Question: We are new to growing citrus and have several orange trees. How can you tell when a fruit is ripe?
Answer: Fortunately, all the citrus in your garden are orange trees. After we moved to Florida, I cut open an orange-looking fruit for my son and said how delicious it would be. It was a Meyer lemon. you guessed it. He avoided citrus fruits for at least a week or two. The best way to tell if your oranges are ripe and ready to harvest is to use a taste test. Also, if you know the variety of oranges, determine the normal ripening period. For example, navel oranges ripen from October to January. Start tasting the fruit in October to determine if it is ready for harvest. Oranges usually taste better as they ripen further into the season. You don’t have to harvest all your ready-to-eat oranges at once. Citrus fruits can be stored on the tree throughout their ripening period until you are ready to enjoy the fruit.
Q. A lot of leaves are starting to accumulate in my garden. Can it be used as mulch or should it be composted?
A. Gardeners can store fallen leaves from winter or early spring and use them for a variety of purposes. It can also be spread as a mulch around trees and shrubs, but only in a light 3- to 4-inch layer. It can be used in vegetable gardens and flower beds in a 2- to 3-inch layer. With either method of use, piling too high can create a mat that prevents adequate water infiltration into the soil. Leaves can also be used to create a walkway surface. This gives a natural look to your garden setting. Here you can layer the leaves as deeply as you like. Composting is always a good way to use fallen leaves. A simple compost pile can be created by placing leaves in a large wire, wood, or similar container with one end open. Add a 1-inch layer of soil between each foot or two layers of leaves. We also spread compost and chemical fertilizers. Speed up the composting process by rotating the pile monthly. Once the compost has a peat-like appearance, it can be tilled into the garden or used as mulch.
Botany: Plant tomato seeds now for an early start on your spring harvest
Q. A part of my garden is bare land, so I would like to sow seeds and create a lawn. Can I sow seeds at this time of year?
A. Permanent grass seeds currently sown can take a month or more to germinate. So why not try delaying sowing until favorable growing weather returns in late February or March? If you really want the look of a green lawn, you can sow an ephemeral ryegrass lawn that germinates in about two weeks during cool weather. This grass grows for another two months before dying off in mid-to-late March. Bahia grass is the most commonly seeded lawn and can be sown around the end of February. Don’t expect germination until the days are consistently in the 70s to 80s. Bahia, like other seeded lawns, requires loose, weed-free soil to begin growing. Also, rake the seeds to about a half inch deep in the ground or cover them lightly with soil. If kept moist, they should germinate within three weeks in warm climates.
Q. About four months ago, I moved into a new house with a 6-foot-tall gardenia bush. It looks healthy, but there are hardly any flowers. Is it possible to prune it and when should I fertilize it?
A. We moved into our new home too late to enjoy the gardenia blooms in 2025. Most bushes are filled with fragrant white flowers in mid-spring, and then some flowers open periodically throughout the summer. A 6-foot-tall plant is a typical size, but it can also be maintained in the 4- to 5-foot range. Pruning is done after the spring blooms have finished. Cutting it back now may prevent the next flower from forming. Still, pruning is usually minimal, thinning out the plant, reducing its height and width slightly if necessary, and removing out-of-bounds shoots. Gardenias love fertilizer, so fertilize them 3-4 times a year. Many gardeners use azalea and camellia type products. You can also use a common slow-release landscape fertilizer every three months starting in March. Epsom salts are often used to replenish magnesium when excessive yellowing occurs during the growing season.
January in Central Florida Gardens
Q. When I walk in the grass, I notice small green spots on my shoes, socks, and pants, but I’m sure these are caused by weeds. What is it and how is it removed from the lawn?
A. Join the crowd of gardeners who hate picking the sticky flowers and fruits of heartleaf drymare from shoes, clothing, and body hair. The plant actually has an ingenious plan: the sticky green part of the plant will spread its seeds elsewhere and into your neighbor’s garden. By using a weed control product tailored to your lawn type, you can stop your seed distribution program and control this broadleaf weed in your lawn with round leaves. At this time of year, choose a liquid herbicide labeled for broadleaf weeds and, if possible, a dry herbicide for heartleaf weeds. Herbicides are best used when weeds are first noticed, following label directions, to prevent sticky growth.
Q. The walls surrounding my property are covered in uncontrollable creeping figs. How much should I prune to keep the plant within the boundaries?
A. Here’s one plant you can hit back with to make you feel better. As your creeping fig continues to grow beyond the wall, you may notice that the leaves become larger and the shoots become thicker. Eventually, the fruit will be hard and inedible. Like you, most gardeners don’t like this messy look and want to keep the cover compact and create small creeping fig leaves. Feel free to cut back any overflow to within a few inches of the new growth covering the wall. It is one of the plants that is hard to damage.
Tom McCubbin is an emeritus urban horticulturist for the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write to Orlando Sentinel, PO Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com.
