Question: My lychee tree has finished fruiting with only a few fruits this year. It has grown a bit large for the site in my yard. How do I get more fruit and when can I prune the tree?
Answer: Like many fruiting trees, lychee take time off from fruiting and may bear a sparse crop for a year or two. During this rest period the trees store food needed to produce more fruits during the following years. Do keep the tree moist and apply fertilizer in March, May and early October to keep it healthy. Rein your tree in a little during the summer with the needed pruning. Lychee trees naturally develop a rounded habit of growth but can grow 40 feet tall and wide. Some selective pruning of limbs may be needed to keep them in bounds. Doing the pruning now can ensure new shoots mature by winter and may be ready to produce fruit in spring. Heavy pruning may delay fruiting for a year or two.
Q. I have a pineapple guava that has not produced a fruit in about ten years. What can I do to help it fruit?
A. Pineapple guavas, also known as feijoa, can be finicky plants. First you need to make sure your plant is producing flowers, which can occur during the spring three, four or five years after planting. The plants, which grow as large shrubs to small trees, must be what we call mature to bloom. Then some varieties are self-fertile. meaning they can fruit without cross pollination from another pineapple guava. Other types, usually those from seed, need another plant nearby. If you have not seen flowers you have to wait until your plant is mature. Keep it moist and fertilize in March, May and early October. Do keep the plant somewhat open by removing entangled branches. This give the major pollinators, which are usually birds, the chance to fly in when flowers are produced.
Q. Several cherry tomato plants have survived the summer but are not producing fruits. Do I leave the plants to grow into the fall or remove them and replant?
A. Allow these summer survivors to continue growth but keep a few replacements handy. Tomato plants may appear ready to grow into fall then succumb to diseases or just old age. Keep the plants moist, maintain a mulch layer and fertilize monthly to help them grow and produce the next crop. Tomato plants should start to flower and set fruits September through October when the milder weather returns.
Plant Doctor: Dry winter, spring months cause suffering for magnolia trees
Q. White spots are present on one of my purslane plants. What are they and do I need to provide a control?
A. Rub a few of the spots, noted in an email photo, to find the mealybug living with your purslane plant. These are piercing, sucking insects that can reduce the vigor of your purslane. They also produce excreta that encourages growth of the sooty mold fungus. The insects may have also moved over to nearby plants but are hiding further down among the foliage. Better get control while the plants are still healthy by applying an insecticidal soap. Hit the individual insects or clusters to eliminate the pests. Repeat sprays are likely to be needed. A Neem oil spray could be substituted as an alternative spray if needed.
Q. I have heard there are chinch bugs in St. Augustinegrass that cannot be controlled with pesticides. Is this true?
A. Regretfully chinch bugs have gradually become resistant to pesticide. Residents and pest control companies have been switching pesticides for years to obtain effective products. At this time, pest control companies are reporting small pockets of total pesticide resistant chinch bugs. What this means is what they have available has not provided satisfactory control. Regretfully a control may not be available at this time. University of Florida entomologist Adam Dale is suggesting pest control companies try different classes of insecticides including biological products to obtain better control. Use of a neem oil spray as labeled for lawns may be one of these possible alternative controls. Contact your local University of Florida Extension office for additional information on properly labeled effective chinch bug controls.
Q. When I plant pepper seeds it seems to take a long time for them to germinate. Why and how can I speed them up?
August in the Garden for Central Florida
A. If you think peppers take a long time try planting parsley seed which needs 21 or more days to sprout. But peppers take their time, too, and require between seven and 14 days of warm growing conditions to begin growth. Blame the slow growth on the papery covering that slows moisture entering the seeds. Some gardeners have reported hastening sprouting to three days by thoroughly moistening the seeds before sowing and then keeping the sown containers in a warm location of about 80 degrees Fahrenheit during germination.
Q. My zinnias and marigolds are growing well but many of the flowers are turning brown after a few weeks of color. Is it necessary to remove them from the plants?
A. Many of our bedding plants are what we call self cleaning, which means the faded blooms quickly deteriorate or are overgrown by the new foliage and flower buds. Still, it certainly makes plants seen up close on patios and sidewalk gardens look their best if they are what we call deadheaded. This means removing the old flowers as they decline. It is not necessary, but removing faded blooms may also extend plant life and encourage additional flowers.
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.
