Jones Lake Management’s Post

Plant spotlight: Sweet Gale (Myrica gale) 🌿 Sweet Gale is a medium-sized shrub found naturally in bogs, swamps, marshes, and along wet shorelines. 🌿 Its seeds are dispersed from female plants via water and float on two corky bracts. 🌿 This native species provides a food source for birds like Grouse and Chickadees and mammals like Beavers and White-Tailed Deer. 🌿 With an ability to convert nitrogen into usable forms and add nutrients to soil, Sweet Gale can be used on nutrient-poor acidic sites which may otherwise be difficult for planting. https://watersheds.ca #nativeplants #canada #nature

#PlantMoreNatives Winged Sumac (Rhus copallinum) is a deciduous, compact, densely growing, colonizing shrub that is native to all of Florida and the eastern half of North America. It attracts a wide variety of pollinators, and then after the fruit is produced, many species of migrating and overwintering birds rely on the fruits as a high-fat food source. It is a larval host plant for the Red-Banded Hairstreak and the Luna moth. Read my newest blog article for more information on this under-used native shrub: https://lnkd.in/eTNdbm3u

Cultivating a pollinator-friendly backyard is as easy as learning what plants are native to your region. Native plants and pollinators that exist in your geographic region have co-evolved to be mutually beneficial. Though it will vary based on where you live, some common pollinator-friendly flowers to consider are: common milkweed, showy goldenrod, virginia bluebells, and foxglove! Check USDA Pollinator Plant map for more info, and tell us: what flowers in your garden to you find pollinators frequenting? https://lnkd.in/guanKeDd

Reduce the amount of time and effort you put into your lawn by planting native plants 🌿😎☀️ Native plants tend to be more drought tolerant, pest- and disease-resistant, and generally require less maintenance than nonnative plants because they are accustomed to the area’s climate and soil conditions. There are many advantages of Texas native plants: 1️⃣ Don’t require pesticides or fertilizers 2️⃣ Very low-maintenance 3️⃣ Support your local ecosystem 4️⃣ Supply food and shelter to native wildlife 5️⃣ Provide natural beauty and character to your landscape Here are three popular native plants for the Dallas region to get you started: 🌿 Texas Lantana (Lantana Urticoides) This native shrub hosts clusters of bright red, orange, and yellow buds that bloom in the summer and fall. Its leaves are poisonous to humans and animals, but the nectar and fruit will bring beautiful butterflies and birds to your backyard. 🌿 Texas Purple Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) This Texas wildflower attracts plenty of butterflies to your yard. Its pinkish-lavender flowers bloom throughout the year. Texas purple sage is designated as the official state native shrub. 🌿 Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) This wildflower thrives in North Texas and will bring hummingbirds and butterflies to your back door. Its pinkish-purple flowers bloom from April through September. The flower also has medicinal properties and is a mild natural antibiotic. #noblebarnes #texas #fate #rockwall #roysecity #heath #caddomills #mcclendonchisolm #blackland #unionvalley #poetry #josephine #nevada #weeding #trimming #mulching #landscaping #planting #flowerbed

Did you know that agave plants, used to make agave syrup, rely on bats for pollination? The bats sip on the sweet, high-fructose nectar of the agave. As they feed, pollen from the plants sticks to their fur. Traveling from plant to plant, these bats spread pollen while enjoying the nectar from the blooming stalks each night. These bats base their migration patterns around the blooming agave. Without bats, we might not have this popular natural sweetener! #AgaveSyrup #Sweeteners #DidYouKnow #ingredientsPLUS

What's a spring ephemeral?🌱 Well, it refers to plants that emerge quickly in the spring and die back to their underground parts after a short growth and reproduction phase. The Virginia Spring Beauty (Claytonia virginica) is an ephemeral. Here are some quick facts about it: ➡️ It is commonly found in small clusters or grow en masse along the forest floor or in lawns. ➡️ Spring beauty is low-growing, 4 to 6 inches, and fairly adaptable; it tolerates shade and sun, rich moist soil, and even drier soils. ➡️ Many homeowners use it as an early-season ground cover. ➡️ It is one of the longer blooming wildflowers, blooming for up to three weeks. ➡️ It plays an important role as a nectar and pollen source for native bees. ❗Please note that you should never dig up a wildflower from its natural environment and bring it home! Spring ephemerals are available for purchase; consult the Pennsylvania Native Plant Society for a list of reputable native plant nurseries. #SpringEphemeral #NativePlants #Wildflowers

Reduce the amount of time and effort you put into your lawn by planting native plants 😎 Native plants tend to be more drought tolerant, pest- and disease-resistant, and generally require less maintenance than nonnative plants because they are accustomed to the area’s climate and soil conditions. There are many advantages of Texas native plants: 🌿Don’t require pesticides or fertilizers 🌿Very low-maintenance 🌿Support your local ecosystem 🌿Supply food and shelter to native wildlife 🌿Provide natural beauty and character to your landscape Here are three popular native plants for the Dallas region to get you started: ☀️Texas Lantana (Lantana Urticoides) This native shrub hosts clusters of bright red, orange, and yellow buds that bloom in the summer and fall. Its leaves are poisonous to humans and animals, but the nectar and fruit will bring beautiful butterflies and birds to your backyard. ☀️Texas Purple Sage (Leucophyllum frutescens) This Texas wildflower attracts plenty of butterflies to your yard. Its pinkish-lavender flowers bloom throughout the year. Texas purple sage is designated as the official state native shrub. ☀️Eastern Purple Coneflower (Echinacea purpurea) This wildflower thrives in North Texas and will bring hummingbirds and butterflies to your back door. Its pinkish-purple flowers bloom from April through September. The flower also has medicinal properties and is a mild natural antibiotic. #noblebarnes #texas #fate #rockwall #roysecity #heath #caddomills #mcclendonchisolm #blackland #unionvalley #poetry #josephine #nevada #weeding #trimming #mulching #landscaping #planting #flowerbed

Don’t plant a Pest: Give them an inch they’ll take an acre Today’s invasive species, commonly known as the Bradford Pear was introduced in the mid-1960s and soon became very popular. Covered in white flowers during Spring with a sweet aroma, these trees were landscaper's favorite plants here in the MS Delta. However, they were found to be super invasive. Bradford pears were only meant to grow a few feet, but they grew very fast and took a lot of soil. They started to cross into other flowering pear trees resulting in offspring with tire-puncturing thorns and aggressive thickets that crowded out native plants. So if you have this tree or you’re planning to plant it DON’T! It crowds out other native plants and provides little to no food for insects. Therefore, it might be a good idea to avoid incorporating Bradford Pears in your garden landscape. Check out the video below for our fellow member Ken going into more detail about Bradford Pear trees. Enjoy:)

My souvenirs from the mangrove forest! 🐝 Bees collect pollen from mangrove flowers and make a delicious honey. The taste is a bit savoury because mangroves live inside and filtrate sea water. Bee-keeping is a also a conservation effort as bees keep loggers at bay (see link in comments to a recent Kenyan story). 👶 The green thingy is a baby mangrove called propagule. Unlike most plants whose seeds germinate in soil, mangrove seeds germinate on the mom tree, then detach and can float for kms and produce their own food via photosynthesis. Propagules can survive desiccation and remain dormant for over a year. Once a propagule is ready to root, its density changes so that the elongated shape floats vertically rather than horizontally and is more likely to lodge in the mud and root. If it does not root, it can alter its density and drift again in search of more favorable conditions (I did put this one back into the water :)

The agave plant is a succulent 🍃 known for its thick, fleshy leaves, which are often spiny and can vary in color from blue-green to gray-green. Typically found in arid regions, it thrives in well-drained soil and full sun. Agaves are slow-growing and drought-tolerant, with some species producing a tall flower spike before dying. These plants are low-maintenance and used in landscaping for their architectural form and drought resistance. Some agave species are also harvested for products like tequila 🥃 and agave syrup. Have you ever had either of those? If so, let us know – was it good!? 😉 How does an agave answer the phone? “Aloe?” Ok, that IS corny!! 😜 #arboristnow #agave #succulent #plantfacts #everybodylovesplants