Question: We are new at growing citrus and have several orange trees. How do we know when the fruit is ripe?
Answer: Fortunately you know the citrus in your yard are all orange trees. After moving to Florida I cut open an orange-looking fruit for my son and told him how nice it would taste. It was a Meyer lemon. You guessed it. He shied away from citrus for at least a week or two. Using the taste test is the best way to tell if an orange is ripe and ready to pick. Also, if you know the orange variety, determine the normal ripening period. For example, navel oranges can be ripe October through January. Start taste testing a fruit in October to determine if it is ready to harvest. Normally oranges develop a better taste as the ripening season continues. There is no need to harvest all the ready-to-eat oranges at one time. Citrus can be stored on the tree throughout their ripening season until you are ready to enjoy the fruits.
Q. Lots of tree leaves are starting to accumulate in our yard. Can we use them as mulch or should they be made into compost?
A. Gardeners can put fallen leaves of winter and early spring to use in many ways. They can be scattered as a mulch around trees and shrubs — but just a light layer of 3 to 4 inches. They can be used in vegetable and flower gardens creating 2- to 3-inch layers. With either use, if piled too high they can matt down and prevent good water penetration into the soil. Leaves can also be used to create a surface for walkways. This gives a natural look to garden settings. Here the leaves can be piled as deep as you want. Composting is always a good use for leaves. A simple compost pile can be created by containing leaves in a large wire, wood or similar bin with one open end. Add 1-inch layers of soil between each foot or two layers of leaves. Also add scatterings of manure or fertilizer. Speed the composting process by turning the piles monthly. When the compost is peatlike in appearance it is ready to till into a garden or use as mulch.
Plant Doctor: Plant tomato seeds now to get early start on spring crop
Q. A portion of my yard is bare and I would like to sow seeds to establish the turf. Can the seeds be sown at this time?
A. Seeds of permanent turf sown now might wait a month or more before germinating. So why not delay the sowing until the good growing weather returns in late February or March? If you really need the green lawn look, a temporary ryegrass lawn could be sown which germinates in about two weeks during cooler weather. This grass can produce two months more of growth before declining in mid- to late March. Bahiagrass is the most commonly seeded lawn which can be sown toward the end of February. Do not expect germination until days are consistently in the 70s and 80s. Bahia, like all seeded lawns, needs a loose weed-free soil to begin growth. Also, rake the seed about a half inch deep in the ground or cover lightly with soil. Keep moist and the seed should germinate within three weeks during warm weather.
Q. I moved into a new home about four months ago that has 6-foot-tall gardenia bushes. They look healthy but have produced few blooms. Can they be pruned and when should they be fertilized?
A. You moved into the new home too late to enjoy the 2025 display of gardenia blossoms. Most bushes fill with the fragrant white flowers during midspring and then open a few periodic blossoms throughout the summer. Six-foot-tall plants are a normal size but you can keep them in the 4- to 5-foot range. Pruning is performed after the spring blooms have faded. Cutting them back now may prevent the next display of flowers from forming. Even so, pruning is usually minimal and amounts to thinning the plants, reducing the height and width a bit if needed and removing out-of-bounds shoots. Gardenias love fertilizer and can be fed three to four times a year. Many gardeners use an azalea-camellia type product. You could also use any of the general slow-release landscape fertilizers every three months starting in March. Epsom salt is often applied to supply magnesium if excessive yellowing is noted during the growing season.
January in the Garden for Central Florida
Q. When walking through my lawn I get little green portions stuck to shoes, socks and pants that I am sure are from a weed. What is it and how is it eliminated from the lawn?
A. Join the crowd of gardeners that hate picking sticky flowers and fruits of heartleaf drymary from shoes, clothing and body hairs. Actually the plant has a neat plan to have you distribute the seeds within the green sticky portions to other areas of the landscape and neighborhood yards. You can stop the seed distribution plan and get this broadleaf weed in lawns with rounded leaves under control by applying a weed control product made for your lawn type. At this time of the year select a liquid herbicide labeled for broadleaf weeds, and if possible, heartleaf drymary. The herbicide is best used when the weeds are first noted following label instructions to prevent the growth of sticky portions
Heartleaf drymary is a fast-growing, spreading weed known for its heart-shaped leaves and tiny, sticky flowers/seeds that cling to everything — making it a nuisance in lawns and gardens. (Courtesy of Tom MacCubbin)
Q. A wall surrounding my property is covered with out-of-control creeping fig. How much can I prune the plant to keep it in bounds?
A. Here is one plant you can whack back and feel good about it. You might notice the leaves become larger and the shoots thicker as the creeping fig continues to grow on and over the wall. Eventually it can produce a hard nonedible fruit. Like you, most gardeners do not like this rambling look and want to keep the covering compact and producing the small creeping fig leaves. Feel free to cut the overflowing portions back to within a few inches of the shoots covering the wall. This is one plant that is hard to hurt.
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.
