Dry weather dents spring’s usual wildflower show

May 9, 2007

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Recent dry weather has put a big dent in the usual spring wildflower displays along Florida’s roads and meadows, but state officials are hosting a pavilion at Epcot in Orlando this month to help you get your phlox fix.

The pavilion, sponsored by the state’s Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services and the Florida Wildflower Seed and Plant Growers Association, aims to help educate residents about native wildflowers and spark interest in growing them.

The Epcot International Flower & Garden Festival runs through June 3. National Wildflower Week is May 7-13.

A seed cleaner on loan from the University of Florida’s Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences is being used to demonstrate flower-seed harvesting and free seed packets are being given away.

If you’re just desperate to see wildflowers, Jeff Norcini, a UF associate professor in environmental horticulture, suggests a drive along the state’s back roads. There are some rural areas, especially in North and Central Florida, where phlox, goldenmane tickseed, green eyes and blanketflower are blooming, he said.

But for the most part, the drought has left the state’s roads without their usual blankets of bright colors, he said.

“I don’t care what’s out there, if there’s not any water, it’s not going to grow,” he said.

Overall, interest in the native wildflower industry has boomed in recent years, Norcini said, with more farmers growing wildflowers for seed. Sales of the Florida Wildflower Tag have helped that effort, he said.

For more information: www.Floridawildflowers.com.