May 2025
Your newsletter this month features what to do in the landscape, what's blooming now, upcoming workshops, and more!
Welcome to May in Your Central Florida Yard!
If you are not sure what to do in your central Florida yard at this time (or any time) of year, contact your local UF/IFAS Extension Plant Clinic and we can help!
Also, consider getting yourself educated at one of our workshops. 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!
Your Central Florida Yard Monthly Checklist:
Your Lawn in May
Keep an eye out for chinch bugs in St. Augustinegrass and mole crickets in Bahiagrass.
May is usually dry, make sure "that brown spot" is properly identified! At this time of year it could be drought OR pest issues.
Cultural practices are key to maintaining a healthy lawn! Proper mowing height, irrigation, and pest management.
Your Landscape in May
Plant heat-tolerant annuals and perennials.
Prepare you landscape for hurricane season: See information here.
Watch your landscape for pest and disease issues. Proper cultural practices will help to minimize them.
If you would like to plant palms, select one now to plant over the summer! Find a list of palms here.
On the Blog
Spring Gardening Tip: Prepping a Landscape Bed for Planting
Create a Native Landscape: Tips for Beginners
The Toolbox Approach to Managing Insects: A New Episode of Your Central Florida Yard Podcast
What’s blooming now?
Check out the May blooms at the UF/IFAS Extension Polk County Florida-Friendly Landscaping™ Demonstration Garden in Bartow.
Clockwise from top left: coral honeysuckle (Lonicera sempervirens), Starry rosinweed (Silphium asteriscus), chastetree (Vitex agnus-castus), thryallis (Galphimia gracilis).
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://polkcountyextension.eventbrite.com
Grow your Own Mushrooms!
Monday, May 12, 6:00 pm
Swan Brewing, Lakeland
Register here
Lunch and Learn: Blooms in Balance
Tuesday, May 13, 12:00 pm
Haines City Library
Register here
Pollinator Paradise: Plants they Can’t Resist
Tuesday, May 27, 10:00 am
Lakeland Public Library
Register here
Family-Friendly Gardening Workshops
Get ready for a sensory adventure in this hands-on workshop presented by the University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences (UF/IFAS Extension)!
Perfect for families, this creative experience is fun for all ages and skill levels. All supplies provided. Registration required.
Larry Jackson Branch Library
1700 N Florida Avenue, Lakeland
Herb Explorers
Saturday, May 24, 10:00 am
Find us here this month:
Winter Haven Farmer’s Market
May 10, 2025
Lakeland Farmer’s Market
May 17, 2025
Lake Wales Farmer’s Market
May 24, 2025
The Nectary Nursery
May 24, 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