Trimming keeps

the peace lily healthy, Tom MacCubbin writes.

I have several peace lilies that were not watered for five days when I was out of town and some of the white flowers have turned brown. Do I trim them off along with the long stalks?

Often peace lily flowers, which consist of the blooms, stems and modified leaves, go from white to brown very quickly, Some also turn green before declining.

A lack of water may have hastened the decline process but it likely did not harm entire plants. Remove the dead portions with stems back into the plants. Then maintain normal watering to keep the soil moist. When growth resumes, apply a slow-release fertilizer made for container plantings.

Leaves on our tomato plants are turning brown but we still have fruits ripening. What should we do?

Brown spots, yellow leaves and plant decline are all part of growing tomatoes during the summer rainy season. If your tomato harvests are coming to an end, you might ignore the plant decline. When it appears tomato production may continue, try applying a fungicide made for use with this crop.

One natural product for both bacterial and fungal leaf spots is a copper fungicide found at most garden centers. Follow the label when making applications. Regretfully, other summer pests including insects and viruses may affect your plants, too, which can also make continuing the harvest difficult.

We have a magnolia tree that has been in the ground for years but is only about 3 feet tall. How can we make it grow?

Helping this tree regain its vigor is going to take a heroic effort. There is no use trying more water and fertilizer while the tree is in the ground. Dig your little magnolia and place it in a container. Chances are the roots have not grown much and are still in the original root ball shape.

Transplant to a container several inches larger than the root ball. If the roots are tightly bound, break the outer layer apart. Grow the tree in a shady site for a month or more and then gradually move it back into the full sun. Water enough to keep the soil moist and apply a slowrelease fertilizer to the surface soil following label instructions for container culture. After about a year of good growth it should be ready for in-ground planting again.

We have a planting of Easter lilies that have become quite dense. When is the best time to divide and transplant the bulbs?

Saved Easter lilies grow well locally and after a few years form tight clusters of bulbs. The plantings could be divided any time after flowering and before growth restarts during mid-winter.

Perhaps the best time to do needed dividing is midsummer when the stems begin to yellow and start to die back to the ground. This makes it easy to find the bulbs. Cut the old stems off while separating the bulbs, which can then be reset in the ground with a 6 to 8-inch spacing. Give the new planting normal garden care and the bulbs should be ready to re-grow next winter.

I have been told I need to get the thatch out of my zoysia lawn. What is thatch and how is it removed?

University of Florida researchers have proclaimed thatch one of the major causes of zoysia decline. Thatch is the accumulation of organic matter from dead leaves and stems of this grass near the soil surface. When over a half inch thick, thatch can begin suffocating new growth, which results in zoysia decline.

If your lawn consists of a small area of zoysia, a dethatching rake can be purchased to push and pull through the grass to loosen and remove the organic matter. Residents with large zoysia lawns can rent a vertical mower or dethatching machine to remove the debris.

Some lawn care companies are now offering this service as zoysia lawns become more popular. If you plan to remove the thatch yourself, obtain a bulletin on thatch control from your local University of Florida Extension Office.

I planted squash and eggplant which produced flowers that dropped off without developing fruits. What is the problem?

Many gardeners are reporting similar results with their vegetables and it is all due to the heat. Summer is not a good time to be fruiting most squash, eggplants, tomatoes and many types of peppers. Usually the hot weather prevents good fruit set and the heat plus humidity causes rot problems. You may still get a few fruits but they are often not as tasty as crops harvested during the better growing months. The next planting time for these crops is mid-August so the plants can grow and start fruiting during the drier and somewhat cooler fall months.