Q: I am growing impatiens in containers in the shade, but they are not producing the blooms as expected. The stems are long and lanky. How can I encourage more blooms?
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A: Impatiens like some shade, but they also enjoy the sunlight. The best spot for the plants is in filtered sun where they can enjoy some sun and shade throughout the day. Lanky growth suggests the shade is too dense, and while the plants survive, they do not produce as many blooms. Try relocating your plants to a new spot with a little more sun — especially in the morning. Also try trimming back the lanky shoots a few inches to encourage new growths with blooms. Apply a slow-release fertilizer following label instructions. Make the applications at the frequency listed. Keep the soil moist when rains are not adequate.
Q: I understand the University of Florida contributes dead or declining podocarpus to mushroom root rot. Are there any controls being found?
A: Two problems affect podocarpus. One is a lack of water for new plants. Make sure the root ball is moist at time of planting and keep it moist until roots grow out into the surrounding soil. Establishing new podocarpus plants with good watering may take several months. Then normal watering can keep them healthy. Mushroom root rot is a very common problem, especially with stressed podocarpus. The fungus lives in the soil, often where oak trees are or have been present. There is no reliable control. Once podocarpus shrubs or tree forms are affected by the fungus they decline. Gardeners can help prevent infection by keeping their plantings moist but not overly wet. Some of the healthiest podocarpus seem to be kept on the dry side once established, and only watered during drier times of the year. Also, keep the plants vigorous with fertilizer applications once or twice a year.
Q: I recently read an article that pineapple fruit can continue to ripen after harvest. Others say they have to ripen before being picked. Can you clear this up?
A: Possibly the sweetest, juiciest pineapple I have ever eaten is fresh from my backyard. It was left on the plant until golden orange to harvest. Regretfully I have lost a few fruits because critters like them in this stage of maturity, too. Most likely when you want to eat a pineapple depends on your taste buds. When harvested or purchased in the greener stage, and left in the kitchen a few days, they do seem to develop a better flavor, but the sugar content does not increase. The fruits may soften and become more colorful, but they are not as flavorful as a fruit left on the plant until fully ripe.
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Q: I have Key lime that was trimmed last year. Since then I have no blooms nor fruit. I have applied slow-release fertilizer. What do I need to do to help it recover and start producing fruit again?
A: Give your Key lime tree more time and it can become a good producer. An email photo showed a fairly small tree with lots of growth, which suggests after pruning it reverted to a more juvenile stage. The leaves were also quite yellow, which suggests a nutrient deficiency. Revive your tree by providing fertilizer applications three to four times a year. Follow label instructions for the product you are using. Find a citrus fertilizer as it contains all the needed major nutrients. Also apply a minor nutrient spray made for use with citrus found at independent garden centers. Make an application at each flush of new growth. Control insects, keep the tree moist and wait for the next blooms. Key limes produce their main flush of blooms in spring, but can also flower at other times of the year.
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Q: My peach tree is developing white growths on the limbs and some are dying. Should the limbs be removed?
A: Regretfully peach trees are short-lived and affected by lots of trunk disorders. Fungal problems are common and some produce the mushroom growths called conks along limbs. These limbs should be removed back into healthy tree portions. No fungicides or other chemical treatments are available to help with these problems. Lifespan of peach trees is about 10 to 15 years in our climate.
Q: Our coleus plants are making lots of growth during summer weather. Should we prune them back at this time?
A: Rains and hot weather push out lots of growth from colorful coleus plantings. Add a little fertilizer and your plants can send shoots way out of bounds. Do provide needed trimming to reduce the height and width of coleus as needed. Cut them back a foot or more below the desired height and they should quickly fill with new foliage. If you need more plants use the trimmings as cuttings, sticking portions of each in a container of soil. Six-inch tips and stem portions root equally well and quickly. Keep the cuttings in a shady site and mist several times a day to have plants ready for containers or other flower beds in about a month. Coleus also produce lots of flowering shoots. Bees love to visit the blooms but many gardeners find the stalks of flowers objectionable. Where needed they can be removed, which can help reduce the size of the plantings. Cut the flower stalks back to encourage more foliage-bearing shoots.
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Q: I am interested in growing my own ginger. Is it planted in the ground or in containers?
A: Choose a filtered-sun location to grow your ginger in the ground or in containers. Ginger grows rapidly during the warm months and can be ready to harvest and use as needed by fall. The plants die back during winter and regrow each spring. New starts can be obtained from rhizomes sold at grocery stores or neighborhood markets. If growing in the ground add lots of organic matter to sandy sites, keep the soil moist and fertilize monthly with a general garden fertilizer. Many gardeners like to grow their ginger in large-diameter containers that can be moved about as needed. Plant the rhizomes in a good potting soil, keep moist and apply a slow-release fertilizer for container plantings following label instructions.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: [email protected].
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