Take care not to overwater your basil
Question: I am growing basil which I water every day but the plants are small and yellow with brown edges on the leaves. What is the problem?
Answer: Basil does need water but every day is likely way too much for small plants. A picture accompanying your email showed young plants which likely have a root problem due to excessive water. Regretfully reducing the water may not be the answer to what is now a root rot problem. Since basil is a rather inexpensive plant, it may be best to obtain new ones.
Keep the new basil plants in a sunny location and water only when the surface soil begins to dry to the touch. Everyday watering may eventually be needed but only when the plants fill their containers with roots and grow in a hot sunny location. Also, apply a liquid fertilizer every other week at the label rate if needed for growth.
Q: We moved into a new home and were surprised to find a white daffodil-looking flower on a plant with large green leaves. What is this flower?
A: Along with your new home comes a new plant for your collection known as the Eucharist or Amazon lily. Hopefully it is growing in a shady-to-filtered sun location where it can flourish year-round producing large hosta like dark green leaves. It needs a lower light level to prevent sunburn and send up shoots with several large white blooms that do resemble daffodils but without the familiar fragrance. The flowers are
a great winter surprise opening from December through February. Keep the soil moist and fertilizer with a slow-release garden product once in March and May.
Q: Our confederate jasmine covering a pole is overgrown. If I prune it now will I affect flowers for spring?
A: Buds that open spring blooms have likely formed within the stems of your out-of-control confederate jasmine. If you want the blooms and sweet fragrance that arrive around May, better delay the pruning until after flowering. Reshaping your pole hugger now won’t harm the plant but the flowers you are waiting for may be delayed a year.
Q: My tomato plants are doing well but the small green fruits have holes and have been hollowed out. What is the problem?
A: Look closely for fruit worms chewing holes and eating the contents of your tomato fruits. These hungry pests are immature stages of moths that have visited your planting. They may be found feeding on the foliage and then moving on to the fruits. You will have to look closely but if found they can be handpicked from the plants. Otherwise, you might select a natural control frequently used by organic gardeners of either Thuricide or a spinosad-containing product usually found at independent garden centers. Even though these are low toxicity insecticides, follow label instructions to safely apply these products and harvest ripe fruits.
Q: I grew pansies from seed that are just starting to bloom. Do I trim off the old blooms and how long will they continue to flower?
A: Good job! More gardeners should be growing their own transplants for both flowers and vegetables. Expect pansies to flower for several more months but rapidly decline when the consistently hot weather arrives. Removing the old faded blooms, called deadheading, does seem to extend plants’ lives. Cutting fresh blooms is also a way to extend plant life and create great displays for friends and family.
Q: Shrubs surrounding our home are too tall and need pruning. Companies tell me to do the pruning right away. Shouldn’t I wait until spring?
A: Prime pruning time is only a few weeks away. If you are in a hurry now would likely be fine but many prefer to wait until most of the potentially severe winter weather is over. Around mid-February is ideal as it is about the time plants start to sprout new shoots. All plants could be pruned at this time but we normally delay pruning those that flower during the spring until after the blooms are gone.
Q: My camellias bloomed prolifically but the blooms were small. When is the time to fertilize to make next year’s larger and what should I use?
A: Camellia plants with lots of blooms may sacrifice size for quantity. Home and commercial growers have been known to remove some of the flower buds and even apply chemical treatments to increase blossom size. This however is usually more effort than gardeners prefer to do.
Keeping the plants healthy and producing the best blooms requires good plant care. First, keep the soil moist especially during the very dry times. Then apply a general landscape fertilizer once in March, May and August (where permitted). You can use an azalea-camellia type product or one made for shrubs. A fertilizer with slow-release properties would be good as it feeds the plants uniformly over a period of several months.
Q: My St. Augustine is a little yellow. Is there any problem applying fertilizer at this time of the year?
A: While winter is not a normal time to be making major fertilizer applications, neither should you have to be looking at a yellow lawn. One quick fix to regreen the turf is often an iron-only application. Use one of the iron-containing liquids or granules found at your local garden center. This could regreen the lawn without encouraging growth.
If you want more punch to your feeding, use a regular lawn fertilizer but at about half the normal rate. Encouraging just a little growth during the cooler months won’t harm the grass but too much but may make it more susceptible to winter injury and encourage diseases.