Why would a lime tree produce limes that have no juice? The tree is producing tons of limes but they look like avocados and when you open them up they are only pulp and are all dry. Nick

Answer: Without more information on the location, weather conditions, soil type and fertilization habits, it’s hard to venture a guess.

Here are some conditions I have read about that will affect the juice production of citrus trees in general.

Citrus trees do like to have a good consistent moisture level and so it is recommended they have a drip irrigation system around the root area of the tree. There are  several mineral elements that have positive and negative effects on the juice content. Nitrogen will increase juice content and acid concentration, but can also increase the peel thickness. WIthout the proper balance of all major nutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and magnesium, fruit quality and yield are affected. Before arbitrarily adding any fertilizers, I would highly suggest having the soil tested by a qualified lab that can also test for the micronutrients boron and copper. 

If your soil tests OK and the water levels have been sufficient, then I would check with your county extension office for the possibility what type of pests might be affecting the quality of the fruit production of the plant.

I hope this gives you some direction, and may you have many juicy limes next season.

Karen

This entry was posted on Friday, November 20th, 2009 at 12:00 pm and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I live in the Cleveland, Ohio area. Temperatures can get to -10 F and wind chills to -50 F.  I have tea rose plants, both in the ground and in containers. How should I go about protecting them from winter? My wife wants me to put them behind the house near either the dryer exhaust vent or furnace vents and wrap them in burlap. What do you suggest? Thank You, Bill

Answer: For your roses in the ground you will want to focus on protecting the graft area of the plant. All hybrid roses are grafted to the root stock of a hardier rose and this union is the part that can freeze and die back the easiest. The canes of the plant will almost always die back, so just go ahead and cut them back to about a foot or so. For the roses in the ground the best way to protect them is once you’ve had several good freezes and the chance of warm temperatures have passed, mound mulch up around the base of the plants. Give them a good 6-8 inches deep of protection. Use a physical barrier to encircle the plants and keep mulch and leaves in place during the winter winds. Once the weather starts to warm up consistently, shortly before the last frost date, gradually remove this mulch. You should start to see some new growth coming up from the base. Whatever you use to hold the protection in place, make sure you pin it down well: You don’t want your poor roses exposed in the bitter winter wind.

For roses in pots, if you have a barn or space in an unheated garage you could just store them in there, just making sure the soil doesn’t become too dry (adding just a moderate amount of water once or twice when nights are not going to be sub-freezing). If you want to store them outside, lay the pots on their side. This will keep water from standing on top of the soil and freezing the crowns (grafts) of the plants. If you have the space, you can dig a trench and lay them in that, cover them up with the dirt and some leaves and maybe use burlap to hold these in place. Or just lay them beside the house and cover with leaves.  However, do not lay them near the dryer vents. This might cause them to start to bud too early and then freeze and die. Dryer vents do create a micro-climate but for plants that need dormancy, this is not a good thing. You can put them on the south side of the house, the warmest side.  Generally, any protected area is fine; they are dormant and don’t require sunshine. Once you have snow, mound some of the snow up over them as well.  It’s a great insulator.

Good luck with the roses!

Karen

This entry was posted on Wednesday, November 18th, 2009 at 1:29 pm and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Just a question on growing potatoes:  I’ve got them growing in the vegetable garden at work and just wanted to know how big they grow and how much dirt do i put around them while they are growing?  And, is it possible to put blood and bone on them?   I look forward to your reply. Any information on potatoes other than the questions I have asked would be greatly appreciated. Thanks, Abby

Answer: How wonderful that you can have vegetable garden at work.  What a great way to take a break and enjoy the earth for a moment or two!

How big the plants grow will depend on the variety you choose, of course, so make sure you check that before you start. Typically they can range from 24 inches (60 cm)  up to 30 inches (75cm).

When you plant them you might want to add the bone meal to the site in addition to other organic compost. You will “hill up” the potatoes as they grow until the seed piece is approximately 6 to 8 inches (15 to 20 cm) beneath the surface. Blood meal can be added once the plants begin to grow, but since it is a high nitrogen fertilizer you want to use the light feeding rate so as to not encourage too much leaf growth. 

You can read more about planting potatoes on our blog page.

Happy growing…and great harvest.

Karen

This entry was posted on Tuesday, November 17th, 2009 at 10:30 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

My magnolia has been in the ground for four years, with no blooms.  I know Holly tone is a great fertilizer for it. I also know magnolia takes about four years to bloom.
But what other fertilizer with a high phosphorus count can I put on it to not
totally mess the lawn area up? Thanks L.S.

Answer: Magnolias are wonderful trees and definitely add a southern flare to any landscape. They are very adaptable to many soil types but prefer an acidic and slightly moist soil. You might start by checking your soil pH with one of our soil test kits. Magnolias’ preference is somewhere in the 6.1 to 7.5 range. If your soil acidity is too low try adding some  Hi-Yield Aluminum Sulfate. These trees also prefer a full-sun location, as well.

The other big factor in bloom time is which cultivar you’ve planted, which you didn’t mention. If you bought it without a tag then chances are it’s a common woods Magnolia grandiflora and these can take up to 15 years to bloom. The newer cultivars that you can purchase from nurseries or growers have been bred to bloom in a shorter time frame, each one slightly different.  Little Gem, a smaller magnolia, gets started blooming in about three years. Other popular cultivars like Bracken’s Brown Beauty, Edith Bogue and Majestic Beauty are bred to bloom in three to five years.

As for fertilization, one source from a southern university extension office recommends during the first three growing seasons to apply light frequent fertilization.  Measure out from the tree trunk three times the canopy width then broadcast 2 cups of an 8-8-8 or 10-10-10 fertilizer per 100 square feet in March, May, July and September. After that reduce this application frequency to once or twice a year. It was also suggested by one grower to apply doses of a liquid acid fertilizer a few times during the year.

I hope you get some magnificent blooms soon. Karen

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 28th, 2009 at 9:01 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Can you tell me how cabbage plants make seeds? Ken C.

Answer: Cabbage, broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, kale and kohlrabi are all of the same species, Brassica oleracea, and have the same seeding and pollination habit. These plants produce a flower stalk that needs to be cross-pollinated (meaning a plant will not accept its own pollen) by insects. 

The cabbage plant sends this flower/seed stalk directly out of the cabbage core. Home growers, unless they live in a very long growing zone, in the fall will need to select at least three firm ready-to-eat heads and remove the plants, roots and all, and store in a root cellar, refrigerator or cold basement. Keep the roots damp and cold during the winter. 

In the early spring you would replant the plants, leaving two to three feet in between them. They will produce the seed stalk directly from the center of the plant.  Since cabbage seeds ripen slowly and fall off immediately when they are ripe, you might want to either harvest the whole plant as the pods turn yellow or pick the dry pods when they turn brown. 

When planted in the open garden – and if you are growing any other members of the Brassica family – you might be surprised what your seeds develop into since the plants can be cross-pollinated with broccoli, brussels sprouts, cauliflower, etc. But they might be interesting in flavor.

Good luck if you give this a try.

Karen

This entry was posted on Monday, October 26th, 2009 at 1:09 pm and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

How do you grow Ipomoea “Marguerite”?  Is it from seed, root, cutting? Marsha C.

Answer: Ipomoea batatas ‘Margarita’ or ‘Marguerite’ is a varietal cultivar of the large and diverse family of Convolulaceae or bindweed, which includes climbers, herbs, shrubs and trees. The species batatas includes the food group of the sweet potato, and while the culitvars that produce the colorful annual vines will produce tubers like their cousins, these tubers will often not produce foliage similar to the previous season’s growth but may revert to the previous coloration of the plant’s heritage. Most of the starts you see commercially available are produced through a tissue culture process that produces consistent results and allows for mass production. While they do produce a bloom, the flowers are usually sterile and any seed produced is not guaranteed to provide a new plant. It might be possible to take cuttings from plants but I haven’t read any great success stories about this method. If you live in southern Florida, or Zone 9 and above, they are hardy there, and I have also read where people have wintered them over as houseplants inside. But they like lots of light and warmth. They are vigorous growers, so a small plant will in no time take over an area in the garden or in your container.

If you want to give this great plant a try we will have them back in stock and available for shipment after the first of the year, <http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/product/marguerite-ipomea-plants-flower-annual-plant> 

Hope you give this bright and cheery plant a try.

Happy Growing,

Karen

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 10:31 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

I am interested in perennials that are red in color and are able to live in direct sunlight in South Florida.  I am looking for a flowering plant that I will not lose as soon as the fall is gone. Any suggestions? Sherry

Answer: Well, Sherry, most perennials have a “bloom period” so ideally you would want to include a variety of plants that would give you the sort of continuous blooms you are looking for. In your climate you also have the luxury of a number of tropicals! Many of those will offer you long blooms and many are red in color, like the shrimp plant, hibiscus, anthurium, phygelius, and lantanas. But you can also consider daylilies, pentas, cannas, celosias, dianthus, gaillardia, red salvia, kniphofia, and even snapdragons. Crocosmia ‘Lucifer’ is a particularly vibrant red bloomer that puts on a show mid- to late- summer. Maybe consider a vine like bougainvillea or mandevilla, which both are available in shades of red.

Another consideration is red-leafed plants.  There are more and more varieties to choose from in the cordylines, alternantheras, aclyphas, and phormiums. The common coleus (Solenostemon) is no longer very common looking and is available in lots of red hues.

Don’t be afraid to experiment!  There are so many great options, so little space…

Happy searching for the right red.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 21st, 2009 at 3:32 pm and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Hi! I have gotten plants from you before and I love them.  Also I love how you stand behind your products. Thank you. I am in Florida and I want to do more planting of veggies – mostly tomatoes and spinach. Which of your tomatoes are good for Florida at this time of the year, and do you currently have spinach? I got my spinach from you last year and it was great. I grow all my veggies in pots on my patio.  Can you suggest any other ones suitable for Florida?  Thank you, Sue M

Answer: Thank you for all the compliments on the plants.  Always good to get such great feedback on how well they do. 

On our website at <http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/category/fall-vegetable-plants> you will find a number of options that should work just fine for your temperate Florida climate. We have several varieties of peppers, tomatoes, eggplants, lettuce and cabbages that will do well in containers on your patio. While we do not have spinach plants we do have spinach seeds available <http://www.gardenharvestsupply.com/category/buy-organic-spinach-seeds> and spinach is very easy to grow from seed, even in pots.

Since your spring comes earlier than many areas of the U.S., make sure you check back with us right after the first of the year when we start getting some of our early spring plants just in time for the early growing season in Florida.  Remember, your spring cool season can start as early as January in some area of Florida for crops like cauliflower and turnips, and February for leaf vegetables, tomatoes and peppers. Be sure to check your zone guide to be certain of exact planting dates.

Happy Growing!

Karen

This entry was posted on Monday, October 19th, 2009 at 8:24 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Can you tell me about split leaf philodendron? Someone told me that are horrible about tearing up your house in search of water. Is this true?
Thanks,
Vicky H.

Answer: Hmmm… sounds like someone has been watching Little Shop of Horrors! 

Monsteras deliciosa or split leaf philodendrons come in two varieties, climbers reaching upwards of 30 feet in their natural habitat, and tree or shrub-like with a mature size of 10 feet tall. As houseplants they want lots of room but I wouldn’t really call them destructive. They will produce aerial roots that you can direct into the potting medium to help support the plant as it grows. If the plant becomes too large it can be propagated by stem cuttings or air-layered and the aerial roots can be trimmed. When grown in pots and indoors, the rate of growth will be slower than in their natural habitat but they can still become quite large, so take this into consideration before adopting one. 

They are fairly easy houseplants otherwise, wanting warm daytime temps and evening temperatures in the 60s. They will survive in lower temps for short periods. Medium to low light is acceptable. If new leaves are developing smaller and farther apart, it wants some more light; too much light and the leaves will burn. Keep the soil evenly moist, allowing it to dry out between waterings, and keep the leaves clean and dust free. As a houseplant Monsteras can be susceptible to spider mites, scale and a fungal condition called Leaf Spot.

All members of the Monsteras and Araceae family are poisonous. This includes leaf, stem, root and sap, so be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling one.

Hope this helps your decision. Karen

This entry was posted on Friday, October 16th, 2009 at 8:15 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

Is it beneficial to put down fertilizer on asparagus beds this fall? If so, what are the recommendations? Thanks for your help!  Sammy

Answer: Asparagus is a hardy perennial and like all perennials fall clean-up and fertilizing are good practices to incorporate into those seasonal chores. 

Clean-up should begin after the first frost.  The asparagus tops should be removed to the ground to lessen the chances of fungal diseases overwintering in the foliage. With any disease it’s best to not compost this debris as fungus can overwinter and wait for spring to reinfect other plants.

Since asparagus can remain in the same bed for years, one of the best and easiest ways to keep roots well fed is after cutting down the fronds, apply a thick layer of well-composted manure or compost. The spears will push right thru it in the spring. Over the winter the spears are forming, so adding this organic fertilizer in the fall will help energize the plants for the spring growing season. You should not apply a high nitrogen fertilizer to any perennial in the fall. Nitrogen encourages plant growth and lots of new growth just before frost can cause harm to the overall plant health. 

Espoma’s Organic Traditions Manure or Triple Phosphate or Bone Meal fertilizer supplements can be added to help nourish the root systems of the asparagus in the fall. They can also be added in the spring to reinvigorate plants. They also make a great fall supplement for your other perennials, as well.

Check out Garden Harvest Supply’s entire array of renowned organic fertilizers.  There are products for every produce grower’s needs.  With cold temps approaching, now is a great time to stock up on plant supplements and fertilizers you plan to use in the spring, so they’re on the shelf and ready when you are as the warm days return!  

Karen

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 15th, 2009 at 7:28 am and is filed under Ask A Master Gardener. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.