With a little help, Houston plants can adapt to Indiana home

Q: I am moving to Indiana in late spring, and I’d like your advice on taking some of my Houston plants.

I want to move some scadoxus from the ground to pots. When should I do this? I also have potted lycoris. What will their blooming behavior be in zone 5?

I’d like to pot up a small Rangoon creeper. How should I overwinter it, and how large must a potted creeper be in order to bloom? Dave Sherron, Houston

A: Divide and transplant/pot the scadoxus, or blood lily, when the foliage has yellowed and is dying down, as the South African bulb goes dormant for the winter.

Blood lily produces softball-size orange-red blooms on tall stems in spring in Houston-area gardens. The lance-shaped foliage appears after the flowers. It likely will flower in late summer at your new home.

Houston gardeners can plant blood lily bulbs 2-3 inches deep in their gardens, since we have mild winters. Zone 5 gardeners can grow the bulbs in pots. Refresh the soil each year. Repot when the bulbs become too crowded.

Lycoris radiata, another naturalizing, low-care bulb, blooms September to October in Texas. It will flower a bit earlier in zone 5, August to September.

It’s also known as spider lily due to the exotic, extra-long stamens and narrow petals; naked lady because flowers precede the foliage; and hurricane lily because of bloom time at the height of the storm season. The scrappy foliage emerges after the showy flowers are spent, remains until spring and goes dormant in the summer heat.

Sources vary in listing cold hardiness of lycoris. A few say L. radiata is possibly cold hardy in zone 5; a few more list it as cold hardy in zone 6, but most limit its cold hardiness to zone 7. I’d stick to growing lycoris in pots until the bulbs multiply and you have extras if you wish to experiment growing a few in a protected area of your Indiana garden. Other licorice species may be cold hardy in zone 5.

The red L. radiata is a tough heirloom ideal for Houston gardens. Plant the bulbs closely, with their necks just above the soil line in sun or part sun among ground covers, in mixed borders and in pots. Plant late spring to fall, but typically, gardeners here plant in fall, when bulbs are most readily available. Divide and transplant mature bulbs after the foliage yellows, April to May.

Lycoris bulbs often don’t flower the first year (and possibly not the second) after they’ve been planted, so give them time to establish. They’ll multiply best when undisturbed, and they can take some water during the dormant season.

Red spider lily and other lycoris species, plus the blood lily, will be available at the Garden Club of Houston’s Bulb & Plant Mart, Thursday-Oct. 14 at St. John the Divine Episcopal Church, 2450 River Oaks Blvd. Preorder bulbs by Sunday, and check daily hours at gchouston.org.

Rangoon creeper, as you know, is a vigorous root-hardy vine here, but grow it in a pot in Indiana. When the roots fill the container, repot in a larger size. Age may be a greater factor than pot size, as far as bloom time. Rangoon often begins flowering about three years after planting. Place the container in full sun, if possible. A hibiscus fertilizer can encourage flowering. Trim old growth; this vine blooms on new growth.

When the weather chills, store this tropical in an area warm enough to prevent the soil from freezing.

Q: I planted an orange tree in late March. Since then, there has been no new growth, some of the lower branches have died and some leaves are a real light green. A few leaves also have a black growth on the undersides. Any ideas what might be going on and what I should do? I’ve fertilized with MiracleGro and citrus fertilizer granules. Deep Patel, Houston

A: The young tree in your emailed photos is in a pot, so I assume it is still growing in this container. I would plant the tree in your garden in a sunny spot with good drainage. The roots (which likely are now restricted in the pot) will have more room to spread, and in turn, you’ll get a larger, healthier and, eventually, more productive tree.

Once established, you won’t have to water as frequently as you do a container-grown tree. Frequent watering and flooding rains leach nutrients, resulting in pale foliage and inadequate growth.

Do not fertilize when planting. Once planted, spread an inch or so of quality compost beneath the canopy, then top with mulch. Do not bank the mulch against the trunk of the tree. Keep turf grass and weeds from growing beneath the tree’s canopy.

Fertilize with organics after your tree has been in the ground for a year.

It’s difficult to see what’s on the leaf underside. It’s possibly citrus blackfly, which is related to the common whitefly. Remove and destroy the few infested leaves. This may stop the problem. Take one or two infested leaves in a sealed bag to a certified nurseryman for proper pest identification. Parasitic wasps are a natural predator, so to go a more organic route, avoid treatments that harm beneficial insects and butterflies. Horticultural oil may help control blackfly, if needed.

Note: Sooty mold is a common blemish on the top sides of citrus leaves. It develops on the honeydew secreted by aphids and other insects that target citrus. Sooty mold is unsightly, but typically not harmful. Get rid of the petty insects, and the mold will gradually disappear. You also can gently rub it off with your fingers.