Pruning now could make roses vulnerable to damage

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: My Knockout roses really need to be pruned, and I know you said the best time to prune roses is in February but they really look shaggy now. Will I kill my Knockouts if I prune them now?

A: Maybe not, but you’ll certainly upset their normal growth rhythms and you could be putting them in jeopardy. If you prune them now, you’ll signal to them to get ready to start growing. That won’t be a problem if we have a mild fall and winter. But if your rose bushes are in full-fledged growth when a hard freeze hits, it will likely damage them and, depending on the severity of the freeze, could possibly kill them. That’s why we prune roses in February, so they can get a jump-start on growing after the freezing season.

They might look a little ragged now, but you’ll really be better off if you wait until February to do any hard pruning. This isn’t like pruning azaleas, which are evergreen. A late season pruning likely will remove any buds for next year’s azalea flowers but it won’t jeopardize the plant itself. It’s designed to live through frosts and freezes in our area. Pruning a rose too late in the season could do nothing or it could kill it. It all depends on the weather.

Q: I planted a small wildflower meadow but it didn’t produce many flowers. Should I reseed it for next year?

A: Yes, I would sow a few more seeds in your meadow this fall. So many things affect the germination rate of wildflower seed – the availability of water, heat, the age of the seeds – and it takes several years to establish a wildflower meadow. Scatter a few more seeds to increase the odds of germination and flower production. Once established, the flowers will re-seed each year.

Make sure you’re using a mix of wildflower seeds blended specifically for the Southeast for the greatest chance of success.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show now broadcasts live at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Just cut and paste the link into your browser window. If you can’t join us live, you can download a podcast from my Web site. This week’s topic was preparing your lawn for winter. Next Wednesday, our topic will be planting a garden for wildlife.

Build garden in raised beds to avoid tree roots

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: We want to add a vegetable garden this fall to our back yard, which gets morning and early afternoon sun and is in high shade from pines in the late afternoon. I have read that vegetables need full sun, so is this enough sun to sustain a vegetable garden? Also, there seem to be a lot of tree roots criss-crossing the yard. Is there a way to tell where the roots are running, and thus avoid them, without digging up the whole back yard?

A: Full sun is considered six to eight hours a day, so morning and early afternoon sun should be enough to sustain your vegetable garden. But remember that sun patterns change with the seasons, and your back yard might get more – or less – sun in fall and winter than it does in summer. Keep track of sunlight patterns so you can make adjustments next year, if needed.

As for the tree roots, the best thing way to avoid them is to plant in raised beds. You can build a frame for your beds, or you can simply mound the soil and slope the sides. Make your beds about 18 inches deep and use lots of composted organic matter, such as mulch and manure. Four feet by 8 feet is a good size for a bed, because you can reach into the center from either side. Plus, most framing products come in 8-foot lengths, so you’ll need to make fewer cuts to build the beds.

A word of caution if you decide to build a frame: Make sure you know what your framing material is made of, and treated with. Some of the chemicals used to make wood rot-resistant, including arsenic, are toxic and can leach into the soil. When it comes to vegetable gardens, I prefer to let the wood frames rot and simply replace them every few years.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show now broadcasts live at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Just cut and paste the link into your browser window. If you can’t join us live, you can download a podcast from my Web site. This week’s topic was planting fruit trees, and Brandy Cowley-Gilbert of Just Fruits and Exotics nursery in Crawfordville joined us and shared her expertise. Next week, our topic will be preparing your lawn for winter.

Webs on pear tree are benign

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Our pear tree is just covered with webs, over the branches as well as over the leaves. A second pear tree next to it turned brown and died earlier this year, so it was cut down. This one has a few brown, dead leaves on it but mainly we’re concerned about the webs. What are these webs that seem to be killing our pear trees?

A: We appear to be dealing with two different situations here – and I say “situations” instead of “problems” because one really isn’t a problem, even though those webs might be unattractive.

It sounds as though your other pear tree fell victim to fire blight, a bacterial disease that affects mainly pear trees and apple trees, killing blossoms, shoots, limbs and then sometimes the entire tree. Once the harvest is over on the tree you have remaining, you probably want to prune any dead or dying limbs. If you’re thinking of planting a replacement pear tree, ask your nursery for a variety that is resistant to fire blight. And check to see whether it is self-pollinating.

The webs are caused by psocids (pronounced SO-cids), tiny insects less than a quarter-inch long that form silky webbing, sometimes over large areas of the tree. Underneath the webbing, psocids consume fungi, lichen, pollen and other organic material that is on bark. And our hot, humid weather encourages things to grow on bark. But psocids don’t hurt the tree.

“Once they have eaten everything, they leave the tree unharmed,” said Stan Rosenthal, University of Florida/Leon County forester. “The lesson for us is that not all things on the tree are bad for the tree.”

Plant give-away reminder: Jerry Patton, the Tallahassee gardener with plants to give away including night-blooming cereus, can be reached at 850-878-1321. Several readers requested we run his phone number again.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show now broadcasts live at 6 p.m. Wednesdays at http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Just cut and paste the link into your browser window. If you can’t join us live, you can download a podcast from my Web site. This week’s topic was fall and winter herbs to plant now in North Florida. Next week, the topic will be planting fruit trees.

Choosing plants for both beach, town houses

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: We have a house in town and a house at St. Teresa, and we split our time between the two. To keep things as simple as possible, I’d like to use the same kinds of plants at both places. What is good for coastal property as well as the north side of Tallahassee?

A: Trying to maintain gardens at two homes is a big chore – I have my hands full with just one -- so you’re smart to try to use the same plants in both places.

One problem you’re likely to face is choosing a plant that would grow well in your Tallahassee garden but isn’t salt-tolerant, so it wouldn’t survive at St. Teresa. Another is drainage. Coastal plants love good drainage and a lot of Tallahassee yards are red clay, so you’ll probably need to amend the soil to improve drainage. Adding peat and compost will help.

I checked with Amanda Kollar, whom many readers probably remember from her days at Tallahassee Nurseries. She and her husband, Bill Kollar, now operate Gardens, Inc., in Apalachicola, which includes a design business and The Garden Shop in the historic Bowery District, so she’s well-versed in both coastal and Red Hills plants.

There are many plants that are native to both areas, she said, including yaupon holly, American beautyberry, magnolia, pine and wax myrtle.

She also recommends pittosporum, podocarpus and any of the junipers. Other favorite plants include white African irises and Sabal palms.

“For flowering shrubs, go with dwarf Indian hawthorne and Majestic Beauty Indian hawthorne, a gorgeous flowering pink that’s just as salt-tolerant as it can possibly be yet does well in clay soil,” Amanda said. “Most of the lantanas do beautifully down here, too. Gold-mound lantana is an especially good one.”

Her basic rule for landscaping: “Try to keep ‘introduced’ plants closer to the house, fence, driveway, or mailbox. Up close is where you’re going to plant anything that’s not native. As you move farther away from the house, use native plants.”

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show broadcasts live at 6:30 p.m. today [Thursday, Aug. 27] and we’ll continue the discussion with Bill Kollar about salt-tolerant plants and native plants. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Just cut and paste the link into your browser window. If you can’t join us live, you can download a podcast from my Web site.

Divide daisies for better blooms

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have a problem with some daisy plants I bought two years ago. I have beautiful plants but very few blooms. The plants look like they need to be divided, as they have multiplied since being planted. When should I divide them and what to do to boost blooming? They are planted with plenty of sun in the morning and afternoon shade.

A: Dividing your plants should solve your problems. When plants get too crowded, they get a little shy and don’t show their blooming faces as much. Fall is the best time to divide your daisies.

As for other things you could do to boosts blooming, daisies need six to eight hours of sun a day. If they’re not getting that much, you might want to move them when you divide them and replant them in a location that gets more sun but still provides some relief from the blistering late-afternoon sun. Also, you probably already know to “dead-head,” or remove the spent blossoms, to keep the plant blooming for a longer period.

If you’re considering adding a fertilizer or supplement to promote bloom, get your soil tested first. Those “bloom-buster” products are heavy with phosphorous, and most soil in our area has an abundance of phosphorous.

Q: I have some three-year-old viburnum obovatum ‘Densa.’ When is the best time to transplant them here in Tallahassee?

A: The best time to transplant just about anything here in Tallahassee is fall or early winter. The temperatures are cooler so there’s less heat-stress on the plants and they have a chance to get their roots established before the next growing season.

Your plants, commonly called “small viburnum,” are wonderful evergreen additions to the landscape that get only about 5 feet tall and wide. They have white flowers in spring and summer and the foliage turns bronze/purple in fall. Plant them in a sunny to part-sun location in a well-drained location.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network this week featured a conversation with occasional co-host Stan Rosenthal, University of Florida/Leon County forester, about tree pests. Go to my Web site at www.msgrowitall.com and click on the Blog Talk Radio link to listen.

Cutback perennials for continued blooms in fall

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Some of the perennial flowers I planted in my garden, such as salvias, mums and black-eyed Susans, are starting to flop over and look pretty bedraggled. When I bought them, the tags said they would bloom summer to frost. What I have done wrong?

A: You’ve done nothing wrong, but there is one more step you need to do: Cut back your plants to rejuvenate new growth.

The tags don’t tell you that summer-blooming perennials usually grow vigorously during spring and early summer and then they get leggy and tired. To rejuvenate them, trim them back by a half to two-thirds.

If the stems are soft, you can pinch them back by hand. If the stems have become woody or the plant has become a sprawling mess, it probably would be easier to take hand-pruners or garden shears to the plant. It will look a little barren for a few days, but you’ll see new growth soon.

Q: I have a great crop of figs, but the birds are getting most of them. Someone suggested I buy netting and cover the tree, but the birds just peck through the webbing. Plus, the tree is so tall now, I can barely reach the fruit at the top. Do I have any chance of tasting a fig this year?

A: It sounds like you bought the netting sold in garden centers, which has an open weave – openings about an inch or so across -- and is great for creating net trellises for fruits and vegetables, but it’s not so great for protecting fruit. Go to a fabric store and ask for the netting used for little girls’ ballet costumes and princess outfits. It’s also used for lots of craft projects. It has a tighter weave but still lets rain and air through. It comes in lots of colors, too, if you want to amuse your neighbors.

You can also use the floating row covers that you use to protect your vegetables from frost. It’s a spun fabric-like material that lets rain and air through, but it also raises the temperature beneath it, so I don’t recommend using it in our summers.

If you live in the Tallahassee area, mark your calendar to prune your figs in December so you can reach the fruit easily next year.

Plant 'early' varieties of vegetables for fall crop

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Is it too late to plant tomatoes in Tallahassee? How about lima beans?

A: No, it’s not too late to plant tomatoes for a second crop in the fall, but it’s a good idea to select “early” varieties. “Early” means they produce fruit in fewer days than most varieties, or earlier, and are generally used in early spring. But considering the gardening calendar in our area is a little different from the rest of the country, it works well for us in fall.

We usually have a freeze in late October, and then weeks go by before we have another one, so be prepared to protect your tomatoes during that period.

You can also plant cucumbers, squash and bush beans now. Unfortunately, lima beans take longer to mature than snap beans so I wouldn’t try to plant any this late.

Plant giveaway report: Jerry Patton reports his plant giveaway was a success, and he has a few plants left.

“More than 50 night-blooming cereus were taken (some took more that one plant); and, 21 century plants found a home. (Many said they'd like one of the latter, but just didn't have the space, etc.) Too, 17 crape myrtles were carted off -- all that were potted). As for the mystery plants, they too, fell into the hands of a gardener.

“I still have both night-blooming cereus and century plants. And, not unlike kittens, ‘all are available to a nice home.’ And, I must add, your readers are the nicest people. Great conversations were had by all.”

Thanks, Jerry. I agree. If you want some of his plants, be sure to call him at 850-878-1321 to make sure he’s home and to get directions to his home.

Fir trees don't fare well in Florida

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: We planted some fir trees back in the winter. We had a drip system to water them. I noticed last week that the trees are turning brown and the drip system was not working. Since then, I have been putting water every night on them. Can they be saved?

A: Probably not, for a couple of reasons: Fir trees don’t do well in our hot, humid climate, and people who plant their live Christmas trees in January and baby them through spring are usually disappointed to see them turning brown and dying by mid-summer. The fact your irrigation system stopped working probably just hastened the inevitable.

I would suggest planting something more tolerant of our climate. If you like the look of a fir tree, bald cypress might be a good substitute. You also could see what local Christmas tree farms grow and take inspiration there: Arizona cypress, sand pine, red cedar, arborvitae.

Whatever you plant, make sure you mix varieties of trees. Having a stand of the same kind of tree may look nice, but if disease attacks one of the trees, the others are vulnerable, too. Having different kinds of trees reduces the chance the disease will spread.

Q: I bought a variegated ginger but don’t know where to plant it or care for it. Can you help?

A: True culinary ginger, Zingiber officinale, prefers partial to complete shade. Zingiber zerumbet, known as pine cone ginger or pine cone lily, can take part shade-part sun.

However, most of the plants grown here that are called “ginger” are really perennial Alpinias and Hedychiums, which do best in semi-shade to full sun. These are the plants commonly known as butterfly gingers and shell gingers. Costus are tropical “gingers” that need protection from freezing.

So check the tag for the botanical name of your “ginger” and plant accordingly. The more sun it gets, the thirstier it will be.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show broadcasts live at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, July 30, with a discussion on rain gardens: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Just cut and paste the link into your browser window. If you can’t join us live, you can download a podcast from my Web site.

Fertilizer spikes not best way to feed trees

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Our sandy soil does not retain nutrients so we must fertilize. I found the use of loose, bagged fertilizer that must be spread by hand burns the grass and other nearby plants. We are now using Palm Fertilizer Spikes (6-0-6), which is slow release. After reading several articles that suggest that calcium is a necessary nutrient I discovered these spikes are lacking calcium. Does anyone make a slow-release fertilizer spike that is 15-5-15?

A: My first reaction was that if your lawn is being burned, you’re using too much fertilizer or you’re not applying it according to manufacturer’s instructions. I consulted David Marshall, the University of Florida/IFAS horticultural agent for Leon County, and he agreed.

“If the granular fertilizer is burning the grass, it is either being put out at too high a rate, or is not being watered in properly with a quarter-inch of water after application. Tree roots are widely spread beneath a tree and can run out into the lawn and other areas as far as three to four times the branch spread of the tree. For example, a small tree with branches that extend out 10 feet from the trunk may easily have roots running out 30 feet from the trunk,” he said.

“Therefore, spreading the proper rate of granular fertilizer over 900 square feet, or a 30- by 30-foot area, would do a much better job of distributing the fertilizer to the tree roots than merely putting in a few fertilizer spikes,” he recommended.

As far as adding calcium, you might not need to. Test your soil first. Contact your county Extension Office for a soil-test kit, which comes with instructions on collecting the sample and mailing it to the lab for testing. The cost is minimal, and it can save you a lot of money by telling you what nutrients your soil needs, and what it doesn’t need.

Gardeners in Leon County, Fla., can visit the Extension Office at 615 Paul Russell Road, about a mile east of the fairgrounds. If you garden in another Florida county, go to http://solutionsforyourlife.ufl.edu/map/index.html for a list of county Extension Offices around the state.

Gardeners outside Florida should contact their county's Cooperative Extension Service.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network will not be broadcast this week. Join us next Thursday, July 30, 2009, at 6:30 p.m. for a discussion on rain gardens: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All.

Compost bin doesn't need ants

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have a pile of ants in my compost bins and fear that they might kill the earthworms in the bins. How do I get rid of them, and not harm the worms?

A: It sounds like the compost pile isn’t getting very hot if you have ants and earthworms in it, so check the ratio of carbon to nitrogen (brown leaves to green grass, for instance) to ensure it’s about half and half. Also, make sure the pile is moist. When the pile starts cooking at a higher temperature, both the ants and the earthworms probably will depart, but that won’t hurt the composting process because fungi and microorganisms are the main agents of decomposition.

I also consulted Walter Tschinkel, the Florida State University biology professor who is a renowned ant expert, who had a couple of additional suggestions:

“Getting the ants to move out probably depends on why they are there. If they are nesting (do you see a lot of larvae and pupae?), then running a garden hose into the nest might make them move. It might take a couple of episodes. If the bin is movable, it could be moved into the shade, and this might make the ants move out. Drastic turning and churning of the compost might also get the ants to move. Any kind of disturbance that makes the pile unsuitable for a nest could work.

“If the ants are in the compost to feed, it might be more difficult to get them to leave, but the same method could still work.”

Daylilies for a good cause: J.B. “Barry” Mittan, whose October hurricane lily sales have benefited Red Cross disaster relief for the past few years, is selling daylily “bulbs” to benefit the Leon County Human Society.

His “Bags O’ Bulbs” – OK, technically they’re not bulbs but “Bag O’ Trimmed Clumps” just doesn’t have the same punch -- contain a dozen randomly mixed daylilies that are ready to plant and cost $10 each. Mittan is donating the bulbs and bags, so 100 percent of the proceeds will go to the LCHS Animal Medical Expense Fund.

Sonya White, LCHS executive director, expects the bulbs will be ready for pickup around July 25. E-mail her at swhite@LCHS.info to place your order.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network broadcasts live at 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All.

Homemade remedies treat black spot on roses

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: What can I do about black spot on my roses? I would prefer to avoid chemicals and go with something more organic, even if it means I have to treat the rose bushes more often?

A: Black spot is a fungus, Marssonina rosae, that causes dark-colored spots to appear on the leaves, hence its name, and then the leaves turn yellow and die. It’s a common problem in areas of high humidity and frequent summer rainfall.

Some cultivars are more resistant to black spot than others, and you can keep the fungus in check by removing fallen leaves and pruning the canes in late winter (mid-February in North Florida). Avoid overhead irrigation, if possible, and water early in the day.

There are a number of fungicide products on the market, but since you want to avoid using chemicals, here are two potions that friends recommend: Mix fat-free milk and water in equal parts and spray it on the foliage; or dissolve a tablespoon of baking soda in a quart of water, add a squirt of dish soap and spray the mixture on the leaves. The soap makes it a little sticky so it adheres to the leaves. Whichever one you choose, you’ll have to apply it regularly, at least once a week, if not more often.

If readers have other suggestions, send them to the e-mail address at the bottom of the column and I’ll share them.

Plant giveaway: Jerry Patton, the Tallahassee gardener who gave away numerous plants last year, including daylilies, crape myrtles, hollies and night-blooming cereus, has another “crop” ready to share.

“I just can’t throw any plant away,” he said. “I trim them and plant the cuttings.”

This year, he has lots of night-blooming cereus, which he ran out of last year, as well as century plants (Agave), passion vine (Passiflora) and butterfly milkweed (Asclepias). He also has what he calls a “mystery plant” or two, nice potted plants but he doesn’t know their names.

Call him at 850-878-1321 for directions to his home.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network will broadcast live at 6:30 tonight. Leon County Forester Stan Rosenthal and I will discuss lightning and gardening. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All and click on the link to listen live; you can call the number on the site to join the conversation. If you can’t join us, all shows are archived and available for download from my Web site.

Let peace lily tell you when it's thirsty

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I re-potted a large-leaf peace lily a couple of weeks ago. Now, many of the leaves are droopy and appear to be dying, even though I've kept it watered. I used Miracle Grow potting soil. When I pulled it out of the old pot, I knocked off some but not all of the old dirt, then put that remaining mass back in the pot and filled it up and around the sides with the new potting soil. Did I do something wrong, or is the plant just undergoing some sort of shock?

A: Re-potting is always a bit of a shock to a plant, but it should be looking better two weeks later. Although it’s hard to say for sure without seeing your peace lily, it sounds like you might be over-watering it.

Most people tend to over-water house plants, especially large ones such as peace lilies. This particular plant will let you know when it needs a drink by starting to droop a little.

To try to salvage your plant, pull it out of the pot and dump all the soil. If there's a wet mass of soil around the root-ball, knock off as much as you can. Check the condition of the roots; if they’ve been in soggy soil, they might have started to rot. Rotting roots are slimy and stinky, so you can tell quickly if there’s a problem. Trim away any damaged roots.

Repot your plant using fresh, dry potting mix in the bottom and around the sides. Tamp the soil down lightly to remove air pockets. Don’t plant your peace lily too deeply; the crown should sit right at the soil level.

Water the pot thoroughly and let it dry out completely before watering it again. Use the “second knuckle” test: Stick your finger in the soil up to the second knuckle. If the soil touching the tip of your finger is moist, don’t water. Wait until it’s dry.

Also, if the pot sits in a saucer or drainage tray, make sure you empty it once the pot has drained after watering. The pot could be drawing the water back up into the soil, and peace lilies don't like “wet feet.”

Thorny Smilax vine nothing to smile about

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have an invasive vine in my yard that is very thorny. It has long runners and breaks when I pull it up by hand. How can I get rid of this thing?

A: From your description, it sounds like smilax, a nasty customer indeed. Also known as catbrier, deer thorn and blaspheme vine (very appropriate!), it has a long tap root with small bulbs that form around it, so pulling it up really doesn’t work. Some types of smilax have heart-shaped leaves, while others have elongated narrow leaves.

If you can catch it in early spring, your best bet is to dig it out. Make sure you get the entire mass of roots. Gloves are must because once it has sprouted, those thorns are wicked. Smilax particularly likes azalea bushes, so prune them once they’ve finished blooming so you can get under the branches to dig out the smilax root.

You can spray smilax with a weed killer for brush and woody vines, but chemicals tend to run off instead of soaking in because the leaves are glossy. Plus, it’s too easy to hit nearby plants with the spray. I have used a small foam paint brush to “paint” the leaves with herbicide, which knocks it back for a couple of months but doesn’t kill it. Another one of those bulbs simply takes over. I suppose if I kept at it at regular intervals, I might eventually kill the thing.

Walter Reeves, host of the Gardening in Georgia show on Georgia Public Television, suggests the following method:

Using Roundup concentrate, make up three gallons of solution following label directions in a five-gallon plastic bucket. Lift the long vines off your shrubbery, flowers and wherever else they have deposited themselves and drape them into the bucket. Let each vine soak about 15 minutes, so it can soak up as much poison as possible. Be careful when you lift out the vines that you don’t sling poison on nearby plants. Lay the soaked vines on the ground and let them dry.

You can strain the trash out of the leftover Roundup in the bucket and reuse it. Take an old strainer, line it with a coffee filter and pour the solution into a pump sprayer.

Plants need relief during heat wave

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: This heat wave is really brutal on my garden, and it's especially bad on my plants in pots and my hanging baskets. Do you have any suggestions on how I can keep my plants from drying out so quickly?

A: Summers generally are hot here in the eastern Florida Panhandle, but day after day of temperatures hovering around 100 is unusual, even for us. And extreme heat stresses plants as well as people.

When you water your garden, do it in the early morning hours, while the temperatures are still relatively low, to minimize evaporation. Make sure you water it deeply, applying at least an inch of water, so that the moisture sinks down to the root zone. Light, superficial watering might perk up the foliage, but it also encourages shallow root development, which makes the plant more vulnerable to dry spells. This time of year, when the days are at their longest here, you also can water in the evening but try to do it early enough in the evening that foliage can dry before dark. Dampness encourages fungal growth.

Use a thick layer of mulch to retain moisture and keep the soil surface cool. The sun baking on the soil heats it up so it dries out faster. You also might want to think about a shade cloth for your garden; it can lower temperatures by several degrees.

Having a watering system also can help. Not only is it exhausting for the gardener to have to drag around a hose, a system lets you target the water application to the plants' root zones. There are a variety of systems, some quite simple that gardeners can easily install themselves, ranging from soaker hoses to drip irrigation and micro-irrigation systems to fancy sprinkler heads on timers.

There are also watering bulbs available at garden centers, which are particularly good for plants in pots. You fill them with water, stick them in the dirt upside-down. As the soil dries, air pockets are formed and gravity pulls the water down from the bulb into the soil. You also can find pointed spouts that fit on the end of 2-liter soda bottles that do the same thing. I bought some a few years ago at the Home Show at the Civic Center but you also can find them on the Internet.

A gallon plastic milk jug with three holes poked in the bottom is a cheap option for a big pot or for a plant in the yard or garden that's really suffering and you want to save. Set the jug in place and fill it using a narrow-spout watering can. Your neighbors might think it looks goofy, but it's an effective temporary measure.

Move potted plants into the shade. Even full-sun plants can take a vacation for a few days in light or dappled shade. Potted plants tend to dry out faster than plants in the ground, so you might need to water pots twice a day until this heat wave breaks.

As for hanging baskets, they're even more vulnerable than potted plants because the drying heat surrounds even the bottom of the pots. Water morning and night and consider moving them, too, to the shade temporarily.

And don't forget to take care of yourself as well as your plants. Drink lots of water and avoid strenuous work during the hottest part of the day.

Overwatering drowns shrimp plant

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I bought a shrimp plant that was in beautiful condition and planted it in a pot. At first it was getting full sun afternoons, and I had it sitting under one of my hanging ferns, which needed to be watered every day. Then it dawned on me that I was drowning the shrimp plant, so I moved it and started watering only when dry. It’s getting part-sun now, maybe two or three hours, and it’s still dying. It was so pretty and now it looks pathetic. What can I do?

A: Both the shrimp plant, Justicia brandegeana, with its overlapping pink bracts that look like a shrimp, and the golden shrimp plant, Justicia lutea, with its white bracts, prefer morning sun and afternoon shade. And like so many plants that do well in our extreme summer heat, they like sufficient moisture but they like the soil to be well-drained so it stays on the dry side. It seems like a contradiction, I know, but think of it as the plants wanting to have a good, long drink of water at regular intervals instead of a steady drizzle.

I suspect the roots started to rot from all the moisture when it was under the fern. Take the plant out of the pot, shake off all the dirt and check for any rotting or dead roots. They'll look slimy and smell bad if they're rotting. Trim the rotting and dead roots off. Repot in another pot – I recommend unglazed clay because the pot will absorb excess moisture from the soil. Be sure to use new soil and cut the plant back to about 3-4 inches tall. Set the pot in a spot that gets morning sun but afternoon shade. You should see new growth within a couple of weeks.

If it keeps declining, pitch it and buy another one for your pot. It was a learning experience.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network will broadcast live at 6:30 tonight. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All and click on the link to listen live; you can call the number on the site to join the conversation. If you can’t join us, all shows are archived and available for download from my Web site.

Vine-covered lattice will block view

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: We bought a home on several acres with spectacular views just a few miles from Tallahassee a few years ago, and all was fine until a trailer home popped up on the adjacent property recently. Although it’s off in the distance, the situation has made us realize that we don’t have the privacy we thought we did. What kind of tree can we plant on our property now that will grow quickly and block the view of our neighbors?

A: That old saying “different strokes for different folks” certainly can apply when people talk about what constitutes a nice view. And it’s hard to know whether your neighbors finally got the money to buy their little piece of heaven or they lost a home in foreclosure and this is their fallback housing.

Whatever the situation, you can be a good neighbor by keeping the focus on what you have on your own property. But don’t think about planting trees right now; it’s the wrong time of year. The heat of summer increases the stress of transplanting, and more water would be required to get trees established.

I suggest you create a temporary barrier. A sheet of lattice attached to two four-by-fours, properly sited, will block the view of the neighbors and provide a framework for vines to grow up. Morning glories and sky vines are good options. So are some of the tropical vines that we treat as annuals. Bougainvillea, in particular, is a good candidate because it won’t need much water once it is established.

In the meantime, think about whether you want an evergreen tree or one that loses its leaves. Also, remember that trees planted in clumps are stronger than solo trees in the middle of a field. Consider planting several trees, but place them far enough part that each has room to grow to its full size.

And bear in mind that many trees that grow quickly lack the strength and strong root system to withstand strong winds. Plan your trees for the long haul. You can take down the lattice when your trees get large enough.

Speaking of trees: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show on the Free World Radio Network will broadcast live at 6:30 p.m. tonight. I will be talking with guest host Stan Rosenthal, Leon County forester, about shade trees. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All and click on the link to listen live; you can call the number on the site to join the conversation. If you can’t join us, all shows are archived and available for download from my Web site.

Mosquitoes breed in standing water

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: The recent rains have really soaked my garden and it looks great, but now I’m worried about mosquitoes. Is there anything I can do to keep down an infestation?

A: First, make sure you aren’t inadvertently harboring mosquito breeding grounds. Check for anything that could be a receptacle for standing water, including empty flower pots, pot saucers, children’s toys, even upturned magnolia leaves. Dump any water you see. If you have water bowls for pets outdoors, be sure to change the water in them daily. Ditto for bird baths and containers of water you set out for wildlife.

If you have water that you can’t dump, such as ponds and water gardens, you can buy insecticidal “doughnuts” that kill mosquito eggs but are harmless to birds and other wildlife. Plus, certain plants such as citronella and marigolds seem to have repellant qualities when planted. But be prepared with insect repellant, preferably one that includes a sunscreen. Mosquitoes are simply a fact of life here.

Radio show update: We’ll be talking about plants as insect repellant on this week’s radio show at 6:30 p.m. Thursday at www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All. Join us.

More on growing irises: Dael Jones, who has successfully grown bearded irises here and in Dallas, Texas, read last week’s column on growing irises and wrote to share additional tips.

“I have discovered that the main reason they do not thrive here is our high humidity and rainfall in the monsoon season. They will not tolerate continuously ‘wet feet’.” Build a raised bed (at least 12 inches high) and make the soil alkaline with the addition of lime if need be. Make certain the soil mixture is porous enough that it drains well and quickly. If a raised bed is out of the question, large containers will do and have the advantage of being moved to a less visible location when foliage declines.”

In addition, Dael recommends planting or transplanting only in August. One other note to remember: Iris rhizomes should be plant barely beneath the soil, so that the top is exposed. Planting too deeply will result in poor blooms, and the plant will spend its energy literally pulling its rhizome up to the surface.

“As a side note, geraniums suffer the same consequences as iris from "wet feet." Accidentally, I discovered that if I put them in a covered place (under wide eaves, porches, edge of carports, etc.) where the rains do not soak them for days, they will thrive.”

Even with all this care, irises “will not give as abundant blooms as in a climate/soil more suited to their requirements. If, however, you think they are as lovely as orchids, as I do, the effort to grow some is worth it.”

I agree. Thanks, Dael.

Growing irises in North Florida

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I've grown iris successfully in other parts of the country, but I haven't figured out the secret here. Last fall I moved about 100 irises, which hadn't bloomed in a shady part of my new yard, to a plot of rich soil which gets about six hours of sun a day. The green leaves look very healthy (some of them are 3-4 feet tall) but I have gotten only two blooms even after I fed them a bedding plant mix. What should I do? Where have all the flowers gone?

A: There are several different kinds of irises that will grow here in the Big Bend/Eastern Panhandle of Florida. Those of us who grew up with bearded iris tend to think of them as “the iris,” no other name needed, so that was the first kind of iris that came to mind. You also don’t say in which parts of the country you grew irises successfully, so I’m going with my original guess of bearded iris. They grow vigorously in other parts of the country, but not so here.

Several gardeners I know have had the same problem, and it appears that our region offers barely enough “chill” hours to sustain the plants, but not enough to spur them to bloom regularly. As a result, the plants have to settle in for several seasons and even then, they bloom only sporadically. This past winter’s colder than normal temperatures resulted in better bearded iris blooms locally than we’ve seen in several years, but only for plants that had been established for a couple of years.

Your irises seem to be getting everything they need to perform as well as they can in our area – six hours of sun should be enough. Whatever you do, don’t fertilize them with any of the “bloom-buster” fertilizers that are high in phosphorus – the middle number in the three-number formula such as 10-10-10. Our area is naturally high in phosphorus, and any excess will simply run off, get in the storm-water drainage system and ultimately pollute our streams and springs, causing excess growth of algae.

Reminder: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet radio show has moved from Saturday mornings to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All to listen; you can call the number listed to join the conversation. If you can’t listen live, all shows are archived and available for download from my Web site, www.msgrowitall.com.

Use shears, not poison, on tree's suckers

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have a crape myrtle (Natchez, I think) that is about 10-15 years old. This year there is a cluster of 4 suckers under the tree. If I put Round-Up on the suckers, will it injure the host tree?

A: Most likely. Round-Up is a broad spectrum herbicide whose main ingredient is glyphosate. “Broad spectrum” means it doesn’t target only certain kinds of plants, the way some lawn “weed and seed” formulas do, but will attack whatever it comes into contact with. It’s sprayed on the leaves and absorbed into the plant. It also drips off the leaves and into the soil.

The suckers under your crape myrtle are growing off the base of the tree. If you think of them as new branches that are coming off the root instead of off the trunk, you’ll see that spraying them with Roundup is a bad idea. Use your pruning shears to snip off the suckers. If they’re still tender, hand pruners should do it. If they’ve already begun to develop into a woody trunk, use loppers.

Q: I did not fertilize last spring, I didn't use a “winterizer” fertilizer in early fall and I did not water during any prolonged drought during this past winter. Now I have extensive areas of dead centipede grass that have to be covered over. I live in a sandy area with little topsoil. Of those three lack of actions, please rank these lack of actions from most important to least.

A: Lack of watering is top of the list. I’m not sure any of the others really had anything to do with it. Turfgrass is tough and can bounce back once regular rains or regular watering resumes.

The “winterizer” fertilizer usually contains a pre-emergent herbicide to kill dormant weed seeds. If you have bare spots, the weeds are dead too – likely from lack of water. As for not fertilizing last spring, the main effect of that would have been on your lawn last summer. Was it healthy? If so, skipping a spring fertilizer application probably had little or no effect.

Many gardeners I know don’t fertilize their lawns at all, or do so only in spring. If you fertilize, you need to water more. Because your sandy soil lacks the capacity to hold water, it runs off rapidly. You need to water it regularly, whether you fertilize it or not.

Internet Radio Show: Ms. Grow-It-All’s Internet Radio Show on the Free World Radio Network has moved to 6:30 p.m. Thursdays. My guest host this week is Leon County forester Stan Rosenthal. We’ll be talking about preparing your landscape for hurricane season. Go to http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All to listen; you can call the number listed to join the conversation. If you can’t listen live, all shows are archived and available for download from my Web site, www.msgrowitall.com.

Daylily rust can be treated

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have dwarf reblooming daylilies with numerous buds on all but two plants. Those two have a yellow scale on the underside of numerous leaves that is visible on the top, too. Until now, these have been easy-care plants. I have them planted in full sun, and I water them with a drip hose from a well when it fails to rain for a week. What do you suggest?

A: What you’re seeing might be what’s called “daylily streak,” which is a minor leaf disease causing more yellowing than most gardeners find attractive. But from your description, I think the problem is daylily rust, which is more serious.

Daylily rust is a fungus that is spread by airborne spores. It was first discovered in the U.S. in 2000 here in Florida and in Georgia. Since then, it has spread to at least 30 other states. It starts out looking like a water spot, which spreads and forms small pustule in the center, which contains powdery spores that are spread by wind or movement of the plants. To the naked eye, the foliage has yellow streaks with rust-colored spots and smears.

Take a white facial tissue and rub it across the affected area. If a yellow-orange stain appears on the tissue, that’s a sign your plant has daylily rust -- Puccinia hemerocallidis.

The rust can be treated, but it is labor intensive. First you need to carefully remove infected foliage from the garden, remembering that movement of the plant spreads the spores. Put the foliage in a plastic bag, seal it and dispose of it in the trash. Don’t compost it or burn it.

Some gardeners advise removing all the foliage from that bed to contain the fungus. When the new foliage starts to grow, apply fungicide. The standard practice has been to apply two different fungicides on an alternating schedule.

The Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services’ Division of Plant Industry recommends commercial growers use two of these four fungicides: propaconizole (sold under the trade name Banner Maxx); azoxystrobin (Heritage); flutolonil (Contrast); myclobutanil (Systhane). Be sure to follow all label directions and precautions.

That said, daylily rust won’t kill your plants; they just won’t perform as well or look as good as they otherwise would. It’s your choice how much effort you want to put into protecting daylilies from this disease.

One friend dug out her entire daylily bed and replaced the plants with daylily cultivars known to be resistant to rust. Reputable growers and local nurseries know which plants are resistant. Another friend simply removes the infected foliage when she sees it and accepts the fact that she has a little rust in her daylily bed.

Unfortunately, some of our most beloved cultivars, including Stella d’Oro, have been found to be susceptible to rust. Like rose gardeners, some daylily gardeners want a particular plant badly enough to do the work required to keep it healthy.

I suggest you remove the two infected plants and see how the others in that bed fare. You can always spray later if you think you need to. To minimize spore dispersal, place an open garbage bag over the plant and pull it out by the roots, then flip the bag right side up and tie it securely. Any spores should fall to the bottom of the trash bag.

Reader suggestions for clearing new beds

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Last week’s column dealt with clearing weeds from an area in order to create a flower bed, and I suggested removing the weeds by hand. Two readers wrote with additional, and very different, suggestions.

“The best way to prepare a new bed is to mulch it heavily with hay. That will kill the weeds. Do not till. Do not use poisons. Continue to add more hay as it decomposes into the soil,” e-mailed Steven P. Christman, senior scientist and editor at Floridata.com, a very informative and useful local gardening Web site. A Florida master gardener with a Ph.D. in biology from the University of Florida, he has used this method in both vegetable and flower gardens.

Christman’s advice brings to mind one of my father’s favorite gardening books, “Gardening Without Work” by Ruth Stout, who also believed in the no-till method using hay. In addition to smothering weeds and saving your back, it also continuously improves the soil structure.

Bob Brown wrote to suggest using calcium cyanamide. “I have used this compound many times, and it is completely safe if handled correctly (i.e., with gloves),” Brown said in his e-mail. “It really does kill everything growing, plus dormant seeds. It is inexpensive and not ecologically dangerous to water systems as it breaks down to nitrate, which is readily used by the succeeding plants as a fertilizer, and leaves no residue. In lower doses, it is used as a commercial nitrate fertilizer.”

A Web site he recommended, http://www.improve-your-garden-soil.com/, gave the following description:

“Calcium cyanamide is a granular material that at first breaks down into substances poisonous to seeds but later converts into valuable nitrogen and lime. It is a grim coffin-gray in color and even looks poisonous to handle, but is safe if used as directed. The soil to be treated should be plowed or rotary tilled and leveled just before application. After 60 days you can plant seed, but disturb the soil surface as little as possible to avoid bringing up new weed seeds. The 60-day wait is one drawback to this material. Since soil should be warm during treatment, this means you have an unplanted lawn or garden during the major part of the growing period, which some gardeners find too unpleasant a sight to face.”

“A lawn I treated in this way four years ago came up without a single weed and, except for a few seeds blown in from the outside, has had no weeds since.”

This Web site is the personal project of a lifelong gardener named Robert Harris, who seems committed to helping fellow gardeners learn about the importance of soil. Our growing season is a bit longer than 60 days, but other than that, the information seems applicable here.

Skip 'Weed & Feed,' pull weeds from future beds

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have an area along a sidewalk path that I want to turn into a flower garden. Right now, it is covered in different weeds. Can I spray "Weed and Feed" on those weeds and remove them from the area after they die? After that, I want to add some manufactured soil mix and plant my flowers and cover them with pine straw. Will the "Weed & Feed" be impossible to remove from the soil and kill whatever I plant in that area?

A: Whether you’ll be able to remove the “Weed and Feed” from the soil is really a secondary issue to whether the product will remove the weeds, thus allowing you to plant flowers in the area. Most “Weed and Feed” products are intended to feed the predominant plant in a given area while killing or preventing the growth of other plants.

In the case of grassy areas, “Weed and Feed” blends for lawns fertilize turf grass while inhibiting the growth of weeds and/or killing those that are present. Read the label to make sure you’re using a blend that feeds your specific kind of grass.

“Weed and Feed” formulas for flower beds fertilize the plants that are actively growing in the bed while inhibiting seed germination, generally preventing the growth of new weeds but also stopping any flower seed from germinating. It requires removing the weeds that are already growing before applying to be effective.

Using any kind of “Weed and Feed” concoction without removing existing weeds will simply feed the weeds that are there and prevent any seeds in the soil – whatever they are – from germinating. Since you want to convert a weedy area into a flower garden, this is not the right product for the job.

The best way to remove the weeds from your future flower bed is to dig them out by hand. You can use a chemical weed remover – not a “Weed and Feed” but a weed killer -- but you’ll have to wait until the residue has washed out of the area before you plant. The label on the weed remover will tell you how long you need to wait after application before you plant, but it sometimes takes multiple applications to kill existing weeds – especially if there are a lot of them. This could take a while, so you’ll save time and money as well as going “greener” if you dig out the weeds.

Once you have the weeds out, you can amend the soil with peat moss or compost to improve its structure and quality. I’m not sure what you mean by “manufactured soil mix,” but it doesn’t sound like anything you want to put into the ground. Save it for containers.

Test soil before transplanting shrubs, trees

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have some sasanquas that are about three feet tall that I would like to transplant. I have tried three times and each time the shrub died. I get as large a root ball as I can and water them regularly but so luck so far. Any suggestions?

A: It could be one of several things, or a combination of them. Do the sasanquas like the new location? Sasanquas, which are a type of camellia, need partial shade and slightly acidic soil. Too much or too little sunlight will cause your shrubs to decline, as will a soil that’s alkaline. Make sure the new location meets the plant’s needs.

Before you transplant your shrubs, invest in a soil test. You can pick up everything you need – instructions, soil sample bags and a small cardboard box for mailing – at your county extension office; in Leon County, the extension office is at 615 Paul Russell Road. The cost is minimal and it’s much cheaper than the price of a new sasanqua.

If possible, prepare the entire planting bed instead of an individual planting hole. Spade or till 8 to 12 inches deep and mix inpeat, compost or other organic matter. Based on the results of your soil test, add any fertilizer, micronutrients or acidifying materials that might be needed.

When you dig the planting hole, make it two to three times the diameter of the root ball and just deep enough for the plant to sit at the same depth it did before. Don’t work the soil any deeper because it could cause the root ball to settle, which would make it too deep.

You say you water them regularly but what would be sufficient water for an established plant isn’t enough for one that has just been moved. Make sure you build a collar of soil around the plant, out about as far as the drip-line, to form a basin. This will direct water to the roots instead of allowing it to run off. And unless we’ve had plenty of rain, water it at least every other day so that the soil is moist to a depth of 12-14 inches. This will encourage deep root growth, which helps shrubs survive drought. Cover with a layer of mulch that’s 2 to 3 inches deep.

It’s a little late in the season to transplant sasanquas, the ideal time being November through February to allow the root systems to become established before summer heat arrives. If you decide to move them now, keeping your shrubs well-watered will be critical.

Fertilize apples, citrus lightly if late

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have an apple tree (Golden Dorsett, as I remember) which had lots of apples last year. I read I should have fertilized in December but didn't. Now it has blooms. Should I wait until June or go ahead and fertilize it now? Another query: My orange tree, which is 8 to 10 years old, really got zapped this winter. It lost all but a few leaves but I think I see some little green buds coming out from the few green limbs that are left. Should I fertilize or withhold? I was afraid it couldn't take the shock of any fertilizer right now.

A: One of the great things about gardening in this region (Zones 8 and 9) is the ability to grow apples and other cool-climate fruit trees alongside citrus and other warm-climate fruit trees. The key is to get low-chill varieties of the former, such as Golden Dorsett and Anna apples, and cold-tolerant varieties of the latter. However, even citrus varieties considered “cold tolerant” were damaged in our colder-than-usual winter.

Your orange tree should have had its first fertilizer application of the year in February, with subsequent applications in May and August. Go ahead and fertilize it lightly now; it shouldn’t shock it if you don’t overdo it. Apply as normal in May and August.

As for your apple tree, there’s not a lot of existing research on fertilizer and apples in Florida, so I consulted Leon County Horticultural Extension Agent David Marshall. He said the standard application rate is one pound of a balanced fertilizer such as 10-10-10 for each year of tree age, up to 15 pounds total per year. That total is divided between two applications in January and June. He recommended taking half the June fertilizer amount and applying it now, then applying the other half in June.

“It's not an exact science, but generally apples will benefit from fertilization and from watering when it's dry,” he said. “Of course, the best starting place for any plant and fertilization is doing a soil test first to find out what's already available to the plant. It's worth investing $7 in a soil test before spending $20 on a bag of fertilizer.”

More on camellia pruning: Melanie Klein read last week’s column about the camellia planted so close to the house that the homeowner can’t get behind it to paint, and she wrote to offer the following suggestion:

“I was wondering if the person with the overgrown camellia might, instead of getting rid of it, consider tree-forming it. That might allow access for painting the house and create a striking accent.”

Tree-forming, or pruning the camellia into a tree shape instead of the usual rounded bush shape, could be an option, depending on the distance to the house and roof. It’s worth exploring, especially if the camellia has sentimental value.

Overgrown camellia causing problems

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We have a camellia at the corner of our house that is probably 15 or 20 feet tall, and it’s blocking our access to paint the house on that side. Can we cut it back?

A: This is an example of planting a tree or shrub without taking into account how big it can get. Your camellia is obviously too close to the house. If it’s preventing you from painting the side of the house, it might be holding in moisture and contributing to rot.

As painful as it is to let a mature camellia go, that’s exactly what you need to do. If you cut it back, eventually you or the next homeowner will have the same problem. You can cut it back, dig it up and move it if you’re really attached to it, or you can plant another one a more appropriate distance from the house. Remember: Any plant in the wrong place is a weed.

More on bottlebrushes: A couple of weeks ago, a reader wanted advice on how to tell whether her bottlebrush trees had survived winter freezes. David McManus, assistant director of grounds at The Florida State University, wrote to say that while common types of Callistemon are susceptible to cold damage, one seems to recover quickly. In addition, there’s a cold-tolerant one.

“I love bottlebrushes but unfortunately the local nurseries often carry Callistemon viminalis (large weeping) and Callistemon citrinus (fast-growing upright), which are more tender than Callistemon rigidus, which is a slower grower with narrower leaves,” said McManus, who earned a horticulture degree at the University of Florida. “Those two are frequently hurt by hard freezes, but viminalis has made fast recoveries in past years” at Tallahassee Community College.

Although the literature says C. rigidus is hardy only to Zone 9 -- Central Florida and points south -- McManus said it is dependable throughout Zone 8. “I have been growing rigidus at my family’s farm near High Springs since the early '80's and at my home near Havana since 2000 and I have not seen any injury from cold,” he wrote.

“Woodlander’s Hardy” is a cultivar that reportedly has high cold tolerance, he said, although he has never grown it.

Hummingbirds love Callistemon, so a cold-hardy variety is a treasure for gardeners wanting to attract hummers.

More on fertilizing dogwood trees: Last week’s column answered a reader’s specific question about the best time to apply fertilizer to dogwood trees. My answer might have left the impression that you must fertilize your dogwood trees, and that’s not true. If you want your trees to grow faster, apply fertilizer. But if you picked a good location that meets the trees’ needs and have good soil with adequate moisture, they’ll grow just fine without fertilizer. Many gardeners tend to overuse fertilizer, and the excess runs off and pollutes our springs, rivers and trees. If you use fertilizer, use a light hand.

Care and feeding of dogwoods

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I use fertilizer spikes to feed my dogwood trees. Is now the right time to put out the spikes? Q: Can I plant a dogwood tree on my property at the coast?

A: Flowering dogwood, Cornus florida, is one of the heralds of spring, and you can see it starting to bloom throughout the Deep South right now. The flowers are inconspicuous clusters of yellow fuzz in the center of four bracts that make up what we think of as the dogwood blossom. White is the most common bract color, but there are cultivars with pink or red bracts. In fall, the leaves turn red or maroon, and the color is more vivid the farther north you go. The red berries are favored by birds and other wildlife.

It’s a popular tree for the home landscape, particularly as a patio shade tree, but it is susceptible to pests and disease, including dogwood anthracnose. The best way to prevent the disease is to keep the tree well-watered in times of drought and to avoid overhead watering.

Although it can take full sun, it really performs best with afternoon shade. Many people use it as an understory tree, but too much shade can make the tree grow too tall too fast, weakening the structure. Too much shade also reduces the number of flowers.

A dogwood can’t take salt, either in the air or in the water. It’s not a good choice for coastal property.

Dogwoods should be fertilized three times a year for the first three to five years after being planted, in March, May and August in Zones 8a and 8b, with a slow-release 12-4-8 or 15-5-15 formula. Calculate the area under the tree’s drip-line, the farthest point from the trunk where water drips off the leaves, and apply one-half pound for every 500 square feet of area. Spread the fertilizer a little beyond the drip-line.

Trees in Zones 7 and 6 need only two feedings a year, March or April and July. Once trees are established, they don’t need fertilizing if they’re growing where nearby lawn or shrubs are fertilized.

Different brands of fertilizer spikes have different strengths, so follow the directions that come with the package.

Take care when placing, pruning pyracantha

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I need to know how to take care of two pyracantha bushes, which are side by side. I'd like for them to bush more as opposed to shooting out long arms. When should I prune them and fertilize them, and which fertilizer, etc.? I'm not a gardener but I love flowers and flowering bushes.

A: Unfortunately, what you’re asking for is not easily attained, and if you are able to get it, it could come at a price you’re not willing to pay.

Pyracantha, commonly called firethorn, is a member of the rose family, and both relatives have thorns. But roses are nothing compared to firethorn when it comes to aggressive growth habits. Firethorn throws out long, shooting branches that look really attractive when they’re planted in an out-of-the-way location but pose extreme danger in close proximity. It really needs to be planted far away from traffic areas.

To keep the firethorn in check and force a more bush-type shape, you’ll have to prune it severely and do it several times a year. It will eventually conform to the shape you’re seeking, but it will continue to put out long, leggy shoots each year that need to be chopped back.

What do you love about your pyracanthas? I suspect it’s a little bit the white flowers in spring and a lot the red berries in the fall and winter. And those flowers and berries form on year-old wood, so all that pruning and chopping to keep the shrub in bounds will results in loss of what you really value in your pyracantha.

My advice is to let the pyracantha do what it does naturally. It eventually will form a dense arching shrub that is a haven for wildlife and a source of beautiful flowers and fruit. Pyracantha needs little or no supplemental food, so don’t worry about fertilizing it. It’s also drought-tolerant once established.

If you want more rounded, bushy shrubs, I suggest planting hydrangeas or old-garden shrub roses in an appropriate spot. Your arms and hands will thank for skipping the pruning and the thorns.

Q: I have several bottlebrush planted in my yard, and almost all are mature, about 10 feet tall. They all bloom profusely and the hummers enjoy them. However, the freezes we had a couple of weeks ago have really done a number on them and all of them – their leaves – are brown and quite burnt-dead. Should I prune the dead branches now and risk no blooms, or should I let them go and see what happens to all the dead leaves?

A: There are a couple of shrubs called bottlebrush. One, Callistemon, is hardy only in USDA Zone 9 – Central Florida -- and points south. It can be expected to sustain serious damage in a hard freeze.

More cold tolerant is the bottlebrush buckeye, Aesculus parviflora, which is cold-tolerant to Zone 5. A hard freeze would throw it into dormancy, which means it looks dead but isn't.

Since I don’t know which kind of bottlebrushes you have, I suggest you wait until they start to sprout before you prune. If your plants are Aesculus, the shrubs are simply dormant and will come back. If they’re Callistemon, you’ll see lots of dead branches. You can prune them, or decide to replace the entire shrub with the more cold-hardy type.

Brown winter grass likely just dormant

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: Is there anything I can do to help my lawn get through these last freezes of winter? It looks bad enough now, all brown and dry. I really don’t want it to get worse.

A: More than likely, your lawn is just in winter dormancy. Most sod grasses grown in the Deep South – particularly St. Augustine, zoysia and centipede --are tolerant of both the heat and humidity of summer and the occasional hard freezes of winter.

The leaf blades look brown and dead, but the runners that produce the blades and the roots are probably fine. It’s too early to be able to diagnose a fatal injury. Wait until mid- to late April in Zones 8a and 8b – roughly an area from just south of Atlanta to just north of Orlando – to start worrying. Give your grass a chance to start growing again; you’ll be able to see problem areas by then, and even those might fill in.

It won’t do any good to fertilize or mow now. The soil is too cool to absorb the nutrients in the fertilizer, and mowing could prompt new growth that would be susceptible to damage in the next freeze.

The one thing you could do before the next freeze is to water your lawn just enough to get the soil moist. The water will provide some insulation. It’s the same principle commercial fruit growers follow when they water their crops right before a freeze.

Reader tip for cold protection: Elizabeth Henderson of Tallahassee e-mailed to share a tip she learned from her neighbor Ann about protecting fragile plants from freezing.

“As the temperatures wax and wane in our part of Northern Florida, my neighbor Ann has found the solution to ‘protection.’ Rather than cover her plants with blankets, she has draped her plants with Christmas tree lights. I adopted this plan, as I have been trying to keep my fragile staghorn fern alive and it is much too large and heavy to move inside.”

Her neighbor simply goes outside and plugs in the lights if the night temperatures are forecast to drop below 40 degrees Farenheit, and then checks the morning temps to decide when to turn off the lights.

“My staghorn and other ferns have survived well with the recent drops to 18 and 15,” Elizabeth reports. Her neighbor is using what she describes as “the nice small white Christmas lights” and they have worked well.

However, “in my move to the Village of Westminster Oaks, the only lights I have are the large colored lights my family used to drape the back eave of our former home, and they have not only protected the ferns, but also anything that is growing on the ground below.” She loves not having to go out cover the plant, then, remove the cover in the morning, only to repeat the process that evening.

“So, to the ‘Zing-er’ who noted some folks still have their Christmas lights on, maybe it is those of us who have learned the simple way to save our plants during the freezing temps!”

Prune roses in February

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

It’s February, and that means it’s time to prune roses here in our corner of the gardening world (USDA Zone 8b). The general rule is to prune around Valentine’s Day, which was last Saturday, but we still have a few weeks to get the job done before the big flush of spring growth begins.

As with any task, gathering the right tools make the job much easier. You’ll need sharp hand-pruners and loppers. You’ll need to wear gloves, too. I suggest getting long gloves that cover your forearms as well as your hands, because rose thorns hurt. If you can’t find long gardening gloves, use long fireplace gloves.

Make sure your cutting tools are sharp and clean. If you don’t want to sharpen your tools yourself, local garden centers can either sharpen them for you for a fee or direct you to a business that offers tool-sharpening. Once your tools are sharp and you’re ready to begin, clean and disinfect them with a bleach solution (1 cup of bleach to a gallon of water) and keep a bucket of fresh bleach solution handy, in case you encounter diseased canes on your roses.

First, identify any dead or diseased canes and remove them back to the ground, dipping your cutting tool in the bleach solution between cuts. Then, from the remaining canes, identify which ones are younger and which ones of the older ones can be removed.

As you’re deciding which canes to remove, be mindful of the overall shape of the bush and the direction you want each cane to grow. For younger, healthy canes on bushes that have been pruned annually, remove oldest canes, usually two or three, and cut back the younger canes by about half.

For bushes that haven’t been pruned annually, remove the really old canes – they’re tough and gnarly; you’ll recognize them. Cut back the remaining canes back to half their length. Then cut a third of those back farther, to about a third of the length they were before you began. Make cuts at a 45-degree angle just above a bud or “eye,” making sure the bud is pointing outward from the plant. Next year, identify the canes that didn’t get the most severe cut this year, and cut half of those back to one-third. The following year, do the rest. That’s the “rule of thirds” for rejuvenating roses and many other shrubs.

Remember that keeping the plant to a reasonable size is only part of the reason for pruning. You also want to open up the inside of the bush to light and air circulation. Remove any canes that cross back into the bush, as well as any of the twiggy branches that are smaller than a pencil in diameter. Remove any foliage that remains on the plant.

If any suckers have sprouted below the graft, break them off flush instead of cutting them. That way, you’ll get the basal bud, too.

Overgrown figs need special treatment

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Last week’s column on pruning fig trees generated quite a bit of reader response and several more questions on the topic, attesting to the popularity of figs in the home landscape.

Q: I, too, need to prune my fig trees, but my tree already has buds on it. Can I still prune it now or should I wait until after the fruit makes?

A: If your fig tree already has buds on it, you might want to wait until fall to prune it. Although we’ve had several hard freezes, we’ve also had many very warm days and several readers report that their figs have already gone into bud. While the trees will re-sprout and likely bud again in summer if you prune now – the kinds of figs that grow in the Southeast fruit on new wood, unlike figs in California, which fruit on last year’s wood – your yield could be reduced.

Plus, the milky sap, or latex, has started to rise and the tree will likely “bleed.” You’ll have to take off this year’s growth as well as last year’s when you prune in November or December, but these are resilient trees and should recover.

Q: Our fig tree has gone untrimmed for about 20 years. We have had good crops every year. We do no fertilizing. Last year, we couldn’t reach about half the crop. Since I am only 6 feet tall and the fig is on a sharp slope, ladders don't work. We’re willing to do without figs this year if that’s what it takes to resurrect the tree and get fruit next year. Or are the birds destined to get the top of the crop?

A: You have options. You can shorten the tree over the next few years, you can do nothing and leave the top fruit to the birds, or you can bend the tall branches down to where you or a taller friend can reach the fruit. Fig branches will lean with a gentle tug, as the reader who sent in last week’s question noted, because the wood is soft.

Considering how long your tree has gone without pruning and how tall it has become, I suggest you pick a couple of really long main stems each year and prune them back to the point where a younger, thinner side shoot is growing toward the outside of the plant. You don’t want branches crossing back over the plant. Cut the main stem flush with the lower side branch; that side branch now becomes a main stem.

Pick about a third of the main stems to remove this year and repeat the process over the next two years. At the end of three years, you should have a fig tree that’s a manageable size. Annual pruning should keep it in bounds.

You can shorten an isolated stem that has shot up far beyond the rest of the branches by cutting it back to just above a bud or twig that is growing out from the branch.

Prune figs annually for best production

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I failed to prune my fig trees the past few years since I planted them, and now I have to grab the branches and pull them down to pick the figs. What’s the best time and way to prune them?

A: The fig, Ficus carica, is one of the easiest fruits to grow. The large leaves make the plant an attractive addition to your home landscape. The fruit is one of the luscious treats of summer –provided you can keep the birds – and dogs -- away from it. More than one southern gardener has talked about having to prune his or her fig trees beyond the reach of Fido.
Ideally, you would’ve pruned your fig trees every year since you planted them, to train them to grow in a certain shape. Since you didn’t, we’ll have to do a bit of drastic pruning but the trees will be better for it. You’re going to have to prune the tree as though it’s a new planting, and now is the time of year to do it here in North Florida.
As a new planting, it should’ve been pruned it to 2 or 3 feet tall. Over the next year, side shoots would’ve developed where it was topped to form the basis of the tree’s framework. Over the next couple of years, continued selection of the strongest side shoots while pruning the rest would’ve produced a strong, healthy canopy.
Now, since your figs didn’t get that disciplined treatment, we have to send them through a rehabilitative process. Cut your trees back to 3 to 4 feet tall and let the process begin. As the side branches grow and develop side branches of their own each year, keep the three to five strongest and prune the rest back flush with the branch from which it grows. Remove any branches that cross over each other or grow back toward the main trunk.
If your figs sustain freeze-damage in winter, wait until all danger of frost has passed before pruning. Prune diseased, dead or damaged limbs.
Once you have your fig trees rejuvenated, after three or four years, plan on cutting them back about one-third each year. Figs need vigorous pruning or else they’ll get woody, lose vigor and reduce fruit production.
Note: Figs, the fruit of the trees of the same name, produce a white latex that promotes the decomposition of protein, similar to the papain found in meat tenderizers, which irritates skin. Use gloves when harvesting the fruit.

Times vary for fertilizing fruit trees

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: Should I fertilize fruit trees now or in mid-April when I fertilize my lawn? I have a variety in my front yard including lemon, kumquat, blueberry, grape vine (scuppernong and a dark purple variety), plum and satsuma.

A: First of all, bravo for waiting until April to fertilize your lawn. Many people want to give their grass a boost as soon as the air warms, but the soil is still too cool for it to start working. You’ll simply turn your grass yellow if you fertilize before April.

As for your fruit trees, there are slight variations in formula for the different types, but basically each of them should be fertilized three times a year. The recommended time for fertilization varies slightly, based on when each tree or vine bears fruit.

You should fertilize the citrus trees – lemon, kumquat and satsuma – in March and again in May and August. If your citrus is on trifoliate orange rootstock, the rootstock recommended for North Florida because it encourages the trees to remain dormant in winter, use a slow-release 12-4-8 with micronutrients formulated specifically for citrus. You can find it at most garden centers.

Each time you fertilize, use a pound of fertilizer for each year of the tree’s age, so a 2-year-old tree gets 2 pounds of fertilizer on three occasions this year.

For the blueberries, use a similar formula (slow-release 12-4-8) but one with a different blend of micronutrients. A blend formulated for azaleas and camellias contained the proper mix. Use one-quarter pound for year of age, and make sure you keep it away from the trunk of the bush. Fertilization schedule is similar to that of citrus -- February, May and August.

Plums prefer a slow-release 10-10-10 and an early fertilization schedule -- February, April and July. Use a cup of fertilizer for each year of age. As with the blueberries, keep the fertilizer away from the trunk of the tree.

Grapes need fertilizing in February, May and July with a 12-4-8 and the same micronutrients the blueberries need: iron, zinc, manganese, molybdenum, boron and copper. The amount doubles each year for the first three years, from half a pound to a pound to two pounds, in an ever-larger area around the plant. Add a pound each year for the next two years, and then continue to apply four pounds a year as a maintenance rate.

You can search the Web sites of the Cooperative Extension Services in Florida (http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/) and Georgia (http://www.caes.uga.edu/extension/) for more information about fertilizing fruit trees in Zone 8b. Just Fruits and Exotics nursery in Wakulla County also has comprehensive information about caring for fruit trees on its Web site, www.justfruitsandexotics.com.

Prune fall bloomer in early spring and mid-summer

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I have a very healthy cassia (Senna bicapsularis) that gets extremely overgrown and "leggy" during the summertime. Because this is a fall-blooming plant, I am afraid to prune it back during this time. Can you please tell me what time of the year is the very latest that this plant can handle pruning?

A: Most plants should be pruned shortly after their bloom-period is over, and cassia is no exception. It blooms in fall and in mild climates will continue to bloom throughout winter. You can prune it now through March to get it ready for the next season's growth, but that shouldn't be the only time you prune it.

Fall bloomers such as cassia need pruning in early spring to get them ready for their growth cycle, and again in mid-summer to shape them for bloom season. So trim back your cassia again in mid-summer to keep it from getting leggy. July is best, but you can prune through mid-August and still ensure fall flowers on your cassia. Pruning any time after that means you risk having an early frost interrupt your bloom cycle.

Q: I have a rose bush that needs to be moved. A tree has grown to shade the location where it was planted over seven years ago. I know the rose is still healthy as it manages some blooms after the tree sheds its leaves in the fall. When should I move it to a sunnier location? The bush has some wicked thorns and would be next to impossible to move without pruning.

A: February is the time to prune roses, and it makes sense to move them at the same time. Don't try to fight the thorns. Cut your rose bush back to about 24 inches, then dig it out and move it to a sunnier spot.

Tool time: Larry Hale e-mailed to remind everyone that now is the time to make sure our tools are in proper shape to help us garden over the next year.

"This is the time of year gardeners should take a file and sharpen all their tools. Sharpen shovels and hoes to make spring soil prep easy. In old Tallahassee, we could always depend on a gentleman coming by once a year to sharpen all our tools. He was always seen traveling with his mule and wagon.

"I'm amazed at people who try to dig with blunt shovels."

Larry's right. It's much easier with sharp tools. If you don't have a file or don't want to do the work, most local garden centers either offer the service or can recommend someone to do it.

It is too soon to prune

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: Last week's freeze did a real number on my yard. I want to trim back the dead foliage and make things neater. Is that OK or should I wait?

A: Actually, you're better off not trimming the freeze-damaged foliage on your perennials until spring. You might trim farther back than you need to; plus, pruning any plant signals it to start growing again. We're not finished with freezing weather this season, and any new growth would be especially susceptible to damage. The dead tops can serve as insulation for the growth bud below.

Come spring, after the danger of frost has passed, you can cut back your perennials. Depending on the type of perennial, you can cut them low to the ground or cut them just far enough to remove the dead foliage. If you want to remove just the dead foliage, start from the top and cut in short sections until you get to green tissue.

Q: I got a potted hydrangea as a Christmas gift. Can I plant it now or do I need to wait until spring?

A: Hydrangeas are cold-hardy, so winter is a good time to plant them in the Deep South. I would check the forecast to make sure there's not a freeze coming in the next two or three days, to give the plant a chance to settle in to its new home.

Be aware that while some hydrangeas make the transition from pot to ground just fine, other cultivars have been bred to be showy potted plants but don't do well when planted in the garden. If your hydrangea fails to thrive after two years in the ground, you might need to dig it up and plant it in a pot suitable to its size.

Q: I planted pansies in my flower boxes on my front porch in the fall, but they withered and died long before the first freeze. I kept them well-watered and the planters have good drainage, so what went wrong?

A: It could have been several things. The pansies could've been weak to begin with — from inconsistent watering or not enough sunlight. They could have been harboring a disease. Or, the soil in the planters might be old and worn out. Healthy soil is alive with micro-organisms.
If your porch is covered, though, I would guess that your pansies didn't like living in the shade. Pansies are full-sun annuals, and they will wither without it. I suggest you plant impatiens or begonias in your flower boxes. They like the shade and can take cool weather. They can't take freezing weather, though, so make sure you cover them if a hard freeze is predicted.

Use scissors to thin vegetable patch

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I planted a winter vegetable garden and now I need to thin it, particularly the carrots and the mesclun. What’s the best way to do it?

A: People who live in USDA Zones 8 and south have the luxury of being able to garden year-round, as long as they plant the right crop for the right season. Winter crops include carrots and mesclun, which is the collective name given to a mix of salad greens that can include several varieties of leaf lettuce, arugula, endive, kale, chicory and mizuna, an Asian green.

Initially, you can use the same tool to thin the carrots and the mesclun: scissors. Trim the carrots when the tops are about half an inch high; wait to trim the salad greens until they’re 2 to 3 inches high.

When trimming the tops of the carrots, cut the leafy tops close to the soil level. With no green top, no photosynthesis can occur and the root will never develop into the carrot we know. This will leave room for the remaining carrots to develop both above and below the soil. You’ll probably need to thin the carrots at least one more time before the final crop matures, but you should have baby carrots by then that you can pull and eat.

As for the mesclun, most varieties of lettuce in the seed mix are what is known as “cut and come again.” That means after you trim the young leaves, new ones will grow to replace them.
The carrots will continue to grow until you pull them. Your mesclun should continue to produce until temperatures hit 80 degrees F. regularly during the day, if you keep it cut.

Q: Is it too late to plant daffodils? I live in Florida’s Panhandle.

A: No, it’s not too late, but you’d better get busy planting the bulbs now. Daffodil bulbs can be planted from September through January through the Florida Panhandle. The green strap-like foliage of early varieties of daffodils has already sprouted, but you can still plant bulbs if you can deal with mixed success.

Early varieties might not perform as well as they would have had they been planted earlier, but you should still get some bulbs this year. Next year, the show should be better.

Last frost dates vary by region

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I’m planning to plant a vegetable garden this year, and everything I’ve read, including the seed packets, says to wait to plant until after the danger of frost. When is the last frost in Florida’s Big Bend? How can I know when it’s safe to plant?

A: The last frost in the eastern Panhandle/Big Bend region of Florida is usually the third week in March. The easiest way to remember is to connect it in your mind with the first day of spring -- March 20. But as with all other gardening things, particularly in this region, that’s just a date on a calendar and you have to be ready to adjust planting plans.

Cautious gardeners in the Tallahassee area used to wait until April 1, but the Easter freeze in mid-April two years ago surprised all of us. That freeze was much later than normal, but the lesson here is that we can’t accurately predict the weather. It’s always an educated guess.

If you plan to sow your seeds for summer vegetables directly into the ground, you need to wait until after the last frost for two reasons: first, to prevent frost from killing the plant, obviously; but second, and perhaps more importantly, seeds won’t germinate in soil that’s too cold for that particular plant. Seeds planted in too-cold soil either lie there waiting for the soil to warm enough, or they rot before the soil warms. That’s why many people choose to start their seedlings indoors.

The seed packets tell you to start seeds indoors six to eight weeks before the last frost date, so they should be ready to transplant to the garden in late March if you start them indoors the last two weeks in January. The farther north you go, the later the date of the last frost, so adjust your planting schedule accordingly.

If we’re having a cold snap when your projected planting date arrives, just wait. Most seedlings can stay in their little starter pots another week or so. If they’re really bursting out of them, transplant them to slightly larger pots. The 3- and 4- inch pots that annuals come in are good for that purpose.

A week or so before you plan to transplant your seedlings into the garden, move them outside to begin acclimating to spring weather. The first couple of days, bring them back inside at night. Then leave them in a protected location at night for several days. Try to transplant them on a cloudy or overcast day. If you have to plant when it’s sunny, provide some shade the first day or two they’re in the ground.

Remember that some vegetables prefer cooler temperatures and can be planted now, as long as you protect them from a hard freeze. Local nurseries have seedlings of lettuces, spinach, cabbage, broccoli and other cool-season vegetables available. Carrots, peas and radishes can be sown in the garden now.

Poinsettias can acclimate in temperate areas

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: How can I keep my beautiful poinsettia healthy and around for next Christmas? Can I plant it outside or must I keep it in a pot?

A: Even though they are tropical plants, poinsettias can take a little cold if they are allowed to acclimate to cooler temperatures gradually. They can’t take prolonged freezes. The good news is that most of North Florida and a good chunk of South Georgia have only sporadic, short-lived freezing weather, as do areas along the Gulf Coast and South Atlantic. If you have an area that is a warmer microclimate than the rest of your yard, perhaps in a flower bed next to a south-facing block wall or near the clothes dryer vent, it can provide additional protection because it won’t get as cold during a freeze as the rest of your yard.

Because blooming is triggered by the shortened days of fall and the reduction in light, make sure you don’t plant it where a porch light or street light will illuminate it at night. Also, there are a few things you should do while your poinsettia is still living in a pot that will help ensure its successful transition to the landscape.

First, keep it in a place where it gets bright, indirect light most of the day, making sure to pour off any water that drains through to the saucer to keep it healthy. Once the flowering bracts have faded, cut the them off. After danger of frost has passed, trim the stems back to about six inches and plant the poinsettia in a sunny location. Sprinkle a tablespoon of Epsom salts around the plant. This will make sure it gets enough magnesium and prevent leaf discoloration. As the plant gets larger, it will need a larger dose, but one tablespoon is fine for initial planting. Repeat the Epsom salt application in June or July. Apply a general formula fertilizer such as 10-10-10 monthly from May to September, as well.

Keep it well-watered until it’s established, then water it weekly if it doesn’t rain. Plan on pruning lightly every month once the danger of frost has passed, or else the plant will get leggy; your plant will develop side shoots that will need to be pruned, too, but don’t prune after September so the flowering bracts can start forming.

The red varieties of poinsettia reportedly adapt better to the yard than other colors. If a freeze is predicted, make sure you protect your poinsettia with plenty of mulch.

A little poinsettia trivia to file away: The plant is native to Mexico and was introduced to the U.S. in the early 19th century by the U.S. ambassador to Mexico, Joel Poinsett, for whom the plant is named.

Footnote on camellias, which were the topic of last week’s column: Some camellia sasanqua varieties bloom in late summer and some in fall and early winter, but as a rule, they tend to bloom earlier than camellia japonica varieties.

Camellias add to landscape beauty

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We just bought a house that has several mature camellias on the property. They’re blooming right now and beautiful, and we’d like to keep them healthy. What do we need to do in terms of fertilizer, pruning, etc.?

A: Camellia japonica is a beautiful evergreen shrub that blooms from late fall through winter.
Camellia sasanqua, which blooms in late summer, and Camellia reticulate are less common. Camellias are generally found in USDA Zones 7 through 9, but they do not do well in the extreme heat of South Florida.

There are different varieties, including several dwarf varieties, so it’s easy to find the right camellia for just about any location.

Camellias prefer slight acid soil, 5.0-5.5 pH, but they will do fine in soil with a pH up to 6.5. Since yours are blooming now, your pH must be acceptable. They also need good drainage and air circulation and light shade or high shade, such as the shade provided by tall pine trees.

Fertilize three times a year with one-half pound of fertilizer for each 100 square feet, using a 16-4-8 or 15-5-15 formula. There are commercial blends formulated for camellias and azaleas, but make sure the middle number, which indicates the relative amount of phosphorous, is low. (The first number shows the relative amount of nitrogen and the third the relative amount of potassium.) Our soil is naturally high in phosphorous and any that’s added won’t be absorbed and instead will run off and contribute to pollution in lakes and streams.

The best times to fertilize are March, June and September. Don’t fertilize after September, because it will encourage new growth just in time for early frosts to damage it.

Camellias that have been planted in a good location with room to grow should not need pruning. However, if you inherit one that was not properly sited and needs pruning, do it in March. Remove entire branches instead of shearing the shrub. Shearing not only makes the plant look ugly but also encourages a flush of top growth, which blocks sunlight from the branches in the shrub’s interior. The leaves fall from those branches and you have a bunch of sticks with a mop of leaves on top.

Although camellias don’t like wet feet, they do drink heavily. Water during dry periods every 10 to 14 days until the soil is wet about 15 inches deep. You can use a wooden yardstick to test the soil moisture. A soaker hose or micro-irrigation system is better than an overhead sprinkler to apply the right amount of water to the root zone.

The main pests are scale, an insect with armor that must be attacked when young, and aphids. Frequent inspection and spraying with a horticultural oil, making sure to get the under-sides of leaves as well as the tops, will control pest populations. Make sure to read the label of any product you use and follow directions.

Another perspective on the oleander caterpillar

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Geoff Newland, a recent transplant from Pompano Beach, Fla., to Bainbridge, Ga., wrote to share additional information about the oleander caterpillar, which was the topic of a recent column. As the owner of a pest-control business for 28 years, he gained a wealth of knowledge that he’s willing to share. Although most literature says the spines of the oleander caterpillar are harmless, the same literature says it feeds only on oleanders -- which we know is no longer true. It’s a cautionary tale for all us gardeners: There are exceptions to every rule, and things can change.

Here's Geoff's message: “As you know, oleander bushes thrive in great numbers in South Florida, and, in season, the oleander caterpillars are everywhere. A customer of mine and her husband were dealing with an infestation of these critters, and she put her bare arm around her husband’s shoulder, where an oleander caterpillar had found its way. She was severely poisoned and spent time in intensive care, and, at the end of it all sustained a permanent scar in the shape of the oleander caterpillar on her arm.

“The real danger from these highly toxic pests (they actually thrive on poison in the oleander bushes) is the two rows of spines on their backs. To touch those is to become really ill! In Florida, at least, gardening with gloves is a must.”

Other critters that can inflict pain, he said, are scorpions and puss moths, which look like slugs covered in hair and have kick like a mule.

One can easily spot the oleander moth cocoons around a home, Geoff said: they pupate under the roof eaves, door and window frames and are easy to spot, so you can sweep them down and bag them up for disposal.

Thanks, Geoff.

Q: My azaleas are looking a bit ragged and ratty, with some branches much longer than the others. Can I prune them now?

A: You can prune now -- if you don’t mind forgoing the spring display of blooms. Pruning now would mean cutting off the flower buds, which began forming in summer. The best time to prune azaleas is after they bloom in spring but before the Fourth of July.

That said, if a neat appearance now is more important to you than having an explosion of azalea color in March, go ahead and prune them. For adult plants, follow each leader branch back to its base, where it branches off another stem, and cut it there. You don’t want to shear an azalea like a boxwood or privet hedge.

For newly planted young azaleas, prune back at least one-third each year for the first two or three years to encourage it to grow bushy and full.

This goes for the Encore azaleas, too, which repeat bloom throughout the year. Pruning them in spring gives the plant a chance to grow more flower buds during peak growing season.

Florida betony a tenacious weed

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I have a healthy growth of Florida betony in part of my lawn. It is growing in about a 20-foot by 30-foot isolated area. I wish to eliminate it, before it spreads further. I am willing to kill the grass in that place, if that's what it takes. I am up in years and not really able to remove it by digging out all the roots. Please advise me on the best way to kill it.

A: Stachys floridana, also known as Florida betony and rattlesnake weed, is a perennial weed that flourishes in cool weather and goes dormant in the heat of summer. It is spread by stringy white roots that end in a sectioned tuber that looks somewhat like the rattles on a rattlesnake – hence the nickname. Its flowers form seeds that drop and germinate in any kind of soil, further spreading it.

Bad manners are what give it a bad reputation, because it’s not really an ugly plant. It just tends to show up where it’s not wanted and then take over. To say that Florida betony is tenacious is not giving it enough credit. It ranks right up there with kudzu and smilax in the “difficult to eradicate” department. It usually is introduced into the home landscape hidden among the roots of other plants, particularly sod.

Is there any chance you could grow to love it? It’s sort of pretty, it’s native and it’s relatively maintenance- free, although it does disappear on you in summer. No way, eh?

You said digging it out isn’t really an option for you, although that is the best way to eradicate it. However, you could work on beefing up your grass to choke it out. This isn’t the right time of year to fertilize your lawn, but if you can wait until April when soil warms, that’s one possibility.

Since you’re willing to sacrifice the turfgrass, smothering the betony with mulch is one possibility. Use a weed-whacker to cut the betony to the ground before you apply the mulch; the rhizome will still be underground, but the mulch will deprive it of the opportunity to emerge. Any strays that pop through the mulch can be plucked out if the soil is moist.

If you want it dead, you’re going to have to apply herbicide, probably more than once. The most effective time to spray Florida betony is in October, with a repeat application in February, which coincides with the fall and spring flushes of growth. As cool as it has been this fall, it’s probably too late to apply it now. Wait until early February. A product containing atrazine, which is found in most lawn weed-killer formulas including Hi-Yield Atrazien, has been effective. Don’t use a weed and feed product, because you don’t want to encourage the grass to grow until April, when the soil has warmed.

The University of Georgia has tested various herbicides on Florida betony, and reported good results with Monument, which contains trifloxysulfuron; Manor, which contains metsulfuron; and Revolver, which contains foramsulfuron. Timing was key to the effectiveness of each product. As with any herbicide, follow the directions on the label.

Herbicides containing glyphosate, such as Roundup, weaken Florida betony but you’ll have to make multiple applications to kill it. You could start with Roundup now, but it will kill everything. Do you really want a 20- by-30-foot bare spot in your lawn?

Thirsty hydrangea needs repotting

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: I bought a beautiful hydrangea recently that is acting like it wants water, but I’m giving it plenty of water. It’s still in its pot and the roots are pretty tightly wound around the base. What can I do?

A: It sounds like your hydrangea is root-bound, so the water you’re giving it is running right through the pot and the plant is not absorbing any of it. The best thing to do is plant it as soon as possible, but you’ll need to do some work on the root ball to help it survive.

Hydrangeas need morning sun and afternoon shade, or continuous high filtered shade, and moist but well-drained soil. Dig a planting hole the same depth the plant sits in the pot and about three times wider. Take the hydrangea out of its pot and lay it on its side. With a sharp blade – a pruning saw or a machete works well for this task – make deep cuts top to bottom through the root ball about every three inches. Use your fingers to pull out the roots you’ve freed.

Plant the hydrangea, re-fill the soil in the planting hole and make a little berm of soil all the way around it to act as a basin. Water it well and keep it uniformly moist. You should see new growth in a few weeks.

Q: Is it too late to dig caladiums for winter?

A: Can you still find them? Caladiums are tropical and die back to the ground in a hard freeze, which we’ve already experienced this fall here in North Florida. Once the colorful foliage is gone, it’s hard to find caladiums in your flower bed without digging around.

If you want to go to the trouble of digging your caladiums, assuming you can locate them, go ahead. Make sure you wipe off the dirt and store them in clean sand or straw. If you don’t have easy access to either straw or sand, buy a bucket of cheap cat litter. The clean litter makes a good storage medium and the bucket is a dandy storage container.

Don’t wash your bulbs, because storing wet or damp bulbs can lead to rot. Replant them next spring in rich, well-drained soil that has been amended with lots of organic matter, in a location with filtered shade. Too much sun and the colors bleach out; too much shade and the plants get leggy and weak.

Or, you could leave the caladiums where they’re sleeping and see how they perform next year. The first year is always the best one, and the performance tends to diminish a bit each year afterward. I don’t dig my caladiums; I simply plant a few more each spring to keep the show going.

Root-prune large gardenia before moving it

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We have a large gardenia bush in our yard that has overgrown its space and needs to be removed. It’s probably 6 feet tall by 4 feet wide. Is it too large to move to another spot and if not, what’s the best way to do it? It’s about six years old.

A: They look so cute when we bring them home in their little 1-gallon pots that it’s sometimes hard to visualize how large they’ll eventually become. And when they do outgrow their spaces, we like to think it’s because of our skill at site selection – “It was just so happy there!” -- and the excellent care we gave them.

But regardless of the reason, whether planted in too small a space, changes in available light because of new construction or tree removal, or supercharged genetics, small trees and large shrubs sometimes need to be moved. Root-pruning is the best way to prepare your gardenia bush for the big move.

The theory behind root-pruning is that by severing the long roots that extend beyond the drip line, you force the shrub to grow new feeder roots closer to the trunk. These feeder roots will be part of the root ball when you dig the gardenia and move it to its new location in several months, so the shock to the gardenia’s system will be lessened.

Take a flat spade or shovel and thrust it into the soil about 15 inches out from the trunk of your shrub. Make sure you push the shovel down about a foot so you cut the roots running laterally. Now make another cut right next to the first one, and another one next to that one, until you have a circle extending around the shrub. You’ll need a sharp spade to cut the roots. If you encounter a particularly thick one, you can use loppers to snip it.

Ideally, you wait about six months after you root-prune to move the shrub, but three months is the minimum. If you root-prune your shrub this weekend, it should be ready to move by February or March. April is probably the latest you want to move it because May is when the summer heat really starts cranking up.

The heat is the same reason you want to root-prune in fall and transplant in spring in the Deep South. Growth is slowed over the winter, so the severed roots won’t hurt the plant the way they would in summer, when it’s in growth mode and dealing with heat stress. In areas farther north with less intense summer heat, the reverse would be true: Let the shrub grow new feeder roots over the summer so it can survive a cold winter.

You’ll probably need to prune the gardenia back a bit when you move it, but don’t whack it all the way back. The old argument for drastic pruning when you move a shrub was that the root-ball couldn’t support the entire plant, because it lost the feeder roots when you dug it. By root-pruning, you lost those feeder roots several months earlier and the root-ball that you dig is actually what was supporting the entire bush.

Besides, you need those leaves for photosynthesis to feed the plant and help it get re-established.

Don't fertilize Knock Out® roses until spring

By Audrey Post MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We have 11 Knock Out® rose bushes, which my husband feeds two-thirds of a cup of 6-6-6 Blooming Rose Fertilizer monthly. They have grown to about 4 feet high and bloomed beautifully over the spring and summer. Should we keep applying rose food throughout the fall and winter months? Also, should Knock Out® roses be pruned? If so, when should we prune them and how much?

A: Knock Out® roses have become among the most popular shrubs in the home landscape, thanks to their ease of care and prolific flowering. They’re disease-resistant, drought-tolerant and self-cleaning – meaning no dead-heading of spent blooms. They’ll bloom from spring until the first hard-freeze.

I would lay off the fertilizer through the fall and winter months. You might get a few blossoms here and there as our temperatures do their normal fluctuations, but you don’t want to keep the plants in high gear for growing and blooming over the winter. New growth is more susceptible to freeze damage, and consequent damage to the entire plant might result.

If you have room to let them continue to grow larger and they’re holding a good shape, leave the pruning shears alone. If you want to keep them to a smaller size and shape, prune them in early spring – which for North Florida is February. It’s a matter of personal choice and space. One friend said hers grew to a 6-foot tangled mess the year she didn’t prune them; another never prunes hers and they stay about 4 feet tall and wide. Soil and climate differences can play a big role.

If you choose to prune your Knock Out® roses, cut the shrub back to about 12 inches. As it grows throughout the season, use hand-held pruners to snip off wayward branches that are outpacing the others to maintain the shape.

Q: When Tropical Storm Fay blew through in late August, most of my sloped back yard was under water for a few days. The St. Augustine grass at the top of the slope, closest to the house, seems to have recovered but the grass farther down where it is shadier is still looking sad. What should I do?

A: From your description, it sounds as though the grass at the bottom of the slope was under water longer, so it makes sense it would take longer to recover. Lack of oxygen can drown plants as well as people.

The fact the area is shady is probably slowing down the drying-out process. Make sure there’s no mulch helping to hold in moisture right now – you want to give the water a chance to evaporate – and wait and see. Anything else you do right now would probably interfere with your grass’ ability to recover on its own. Grass slows its growth this time of year, so not seeing new growth doesn’t mean it’s dead.

If the barren appearance bothers you, spread some ryegrass seed over the area once it’s no longer soggy. If it sprouts, you’ll know the area is drying out and your St. Augustine likely will reappear next spring. If not, you’ll have to decide whether to re-sod, plant something else or create a mulched area.

Remove oleander caterpillars while young

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: Big hairy worms have been giving me fits for the past seven years, eating the leaves on my mandevillas. I use the white powder and maybe it cuts the population, but I hate the way it makes my plants look. What else can I use that will kill the worms but not kill the plant? I am attaching a photo so you can see what a charmer this is.

A: Yes, indeed, that is one charming pest you have there. It’s a Syntomeida epilais, commonly known as an oleander caterpillar. Supposedly it feeds only on oleanders, but it obviously has developed a taste for mandevillas – as your photo illustrates. Through a little research I learned that its original host was a pineland vine that is now rare, so it has been known to try new foods.

A mature oleander caterpillar is orange with tufts of black hair and is about 2 inches long. The adult moths are purplish-black with white dots on their wings and are sometimes called polka-dot wasps. They reproduce three generations a year, and sometimes the process overlaps and you can see larvae and moths at the same time. They’re really rather exotic looking, but they can be devastating. While they usually don’t kill the plant, they can defoliate it and leave it vulnerable to diseases that can kill it.

This is one caterpillar that birds and small mammals have learned to avoid because its primary diet, oleander, is so toxic. There are beneficial insects that will eat oleander caterpillars -- predatory stinkbugs, parasitic flies and wasps, even imported red fire ants eat the clusters of eggs – but the best way to control them is to pick them off by hand. The spines generally pose no threat to humans. [Ms Grow-It-All® update: A subsequent column, post date Dec. 17, 2008, discussed one person's allergic reaction to the oleander caterpillar, so use gloves to pick them off just to be safe.]

The egg clusters can be found on the undersides of leaves, and you can scrape them off into a plastic bag – a newspaper bag works well for this – and throw them in the trash. Young larvae, which are more yellow than orange, eat the tissue between the veins on the leaves. Snip off the infested leaves, but them in a plastic bag and then place the bag in the freezer for 24 hours to kill the caterpillars. Larger larvae can be picked off, placed in a plastic bag and frozen the same way, or dropped into a can of soapy water.

Obviously, it’s hard to pick larvae from large oleanders because of the height, but a mandevilla vine should be easier to manage. Horticulturists recommend your friendly white powder, Bacillus thuringiensis, for large plants.

The key appears to be catching them while they’re young.

Q: What should I do to try to save a hanging spider plant that was left outside when we had frost? The leaves have turned black and slimy.

A: Those cold nights sometimes sneak up on us, and different microclimates in our yards and gardens sometimes get colder or warmer than the “official” temperature recorded. It could have been 37 at the airport but 32 on your porch.

If it wasn’t too cold for too long, the plant might survive. Cut off all the slimy, damaged foliage and clean up any debris on the soil surface. You can bring it inside, give it some water and see if it starts to grow again, or you can skip the water, move it to a protected location such as an unheated shed and let it rest until spring.

However, unless it’s a variegated variety or a sentimental favorite, I’d pitch it and start over next spring with something else. Solid green spider plants have become invasive in the ground here in North Florida, and those airborne babies can make that leap from the hanging basket to the ground very easily.

Mechanical help needed to remove big azaleas

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL®

Q: We bought property near Lake Talquin a couple of years ago, and the former owners had planted azaleas everywhere – and I mean everywhere. There’s no pattern to it, and unfortunately, no lawn. We need to get rid of some of them. What’s the best way? Will Roundup work? They’re about 20 years old and we tried digging one out and it took hours.

A: This is a great example of a bit of ancient gardening wisdom: Any plant in the wrong place is a weed. Some weeds are easier to remove than others, and as you’ve seen, this isn’t one that you can simply tug and it will spring free.

Roundup® and other chemical sprays are designed to be absorbed through the foliage and move through the plant, eventually killing the root. They work fine on soft-stemmed weeds, but they are not the most efficient way to kill shrubs. It would take repeated applications over a long period of time, which would cost a lot of money and likely leave the area so toxic that grass wouldn’t grow. Even products designed to kill woody shrubs take a while, and a 20-year-old azalea in good health could probably withstand a couple of applications. It wouldn’t look good, which would just add to your problems, but it would survive. And you’d still have to dig it out.

The easiest way to get azaleas out is with heavy equipment, such as a backhoe, which can scoop out the bush and its roots in one bite. If that’s not an option, either because of the cost or because of the potential damage to other landscaping, you’re going to have to dig them out by hand.

Before you start hauling azaleas out of there, do a little prep work to make sure you’re removing the right ones. It sounds like you want to end up with a lawn and have the remaining azaleas create a pleasant pattern, Try to visualize what a spot will look like without each azalea that you want gone. One technique is to take a digital photo, then edit out the shrubbery. A low-tech version is to get photo prints and cut out the azaleas you think you want to remove, then lay the photos on paper and color in grass or dirt where the azaleas were. If you like the way it looks, great. If not, it’s easier to print a new photo than re-grow a 20-year-old shrub.

Prune the azaleas to 18 inches to 2 feet high. Rake back all the mulch and cut every surface root you see with a shovel. Then dig about 2 feet down and 2 feet out all the way around, using a pickax or mattock to cut larger roots. The shrub may start to give a little when you pull on it, but it still has a taproot holding it in. You’ll have to dig out around the tap root to be able to cut it.

Yes, it’s a lot of work. If you have a heavy truck or tractor, you can hook a chain around the base of the azalea and pull it out, but it’s much easier if you prune it and cut the side roots first. Also, you can water the azalea to soften the soil before you pull it out, but makes sure you keep the water on the azalea and not on the ground where the truck will be. Otherwise, you’ll end up with ruts in your yard or even worse, your truck mired up to the axles.

Select the right fruit tree for your climate

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: I would like to add fruit trees – apples, pears, etc. -- in my yard, and I was told back in the spring that I should wait until fall to plant them. Now that it’s fall, what varieties should I plant?

A: Fall is indeed the best time to plant trees here in North Florida. With our mild winters and the growing list of hybrids developed for our climate, it’s possible to grow fruit trees historically limited to more northern climes.

Although fruit trees require a lot of maintenance to keep them producing – mainly annual pruning and vigilance in checking for pests and diseases – they do make lovely additions to the home landscape. But don’t expect to grow fruit that looks or tastes like the specimens in the grocery store. Homegrown fruits here tend to be smaller but have a better flavor.

The key is to plant the right low-chill variety for the climate. A certain number of hours below 45 degrees – chilling hours – are needed to produce fruit. The varieties that produce in North Florida have been bred to produce on fewer chilling hours than varieties that grow up north. Most of North Florida gets between 540 and 700 chilling hours, with the western Panhandle tending to get more hours than the Big Bend.

The two most common apples grown here are Anna and Ein Shemer, both Israeli hybrids introduced into the Florida market in the late 1960s.Anna, a red blush, is more tart than Ein Shemer, which is yellow and sweet. Dorsett Golden, which legend says is the result of a Mrs. Dorsett tossing away the seeds of a Golden Delicious apple at her home in the Bahamas, and the seeds taking root and producing a fruiting tree, also is popular here. TropicSweet, a hybrid bred from Anna, is a newer release that offers blush fruit that is sweet.

All four produce tasty fruit that are smaller than the apples you find in the grocery store, most of which have been commercially grown up north. Most apple trees don’t self-pollinate, so plant two varieties that bloom at the same time. Traditionally, gardeners have planted Anna with Dorsett Golden because they bloom at the same time. Dorsett Golden will also pollinate TropicSweet.

If you want to plant pears, Flordahome and Florida Bosc produce soft pears suitable for eating fresh. The variety called Pineapple produces hard pears, the kind more suitable for preserves and chutneys.

Most local nurseries have knowledgeable employees who will help you choose the right tree for your yard. Use caution when buying fruit trees at big-box stores, which often buy in bulk and sell the same tree in Tallahassee that they sell in Toledo. If that tree does survive here, it won’t bear fruit. Know your cultivars before you shop.

Make sure your newly planted trees get enough water the first year, at least 3 or 4 inches per week, and fertilize in January and again in June.

Prepare tender plants for freezing weather

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: After waiting too long last year to bring my porch plants inside the house, and consequently losing some of them, I am determined to do it right this year. But I’ve read that bringing them back inside too abruptly can be harmful, too. Plus, I’m worried about bringing bugs in the house. What’s the best way to achieve an orderly transfer back indoors?

A: Many potted plants, such as African violets and tropicals including orchids and bromeliads, are tender – meaning they’re sensitive to cold – and should be protected from temperatures below 40 degrees. It doesn't need to get down to freezing to damage them. Other houseplants, such as philodendrons and spider plants, can take a little cold but not a hard freeze.

What's the difference between a frost and a hard freeze? A couple of pre-dawn hours at 30 to 32 degrees is a frost, and most plants that aren’t “tender” get over it. But if it gets down to 28 for a couple of hours or more, your plants will feel it.

Moving plants into a heated home on a chilly night, especially if they've had a progression of nights outside where the temperature has gradually dropped, could cause a shock to their systems and seriously damage them.

So what to do to prepare for our North Florida version of winter? If you’re planning to move plants indoors, first move them to a shaded, protected spot for the next week or so. By protected, I mean out of the wind and rain. If a frost comes in the next couple of weeks, you’ll more than likely be able to cover the plants there instead of taking them indoors.

What you do after that depends on how much work you’re willing to do. You can move the plants from the shady, protected spot in your yard to your house a garage, unheated basement or garden shed after a couple of weeks, cut back on the water and monitor them through the cooler months.

Or you can move them inside the house. The process of moving them in stages is sort of the reverse of taking seedlings out during the warmth of the day in early spring, then bringing them back in at night.

If you’re worried about bugs, give the plants a strong blast from the garden hose. Check the leaves, undersides as well as tops, and pick off any remaining pests. If you want something a little more reassuring, you can mix a mild solution of insecticidal soap and spray it on – a 99-cent spray bottle from the discount store works well – and move the plants inside.

But unless your plants are really tender, you might want to consider leaving them outdoors in a protected location. It will enable you to cover them easily when freezing weather threatens, or move them to the garage, shed or basement if the forecast is really severe.

Wait until crinum's foliage dies to prune it

By Audrey Post
MS. GROW-IT-ALL

Q: My crinum lilies are looking a little ratty. Most have finished blooming. Can I cut the browning foliage back or will it hurt the plant’s performance next year?

A: It’s the time of year when lots of summer-blooming perennials start to look a little rough. While it’s OK to cut back some spent plants, you should leave your crinum lilies alone. As long as foliage still has some green, photosynthesis is still happening and the plant is storing food for the winter and for next year. If you cut off those less-than-perfect strappy leaves, the size and bloom could be affected next year. Just like daffodils, you want to let crinums die back naturally.

If the foliage has turned completely brown and crumbles when you touch it, it’s finished. Go ahead and pull it out. You won’t even need to cut it.

If your plant isn’t quite to that stage yet and its appearance really disturbs you, set a big pot in front of it full of fall mums. Or you could divert the eye with a stunning display of fall color in another part of the yard. Area nurseries are full of fall bloomers and end-of-season summer perennials.

Q: I have a very large grapefruit tree, at least 10 feet tall, that until two years ago was kept in a pot. It has lots of thorny branches. Is this typical of grapefruit? I have a Satsuma tree that will get some thorny limbs and my neighbor told me to cut them off. The Satsuma has finally begun to bear after five years. The grapefruit has not flowered or set fruit. I live in Killearn Acres and the tree is in full sun with afternoon shade. It faces east. Should I cut off the thorny branches? How old do grapefruit trees have to be to set fruit?

A: Some citrus trees have thorns, some don’t. Many of the more modern hybrids have been bred not to have thorns, but I’ve never known of thorns to make any difference in whether a citrus tree bears. Two of my citrus trees have thorns; the rest don’t. They all bear.

Do you know what variety your grapefruit tree is? Some are slower to bear, and your tree might not be ready yet, especially since it was in a pot a long time. It could be putting its energy into getting its roots established.

I know of a grapefruit tree in Killearn that is loaded right now with ripening fruit, but it’s at least 30 feet tall and has been there for years.

I suggest you get the soil around the tree tested to see whether it’s deficient in any major or minor elements, and fertilize next February.

Footnote on Leyland cypress canker: After reading last week's column on Leyland cypress canker, Stan Rosenthal, Leon County's extension agent for forestry, noted that foliage blight can present similar symptoms to canker. "The difference has more to do with the pattern of the browning of the foliage," he said, "but both can be avoided by not over-planting any one variety."