Garden Clippings
Ease off pruning, go forward on fertilizing
By RUTH DAVIES
Article published on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006  |
Edibles and more get special attention this month. Before November gets any older, make sure your citrus trees have been fertilized. They have to produce that large flavorful fruit to please the gardener.
Fruit split has been prevalent on my trees this year due to the weeks with no rain and then nearly an inch falls to wash the garden. There’s plenty of fruit remaining, so I don’t waste tears over the ruined fruit.
I keep saying it’s fall and getting cooler, although Mother Nature keeps us on a yo-yo string with fluctuating temperatures. Take a look at the length of time your sprinkler system runs. With cooler temperatures, foliage plants and grass don’t need as much irrigation. From now to March, water only when necessary; every 10 to 14 days.
There is an exception, of course, the pots in the landscape, or container garden, must be checked daily and probably must be watered. Other plants that can still be fertilized are other fruits, figs, papayas, bananas, mango, etc., and all the flowers, perennial or annual, roses and azaleas.
A coworker has an avocado tree that recently produced a little mental indigestion. The fruit was rotting, rather than ripening. Michael Pettay at Pinellas County Extension offered some help to determine when the avocado is ready to pick – the day after the raccoons and squirrels cleaned off the tree. Seriously, when the shine begins to fade and your thumb can leave an indent in the fruit, pick avocados to ripen in the house.
Only judicious pruning should be done in November. Trim straggling branches, and if you need to tame a wayward landscape, prune very carefully with hidden cuts so the landscape won’t look bare for the next five months when growth is slow. It’s best to wait for severe pruning until early spring.
And, please save me some guacamole.
Events for gardening enthusiasts
• The Pinellas Chapter of the Florida Native Plant Society will take a field trip Saturday, Nov. 4, to the Clam Bayou Preserve, St. Petersburg. Pinellas FNPS members and other local residents have worked hard to restore this coastal habitat. Meet at the west end of 34th Avenue South, the head of Clam Bayou St. Pete restoration side. Call Bill Bilodeau at 322-9695.
• Sunken Gardens, 1825 Fourth St. N., St. Petersburg, will host Dave Johnston, bromeliad enthusiast and member of Florida’s West Coast Bromeliad Society on Nov. 4, 11:30 a.m. He will present tips on how to grow a wide variety of terrestrial and epiphytic bromeliads. A question and answer period will follow the presentation, and an assortment of bromeliads will be available for sale. The presentation is free with paid admission or membership. Call 551-3148.
• The Florida West Coast Orchid Society will have a meeting on Thursday, Nov. 9, at the Pinellas County Extension/Botanical Gardens, 1250 Ulmerton Road, Largo. An education class is at 7 p.m., followed by the meeting and a talk by Jim Roberts of Florida Suncoast Orchids at 7:30. An orchid sale, raffle and refreshments are included. Call 725-1719.
• The Upper Pinellas African Violet Society will meet Monday, Nov. 6, 7 to 9 p.m., at the Clearwater Library, 2262 Drew St. E-mail info@upavs.org.
Ruth Davies is a Pinellas County Master Gardener. Questions can be sent to her at editorial@TBNweekly.com.
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Article published on Thursday, Nov. 2, 2006
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