Start foxglove seeds now
Foxgloves were one of our northern favorites. When is the time to sow the seed and how much sun do the plants need?
Start foxglove seeds immediately to have plants in bloom for spring. Plants with stalks of coneshaped blooms are traditionally biennials that need two years to flower. Common selections do not survive summer in Florida. One good performer for local gardens is the Camelot variety, which blooms during spring following a fall seeding. You probably won’t find seeds at local garden centers but can purchase them from mailorder seed companies. Seeds are small and a bit tedious to propagate. If you would rather skip growing plants yourself, flowering foxgloves are often available in March for planting in full sun locations.
We notice some of the lower limbs of our grafted gardenia rooting in the ground. If we grow these in containers will they produce flowers like the original plant?
Turn these rooting shoots into cuttings to grow plants with flowers like the original gardenia. But there is a problem. Your gardenia was grafted to provide a nematoderesistant root system. The cuttings won’t have this benefit and could succumb to these root swelling pests. Find your new plants a site as free as possible of known nematode problems or grow them in containers of potting soil.
We are looking forward to over-seeding our lawn with ryegrass. When do we sow the seed?
Wait until day temperatures are consistently in the 70s to lower 80s for best ryegrass growth. Also, avoid overwatering the seeded lawn. Too much water and hot, humid days encourage fungal problems that cause the grass to decline. Ryegrass is a coolseason turf that grows best during mild, late fall through winter weather. It declines when temperatures heat up during midMarch.
I would like to grow a dense podocarpus hedge. How often do I prune the plants?
Upright and quite compact podocarpus can make a hedge of about any size. Often, it is chosen for narrow spaces, where there is minimal room for plants. Podocarpus is a very durable plant that once established can survive dry, poorer but welldrained soils and sun to light shade.
Start trimming your plants when small, letting them grow four to six inches and then cutting them back two inches. Continue to let them grow in height and width and prune each time six inches of new growth is produced. When the desired height and width, allow several inches of new growth and then prune them back to the desired size. Podocarpus is one plant that does not seem to mind pruning back to the same size each time.
Our shrubs have about a two-inch mulch layer that is decomposing. Do we remove the old mulch and add the new?
Keep the old mulch and add just a little bit more. Never remove old mulch layers that are likely full of roots needed to sustain your plants. Here is a money-saving tip too: Only a light layer is needed to renew the benefits of organic mulch, which include weed control, moisture retention, a uniform soil temperature and some nutrients. Plan to maintain the mulch layer no more than three inches thick under trees and shrubs. Also, keep mulch a few inches or more back from trunks and stems.
Our lawn care company has reduced mowing to every other week, but the grass has been growing like summer. Do we need the every week mowing?
Summer lasted well into fall this year, and lawns kept growing. Many lawn care companies go on an every other week schedule October through February then resume weekly mowing the rest of the year.
Lawns are best cut as needed, which when growing during hot weather, is once a week. It is doubtful the every other week mowing caused your lawn real damage, but maybe you had clippings to rake. Some companies kept to their old schedule as a courtesy to maintain the grass at the desired height. By now with cooler temperatures, all can resume their fall through winter schedules.
We have camellias with portions of limbs covered with lichens and some are dying. What can we do to control the lichens?
Lichens are guilty only by association with the declining plant portions. They take nothing from the plants and only use them for support. Lichens are a combination of a fungus and algae that appear to grow best when plants are declining due to other pest or cultural problems. The often thinning plants allow the lichens more exposure to light and water, plus nutrients from decomposing plant portions.
Check to make sure your camellias are receiving adequate water and fertilizer. The plants would like moist soil and feedings in March, May and August, if needed to encourage growth. You can usually control lichens with a copper fungicide, following label instructions, for use with your planting, but the treatment may not cure plant decline.