Shear pleasures of Florida gardening

By -


After the cold snap of February, the balmy days are driving the gardeners crazy with planters’ fever – just check out any local nursery if you have any doubts. But is it too soon to be planting and pruning? When is it safe?

Early March can be too soon to prune, says Tisha, a Florida Master Gardener who lives in Lake Sarasota. A plant that’s been cut back too early might suffer injury if another cold spell hits.

“It is not a good idea to prune the dead or dying leaves/branches from the cold until you see green growth in the spring,” Tisha said. “Be careful when pruning flowering shrubs such as azaleas,” she added – “wait until they finish flowering.”

Other fall flowering shrubs that are pruned to promote new include hibiscus, thryallis and plumbago.

Mid-March is probably when this area of Florida is safely out of danger from cold. It’s also a good time to plant annuals like Ageratum, Gazania, Geraniums and Nicotiana. The nurseries have these and many more, says Tisha.

Gazania

Fertilize your landscape plants and fruit trees in February and March. Tisha recommends a general purpose slow-release with nitrogen.

If you’re growing veggies, plan to get bean, beets, cantaloupes, cucumber and lettuce into the ground before it gets too hot.

As for citrus, here’s a good rule of thumb for citrus fertilizer: Use about a pound for each year of the age of the tree. “Make sure that you spread it evenly around the tree, keeping grass, weeds and mulch away from the trunk,” says Tisha.

When planting new trees or shrubs, plant the root ball just about an inch above the ground level so when the rains come, the plant won't sink down, causing it to root rot while sitting below ground level and wet.

Some people can’t get enough from just their own garden. That’s where community gardens come in, offering opportunities to be creative, and to share the earthy passion for growing things with others. Interested? Come to our next meeting, March 13, 7 p.m. and find out more!

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Bee Ridge Road Public Hearing: Update

By -
On Wed., Oct. 28, at 1 p.m., the Sarasota County Commission will hold a public hearing concerning plans for Bee Ridge Rd. east of I-75. Engineers will explain plans and probably answer questions, and presumably public comment will be invited. The hearing will be in the Commission chambers on Ringling Blvd. For more background on Bee Ridge projects, click here . Important update from the Bee Ridge Neighborhoods Committee : The Public Hearing is still at 1 pm, but the actual presentation from the Engineers has been moved to 4:30 pm on Wed. Oct. 28: County Staff has met with Commissioners earlier this week to secure their input and questions in preparation for the Wednesday, Oct 28 Commissioner meeting. This meeting will begin at 4.30 PM. Bee Ridge Road Construction will be the third agenda item. The County Administration Building is located downtown on Ringling Boulevard, across from the Post Office, just east of Orange Avenue. Come early to secure parking, located behind the building...
Read more

Water Moccasin or Water Snake?

By -
Image
At the Lakeview Park Clean-Up, some residents were picking up some branches of a tree when a dangerous Water Moccasin slithered out and dashed into the water. It might be useful to know one when you see it, but the differences between the venomous Florida Water Moccasin (or Cottonmouth) and the wholly harmless Water Snake can be subtle. Here are a few images and links that might help. First, here's a Water Moccasin Another shot of a Water Moccasin (click for a huge image): Here's the plain old harmless Florida Water Snake: Another clue (thanks Ray): When in water, Water Moccasins move on top of the water - almost as if they were gliding on the surface, like this: Water Moccasins are to be met with extreme caution. "When a moccasin is nesting or has her young in their nest it will aggressively defend that area," says Ray. "Moccasins have aggressively attacked people." Water Snakes tend to be partly submerged, partly out of the water, more like this: Click f...
Read more