MANASOTA & PEACE RIVER BBDs Meeting Notebook 10-21-09.docx

B257
Reducing Nursery and Landscape Water Use by Genetically Altering
Nandina Plants
Project Type Basin Initiatives
AOR(s)
Water Supply, Water Quality, Natural Systems
Basin(s) Alafia River, Hillsborough River, Peace River, Manasota
Cooperator(s)
University of Florida
Project Manager COHEN, RON
Task Manager(s)
Status Ongoing
Description
There are over 5,000 acres of nursery production in the central part of our District and typically they are permitted for
about 1.7 Million gallons of water per acre. With the increase of urban development it is anticipated that the number of
nursery acres will increase and landscape water use will increase. To reduce landscape irrigation and to conserve
water, the District has been promoting Florida Friendly principles. One of the first and most important principles of this
practice is the selection and use of drought-tolerant plants (Koske and Owings). Nandina is a very popular drought
tolerant plant and recently its use has been demising because of it being listed as an invasive species. This project will
develop and determine nursery production and urban landscapes water requirements for a drought tolerant variety of
Nandina. The industry is supportive of this project and is providing funds.
Benefits
It is estimated that each year about 5 million Nandina plants are grown and sold within the central part of the District.
The number of acres planted and their water use will change annually based on market and climatic conditions. To
quantify an estimated water savings from this project lets assume a Nandina plant covers 12 square feet (3 ft x 4 ft),
3,700 plants per acre, 1,375 acres and a 1% to 5% savings for Nandina Nursery Production. This savings will reduce
water use by 332,000 to 66,000 gallons per day. In addition there will be a savings from urban landscape water use.
An added benefit to this project is that it will eliminate an invasive plant species. This will save the District and the
public having to invest public funds to eliminate an invasive plant.
Costs
This five year project will cost the District $125,000. Funding for this project is prorated between four Basin Boards
(Alafia River (22%), Manasota (22%), Hillsborough River (28%) and Peace River (28%)) based on the permitted
nursery acres in their watershed. The Nursery industry will provided $15,000 for this project and the Alafia Basin Board
will budget $5,500, Hillsborough River will budget $7,000, Manasota will budget $5,500 and the Peace River will
budget $7,000 for each year in FY2008, FY2009, FY2010, FY2011 and FY2012.
Additional Information
Each year a large amount of water is permitted for nursery and landscape irrigation. With the rapid urban development
in the District, it is anticipated that the amount of water permitted for these uses will increase. To reduce water use for
landscape irrigation and to conserve water, the DISTRICT has been promoting Florida Friendly landscaping principles.
One of the first and most important principles of this practice is the selection and use of drought-tolerant plants.
Nandina plants are of great potential to reducing water usage in the urban landscape. They are well adapted to Florida
soil conditions and well tolerant of droughts. Because of these and their aesthetic values, nandinas are very popular in
nursery production and landscape use. They are particularly liked in low-maintenance landscapes and xeriscaping. In
addition, these plants are extremely tough and practically pest free, thus requiring little use of pesticides. This
characteristic is very beneficial and can help reduce chemical pollution from public or residential landscapes to soil
and water and protect water quality. With the production of copious amounts of fruit berries and seeds, nandina plants
can escape from cultivation into natural areas. Escaped nandinas can become established in natural areas, wet lands,
etc., displacing native plants, disrupting natural plant communities, and changing natural ecosystems. Because of this,
nandina is listed as a Class I invasive species by the Florida Exotic Pest Plant Council (http://ww.fleppc.org/) and not
recommended by University of Florida for propagation, production, and sale in central Florida. The primary cause of
the invasiveness of nandinas is their production of copious berries and seeds. Recent studies have shown that it is
possible to find nandina varieties (one or two) that do not produce berries and seeds, thus not invasive, but this lack of
berry or seed production seems to vary from region to region in Florida. For example, two nandina varieties produced
lots of fruit in north Florida, but did not produce fruit and seed in south Florida. It is not known whether or not these
varieties will produce fruit and seeds in central Florida. In this project, we propose to test these varieties in this District
(southwest Florida) for their berry and seed production to confirm whether or not they are not invasive and safe for
production and use in this District, to determine their water needs and water conservation values for nursery
production and urban landscape use, and to develop new drought-tolerant nandina plants that do not produce seeds
and are not invasive, but friendly to the environment.
020 - Peace River Basin 127