Q: Our cardboard palm turned brown after the freeze. Will it grow back and how much pruning is needed?
A: Most of what are called cardboard palms look pretty sad at this time. Actually, these are not palms at all, but cycads best-called cardboard plants. The name comes from the feeling of the fronds that are like cardboard. Take a look at the base of the plants or within the canopy of brown fronds. Most likely there are green ones, too, indicating there is plenty of life in these plants. Now would be a good time to prune out the dead fronds so spring growth can renew your plants. Keep them moist and apply a spring feeding to encourage bud growth from the base to produce new fronds.
Q: We have a tall mango tree with all brown leaves. Will it recover from the freeze?
A: There is a lot of hope your tree can recover, but most mangos that froze for several hours are severely damaged. It’s doubtful they are alive above the graft where the new variety was added. Scrape the bark down the limbs and trunk. If you find green, then the tree can survive and produce new shoots. If there is life, but below the graft, the tree is not going to regrow the desired variety. In this case a new tree would be needed.
Q: Our cannas have died back for the winter. Can we dig the bulbs and transplant them at this time?
It’s normal for cannas to turn brown and die back during the colder months. But the rhizomes, or root portions, are usually insulated by soil. (Courtesy of Tom MacCubbin)
A: Extremely cold weather encouraged the continued decline of cannas for winter. It’s normal for cannas
to turn brown and die back to the ground during the colder months. But don’t worry, the rhizomes, or root
portions, below ground are usually insulated by soil and can grow back during warm spring weather.
Feel free to dig the rhizomes anytime now and separate them into individual portions. They can be stored
for a few weeks or immediately planted in prepared garden sites or containers. Keep moist after planting
and apply a slow-release fertilizer when new growth is noted.
Q: I purchased a small lime and lemon tree. When can I transplant them into 20-gallon containers and what should I use for soil?
A: Wait no longer to give these citrus trees a new container. The weather is warm and the risk of a damaging freeze is minimal. Use a quality potting soil mixture. Most contain peat moss, bark and perlite. It should flow easily through your fingers indicating it has good aeration and won’t compact. Add the trees to their new containers but leave about 2 inches of free space at the top to catch and direct water down through the root systems. After a few weeks, add a slow-release fertilizer to the surface of the soil following instructions for container culture. Then make repeat feedings according to labels throughout the growing seasons.
Plant Doctor: Blessing of recent winter freeze is fewer peach tree pests
Q: My red maple tree is opening its buds and starting growth. Is it too late to perform needed pruning?
A: Now might be the best time to give your maple tree a trimming. Even though it has begun shoot and leaf growth, it’s not so far along that the tree’s time and energy is wasted. Do the trimming as soon as possible. It’s always best to perform needed pruning just prior to new plant growth. Be safe by hiring a professional to do work in the upper portions of the tree.
Q: Can we grow edible ginger in Central Florida? How do we get started and what care is needed?
Edible ginger grows vigorously in Central Florida from fresh root pieces, known as rhizomes, obtained from grocery or specialty food stores. (Courtesy of Tom MacCubbin)
A: Get ready to grow the ginger you need starting this spring as the weather warms. Edible ginger grows vigorously from fresh root pieces known as rhizomes, obtained from grocery or specialty food stores. Plant in containers or garden soils enriched with compost or others forms of organic matter. Space the ginger portions about 12 inches apart or one or two pieces to a large container. Keep moist and fertilize monthly with a vegetable garden product. Ginger grows best in filtered sun to light shade. Plants grow to about 4 feet tall with narrow leaves, and infrequent but exotic flowers, almost like small, greenish-yellow orchids. The stalks of ginger plants die during winter in cooler locations. Thick tubers can be removed as needed with major harvests made during late summer or fall.
Q: My lawn is starting to recover from the cold, but I see lots of weeds among the green. When can I put a weed-and-feed on my St. Augustine?
March in the Garden for Central Florida
A: When the grass is growing, so are the weeds. There is no better time than now to make the combined herbicide and fertilizer application. Do make sure your weeds are listed on the product’s label and apply it as instructed for your lawn type. Weed-and-feed products do a good job of controlling many broadleaf weeds but leave most grassy- and sedge-type weeds unaffected. So don’t expect complete control of your lawn weed problems. If weeds persist after the treatments have them identified at your local University of Florida Extension Center and ask for the recommended controls that can eliminate them from your lawn.
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: TomMac1996@aol.com.
