Question: Hollyhocks are one of our favorite spring flowers but we have not been successful in Florida. What is needed to grow these attractive flowers?
Answer: Northern hollyhocks are biennials, which means they require two years to come into flower. The first year they produce growth and the second year they flower. Hollyhocks growing in the warmer areas of Florida are annual varieties. This means they grow from seeds sown in the fall and flower the following spring. Locating the right seeds can be a bit difficult. Often the annual flowering hollyhock seeds are passed between gardeners. So if you know someone who has raised hollyhocks in the past they are probably saving seeds and usually happy to share them with other gardeners. Some mail order companies also offer annual flowering hollyhock seed. Now through November is the time to start the seeds that produce towers of hollyhock blooms.
Q. I purchased a small container with three tomato plants. Do I leave them together when planting them in a bigger container or only plant one in each container?
A. Your three-for-one purchase of tomato transplants gives you an excellent chance to increase the planting. An email picture showed three good size plants that can be easily separated and restarted in large containers. If you are going to leave one plant to a container select ones of a five gallon size or larger. Use a good potting soil and set the plants a little deeper in the soil. Often they are planted so the soil covers the stems up to the first set of true leaves. Keep the plantings moist and in full sun. Apply a slow-release container fertilizer at the vegetable rate as instructed on the label. Tomatoes should flower and set fruits during October to ripen by mid- to late November.
Q. Our kumquat tree has dropped all top leaves and the branches are becoming brittle. I trimmed off a few of the top branches. Should I hope for better growth or remove it?
Plant Doctor: Wait a bit before planting nasturtium seeds for fall and spring booms
A. There is no good news here. Regretfully your tree has either a root rot problem or the citrus greening disease. You can try good care of keeping the soil moist and fertilizer in October as scheduled for citrus. But most likely a new tree is in your future.
Q. Our lawn has a number of bare spots we would like to seed with ryegrass. When is the best time to sow the grass?
A. Delay the seeding until cool weather arrives to obtain the best growth. Ryegrass can germinate in early fall but struggles with a disease that causes it to decline during hot moist weather. A good time to sow the seed is during November to produce a temporary ground cover for winter. Expect ryegrass to decline during March at which time you can add a permanent turf type.
Q. My container of angle wing begonias fills with water after a rain that drains out very slowly. What might be the problem?
A. Check the drainage holes for the answer to this problem. Roots flooded with water can slowly rot and cause the plants to decline. Over time roots from begonias grow downward and roots from nearby plants grow upward to fill the drainage holes which holds water within the container. Take the plant out of the container and look for the plugged holes. Cut the surface layer of roots from the bottom of the root ball and replant. Set the container on pebbles or something similar to keep them up off the ground.
September in the Garden for Central Florida
Q. I have an orchid that grows leaves but I cannot encourage it to bloom with orchid fertilizer. What else is needed?
A. Orchids can be finicky but most are repeat bloomers if given enough time and good care. Some bloom sporadically while others appear to open buds once a year. Besides watering to keep the growing medium moist and feedings every other week during the warmer months, your orchid may need a new location. Most like the higher light locations in filtered sun under a tree or similar area. Avoid heat-of-the-day direct sun which for most orchids can cause leaf burn and plant decline.
Q. I began noticing a black coating on the stems and leaves of my trinette dwarf schefflera. Is this harmful and if so what should I do?
A. Most likely you are seeing a well-established infestation of mealy bugs or similar soft scale insects. These insects are white to gray in color and found under leaves and along stems. They suck juices from the stems and leaves to cause plant decline. The black covering called sooty mold lives off excreta from the insects and plant sap. Good natural controls consist of either an insecticidal soap or horticultural oil sprays found at garden centers following label instructions. You do have to hit the insects with the spray to be effective and repeat applications are likely to be needed. Systemic insecticides are also available to control the insects as they feed and you would only need to cover the plant foliage and stems with the spray. Also there would likely be fewer applications needed following label instructions.
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.
