Fast speed ahead
Mother Nature pulled a fast one here as she blasted the area with an early series of days with our temperatures in the high 80s before spring arrived.
We were indeed weary of the unexpected cold weather the first of the month. We certainly were not prepared for the fast increase in temperatures just before spring’s official arrival, which is today.
March will now go down in the record books as the hottest March in over 130 years. Not sure if Mother Nature had a “spring fling,” a love affair, or just hot flash.
The weather forecast now is for the high 80s to continue at least one more week and then settle down into our usual nice spring weather of low 80s before the summer heat and humidity moves in.
We can now trim and cut to our hearts content, and start setting out bedding plants and say goodbye to some of our vegetable garden treats. I do know first hand the vegetables around this area were growing extremely well, especially in several area school gardens. Teachers, students and Master Gardeners were harvesting hundreds of pounds of produce.
I see my queen palms are ready for a good trim. When you see brown dead fronds swaying in the wind, it is time to cut. I have a favorite tree trimmer to do the job. When you have 12 20-foot-tall palm trees, you need a favorite tree trimmer. He does not hack the majority of fronds just to show he was here. There will not be any trimming with cleats that leave holes in the tree trunks. That is not a good thing. Those holes will not heal over, ever, leaving the trunk exposed to possible disease.
My trimmer comes with two high trucks, ladders, saws and a crew. Lots of noise, but not for long. He leaves nothing behind when the job is done.
You will have to decide how much trimming you want done. I kind of have a modified hurricane cut. I like a good show of fronds left, and definitely do not want to be looking at a palm tree that looks like a sharpened pencil, really!
There will be no problem finding flowering plants, yes, mostly annuals, which will not last way into the hot summer. Perennials, which will last a year, minimum, and bushes and vines that will last for years.
The colors range from white to red, yellow, orange, blue and variegated. A good selection of coleus and caladiums, which do not have a flower but sport very colorful leaves and grow in shade or sun depending on the variety you choose. Read the plant labels that are inserted into each pot. I have already noticed a market that has the pots labeled OK, but the whole collection has a big sign that says “sun plants.” The plants in that group are not sun plants. I do, on occasion, inform a clerk of the wrong labeling – not always welcome advice as far as they are concerned.
When small bedding pots look dry, that may mean that their root system is all tangled up in the pot and you will have to trim the mass before planting, so that the roots are loose and free to lay flat and grow out into the soil. You may not want to take these home if they are really dry and tangled.
A plant that is growing from a bulb may need some trimming but usually the main thing to remember is, which end of the bulb goes under ground and which end should be up. A bulb that does not have any thin roots hanging, just check to see that there are tiny little green spikes on one end and a more rounded plain bottom.
The beautiful stately amaryllis is in bloom. They make a great hostess gift. When small, it is fun to watch the plant stem grow up to at least 12 inches and then produce fabulous, large tropical flowers. No need to fertilize, just keep moist and once they flower move them from direct sun so the blooms will last longer. Just cut off any blooms that die and when the are gone, set the plant in a shady out-of-the-way place and let the long stem and leaves yellow and die over the summer. It’s a good idea to tie the long stem to a stick.
Enjoy getting settled for spring and trying something new. Watch for adequate watering and the coming of the hungry bugs, they love new foliage and rose buds. Neem is a good, not toxic, spray I use a lot.
Happy gardening till we meet again!
H.I. Jean Shields is Past President of the Garden Club of Cape Coral.