Geneva Restoration Planting: One Year Later
Images and materials provided by Katrina Noland, with thanks to the staff of St. Johns River Water Management District
Back in March 2022, 16 Cuplet Fern Chapter volunteers planted 450 pots containing at least 28 species (649 plants) that the team rescued from certain death. The full list of plants initially rescued and transplanted to the restoration site are listed below, and includes a number of rare and important native species. St. Johns River Water Management District staff pre & post watered the site, and luckily regular rainfall occurred for at least 6 weeks post-planting, helping the plants pass through a critical stage of the transplant process.
One year later, many of these plants continue to thrive in spite of the significant challenges involved in the move to a new home Of those 28 species originally planted, St. Johns River Water Management reports that at least 20 are still present, including Andropogon, wiregrass, Jessamine, silkgrass, palmetto, pennyroyal, holly, Chrysopsis, Crocanthemum, Lechea, and Hypericum tenuifolium, as shown in the latest pictures from the site below.
In particularly exciting news, Katrina Loland, Land Management Specialist for the SJRWMD, reports that the habitat is now so inviting that it is host to a gopher tortoise burrow not previously observed. Hopefully more native species will benefit from these plants and the ecosystem as it matures.
The gopher tortoise burrow as spotted one year later!
