Question: I am ready to replant my nasturtiums for fall and winter. Is now the time to sow the seeds?
Answer: Wait just a few weeks longer for more moderate weather to return and then start nasturtium seeds. Plants with white, yellow or orange blooms grow best when temperatures are consistently in the 70s and lower 80s. If you had nasturtiums in one area of the landscape, they may soon be germinating from seeds that fell to the ground. Plants can be grown in containers and garden beds. Besides providing great fall through spring color, all portions of the plants are edible giving a spicy flavor to kitchen creations.
Q. It seems sweet alyssum only lasts for two years and then dies out. Is this to be expected?
A. Most likely you have a very green thumb as getting more than two or three growing seasons from sweet alyssum, often just called alyssum, is amazing. Now is the time to restart this fragrant annual flower with white to lavender blooms that can last September through May in planters or in-ground flower gardens. Grow in full sun, keep moist and fertilize lightly once a month. A slow-release fertilizer could be applied every few months to reduce plant maintenance.
Q. Nut grass is growing in our junipers and I am tired of pulling it out by hand. What can I do to control this weed?
A. It looks like you may be pulling more of these weeds. There are no products on traditional lawn and garden center shelves labeled for over-the-top nut grass control in junipers. But if you don’t mind spending some bucks a product sold to professionals known as Certainty Turf Herbicide does have labeling for over-the-top weed control in listed junipers. Expect to spend $100 or more for this product at stores selling professional products to residents who want to do their own pest control. If you want to give it a try follow the label carefully for this specific use.
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Q. My peach tree produced a good crop this year and is now starting to drop its leaves. Is there a way to keep it green a little longer?
A. Peaches, nectarines and plums are losing their leaves at this time of the year. How soon and how many leaves lost depends on growing conditions. If the trees received a late summer feeding leaf loss may be delayed or slowed until October. Also, consistently wet weather encourages leaf diseases that promote foliage loss. Early leaf loss is not going to harm your trees but it may encourage early flowering among low chill varieties. Still, peach trees have plenty of flower buds stored in their stems and these fall blooms should not affect next year’s crop. At this time it’s best to give your tree normal fall care of just keeping the soil moist during dry weather.
Q. We would like to grow a watermelon. Is there still time to start the planting?
A. You have missed the good planting weather but just for fun stick a few seeds or transplants in the ground. Watermelons need about 100 days of warm weather to produce an edible melon. If the warm late fall and winter weather of recent years continues, you may get a watermelon for Christmas. The best times to sow seeds for watermelons are early March and early August.
Q. I could not resist purchasing five small bright yellow mums. Where would you plant them for best growth and flowering?
A. Mums, which is short for chrysanthemums, are often available in pint size containers. They are cute but not going to make much of a display unless they are spaced with the outer blooms just about touching. They are best used in containers clustered together where color is needed. Resist spacing them out in the garden where they offer limited eye appeal. Good garden displays are made from gallon size or larger mums spaced with the plants almost touching
Regretfully mums only flower for a short period of time due to the early fall heat. If cut back after the first blooms fade they can produce more flowers for the late fall and winter months. A good time to buy mums is late October and November when the weather is cool and the blooms last longer.
Q. A weed with very light, small light blue blooms is now producing what appears to be seeds while taking over our St. Augustine lawn. Is there a control available?
Doveweed sort of sneaks in among St. Augustine grass, eventually creating a blanket of swordlike shiny leaves. (Courtesy of Tom MacCubbin)
A. Doveweed pictured with your email is the very prevalent summer lawn invader. It sort of sneaks in among St. Augustine grass eventually creating a blanket of swordlike shiny leaves. At this time the plants have been flowering for a month or more and setting seeds. Seeds fall to the ground where they remain dormant until late spring or early summer. Try to gain some control of doveweed now through mowing or use of a broadleaf weed control product. Next spring, during late March or April, apply a preemergence herbicide to the lawn that controls germinating broadleaf weeds.
Q. I’ve had a tough time growing herbs this summer. When is the best time to plant herbs?
A. Most herbs fizzle in the heat, rains and humidity of summer but good growing weather is just ahead. October through May is herb growing time in much of Florida. It’s almost time for favorites of basil, chives, coriander, dill, parsley, sage, sweet marjoram and thyme that like the moderating temperatures. Grow them in the ground or containers in a sunny location. Fertilize monthly with quick-release products or use a slow-release fertilizer as instructed.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com.
September in the Garden for Central Florida
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