checklist:
Your Lawn in January
Lawns are still dormant at this time!
Do not fertilize and only apply a minimal amount of irrigation.
Your Landscape in January
The weather is still cool, take a break or plan your spring garden.
Continue to plant cool season annuals and bedding plants such as dianthus, petunia, pansies, viola, and snapdragon.
It is a good time to plant deciduous fruit trees such as peach, fig, blueberry, and plum.
Gardening Workshops & Webinars
Join UF/IFAS Extension Polk County Gardening and Landscaping experts at our monthly workshops! For full workshop descriptions and to register, go to: http://polk countyextension.eventbrite.com
Celebrate Florida Arbor Day!
Wednesday, January 15, 10:00 am
The Nectary Nursery, Lakeland
Register here
Blooms That Last: A Guide to Growing Flowering Perennials
Tuesday, February 25, 10:00 am
Lakeland Public Library, Lakeland
Register here
Find us here this month:
Winter Haven Farmer’s Market
January 11, 2025
Winter Haven Arbor Day Celebration and Tree Giveaway
January 18, 2025
Lakeland Farmer’s Market
January 18, 2025
Lake Wales Farmer’s Market
January 25, 2025
Are you listening to Your Central Florida Yard Podcast?
The podcast from UF/IFAS Extension Polk County, Your Central Florida Yard is here to help you successfully garden in this unique part of the state. New episodes are out the first week of every month. For more information about the podcast, check out our blog post.
Find us here:
UF/IFAS Extension Polk County website
UF/IFAS Extension Polk County blog
Twitter
Facebook
Pinterest
Instagram
YouTube
UF/IFAS Extension Polk County
1702 US Highway 17 South
Bartow, FL 33831
863-519-1041
https://sfyl.ifas.ufl.edu/polk
Gardening Questions?
Email the Plant Clinic: polkmg@ifas.ufl.edu
Anne Yasalonis
Residential Horticulture
Master Gardener Volunteer Program
Julie Schelb
Florida-Friendly Landscaping Program Coordinator