Florida Gardening . . . what to do in June

After a very unusually cold winter, summer has crept up on us. The poor bushes have put out new growth amongst the bare sticks that still need to be pruned from the winter damage.

After years of neglect, we have the overwhelming task of starting over again with the landscaping. As we rebuild "The Paradise" I will be posting before and after photos as well as articles on projects we are working on.

In anticipation of starting over, I visited an excellent website by one of my favorite Florida gardening gurus, Tom MacCubbin, for knowledge, inspiration and motivation.



Here are Tom's tips on what to do in June . . .


Lawn Care Needed:

Check for lawn care ordinances that prohibit lawn feedings June until October.

Where permitted and needed regreen lawns with a feeding of a slow release fertilizer.

May is a good month to seed bahia lawns.

An iron only feeding, if permitted, often regreens yellow lawns and prevents excessive growth.

Fill bare or weedy spots in the lawn with the help of summer rains.

Reseed, plug or sod as the rainy season returns.

Avoid sodding shady areas during summer to prevent rot problems caused by the wet weather.

Cold weather did not stop the chinch bugs; inspect yellow spots and treat if needed.

Use a rain gauge to track the water your lawn receives.

Mow lawns frequently but don't catch the clippings.

Keep the mower blade at the highest level recommended for your lawn type.

Dig out or spot kill weeds in turf.

Replace constantly declining turf in dense shade with a mulch or ground cover.

Change the oil and air filter in gas powered equipment as instructed in manuals.


Landscape Care:

Most plants are recovering from winter damage; otherwise replacements may be needed.

Established plants usually do not need watering during the rainy season.

It won’t hurt to let most plants wilt a little before you water.

Hurricane season begins with June; it’s not too late to have your trees checked and trimmed.

Fill in low areas or add drains to prevent flooding during summer storms.

Establish moisture zones within the landscape to help conserve water.

Groom roses to remove old flower heads and weak stems.

Feed roses monthly and control black spot with a fungicide.

Add the tropical look to the landscape with heat loving foliage plants.

Plant hydrangeas where they receive morning sun and afternoon shade.

Complete azalea and gardenia pruning by month's end.

Replace declining cool season flowers with rain tolerant summer color.

Trim back 4- to 6-inches of new poinsettia growth to keep the plants compact.

Root tip cuttings of shrubs and foliage plants.

Transplant palms and sagos.

Feed shrubs and palms.

Give container gardens a weekly feeding or use a slow release fertilizer as instructed.

Spot kill weeds and add a mulch to prevent new growth.

Plant declining Easter and Asiatic lilies in the sunny garden.

Feed lilies and other aquatic plants in home water gardens.

Remove sprouts from the base of crape myrtle, maple and similar trees.


Vegetable and Fruit Plantings:

Harvest maturing crops and replant with heat loving vegetables.

Keep weeds under control as gardens decline to prevent pest problems for fall.

Keep weeds under control as gardens decline to prevent pest problems for fall.

Bake out nematodes and diseases by covering moist soil with clear plastic for 8 weeks.

Turn gardens and vacant flower beds over to edible sweet potatoes.

Continue to plant fruit trees, shrubs and vines.

Expect some fruit drop from citrus trees – it’s normal and often called the June fruit drop.

Feed summer vegetable plantings every 3 to 4 weeks.

Complete late spring citrus feedings.

Prune lower limbs that interfere with maintenance from fruit trees.

Feed bananas monthly harvest stalks when the first hand begins to yellow.

Feed pineapples in containers weekly; in the ground monthly.

Obtain seeds for late summer and fall vegetable plantings.


House and foliage plant care:

Give house plants a rest outdoors in the shade.

Repot plants needing a new container.

Feed plants outdoors every two weeks and indoors monthly.

Use a slow release fertilizer as instructed to stretch the time between feedings.

Control insects with a soap wash.

Remove declining leaves and stems.

Pinch the tips of lanky shoots to cause branching.

Trim faded flowers from blooming plants.

Add new foliage plants to indoor displays.


Source: Better Lawns

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Shell Pot for Succulents

This is the perfect time of the year to bring the outdoors in
as well as summer memories of the beach.

I found this awesome shell terracotta pot on Katie Brown's website
which is perfect for those succulents you want to bring inside or
put out on your patio.

Materials

Terra cotta pots
Assorted seashells
Tacky glue
Sand
Potting soil
Assorted succulents

Tools

Paint brush
Hot glue gun

Getting Started

1. Using a paint brush and tacky glue, coat the bottom of your terra cotta pot. Leave the lip of the pot plain (this is where you will attach your shells). Roll pot in sand to completely coat the pot. Repeat process if you feel the need for a heavier coat of sand.

2. Apply hot glue to the edges of your seashells and attach them to the lip of your terra cotta pot.

3. Using a broken or discarded shell, cover the bottom hole in your terra cotta pot.

4. Fill pot with regular potting soil, and loosen roots on the bottom of your succulent. Transfer succulent and water.


Source: KatieBrown.com

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Saving money on garden supplies

It has been quite some time since I have posted to my blogs . . . this blog was started somewhere else and I am still in the process of moving blogs and getting on with my life at the same time. I've still not gotten out in the garden yet and my intentions have been good regarding my carport jungle, however, real life has taken precedence over plants. Even Martha Stewart would say that it is a "good thing" . . .


The following article came from one of my favorite websites, RealSimple . . . I've added my thoughts to various topics.

Stick with one tool. Part knife and part trowel, a hori hori knife is a gardener’s best friend. Use it to plant, to grub, and to remove deep-rooted weeds. Buying tools for those specific jobs can cost around $40.

Cash in on compost. “Many municipalities pick up yard waste and turn it into free compost,” says Ross. Ask the office of your town if your community participates.

Composting in the past has yielded some awesome tomato and pepper plants . . . the soil makes a huge difference in the quality of plants and vegetables for me . . . and I have saved lots of money by composting and taking advantage of the sandy soil natural to my area. Perlite purchased in huge bags to save money assists in making the soil "lighter," allowing for better drainage and encouraging root growth. More on composting and soil recipes in future posts.

Purchase cell packs. Buying one large marigold plant for $8 can give your garden a head start, but a four-pack of smaller ones costs half the price and each of the tiny plants will grow to the size of the large one in just a few weeks.

A better idea to save money is starting plants from seed. Once your plants are established, learn how to harvest seeds from the flowers to save even more money year after year.

Plant tough varieties. Daylilies, asters, and hostas are all vigorous and low-maintenance, which means you won’t have to make another trip to the nursery for replacements.

Do some research to find out which varieties work best in your area . . . it makes a huge difference when you have plants that come up year after year. Visit my website DonitaWorld.com which lists many links for specific areas to get you started.

Attach a timer to the spigot. A sprinkler or a soaker hose left running wastes a lot of water. Spend $15 now on a mechanical water timer (homedepot.com) and save on tomorrow’s water bills.

Buy native flora. After one season, they’re completely established, so a nasty freeze shouldn’t zap them. Purchase cone flowers (native in much of the country), or do some research to learn what grows naturally in your region.

I've found that native plants flourish with neglect since I have pretty much abandoned yard work since my husband passed away. Those native plants are acclimated to growing naturally in your specific area . . . take advantage of them!

Hope everyone is keeping busy in your gardens and keeping your hands dirty . . . I'll be joining you soon!

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What's blooming in Paradise

They started in my dad's garden. As a child I remember the bright orange and red blooms against the colorful tropical crotons, thinking how beautiful the color combinations were.

He taught me how to multiply plants, baby them and have them give back with their beauty. There was a lady on one of the older HGTV gardening shows who described her show as the one who profiles gardeners who touch the earth and makes it bloom. That is one of the most beautiful gifts my dad ever gave me . . . he taught me how to touch the earth and be grateful for everything it gives back to me. Just as it did for my dad, I can touch the earth and make it bloom.

The kalanchoe in the photo come from the seeds of those plants that graced my dad's garden. They live on in my paradise and bloom for me year after year . . . and have thrived through neglect since my husband died. My desire to garden is slowly coming back to me . . . and my plants have waited for me.



Today as I sat outside in my carport jungle, I noticed some new plants of kalanchoe that came up in some of my containers that I sprinkled seeds in last year. The bold red blooms are predominant in a sea of green . . . they made it through the winter freezes and cold nights that refuse to go away. We are still in the 40's at night in Central Florida . . . unbelievable!

My next post will be a profile on these plants that thrive even with neglect and come up with bright and beautiful blooms to remind you that spring is around the corner.

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Kalanchoe blossfeldiana

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is a durable flowering succulent that requires little maintenance and can be grown either indoors or outdoors.

Their fleshy, dark shiny green leaves will reach 3 inches (7.7 cm) long by up to 1.5 inches (3.8 cm) wide with lobed edges.

Floral colors range from the traditional red to yellows, oranges, salmon, to pink and almost any color in between.

They start blooming in December and last 6-8 weeks.

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana need full sun to high interior lighting, with a well drained soil mix.

The plants are well watered and allowed to dry somewhat in between waterings.

During the growing season (spring and summer), the plants are fertilized every month with a balanced fertilizer.

Beginning in the fall, the plants require 14 hours of continuous darkness every day to promote blooming. During this period, no fertilizer is used. I've never used this method and they always bloom like crazy for me . . . even the container plants that live in my carport where the light is never turned off.

After the plants have bloomed, they should be cut back to promote new growth and fertilized every 2 weeks. Keep plants trimmed to encourage compact and bushy growth.

Cut the blooms off the plant when the flowers start to fade . . . air dry to harvest the seeds. My method is to sprinkle seed where I want them to grow . . .

Kalanchoe blossfeldiana is easily propagated from cuttings in the spring. Cuttings should be 2-3" long with two pairs of leaves. Leaves are removed from the lower one or two nodes and inserted into the medium . . . no rooting hormone is needed. A good rooting medium consists of 1 part peat to 1 part perlite or sand . . . stick cuttings into final containers.

This is one of my favorite plants because of the brilliantly colored flowers, they are tolerant of neglect and so easy to propagate . . . I'd love to have a mass planting of this and will probably take lots of cuttings and throw out lots of seed this spring so I can.

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Winter in Florida

The photo depicts a normal winter in my area of Central Florida, where red blooms can be seen all over my property from the hibiscus bushes. These are my beautiful fluffy doubles from a previous year. No blooming hibiscus this year because of too many nights of freezing temps.

However, there are brightly colored blooms in my Paradise this winter and I spoke of them in my last post. They made it through the freezing nights, but the breezy conditions of the other night's cold front knocked most of them down.

They are commonly called "Mother of Thousands" . . . their scientific name is Kalanchoe daigremontiana. I've never seen such cool looking plants that can become a nuisance since they multiply like crazy from offsets that form on the leaves, each becoming a new plant.

Some people consider them weeds, but I really like them
. . . especially when they bloom!

They produce bold violet orange flowers with yellow edges.

The plant dies after blooming.

They are predominantly a heat resistant plant, although it does not tolerate full sun very well. It supposed can't tolerate freeze, but it made it thorough several sporatic nights of freezing temps, but the long stems that hold the blooms were knocked over on a windy day.

Through the years I have collected several different types of these plants and love all of them, even though they are invasive and thrive in the heat and humidity of Central Florida. They are in the succulent family, Crassulaceae.

I'll try to get some photos of the different types of plants from this family that should have been named "Mother of Millions."

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