Garden Care

The garden has slowed down some but everything is still growing. We have not had our usual noticeable cool down and we have temperatures in the low 80’s and lows about 70. The lawn maintenance companies are making extra money as they keep up the summer mowing schedule of cutting every 10 days to two weeks. We can have surprise freezes anytime from mid-December to mid-March. That event puts the brakes on all growing. Our weather is continuing warm so when the cold arrives everything will be in shock. Rainfall has been reasonable so far which also enhances everything growing.

The warm Gulf Stream is a major temperature modifier in South East Florida. I can remember in the early 1980’s when the temperature was 35 degrees at the Fort Lauderdale Airport which is one mile from the ocean. The University of Florida research center in Davie, Florida is 10 miles west of the ocean and the temperature there was 27degrees. Highway 27 is 20 miles west of the ocean and the temperature there was 19 degrees.

If a freeze is expected pull mulch back from the base of your plants. The warm soil will radiate warm soil temperatures up to the plants and help protect them. Water the day the freeze is expected which will help warm soil temperatures to reach the plants. Bring tender potted plants inside to avoid the cold. Cover tender outside plants with sheets or blankets to protect from freeze damage. Never use plastic as it will warm up quickly when the sun hits it.  Plant growth will turn to mush and put the plant in shock. The second night of the freeze is colder than the first night as the wind stops and the sky is clear. Warmer temperatures from the day radiate out to space. The third day is usually warm enough to pull coverings from the plants.

Clock Bush

Thunbergia erecta receives mixed reviews in most landscapes. I have seen it used in shady landscapes as a foundation planting and it does not perform well. Plants are very sparse in the shade and are not vigorous enough to be competitive with aggressive root systems. I noted this plant used as a low hedge under black olive trees and it was not happy. My plant receives full sun and is doing almost to well.

Plants with small foliage are preferred for hedging use as the foliage is not ripped by repeat pruning with electric hedge shears. Clock bush has showy, purple, trumpet shaped blooms, and small foliage. Hedges are normally pruned every 2-3 weeks and the flower buds are cut off before the plant can bloom. Your flowering plant is a green hedge without color. Plants like hibiscus, ixora, and others never bloom because of the constant pruning. One of the big complaints at condominiums is that there is no color in the landscape. Hedge plants should be selected that have small leaves and lack showy flowers.

The Ficus hedge met these requirements but had invasive roots and now whitefly concerns. I noted that plants with fuzzy or rough leaf undersides are not preferred by the spiral whitefly. Silver buttonwood is a possible choice but needs full sun and does not take extended pruning without some branch dieback. This plant is better as a small tree. One of the best choices may be Viburnum suspensum which has rough leaf undersides and takes sun or shade and does well as a hedge.  I have not seen this plant under whitefly conditions but suspect it may be a good choice.

Justicia spicigera ‘Sidicaro’

The common name ‘Orange Plume’ describes this shrub very well. It certainly has done more than well on my small property. Turf grass rules here with $50 fines if your wheels touch the grass. I find grass the most boring, high maintenance, expensive plant around. It is hard to get enthusiastic about it. Neat nicks in our retirement community do get exercise hand picking weeds out of the lawn. Getting back up after weeding is the challenge.

I planted ‘Orange Plume’ out by the street to block out traffic sounds and provide green and privacy. The shrub is flanked by areca palms that are dying from Ganaderma butt rot. I tied orchids into the palms and now one areca is dead. The other areca is about ½ gone.  Ganaderma has no cure so these palms are doomed. Weed whackers provide entry wounds for the Ganaderma to attack the trees.

‘Orange Plume’ is doing a great job in filling in for the dead and dying palms. The shrub must be 8 feet tall and 10 feet wide. I have to prune it back a bit on the street side but other wise leave it alone. The orange blooms are showy and certainly more interesting than the dead palm stems. Now, what to do about the orchids.