Question: My caradium doesn’t germinate its leaves as normal. Will they regrow, or do they need to plant new bulbs?
Answer: Hopefully there will be plenty of new shoots before we receive this response. The weather in Florida has a lot to do when tubers regrown colorful leaves of tubers, commonly known as bulbs. If winter is cold, spring growth will slow. The resumption of growth also appears to be determined by the time the plant loses its leaves in autumn. As the leaves continue to grow, spring growth begins a little later. Caladium usually produces new leaves, from April to April to the ground or container until March. By delaying planting in spring, you can make the production of late summer leaves in the summer at a time.
Q: There is an amaryllis bed that has stopped blooming. What can I do to help them flower again?
A: Perhaps the planting is too crowded or in shade. Competition between bulbs and other plantings can reduce or eliminate flowering. Also, the roots of many trees and shrubs can interfere with the development of good light bulbs. It seems now that it’s time to lift up and split Amaryllis bulbs. Find new spots in the filtered sun for best growth. Amaryllis can withstand the sun, but it often seems to struggle in the hot, dry months. Remove the stenosis from the soil and space the bulbs about 6 inches apart. Applying a very light mulch, it’s moist. Apply slow release fertilizer now from May to early October.
Q: Some red-edged drakana trees I’ve kept in containers are tall and creepy. Is it safe to cut them, and how far are you going?
A: Feel free to prun the necessary pruning. If necessary, readjust your new compact plant by lowering the stems much as needed. Of course, they eventually grow higher again, but not until the end of summer. Make a cut around the stem to notice the ring. This is where the leaves reside and allow buds to sprout and form new shoots. Moisten the plants and apply slow release container-type fertilizer to promote new growth.
Q: The old leaves of my Stagone fern are developing dark places, but the new ones are fine. Do you want to remove old spots?
A: You are normal, or at least your stagone fern is normal. As the age of the leaves, they are susceptible to fungal leaf spots. Most of these organisms do not affect the plants until the leaves begin to fade. In the photo in the email sent in this inquiry, the new leaves look green and healthy. Moisten the plants and apply houseplant fertilizer once a month during the warm growing season. If necessary, fungicides for leaf plants can be applied, but they do not seem to be necessary for plants. Simply put the fading leaves back to their base and remove them if necessary.
Plant Doctor: The tree is a peach, do you know how to take care of it?
Q: My snake plants have fewer leaves. You will get proper water, but some of the leaves will turn brown. What can you do to make your plants healthy again?
A: Is it difficult to kill a snake plant, also known as Sansevieria? In fact, the worst problem these plants seem to face is that they have too much water and cramp the growth conditions. Growing under these conditions, the plant develops fungal or bacterial leaf spots, ultimately reducing the entire leaf and the plant. Email photos of your plant suggest that it is growing in a container and growing near a down spout. The plant appears to be very crowded in the container, with less leaves. Give this snake plant a new container and revive it. You should probably be able to split the plant into two or more new ones. At this point, remove all dead or decayed parts. Also, the leaves are cut off due to leaf spot symptoms. Give the new plant a container with room for growth. As it is disease active, apply copper germicide as directed on the label. There is only water when the soil at the surface begins to dry out, keeping the plants in shade and keeping the filtered sun away from the target.
Q: Plants are grown in some of our containers, lawns and gardens. The grass is on slightly silvery leaves and vague flowers. Is it a wild flower or a weed?
A: Growing in your garden is a bit like wildflower, but most people think it is a widespread weed. The seeds of what is known as Cudweed, which is the year of spring flowering, are blown away and can end up anywhere in the landscape, including planting containers. As pointed out, it is probably best to eliminate plants. They are handled with hardwood weed controlled herbicides that are pulled by hand, mowed into lawns and used as labeled on the area of the landscape.
Q: Our poinsettias is about 5 feet tall. How much do you need to prune the plants?
A: Healthy poinsettia plants can withstand heavy spring pruning to regrow and produce another colorful display by December. Cut the plant approximately 2 feet above the ground and apply slow release landscape fertilizer. Next, once you have about a foot of new growth, remove the top 4 inches of each shoot. After growth until August, similar pruning and fertilizer continues, and once the flowering process begins, there are plants with considerable stems with multiple stems.
Tom Maccubbin is an honorary urban gardener at the University of Florida Cooperative Expansion Services. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, PO Box 2833, Orlando, Florida. 32802. email: tomac1996@aol.com.
