Question: Winter weeds are filling our St. Augustine lawn. What can we use for control?
Answer: Sometimes mowing is a good start to controlling the cool-season or winter weeds in home lawns. This may keep them down at the turf level so the St. Augustine can compete. It is probably optimistic to think mowing can control all your weeds, so a herbicide may be needed.
Many herbicides list St. Augustine on the label, but make sure the product selected is made for your variety and the weeds needing control. Note that some products are not recommended for use with Floratam St. Augustine lawns, which are very common in Florida. Thus, many gardeners use the herbicide atrazine, found in the liquid form, which controls broadleaf weeds in St. Augustine lawns when used as instructed on the label.
Q. I've started seeds for spring transplants in peat and plastic pots with a seeding mixture. Once they begin to germinate, how much sun do they need, when should I water and do they need fertilizer?
A. Move your seedlings to full sun as they begin to germinate. The bright light is needed to grow strong stems and compact plants. Keep the growing medium moist by watering when the surface begins to dry to the touch. Begin feedings with an all-purpose fertilizer solution mixed at half-strength starting a week after germination. Continue the weekly feedings until the seedlings are ready for the garden.
Q. My container-grown, orange-flowering bird of paradise plant's leaves were damaged by the cold. Should I cut the brown leaves off and will it recover? Will fertilizer help?
A. When you cannot stand looking at the brown leaves, remove them from the plant. If only the edges were singed, then a light trimming may be all that is needed. Bird-of-paradise plants are tough and can tolerate some cold. If the leaves eventually die back to the soil in the container, new growth is likely to come from the bud at the base. Fertilizer can help a recovering plant but wait to give it a feeding when new growth is noted and then apply a slow-release product.
Q. I have an amaryllis growing in a pot from the holidays. What is the best way to care for the plant?
A. Most likely your plant is not going to be in bloom for next Christmas, but it can be a repeat performer a little over a year from now. Amaryllis plants are spring bloomers in Florida and your plant needs time to recover from producing its forced holiday flowers.
One option is to keep it in a container. When new growth starts around March or April, give a one-size larger container. Add a slow-release fertilizer and find your plant a filtered-sun location within the landscape. Keep the soil moist during the warmer months and drier during the late fall and winter.
A plant left from the holidays can also be added to the flower garden. Find a full- to filtered-sun location. Set the amaryllis in the ground so the neck of the bulb is exposed. Then add a light mulch, keep the soil moist and apply a slow-release fertilizer as instructed on the label.
Q: We would like to plant a ponytail palm in the ground. Will the plant survive outdoors in Central Florida?
A. Ponytail plants do have somewhat of a palm look with long, lance-like leaves coming from a fairly smooth trunk, but they are not palms. When small, they are often used as foliage plants for the home or patio, growing to 15 feet tall and forming large clusters of trunks. It's when they grow so large we look for a spot in the landscape.
Ponytail plants are fairly cold tolerant surviving all but a very severe freeze without major damage. Even if frozen, the base normally survives and grows back. It's worth the risk adding this plant to the landscape as an accent near the patio, along walkways and in dry land gardens. Keep the plants 5 feet or more from sidewalks, drives and decks to allow them room to enlarge. The plant is very drought tolerant and once established can exist with only seasonal rains.
Q. My landscape poinsettias have done well this year. When is the time to cut them back and what other care is needed?
A. Pruning is normally performed around mid-March when new growth begins. Cut the plants back to within 12 to 18 inches of the ground. If your plants were damaged by the cold, pruning can begin as soon as you can determine the extent of the plant injury.
Keep the soil moist and begin every-other-month fertilizer applications using a general landscape product. You might consider substituting a slow-release fertilizer that may not be needed as frequently. When the plants make a foot of new growth, remove up to 4 inches from the ends, which causes branching and more shoots to form. Continue these prunings through the end of August.