?EUR??,,????'??We can honestly say this is one of the most severe droughts that we have dating back to when records started in the early 1900s,?EUR??,,????'?? said Randy Smith, spokesman for the South Florida Water Management District. Officials are comparing the situation to a 2001 drought that caused roughly $400 million in agricultural losses.

The concern is that few will buy the plants, not that they won?EUR??,,????'??t survive, one official said. Residents don?EUR??,,????'???t install new plant material if they don?EUR??,,????'??t think they can water them.

Residents were urged to voluntarily restrict watering at the beginning of the year and mandatory restrictions came in March. Restrictions have continued to get tighter as the drought has persisted. Though the rules allow additional watering of new landscaping for a month, most people don?EUR??,,????'???t know that, said the official.

The nursery growers affected by drought are concentrated around Miami-Dade, Broward and Palm Beach counties on the Atlantic coast.