Radio Show: Pass-along plants

This week Ms. Grow-It-All was delighted to welcome noted author and gardener June Bailey White as her guest for a conversation about "pass-along plants." The plants, also known as heirloom plants, are stalwarts of the garden that have been handed down through generations and shared among friends because they're proven to thrive in area gardens. June is co-chair of next Saturday's Old-Timey Plant Sale at Birdsong Nature Center, located between Tallahassee, Fla., and Thomasville, Ga., and many of the plants for sale are heirlooms/pass-alongs. For more on Birdsong and the plant sale, visit its Web site at www.birdsongnaturecenter.org. If you're reading this within seven days of the original broadcast, click on the link to the right to listen. If you've missed that window, you can find complete archives of all the Ms. Grow-It-All Blog Talk Radio broadcasts at www.FreeWorldRadioNetwork.net. This was the first broadcast in the show's expanded half-hour format.

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.

No radio show today

Our apologies. Because of technical difficulties with Blog Talk Radio, Ms. Grow-It-All did not broadcast a show today. Please tune in next week at the usual time, 9 a.m. Eastern. In the meantime, visit www.FreeWorldRadioNetwork.net for an archive of our earlier shows to catch any you missed.

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.

Radio Show: Salad gardens

This week's show focused on salad gardens. Click on the link to Blog Talk Radio in the right rail to listen to the show for seven days after its initial broadcast. If you missed that one-week window, an archive of all our shows can be found at http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net/.

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.

Radio Show: Care and pruning of roses

This week's show was all about care and pruning of roses, an appropriate topic for this Valentine's Day. Click on the link to Blog Talk Radio in the right rail to listen to the show for seven days after its initial broadcast. If you missed that one-week window, an archive of all our shows can be found at http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net/.

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.

Radio Show: Choosing trees

This week's broadcast featured forester Stan Rosenthal of the University of Florida/Leon County Extension Service. As a follow-up to last week's program on pruning crape myrtles and other summer-blooming trees, we discussed mistakes people make in selecting trees to plant. He offered advice on trees that make good candidates for home landscapes, and he mentioned a few to avoid. Click on the link to Blog Talk Radio on my site to listen to the show. An archive of all our shows can be found at http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net/.

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.

Radio Show: Pruning crape myrtles

We broadcast our fifth show on Blog Talk Radio this morning. The topic was pruning crape myrtles and other summer-blooming trees. Stan Rosenthal, forestry extension agent for Leon County, FL, was able to join us for a short while and he'll be back next Saturday morning to talk more about trees. E-mail your tree-related questions to questions@msgrowitall.com and listen at 9 a.m. Eastern on Saturday, Feb. 7.

Radio Show: Protecting plants from freezing

We broadcast our fourth show on Blog Talk Radio this morning. The topic was protecting your plants from freeze damage. Join us next Saturday morning at 9 a.m. Eastern, when the topic will be pruning crape myrtles and other summer-blooming trees. Our special guest will be Stan Rosenthal, forestry extension agent for Leon County, FL.

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.

Radio Show: Spring vegetable gardens

This week, Ms. Grow-It-All discussed the basics of planning a spring vegetable garden. If you're reading this within seven days of the original broadcast, click on the Blog Talk Radio link in the right rail to listen. If you missed that window, you can find complete archives of all her shows at either http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net/ or http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All

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.

Radio Show: Camellias

This week, Ms. Grow-It-All discussed camellias, stately evergreens for the temperate zones. This blooming shrub is known as the "rose of winter" for its blossoms. If you're reading this within seven days of the original broadcast, click on the Blog Talk Radio link in the right rail to listen. If you missed that window, you can find complete archives of all her shows at either http://www.freeworldradionetwork.net or http://www.blogtalkradio.com/Ms_Grow-It-All

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.

Radio Show Debut: Ms. Grow-It-All

A new year and a new venture! Today, lifelong gardener and veteran journalist Audrey Post launched a show on Blog Talk Radio to complement her syndicated gardening column, Ms. Grow-It-All. It's a production of the Free World Radio Network.

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.