Bromeliads need a shady spot

to do their best, writes Plant Doctor Tom MacCubbin.

We lost an oak tree and the bromeliads that were once shaded from the sun are now suffering sun scald. What can we do to save the plants?

Many bromeliads are sensitive to full sun exposure and start to bake when the shade is lost. Even if they are survivors the new foliage becomes very yellow and often has brown blotches when growing in full sun. You might consider erecting a canopy of shade cloth over the plants to reduce the intensity of the sun. Otherwise, the plants need to be relocated to a once-again shady site.

I started three pineapple tops about nine months ago that have grown healthy 2-foot-long leaves but there are no signs of fruits. Why aren’t they producing pineapples?

Watched pineapple plants can be slow producers and these youngsters need about two more years to flower and fruit. Typically, pineapple plants grown from tops or offshoots require three years of good care to begin production. Locally they flower in March after a little winter chill and the fruits are ready to harvest in August.

Your plants can be forced into production by setting an apple among the foliage and covering the foliage with plastic for about two days. This has to be done in a shaded spot or you cook the plants.

However, here is the problem. Forcing small plants into production leads to small fruits. Why not wait until the plants grow full size and flower on their own to produce the big fruits? Meanwhile, keep the plants moist and fertilize monthly during the warmer months.

In the monthly “Time to Plant” schedules of your column, tomatoes have been listed for planting in August or early September. Does this mean seeds or plants?

Better grab the biggest tomato plants you can find, as these late summer dates are for transplants. Seeds to product plants were started in mid-July and needed about four weeks to grow tomatoes ready for the garden. Gardeners have until mid-September to keep on schedule and produce a fall tomato crop before cooler weather arrives.

My gardenia has grown taller than I like. When is the time to trim it back?

Pruning time for gardenias is normally after the major spring bloom. Many plants also produce sporadic blooms during summer and these might be lost but at least the plants can be brought back in bounds. There is still time to do the pruning now if you don’t mind losing the blooms for next spring.

Our avocado tree is about 15 feet tall. Can we remove some of the bottom limbs?

Feel free to remove lower limbs that may be in the way of tree care or movement within the area of the avocado.

Keep in mind that lower limbs contribute to the strength of the trunk so don’t remove them from the trunk much higher than 4 to 6 feet above the ground at this time.

When we grow watermelons, it is always a guessing game to decide when they are ready to harvest. Is there a surefire way to tell when they are ripe?

Certainly it would take the fun away if watermelons had a gauge that signaled when fruits were ripe like those that pop up in well-done holiday turkeys. But in a way maybe they do. Some gardeners note the belly of their melons turn yellow and become a bit rough when ripe.

Others go by tapping their melons, waiting for a dull thud to signal when one is ready to harvest.

Gardeners still a bit leery about picking a ripe one, can check the stringlike tendril closest to the melon that is said to turn brown at harvest time. Even so, when all the signs sort of pop up or align, maybe it would be best to wait a week or so more to be sure of picking a sweet red to the rind watermelon.

Our caladiums are starting to decline. Isn’t this a bit early?

Early plantings or early-growing caladiums can begin to decline by the end of August. Those started later in the season often grow into fall until cooler weather arrives. Sometimes applying a light fertilizer application stimulates a little more growth that can last into fall. Otherwise, trim off the declining leaves as noted. Normally the plants do not decline all at once, but slowly fade away to return next spring.