Question: Our sunflowers recently stopped blooming and made seeds. Can we plant more seeds for fall flowers or is it too late?
Answer: Sunny, warm Florida months are a great time to grow sunflowers. With several good growing months ahead you have time to replant these colorful sun worshipers. The only time we might skip plantings is during the normally cold months of December through early February. Most varieties can be in bloom about 90 days after sowing seeds. Select a sunny site with improved garden soil for sunflowers. Single traditional plants can also be set in large containers. Smaller sunflower varieties can be grown several plants to large containers. Do give sunflowers adequate room to grow, keep moist and fertilize monthly or use a slow-release product as instructed on the label.
Q. Several of my hanging baskets of fan flowers planted about a month ago have started to decline. How long should these plants last?
A. Certainly you should get more than a month from your hanging decorations named for the fan-shaped blue, purple to white blossoms. Some gardeners obtain a year or more from these plants. Your email photo shows a plant that appears to be rotting away at its base. This is likely a water problem. Make sure the container is not overwatered. If the soil is moist skip a watering or two. Then, when the surface dries, water until it begins to drain from the base. Fan flowers can be allowed to dry a little between waterings.
Q. My poinsettias need a little trimming. Am I too late?
A. Poinsettia pruning time is over for all but a few out-of-bounds shoots. Plantings begin the flowering process at this time of the year. If you perform more than minor trimming, flowering — which includes colorful bract formation — would be delayed until well into the new year. At this time keep the plants in normal daylight with no nighttime light. Also maintain a moist soil and apply one more feeding with a slow-release landscape or container plant fertilizer.
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Q. My lemon-lime cocktail citrus tree is 7 years old, growing as a bush and bears small juicy fruits. What can I do to help it produce larger fruits?
A. Regretfully an email photo with your inquiry showed a plant with deficiency symptoms. This could be a real lack of needed nutrients or results of the citrus greening disease. Since the fruit still has a good taste, it may be a lack of fertilizer including the minor nutrients. Greening tend to give the fruit a bitter taste. Try to revive your cocktail citrus tree with a fertilizer application in March, May, August and October. Also make minor nutrient sprays now and at each flush of new growth. Both citrus fertilizers and minor nutrient sprays are available from independent garden centers. Just follow label instructions. Give the tree a year to recover. If this is the greening disease it will have to be replaced.
Q. Areas of my yard need new sod. Do I add the sod now or wait until spring?
September in the Garden for Central Florida
A. Fall is a great time to establish new lawns or repair old ones. Most turf types like to grow during these warmish days and you control the water — especially in the shady sites. Overwatering is one of the problems of installing sod during summer. When fall arrives there are fewer rains and you can water when it’s needed to keep soil moist and not overly wet as sod becomes established. Fall and spring are best times to install new lawns or repair problem spots.
Q. This fall I would like to start my own seedlings of broccoli, cabbage and onion. How do I care for the seeded containers?
A. Growing your own seedlings for transplants is fun and helps reduce the cost of gardening. Decide how many transplants you are likely to need and share with friends, then only sow this amount of seed and a few extras. Store leftover packets of seed in a plastic bag in the vegetable section of the refrigerator. Scatter the seeds over potting soil or a germination mix filled to near the top of three to four inch deep containers. Then cover very lightly with the soil or mix. Keep the containers in light shade and mist frequently — normally several times a day — to keep them moist. When the seeds start to germinate move the containers to full sun and keep moist with fine sprinklings of water to grow your transplants. Also water once a week after germination with a half-strength fertilizer solution to encourage growth.
The insects known as tea scale often hide under a waxy coating 0n Chinese hollies and camellias. Break out the sprayer to get this piercing, sucking pest under control. (Courtesy of Tom MacCubbin)
Q. I was trimming my holly shrubs and noticed a brown-and-white crust on the bottom of the leaves. Should I be concerned?
A. Break out the sprayer to get this piercing, sucking pest known as tea scale under control. The insects that often hide under a waxy coating are found on Chinese hollies and camellias. Some speculate tea scale came into the country with camellias likely during the 1700s. When the population proliferates on the underside of the leaves a yellowing of the surface can usually be noted. Turn these leaves over to spot the brown-and-white scale portions. Use a horticultural oil spray found at local garden centers to obtain control of tea scale. It is important to cover the insect clusters with the spray. Repeat applications are likely to be needed every month or two. Systemic insecticides can also be used — some of which can be applied to the soil below the plants following label instructions.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, PO Box 2833, Orlando, FL 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com.
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