Cool temps put tulips on break

I have enjoyed an early summer purchase of Thai tulips with pink flowers but now the plants are turning yellow and declining. Is this normal?

Your plants are normal; they’re just taking a break for a few months until the warm spring weather returns. Also called Siam tulips, these plants grow from rhizomes and produce flowers that resemble tulips but are really gingers. A number of plants in this group give the tropical look for summer and then decline during cooler weather. Keep the planting site or containers with soil and rhizomes lightly moist until growth resumes in mid- to late spring.

Several of my orchids have filled their pots with plants and roots. Is now a good time to divide the plants?

Delay dividing your orchids until warm spring weather returns unless you are growing them in a heated greenhouse. Orchids in an outdoor environment almost go dormant for the cooler winter months. We normally reduce waterings and feedings at this time of the year as these landscape plants are not actively growing. When growth resumes in spring, divide your plants and resume normal care.

I have a plumeria that has grown very tall. Can I cut it back and make cuttings at this time?

Plumeria growing as shrubs to small trees, also know as frangipani, are yellowing and dropping their leaves this time of the year as they enter a rest period. These plants, known for their fragrant red, pink, yellow and white flowers used in the Hawaiian leis, are quite tender. Delay pruning until the warm spring months when new buds start to form. Then perform necessary trimming and make cuttings to root and increase the collection or share with a friend.

Large yellow patches are appearing in our St. Augustine lawn. What is causing the decline and can it be prevented?

Keeping the yellow patches out of fall through early spring lawns takes a bit of preplanning. These declining large areas of St. Augustine are caused by a fungus that is common in most soils. It waits for the warmish, damp weather to become active and produces what is called brown or large patch disease of lawns.

Lawn care companies have landscapes that get this disease every year due to the location of the turf, often in moist areas of poorer air movement. They plan on this disease and apply a fungicide in late October and November then again in early February. Several fungicides labeled for turf and this disease are available at garden centers to use in home lawns as needed. Lawn care companies also plan the last feedings of the year for early October to prevent late-season lush disease on susceptible growth.

Here is some good news. Brown or large patch rarely kills a healthy lawn. It rots the leaf blades but new growth resumes from surviving turf portions near the ground line. Still, it would be beneficial to apply a fungicide following label instructions to prevent further decline.

We want to add winter flowers to the landscape but are afraid they might freeze. What are the most cold-tolerant flowers?

In spite of a warm weather forecast for Florida, a cold spell might sneak into the state. If you want sure to survive flowers for winter, plant pansies or Johnny jump ups both in the viola group. These bedding plants are known to open buds with snow and ice on the ground which we hope does not occur anytime soon. Regretfully, these are the first of the cool season flowers to decline when warm weather returns in March.

Take a look at dusty miller with its freeze-resistant foliage to blend with viola family members. Dusty miller is also used with petunias, dianthus and snapdragons, which are very cold-resistant. When nipped by frosts or freezes, their flowers may be lost but the plants grow back. A light covering may be all that is needed during severe cold to prevent even this damage.