Question. Our banana developed a flowering shoot that is now forming fruits on a tall plant. How long before they ripen?
Answer. Nice! Your crop made it through the winter to flower during the warm spring months. Figure about five months from forming fruits to ripe and ready-to-eat bananas. This means if your plant formed fruit in April, it should be turning yellow in September. When the first hand of bananas that formed starts to turn yellowish, you can harvest the entire stalk and hang it in a shady spot away from critters to gradually remove the fruits as they fully ripen.
Q. We love beets but the plants are not growing well in our garden. When should they be planted in Florida?
A. Florida gardens can grow great beets but only during the cooler months. The best crops are started from seeds planted in late October or November. The plantings then need about 70 days to start forming the swollen root portions to harvest. The tops are edible at any time but are often left until harvest time if you want to enjoy the beetroots too.
Q. I am guessing with all this hot weather, it should be a good time to grow sunflowers. Am I right?
A. You guessed right, but sunflowers can be grown almost year-round in Florida. The only time to avoid might be the very cold months of winter. Even during these cooler times, sunflowers can be planted and expected to flower if protected from freezes. Sunflower seeds can be directly sown in the ground where they are expected to flower. If you want to be sure of good sturdy plants, start each seed in a small flower pot to transplant to the garden site when about a foot tall. Fill each container with quality potting soil. Keep the sown containers moist and the seeds should be up and growing in about a week. Fertilize the young plants once with a liquid for containers or use a slow-release product as instructed on the label.
Q. Portions of my St. Augustine lawn are yellowing and I think the turf is being damaged by chinch bugs. What should I do?
A. Don’t be in a hurry to apply an insecticide until you or someone else finds the chinch bugs. If you need help locating these insects that can be about pin head size when mature, take a sample of your turf to a trusted garden center or your local University of Florida Extension Office. Gather a square foot of the affected turf from the edge of a yellowing spot with some green grass. Chinch bugs do not live in dead grass. If the pests are present, get advice on the best insecticide for your lawn. Chinch bugs are becoming resistant to certain insecticides, and not all continue giving control.
Q. My tomato crop is about finished. When is the next time for planting?
A. When the rainy season returns, many tomato plantings decline. For some, it is the end of their life cycle and with others, there are diseases and insects that cause decline. The next planting time is about a month away, in the middle of August. This means if you are going to start the next crop from seeds, you have to make the sowing during the middle of this month. Sow individual tomato seeds in small containers or scatter several over the soil and cover them in a larger container to transplant after they grow. During the hot summer months, it takes about four weeks to have a transplant ready for the garden. August transplants should start forming fruit by early October to harvest in late November.
The Plant Doctor: How to grow blood lilies, regain your lawn and correctly spread mulch
Q. I want to add regular-size azaleas to my landscape. When is the best time to plant them in Central Florida?
A. Container-grown azaleas of all types can be added to the landscape year-round but if you want the best time, it would be the cooler months. No matter when you plant azaleas, don’t consider them established for about two years. That is how long it can take them to grow roots into the surrounding soil. Here is something else to consider. Azaleas like a filtered-sun location. Too much sun and they decline or have a yellowish look; too much shade produces fewer blooms. Also, make sure the soil is acidic for the best growth. After planting, keep the root balls moist. This is going to take hand-watering for several months. Dry root balls are one of the main reasons azaleas decline in landscapes.
Q. My peach tree has been loaded with juicy sweet fruits but they are small. Is there a way to make them bigger?
A. Next year, after flowering, allow the fruits that form to grow to about the size of a quarter. Then thin them out to one every six inches or so along the branches. Just snap the unwanted fruits off the stems. Similar thinning is practiced in commercial orchards to produce the sizable fruits we enjoy.
Q. Our century plant produced a tall spike that is turning brown. What do we do now?
A. That almost out-of-sight flower spike growing 20 feet or so tall in a matter of weeks will gradually come falling down. If nothing is in the way, you might eventually be able to push it over or cut it down in sections. Here is something else you have to think about. The parent plant will decline too and, for aesthetic reasons, should probably be removed as it turns yellow to brown. New plants should be forming at the base, and if they are too numerous, some may need to be transplanted. Don’t worry. You won’t have to wait a century for the next new spike to form – only about 10 years.
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.
