April 20, 2026 • 39 mins
Garden expert, Teresa Watkins, chats with Dana Venrick from Quality Green Specialists Nursery about planting native trees for National Arbor Day and Mother’s Day. Teresa shares her Top Five benefits of planting trees and responds to gardening questions about sick magnolias, earthworms in pots, and more.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning, Welcome from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. This
is Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins. How are
you this morning. It's a great morning. It's a bit
a beautiful gardening week, and it is going to be
an even lovelier week. We got really really hot nineties
above average temperatures. Next week it's going to be below
(00:30):
average temperature. So how great is that? Lizzie?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You know what, Hey, I am not complaining and we
know im I learned a few years ago at least
by last year's bring all these nice little cool days.
I am not going to complain at.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
To get cool. It's going to be below average, so
that is wonderful. I'm looking forward to it, great gardening weather.
I want to start off with saying good morning to
Peterson's Nursery and they are having a wonderful at nine thirty,
a wonderful workshop orkids one oh one. So when you
go tell h Howie and Karen, I said hi, Lizzie
said Hi, and yes we wish we could be there. Oh, yes, definitely.
(01:05):
And so I also wanted to give another shout out
to the village walk at Lake Nona. I spoke there
this week, met some really wonderful people and had a great,
great talk, and I enjoyed meeting them, and so good
morning to them. And if you are in our state
and you want to call in with your gardening questions,
(01:27):
just have it in her phone. Just put your phone
number in. It's one triple eight four five five two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. So we would love to hear from you
this morning. It is all about planting right now, Planting vegetables,
planting flowers, planting trees. Upcoming, we're going to be talking
(01:48):
about trees this hour because National Arbor Day is next Friday,
so everyone can be prepared. And you know, we have
our own state Arbor Day in January. It's a great
time to plant, right We could literally plant all year
round here in Florida, that's true, and so we definitely
want to, uh, you know, maybe plant some more trees.
(02:10):
And I was being asked about canopy shade trees for
a landscape design that I'm doing, and there's just so
many great trees that provide shade, which we definitely need
in for our homes just to keep the electric bills
down the air conditioning bills down. Uh, and then also
(02:32):
just to be comfortable to sit outside and enjoy our
beautiful way.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And you probably end up determining how quick do you
want something to grow and how big do you want something?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So is that yeah? Yeah, So that's what we're gonna
be talking about the trees that we can plant and
what size should should plant. So we have data. Venterrick
coming on from Quality Green Specialists. He is a fountain
of knowledge well experience, and so we I'm gonna look
forward to talking with him because I do have some
questions about some trees because the mango trees. Have you
(03:05):
seen them all over town?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
No?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Haven't I really pay attention.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Well you'll notice them because they've got all dead leaves
on them. So they're big and huge. They're thirty feet
by about twenty five thirty feet wide and the leaves
are not dropping. Some gonna stay in and what's what's
going on?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
What is going on with the mangoes and them not
dropping their leaves?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yes, because they should should be recovering.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And my rosemary was the same way. I know it's
not a tree, but whenever I was going through my
garden the two weeks ago, I noticed that, like the
little burnt pieces. Yes, we're just not wanting to fall,
So I like, it's so stupid. I was having to
shake them and then they fell, and then they finally fell,
and I'm like, I.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Don't know if we can go around and shake mango trees.
I don't know if that will work.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
It's a steamular band song, is.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
There?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You go, North Florida, right this cold front that's coming through,
you've got a thirty percent chance of rain. Good for
you on Sunday, hope you get it. The rest of
North Florida, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, it's just gonna be a
lovely spring week. The cooler temperatures, you're really gonna enjoy them.
Sunny and partly sunny all week long. Highs in the
(04:13):
low eighties, which is below normal nighttime temperatures. Lizzie, get
this fifties not complaining, No fifties and low sixties. But
Northwest Florida, you've got a chance of rain next weekend,
so we're gonna keep our fingers crossed. Central Florida, popco Calo, Orlando, Tampa,
West Coast. No rain this week, but after today, which
(04:34):
could hit ninety degrees. This weekend, temps are going to
be in the eighties and be below temperatures and then
sixties at night, so that's really nice weather. Ormond Beach
in Port Saint Lucy and the rest of the East Coast,
you've got a chance of rain on Monday that will
be coming down from the north and next weekend, so
good for you. Sunny to partly sunny's seventies and eighties,
(04:57):
low's in the sixties. No rain, which means you're irrigation
can go on twice a week unless it's different in
your county or your city, and you can only do
it once a week. South Florida beautiful weather. West Palm Beach.
Your chances for rain are more than anyone else in Florida.
You're going to have rain, probably chances of rain probably
(05:20):
three to five days this week, and then Fort Lauderdale, Miami,
Key West, lots of clouds, tempts in the low eighties
and seventies, sixties and seventies at night. So that's the
weather for this week. Great gardening weather. Can't stress that enough.
The April in your backyard newsletter which goes out you
can still get it if you'd like to receive it.
(05:42):
It's free. Each month I tell you what to do
in your landscape and what the plant of the month is,
give you some design tips. I do a column called
Landscaping Malpractice, how to know when to fire your landscaper,
and we give some really great examples in that and
then just to tell you what to do each month.
(06:02):
So it's a lovely newsletter, really can help you out.
You can get it free. I do not spam. You
can go to my website which is www dot she
s h E DASH Consulting dot com and sign up
because the next one is going to be coming out
within two weeks, so you want to make sure you
get Mays which will be a lot of fun. So
(06:24):
data venricks coming up, and so he's got a lot
of questions for him. He's going to provide his wisdom
and his experience. I'm looking forward to talking with him
from the summit Responsible Solution Studios. If it's Saturday morning,
you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens, I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network. Welcome back
(07:04):
to Better Law and Same Gardens. National Arbor Day this
year is on Friday Next Friday, April twenty fourth, and
National Arbor Day is a holiday that celebrates the planting
and carrying of trees and environmental stewardship with recognizing that
how much trees do for our environment and maintain healthy ecosystems,
(07:27):
and it's just a wonderful opportunity to get some more
shade and help protect the environment. So on the first
Arbor Day celebrated in April tenth, eighteen seventy two, more
than one million trees were planted in one day in Nebraska.
This event marked the beginning of Arbor Day and as
(07:48):
a national holiday dedicated to tree planting and conservation. And
with us right now is Dana Venrick, owner of Quality
Green Specialists and sponsor of Better Lawns and Guard. Good morning, Dana,
How are you?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Oh good? How are you? Teresa?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I am great. It's been a great week for gardening
and with the weather we're having, it's going to be
even more beautiful next week. What is what is it
good time for planting trees?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Oh? Is it excellent time? You know? We had a
late winter, a hard winter, and everything is flushing with
sap rising. It's perfect time to get everything into the
ground before it gets too hot. And it's very very
important to get in as soon as you can right
so it doesn't get it that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I appreciate that. So spring is our dry season. We
normally get about two and a half inches of rain,
which we've already gotten so far. This year is the
first week of April, which was really nice. I don't
know if we're going to get any more rain. But
how much water should new trees get? What should what
should new tree owners do for their tree?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
It depends on the size of the tree, of course,
but I like to always get at least five gallons
every couple of days. Let it dry a little bit
between waterings, you know, for two weeks. The critical time
is the first two weeks. Make sure you don't let
it get too dried out. Check, you know, go about
an inch below and see if it's still damp. If
(09:23):
it's still damp, you can wait till the second day.
But be careful over water. If you water every day
too much, people even water three times a day, No no, no, no,
don't overwater the same thing as not underwater, and you're
gonna have problems two weeks and then you can cut
back twice a week through the heat of the summer,
(09:45):
and then cut back to once a week or less
in the fall. But one way to measure that is
a five gallon bucket. And I like to get at
least five gallons on there. And so you can fill
your bucket. You've got a little hole in the bucket.
Then it can leak out slowly watering automatically in your
little basin. Make sure you put a little burm out
(10:08):
just beyond the rootball so it holds the water and
saturates the rootball. That's the most important thing. To get
that thoroughly wetted.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
That is, that's very important, And I agree with you.
Some people do over water. They take it, you know,
to extremes. But a five gallon bucket's a great, great tool.
So most people have a five gallon bucket so they
can water their trees with Okay, so I have Dane.
I've been looking at the beautiful trees, the avocado and
mango trees that are all showing dead leaves. They're not
(10:40):
dropping and it's really start to see them, you know,
down the streets and when you're driving through neighborhoods where
people have mangoes and avocados. What is going on there?
When should those leaves fall off?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
A lot have dropped, you know, like I picked like
eleven big, big, fifty five gallon bags of leaf that
we're dropping from an interior part of the tree. What
you're seeing are the outer parts of the tree where
the leaves cling. When when that part of the tree,
the outer parts got dead leaves, dead limbs, and they cling.
(11:15):
When you've got dead branch, the leaves clang and don't drop. Oh,
cling tightly.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Oh that makes sense, yes, okay? So how okay? So
some of these trees are too big to for homeowners
to get up and cut, especially if they're dead. You
don't want them snapping and them being up in the tree.
So uh what should they do about determining how far
back to cut?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, you know, I would start cutting, you know on
some of the outer branches that you can reach from
the ground or on the on the ladder, and cut
back until you see some live wood, okay, and of
course check the check the cambium, you know, just underneath
the surface. As you go just so cut willy nilly,
(12:01):
and then when you start to see some some green
tissue or live wet tissue and the flow them.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Uh huh.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Then you know that you can cut it back there,
and you may have to do a second cut, but
that's the starting point when you come back to the
lie would and cut it there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Okay, So it's been long enough now that if the
leaves haven't fallen off that you should go ahead and
cut these mangoes and avocados back now.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yes, go ahead, like dead is dead and no need
to keep that. That just aggravates, you know, possibility for
disease and infection and it's embarrassing in your yard if
you're a gardener.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
So okay, So that's wonderful. So National Arbor Day Friday,
April twenty fourth, What are some of your favorite native
trees to plant that do very well here Florida?
Speaker 3 (12:54):
You know, I have so many favorites. We have most
of those favorites right here nursery and de Land. We
have live oaks, red maples, ball cypress, wax myrtles, Holly's,
you know, East Polaca, eaglesoon, magnolia's like the little Jim magnolia.
All those are so so good, so such excellent native
(13:19):
trees and I love them all really.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And they did well this winter, so they I mean
all of them. There was none. I didn't see any hollies.
I didn't see any magnolias that died. Really and oh.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
They're extremely cold hardy. These are really cold hardy natives.
How some natives aren't so hardy, like the fire bush,
which is said, but it'll come back to We're already
seeing those sprouting from the base.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
They did, they did come. They're starting to come back
to the base. Okay, what about the ocean and our
East Coast residents and West coast residents that are on
the Gulf in Atlantic, So what native trees will do
well with salt water and salt spray.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, one that does really well, we see a lot
of those on the West coast in the Gulf is
red cedar, the southern red cedar. Live oat does well.
I see on the Atlantic coast the sea gray Okaloba,
button wood. Farther south you have button wood and gumbo limbo.
(14:19):
Those are all good corsic habage palms that do well
too in the salt palmeadows. Sometimes they're so tallish they're
like trees, right, but all those are excellent. Also, Also,
you know, you have things that aren't really native that
do well like Oleandersanders are great for the flowers.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, they do, and they track butterflies and so that
that's a really good choice too, as well as the oleander.
What sized tree should be planted? What is your what
is your wisdom there?
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I recommend the three gallons are larger. It's very difficult
when you just plant a small gallon size. We have
some of those, but just imagine, you know you're mowing,
accidentally mow it over, especially if you get a poor
quality landscaper out there with weed whacker. I've seen so
many small trees, plants and trees just chopped right over that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
They didn't recognize them. Isn't that that's a nightmare. I
feel attacked.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I feel like maybe you guys have been in my
yarn and seeing me run myself.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Over my accident.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, that's that's weed eater disease.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
That's that's wonderful. So cali caliber wise, if somebody wanted
to buy a larger tree, what caliber sise would you recommend?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well? I recommend a two inch califer because that's the
standard for Volusia County. Two inch CALIFERI is like the
diameter of the tree, like six inches above the ground.
And so we have a good selection of two inch
caliper trees, and so come come on by, you know,
and see them, everybody. You really love these trees. They're
(16:00):
so hardy. And we even have one three inch caliper
tree that that you'll enjoy.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Seeing, okay, And so those are those are small enough.
We can get them into a car or into a
trunk a back of a truck, right.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yes, indeed people sometimes dot it. We prove it, prove
them wrong. Every time you can.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Fit it in.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Just put the back seat down and flatten the cargo area.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Okay. So this is something that kind of drives me
crazy when I see landscapers doing it. And sometimes homeowners
or people buying plants will drive down the road with
their trees unwrapped and just blowing in the wind with
the car at you know, fifty five sixty miles an hour.
That's not recommended, is it.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:44):
No, no, you want to We've wrapped. We wrapped the
root ball first of all, like with a large plastic bag,
and then tie it so soil I won't get into
the into the trunk or spill. And then we lay
them down and and make sure that they're secure and
(17:05):
won't be rolling around. And then if it's if it's
if it's really higher a dense canopy, then we'll put
like a screen over the top, shade cloth over the top.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, you just want to protect it because it can
get windburned that way.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Well. Absolutely, it's not easy. You know, people try to
put them up right and drive down. Well, what's going
to happen if you drive with a tree upright, It's
going to blow over and damage the tree or break
a branch.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, exactly. So let's talk about fertilizer. We've got just
a couple of minutes left. So when you when do
you recommend that people fertilize their trees?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I recommend you know, the main fertilization should be about
a month or six weeks after you plant, or when
you start to see new growth and that's showing that
the roots have started to go out into the surrounding
soil or you're lightly mended soil, and then you know
it's time for sure when you see some feathering new
(18:06):
growth on the canopy. That's a good rule of thumb.
Now I do say, and I actually do it just lightly.
If you want to lightly like you're lightly solved in
the steak a little in the bottom of your planting hole.
It shouldn't be quite as deep as the root ball.
And they sprinkle a little bit on the backfield and
mix that up well along with a little compost or
(18:29):
potting soil, and then that will really help. But I
caution everybody never just put a handful of fertilizer when
you plant.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
That is so true. That is a big non o,
so real quickly. Mother's Day is coming up May eleventh.
This week is a good time to buy a tree
to plant in mother's honor, and tell us where you're
located in the land, and people can come by and
it's like the.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Beautiful some great flowering trees too, so come by. We're
at three point thirty five West Michigan Avenue and Delane
grew oprom nine to four daily. The website is Qualitygreenspecialist
dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Thank you so much, Thank you data so much. I
appreciate it. All right, take care, bye bye. That's Dana.
You do definitely want to go by Quality Green Specialists
three thirty five West Michigan Street in DeLand and let
Dana know that you appreciate him. Sponsoring Better Lawns and Gardens.
We do appreciate him so much. If it's Saturday morning,
(19:26):
you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins
from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. This is Florida's talk
and Entertainment network. Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens.
(19:57):
If you have a gardening question, He'd loved to hear
from you. One triple eight four five five two nine
six seven where you can text two three six eight zero.
Let me know what you're having to drink this morning.
I've got my delicious cup of tea. Lizzie, what are
you drinking? Believe we're not.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It's not espresso. It's not five or six shots of espresso.
But it is a hazelnut iced coffee that I made.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Oh how nice you made it yourself.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I always make I always making nothing's ever open when
I'm up in the morning.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
So I don't have time to stop on the way
to work every morning. So so you got my own machine.
Santa was good to me this year and brought me
my own espresso machine and coffee. And yeah, I just
ground my own stuff and put honey in it and
go from there.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Wonderful. Well that is great. Well, this is a good
time to be planting vegetables. And Lizzie's gonna be talking
in the next newsletter about her sweet potatoes. You have
to check on that. And so what kind of vegetables
can you be planting right now? Well, it's a little
bit over the time for tomatoes, and you just if
(21:03):
you have not planted any tomatoes yet, don't plant the
seeds because it's going to get to be too hot
by the time they grow to produce tomatoes. So you
can be planting calabasa, cantalope and cassavas, chayote and cherry tomatoes.
Cherry tomatoes don't will will produce fruit all year around. Basically,
(21:24):
if the temperatures reach eighty five, normal tomatoes are regular tomatoes.
Determinate and indeterminate tomatoes will will not pollinate, will not pollinate,
not produce fruit over the temperatures of eighty five degrees.
So cherry tomatoes don't mind the heat. So that's what
you should be planting. And of course I'm a big
promoter of the Everglades cherry tomatoes. So the Everglades tomato
(21:46):
is a really nice one that when you pop it
in your mouth, it's so sweet and it's delicious. Cucumbers,
dashing and egg plants, Jerusalem artichokes and yacamas, Lima beans
and malabar spinach of course all the Asian spinaches, malnga
and New Zealand spinach. Okra which takes the heat beautifully
(22:07):
and has a beautiful yellow flower. If you love okra,
and I do. I love it for breakfast in the
morning fried it's just delicious, but it has a beautiful
yellow flower that you can put it right in the
middle of your garden and have an edible landscape. So
then also peppers and roselle seminal, pumpkins and snap beans, squash,
(22:28):
southern peas, sweet potatoes, tamarillos and yam yams and yard
long beans. And I still think you even have enough
time to do a pumpkin. If you wanted to plant
pumpkins for the fall, then you've got plenty of time.
So it is a great time to be planting vegetables.
(22:48):
Just plant them in your border garden and h and
you know they'll look beautiful and just add to your
your your garden so much. And just go out and
get the food right off, right out of the ground
onto your table, so it could be from your garden
to table dinner. Bulbs my amarillas. I have a burgundy
(23:09):
deep actually it's more like a garnet red amarillis. I'm
gonna take a photograph of it today and post it
on Facebook. It is gorgeous. Amarillis bulbs are blooming like
crazy right now. African Daisies and Ageratums asters a great
native plant. Astors are beautiful in the garden and butterflies
(23:31):
love them. But Copa's and balsam, which is the really
succulent plant that has beautiful flowers that open during the day.
Pogonias and black eyed Susan's blue days and bush daisies,
cat whiskers. Cat whiskers are lovely. Cilosia and Kleiomi's. I
(23:53):
had a client that planted Kleiomi's and she didn't realize
that they have thorns on the stem. So you know,
when you Plantaomi's, they're beautiful. They've reced very easily and
come up. They're gorgeous, but make sure you understand that
the stems have thorns on them. Coliuses and Coreopsis, which
is our state wildflower cosmos and Carssandra's liquorice plants, Licanthius,
(24:19):
marigolds and melanpodiums. Mexican sunflowers which are a gorgeous, gorgeous
red orange. They look just like they k came out
of a Crayola box of crayons that red orange. Not
orange red, but red orange. Million bells, the caliber cooas moonflowers.
Great plant to plant right now. Nicoschiana, narambergias, and pentas.
(24:42):
Pentas are good most of the year. You can plant pentas,
periwinkles and porta weed, portulaccas and pear slains, Salvias and sunflowers,
terirhinias and xenias. And I have a new batch of
xenia flowers from our good friend doctor Gary B. Then
I'll be planting in my garden this week, this week
(25:04):
before I leave to go on our trips. So let's
go to Gary in Palm Bay. Good morning Gary, how
can I help you?
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Hey, Good morning Tresa. Yeah, my magnolia tree is celebrating
Arbor Day by trying to kill itself. Oh no, the
thieves are all turning yellow even from the even new growth,
and most of them have a little black spots on
them falling off the tree.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay. So so where is it located in your house?
Is it in full sun?
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Full sun?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Full sun? And how often does it get watered?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Usually along with the grass a couple times a week,
but I know that doesn't go very deep. So I
watered a little bit extra by putting maybe four or
five gallons down, not very often, okay a year.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Okay. So how tall is it? How big is it?
Speaker 4 (26:04):
I topped it off when it was younger, and it's
about ten feet tall.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Now ten feet tall.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I'm going to keep it, okay.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And so you know magnolia is like an acidic soil. Okay,
So that means a pH of four point five to
five point five. And so I where you are in
Palm Bay? Are you near the ocean?
Speaker 4 (26:24):
No, I'm about ten miles away.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Okay, that's still you. Still probably I would do a
pH test of your your ground there. If it's really
alkaline soils which you get on the coast, then you
may want to put down some acidic fertilizer and get
it to that may be one of the issues is
that the pH is not right. Okay, so check that
(26:46):
and then fertilize it with an acidic fertilizer, and I
would say how long has it been in the ground.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Well, the house was built in twenty nine and that's
when I bought it, so okay, probably it's a little
older than that.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Okay, it's still I.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
Had one item here about the problems you're trying to solve.
My other neighbors have the same magnolia trees and they're
looking just.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Fine and then looking just fine.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Soil conditions be about the same for both.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Not necessarily so a pH can change in as much
as ten feet. I would check the soil, check how
much water it's getting because of the drought. It may
need to get a little bit more. Water is just declining.
And what time of the day do you water?
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Well, here's no special times.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
So you don't have an automatic sprinkler system.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
I have turned it off and use it manually on
those days and it needs it. I hate that have
it be watered just after a good rain.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Right, No, I appreciate that. Okay, So when your system,
when your irrigation systems, when you have it on automatic,
the rain shut off device should work and turn it off.
But it may be it may it may be a
watering issue, and it may be a pH issue. Send
me a photograph and I'll be able to tell you
a little bit better.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Okay, Gary, all right, I have one other subject. If
you've got a.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Moment, if you can hang on during the break, Gary,
hang on if you have a gardening question one triple
eight four five five, two nine sixty seven, or you
can text two three six eight zero. If it's Saturday morning.
You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's talk and Entertainment network. Welcome back
(28:49):
up Better Lawns and Gardens and now Teresa's top five.
My top five this week honors trees. The top five
reasons to plan a tree. Trees are nature's air purifiers.
They absorb pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Subsequently,
they release oxygen into the atmosphere. It's especially important in
(29:13):
urban environments. It helps take care of a pollution. One
mature tree can sequester up to forty eight pounds of
carbon dioxide each year. Number four. The canopy of a
tree offers natural shading, protecting against the heat that specifically,
it can lower the temperature around your house by ten degrees.
(29:34):
Number three, trees are vital for maintaining biodiversity. Forests applied
vital habitats and foods for wildlife, and then they host
round eighty percent of terrestrial species in the world. So
it's very, very important to get trees in cities and
in neighborhoods to help the wildlife. Number two trees help
(29:57):
conserve water by improving soil permeability and reducing runoff, which
replenishes groundwater. Their shade limits evaporation into water bodies, and
the trees cover in parts supports local water cycles and
roots stabilized soil, so minimizing erosion. And Number one trees
provide notable economic benefits. Properties located near mature trees often
(30:22):
command prices up to fifteen percent higher than others. The
presence of trees can attract businesses and tourists, contributing positively
to the environment. So those are my top five reasons
to plant a tree. So thank you very much, Lizzie
for that. I do appreciate it. Let's go back to
Gary real quick. So, Gary, I wanted so much so
(30:44):
at the beginning of your phone call, you talk about
the black spots. That's what was getting be confused. You
don't have an irrigation system turning on all the time,
and if you don't water at night, black spot is
a fungus and so that's a disease that comes from water.
So I'm just wondering, you know, whether or not you
(31:06):
are watering a little bit more than necessary, or whether
there's not good air circulation around your tree. Is it
planted close to the house, No.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
It's off for distance, it's in the yard. I don't
think I'm overwatering. Okay, it's great for the fungus. The
information on the fungus side didn't specify magnolia trees, but
it had a bunch of other trees.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
And okay, it's also a sign. It could be sooty
mold and it could be from scale. Do you see
white spots on your tree too? No? No, okay, that's interesting. Okay,
so I would go ahead and make sure you fertilize
it and then also check the water, make sure it's
getting enough water. What was your second question.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Yeah, this is after the previous freeze we've had had
and bushes apparently die out, they dropped all their leaves.
Those that didn't drop on their own. I gently pulled
on them, and after a bit they came off too.
So what I did, rather than looking for a green
spot in the trunk and all that, I figured, if
(32:17):
I were to break these smaller branches that come off
the larger limbs and whatnot and they snap off easily,
I consider that a dead limb and not good to
the bush. When they become pliable, I leave them alone.
I figure that's what new growth is going to come.
Is my thinking skewed?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yeah, no, no, you can snap off the brown bro
just I would prefer you, though, to cut them off
so you have a clean cut that will heal naturally.
So I don't want to have any jagged edges, and
so I would just trim it back to the to
the to the new or to the healthy part of
the tree and cut it correctly. Okay, okay, thank you
(32:56):
so much, Gary. All right, take care of the great questions.
Thank you for listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. Let's
go to Eileen. Good morning, Eileen. How are you?
Speaker 5 (33:05):
Good morning, Teresa? I am fine, How are you?
Speaker 1 (33:09):
I am doing great. It's been a wonderful week, wonderful week.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
Okay, I have a question for you. Did you take
care of your African ye? But yes, for one uh huh,
oh you did?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I did. They're wonderful, so happy. They're very easy to grow, Eileen.
I'm really really surprised. And so they're doing wonderfully good.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
And my other question is I received a galvanized steel
raised garden bit.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Oh good for you.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
It doesn't have a bottom, right, okay, so tell me
what I can do?
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Okay. So, so it doesn't have a bottom, you put
it on the ground and the dirt. How tall is it?
About two feet tall?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (34:03):
But I'm not I want it inside. Oh yeah, inside
because this gun won't come in. And I want to
plant flowers in it where the grasshop first won't get
inside it.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Okay. So when you say inside, I lean where inside
do you want to plant them?
Speaker 5 (34:28):
I want to plant it on a box. It's the
grade box that I never use.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Huh. And we'll it get Will it get enough sunlights?
Speaker 3 (34:38):
You know?
Speaker 5 (34:39):
At least?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Oh, it will get so okay. And so you're asking
what you can do for the bottom, Yeah, okay, I
would just go ahead and I would use if you
have any kind of strong millimeters like thirty to sixty
millimeters plastic that you can tack to the inside of
the raise bed and then growing that. And then I'm
(35:03):
going to be then worried though about drainage for you,
because how are you going to drain the raised bed?
How big is it?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
Okay, well, that's that's your department.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
So how I mean, how wide is it? It's two
feet tall? How long is it?
Speaker 5 (35:23):
Two point two by two point two by nineteen point three?
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Okay, So so it's two point two by two point two,
so it's two by twos okay, And and so it
doesn't have a and you want to put flowers in it,
so yes, okay, so it's going to need to have
a bottom unless you're going to drain out. Is it
going to be on the floor? No, it's probably best.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
One of those is probably best to be used outside.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I have one of actually one two. I probably have
four or five, no, actually seven of those, and that's
what I use them force for outside because of the.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Doesn't Yeah, because I can't see you using it inside.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
I lean Yeah, so you may want to attempt to
use that outside and either purchase another one, which I
know is are expensive with a bottom. Immasure, right, But.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
You could get a bottom plastic one that would would
hold plants and have a drainage bottom saucer and the
earth boxes would work too. Oh yes, an earth box
inside would do really nice too to grow flowers indoors.
Speaker 5 (36:30):
What its going they do about the drainage though.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Well, drain. The earth boxes don't drain. They hold the
water in there. They have two layers, and so they
have a layer where the soil goes and then the
water goes underneath it and gets sucked up. So the
water doesn't drain out of the earth boxes, which is
really cool.
Speaker 5 (36:49):
But on this one, I was going to drill a hole,
put a hose in it, and then let it drain ow.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Oh well, if you can do that, as long as
it drains outside. I'm I'm just thinking of you and
your and your indoors. So I just want to make
sure you don't.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Have a mess inside.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Oh my goodness. All right, got to go. Let us
know what you do next week. Okay, I want to
hear all about it. I will, all right, hen take care.
We want to thank Dana Venrick for coming on today
and talking about native trees for uh indoor in central
Florida and around Florida, and then also on the coast.
He gave us some really good options for coastal trees
(37:33):
and flowers that would do really well and can handle
the salt water. So if you missed any of that,
you can go back and listen on your iHeartRadio. I'll
be uploading it. I will post it on Facebook and
you can hear it. Coming up next we're going to
be doing gardening. You're gardening questions one triple eight four
five five two nine sixty seven, or you can text
(37:56):
two three six eight zero and uh and and we
can answer your gardening questions. If you'd like to know
more about my trips, I'm gonna be gone next week,
Lizzie Yes on my art and Bloom garden tours. We
have the Revolutionary Garden Tour celebrating two hundred and fifty
years of gardening in the United States and the birthday
(38:17):
of our United States. Guess who's gonna be here. Tom
mccubban's gonna host, And I'm so excited he's gonna be back,
and he's gonna have a great time, and I know
everybody's gonna enjoy him. And you can call in and
talk to him, and I'm gonna be listening. I will
love to hear it. So I do appreciate Tom mccoven
(38:37):
coming in and hosting. He is the host emeritus of
Better Lawns and Gardens Doctor The Plant Doctor. He'll be
back here next week. If it's Saturday morning, we got
another hour to go, so you'll be listening in. If
it's Saturday morning, you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment
Network at p V eight dot org
Good morning, Welcome from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. This
is Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins. How are
you this morning. It's a great morning. It's a bit
a beautiful gardening week, and it is going to be
an even lovelier week. We got really really hot nineties
above average temperatures. Next week it's going to be below
(00:30):
average temperature. So how great is that? Lizzie?
Speaker 2 (00:32):
You know what, Hey, I am not complaining and we
know im I learned a few years ago at least
by last year's bring all these nice little cool days.
I am not going to complain at.
Speaker 1 (00:42):
To get cool. It's going to be below average, so
that is wonderful. I'm looking forward to it, great gardening weather.
I want to start off with saying good morning to
Peterson's Nursery and they are having a wonderful at nine thirty,
a wonderful workshop orkids one oh one. So when you
go tell h Howie and Karen, I said hi, Lizzie
said Hi, and yes we wish we could be there. Oh, yes, definitely.
(01:05):
And so I also wanted to give another shout out
to the village walk at Lake Nona. I spoke there
this week, met some really wonderful people and had a great,
great talk, and I enjoyed meeting them, and so good
morning to them. And if you are in our state
and you want to call in with your gardening questions,
(01:27):
just have it in her phone. Just put your phone
number in. It's one triple eight four five five two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. So we would love to hear from you
this morning. It is all about planting right now, Planting vegetables,
planting flowers, planting trees. Upcoming, we're going to be talking
(01:48):
about trees this hour because National Arbor Day is next Friday,
so everyone can be prepared. And you know, we have
our own state Arbor Day in January. It's a great
time to plant, right We could literally plant all year
round here in Florida, that's true, and so we definitely
want to, uh, you know, maybe plant some more trees.
(02:10):
And I was being asked about canopy shade trees for
a landscape design that I'm doing, and there's just so
many great trees that provide shade, which we definitely need
in for our homes just to keep the electric bills
down the air conditioning bills down. Uh, and then also
(02:32):
just to be comfortable to sit outside and enjoy our
beautiful way.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
And you probably end up determining how quick do you
want something to grow and how big do you want something?
Speaker 1 (02:42):
So is that yeah? Yeah, So that's what we're gonna
be talking about the trees that we can plant and
what size should should plant. So we have data. Venterrick
coming on from Quality Green Specialists. He is a fountain
of knowledge well experience, and so we I'm gonna look
forward to talking with him because I do have some
questions about some trees because the mango trees. Have you
(03:05):
seen them all over town?
Speaker 3 (03:07):
No?
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Haven't I really pay attention.
Speaker 1 (03:09):
Well you'll notice them because they've got all dead leaves
on them. So they're big and huge. They're thirty feet
by about twenty five thirty feet wide and the leaves
are not dropping. Some gonna stay in and what's what's
going on?
Speaker 2 (03:20):
What is going on with the mangoes and them not
dropping their leaves?
Speaker 1 (03:23):
Yes, because they should should be recovering.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
And my rosemary was the same way. I know it's
not a tree, but whenever I was going through my
garden the two weeks ago, I noticed that, like the
little burnt pieces. Yes, we're just not wanting to fall,
So I like, it's so stupid. I was having to
shake them and then they fell, and then they finally fell,
and I'm like, I.
Speaker 1 (03:43):
Don't know if we can go around and shake mango trees.
I don't know if that will work.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
It's a steamular band song, is.
Speaker 3 (03:51):
There?
Speaker 1 (03:52):
You go, North Florida, right this cold front that's coming through,
you've got a thirty percent chance of rain. Good for
you on Sunday, hope you get it. The rest of
North Florida, Tallahassee, Gainesville, Jacksonville, it's just gonna be a
lovely spring week. The cooler temperatures, you're really gonna enjoy them.
Sunny and partly sunny all week long. Highs in the
(04:13):
low eighties, which is below normal nighttime temperatures. Lizzie, get
this fifties not complaining, No fifties and low sixties. But
Northwest Florida, you've got a chance of rain next weekend,
so we're gonna keep our fingers crossed. Central Florida, popco Calo, Orlando, Tampa,
West Coast. No rain this week, but after today, which
(04:34):
could hit ninety degrees. This weekend, temps are going to
be in the eighties and be below temperatures and then
sixties at night, so that's really nice weather. Ormond Beach
in Port Saint Lucy and the rest of the East Coast,
you've got a chance of rain on Monday that will
be coming down from the north and next weekend, so
good for you. Sunny to partly sunny's seventies and eighties,
(04:57):
low's in the sixties. No rain, which means you're irrigation
can go on twice a week unless it's different in
your county or your city, and you can only do
it once a week. South Florida beautiful weather. West Palm Beach.
Your chances for rain are more than anyone else in Florida.
You're going to have rain, probably chances of rain probably
(05:20):
three to five days this week, and then Fort Lauderdale, Miami,
Key West, lots of clouds, tempts in the low eighties
and seventies, sixties and seventies at night. So that's the
weather for this week. Great gardening weather. Can't stress that enough.
The April in your backyard newsletter which goes out you
can still get it if you'd like to receive it.
(05:42):
It's free. Each month I tell you what to do
in your landscape and what the plant of the month is,
give you some design tips. I do a column called
Landscaping Malpractice, how to know when to fire your landscaper,
and we give some really great examples in that and
then just to tell you what to do each month.
(06:02):
So it's a lovely newsletter, really can help you out.
You can get it free. I do not spam. You
can go to my website which is www dot she
s h E DASH Consulting dot com and sign up
because the next one is going to be coming out
within two weeks, so you want to make sure you
get Mays which will be a lot of fun. So
(06:24):
data venricks coming up, and so he's got a lot
of questions for him. He's going to provide his wisdom
and his experience. I'm looking forward to talking with him
from the summit Responsible Solution Studios. If it's Saturday morning,
you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens, I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network. Welcome back
(07:04):
to Better Law and Same Gardens. National Arbor Day this
year is on Friday Next Friday, April twenty fourth, and
National Arbor Day is a holiday that celebrates the planting
and carrying of trees and environmental stewardship with recognizing that
how much trees do for our environment and maintain healthy ecosystems,
(07:27):
and it's just a wonderful opportunity to get some more
shade and help protect the environment. So on the first
Arbor Day celebrated in April tenth, eighteen seventy two, more
than one million trees were planted in one day in Nebraska.
This event marked the beginning of Arbor Day and as
(07:48):
a national holiday dedicated to tree planting and conservation. And
with us right now is Dana Venrick, owner of Quality
Green Specialists and sponsor of Better Lawns and Guard. Good morning, Dana,
How are you?
Speaker 3 (08:02):
Oh good? How are you? Teresa?
Speaker 1 (08:05):
I am great. It's been a great week for gardening
and with the weather we're having, it's going to be
even more beautiful next week. What is what is it
good time for planting trees?
Speaker 3 (08:17):
Oh? Is it excellent time? You know? We had a
late winter, a hard winter, and everything is flushing with
sap rising. It's perfect time to get everything into the
ground before it gets too hot. And it's very very
important to get in as soon as you can right
so it doesn't get it that's for sure.
Speaker 1 (08:41):
I appreciate that. So spring is our dry season. We
normally get about two and a half inches of rain,
which we've already gotten so far. This year is the
first week of April, which was really nice. I don't
know if we're going to get any more rain. But
how much water should new trees get? What should what
should new tree owners do for their tree?
Speaker 3 (09:01):
It depends on the size of the tree, of course,
but I like to always get at least five gallons
every couple of days. Let it dry a little bit
between waterings, you know, for two weeks. The critical time
is the first two weeks. Make sure you don't let
it get too dried out. Check, you know, go about
an inch below and see if it's still damp. If
(09:23):
it's still damp, you can wait till the second day.
But be careful over water. If you water every day
too much, people even water three times a day, No no, no, no,
don't overwater the same thing as not underwater, and you're
gonna have problems two weeks and then you can cut
back twice a week through the heat of the summer,
(09:45):
and then cut back to once a week or less
in the fall. But one way to measure that is
a five gallon bucket. And I like to get at
least five gallons on there. And so you can fill
your bucket. You've got a little hole in the bucket.
Then it can leak out slowly watering automatically in your
little basin. Make sure you put a little burm out
(10:08):
just beyond the rootball so it holds the water and
saturates the rootball. That's the most important thing. To get
that thoroughly wetted.
Speaker 1 (10:18):
That is, that's very important, And I agree with you.
Some people do over water. They take it, you know,
to extremes. But a five gallon bucket's a great, great tool.
So most people have a five gallon bucket so they
can water their trees with Okay, so I have Dane.
I've been looking at the beautiful trees, the avocado and
mango trees that are all showing dead leaves. They're not
(10:40):
dropping and it's really start to see them, you know,
down the streets and when you're driving through neighborhoods where
people have mangoes and avocados. What is going on there?
When should those leaves fall off?
Speaker 3 (10:52):
A lot have dropped, you know, like I picked like
eleven big, big, fifty five gallon bags of leaf that
we're dropping from an interior part of the tree. What
you're seeing are the outer parts of the tree where
the leaves cling. When when that part of the tree,
the outer parts got dead leaves, dead limbs, and they cling.
(11:15):
When you've got dead branch, the leaves clang and don't drop. Oh,
cling tightly.
Speaker 1 (11:21):
Oh that makes sense, yes, okay? So how okay? So
some of these trees are too big to for homeowners
to get up and cut, especially if they're dead. You
don't want them snapping and them being up in the tree.
So uh what should they do about determining how far
back to cut?
Speaker 3 (11:40):
Well, you know, I would start cutting, you know on
some of the outer branches that you can reach from
the ground or on the on the ladder, and cut
back until you see some live wood, okay, and of
course check the check the cambium, you know, just underneath
the surface. As you go just so cut willy nilly,
(12:01):
and then when you start to see some some green
tissue or live wet tissue and the flow them.
Speaker 1 (12:09):
Uh huh.
Speaker 3 (12:10):
Then you know that you can cut it back there,
and you may have to do a second cut, but
that's the starting point when you come back to the
lie would and cut it there.
Speaker 1 (12:19):
Okay, So it's been long enough now that if the
leaves haven't fallen off that you should go ahead and
cut these mangoes and avocados back now.
Speaker 3 (12:29):
Yes, go ahead, like dead is dead and no need
to keep that. That just aggravates, you know, possibility for
disease and infection and it's embarrassing in your yard if
you're a gardener.
Speaker 1 (12:40):
So okay, So that's wonderful. So National Arbor Day Friday,
April twenty fourth, What are some of your favorite native
trees to plant that do very well here Florida?
Speaker 3 (12:54):
You know, I have so many favorites. We have most
of those favorites right here nursery and de Land. We
have live oaks, red maples, ball cypress, wax myrtles, Holly's,
you know, East Polaca, eaglesoon, magnolia's like the little Jim magnolia.
All those are so so good, so such excellent native
(13:19):
trees and I love them all really.
Speaker 1 (13:20):
And they did well this winter, so they I mean
all of them. There was none. I didn't see any hollies.
I didn't see any magnolias that died. Really and oh.
Speaker 3 (13:29):
They're extremely cold hardy. These are really cold hardy natives.
How some natives aren't so hardy, like the fire bush,
which is said, but it'll come back to We're already
seeing those sprouting from the base.
Speaker 1 (13:41):
They did, they did come. They're starting to come back
to the base. Okay, what about the ocean and our
East Coast residents and West coast residents that are on
the Gulf in Atlantic, So what native trees will do
well with salt water and salt spray.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Well, one that does really well, we see a lot
of those on the West coast in the Gulf is
red cedar, the southern red cedar. Live oat does well.
I see on the Atlantic coast the sea gray Okaloba,
button wood. Farther south you have button wood and gumbo limbo.
(14:19):
Those are all good corsic habage palms that do well
too in the salt palmeadows. Sometimes they're so tallish they're
like trees, right, but all those are excellent. Also, Also,
you know, you have things that aren't really native that
do well like Oleandersanders are great for the flowers.
Speaker 1 (14:42):
Yeah, they do, and they track butterflies and so that
that's a really good choice too, as well as the oleander.
What sized tree should be planted? What is your what
is your wisdom there?
Speaker 3 (14:55):
I recommend the three gallons are larger. It's very difficult
when you just plant a small gallon size. We have
some of those, but just imagine, you know you're mowing,
accidentally mow it over, especially if you get a poor
quality landscaper out there with weed whacker. I've seen so
many small trees, plants and trees just chopped right over that.
Speaker 1 (15:18):
They didn't recognize them. Isn't that that's a nightmare. I
feel attacked.
Speaker 2 (15:22):
I feel like maybe you guys have been in my
yarn and seeing me run myself.
Speaker 1 (15:25):
Over my accident.
Speaker 3 (15:26):
Yeah, that's that's weed eater disease.
Speaker 1 (15:30):
That's that's wonderful. So cali caliber wise, if somebody wanted
to buy a larger tree, what caliber sise would you recommend?
Speaker 3 (15:38):
Well? I recommend a two inch califer because that's the
standard for Volusia County. Two inch CALIFERI is like the
diameter of the tree, like six inches above the ground.
And so we have a good selection of two inch
caliper trees, and so come come on by, you know,
and see them, everybody. You really love these trees. They're
(16:00):
so hardy. And we even have one three inch caliper
tree that that you'll enjoy.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
Seeing, okay, And so those are those are small enough.
We can get them into a car or into a
trunk a back of a truck, right.
Speaker 3 (16:14):
Yes, indeed people sometimes dot it. We prove it, prove
them wrong. Every time you can.
Speaker 4 (16:19):
Fit it in.
Speaker 3 (16:21):
Just put the back seat down and flatten the cargo area.
Speaker 1 (16:24):
Okay. So this is something that kind of drives me
crazy when I see landscapers doing it. And sometimes homeowners
or people buying plants will drive down the road with
their trees unwrapped and just blowing in the wind with
the car at you know, fifty five sixty miles an hour.
That's not recommended, is it.
Speaker 5 (16:43):
Oh?
Speaker 3 (16:44):
No, no, you want to We've wrapped. We wrapped the
root ball first of all, like with a large plastic bag,
and then tie it so soil I won't get into
the into the trunk or spill. And then we lay
them down and and make sure that they're secure and
(17:05):
won't be rolling around. And then if it's if it's
if it's really higher a dense canopy, then we'll put
like a screen over the top, shade cloth over the top.
Speaker 1 (17:16):
Yeah, you just want to protect it because it can
get windburned that way.
Speaker 3 (17:20):
Well. Absolutely, it's not easy. You know, people try to
put them up right and drive down. Well, what's going
to happen if you drive with a tree upright, It's
going to blow over and damage the tree or break
a branch.
Speaker 1 (17:33):
Yeah, exactly. So let's talk about fertilizer. We've got just
a couple of minutes left. So when you when do
you recommend that people fertilize their trees?
Speaker 3 (17:44):
I recommend you know, the main fertilization should be about
a month or six weeks after you plant, or when
you start to see new growth and that's showing that
the roots have started to go out into the surrounding
soil or you're lightly mended soil, and then you know
it's time for sure when you see some feathering new
(18:06):
growth on the canopy. That's a good rule of thumb.
Now I do say, and I actually do it just lightly.
If you want to lightly like you're lightly solved in
the steak a little in the bottom of your planting hole.
It shouldn't be quite as deep as the root ball.
And they sprinkle a little bit on the backfield and
mix that up well along with a little compost or
(18:29):
potting soil, and then that will really help. But I
caution everybody never just put a handful of fertilizer when
you plant.
Speaker 1 (18:38):
That is so true. That is a big non o,
so real quickly. Mother's Day is coming up May eleventh.
This week is a good time to buy a tree
to plant in mother's honor, and tell us where you're
located in the land, and people can come by and
it's like the.
Speaker 3 (18:53):
Beautiful some great flowering trees too, so come by. We're
at three point thirty five West Michigan Avenue and Delane
grew oprom nine to four daily. The website is Qualitygreenspecialist
dot com.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
Thank you so much, Thank you data so much. I
appreciate it. All right, take care, bye bye. That's Dana.
You do definitely want to go by Quality Green Specialists
three thirty five West Michigan Street in DeLand and let
Dana know that you appreciate him. Sponsoring Better Lawns and Gardens.
We do appreciate him so much. If it's Saturday morning,
(19:26):
you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins
from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. This is Florida's talk
and Entertainment network. Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens.
(19:57):
If you have a gardening question, He'd loved to hear
from you. One triple eight four five five two nine
six seven where you can text two three six eight zero.
Let me know what you're having to drink this morning.
I've got my delicious cup of tea. Lizzie, what are
you drinking? Believe we're not.
Speaker 2 (20:16):
It's not espresso. It's not five or six shots of espresso.
But it is a hazelnut iced coffee that I made.
Speaker 1 (20:22):
Oh how nice you made it yourself.
Speaker 2 (20:24):
I always make I always making nothing's ever open when
I'm up in the morning.
Speaker 1 (20:27):
Uh huh.
Speaker 2 (20:27):
So I don't have time to stop on the way
to work every morning. So so you got my own machine.
Santa was good to me this year and brought me
my own espresso machine and coffee. And yeah, I just
ground my own stuff and put honey in it and
go from there.
Speaker 1 (20:42):
Wonderful. Well that is great. Well, this is a good
time to be planting vegetables. And Lizzie's gonna be talking
in the next newsletter about her sweet potatoes. You have
to check on that. And so what kind of vegetables
can you be planting right now? Well, it's a little
bit over the time for tomatoes, and you just if
(21:03):
you have not planted any tomatoes yet, don't plant the
seeds because it's going to get to be too hot
by the time they grow to produce tomatoes. So you
can be planting calabasa, cantalope and cassavas, chayote and cherry tomatoes.
Cherry tomatoes don't will will produce fruit all year around. Basically,
(21:24):
if the temperatures reach eighty five, normal tomatoes are regular tomatoes.
Determinate and indeterminate tomatoes will will not pollinate, will not pollinate,
not produce fruit over the temperatures of eighty five degrees.
So cherry tomatoes don't mind the heat. So that's what
you should be planting. And of course I'm a big
promoter of the Everglades cherry tomatoes. So the Everglades tomato
(21:46):
is a really nice one that when you pop it
in your mouth, it's so sweet and it's delicious. Cucumbers,
dashing and egg plants, Jerusalem artichokes and yacamas, Lima beans
and malabar spinach of course all the Asian spinaches, malnga
and New Zealand spinach. Okra which takes the heat beautifully
(22:07):
and has a beautiful yellow flower. If you love okra,
and I do. I love it for breakfast in the
morning fried it's just delicious, but it has a beautiful
yellow flower that you can put it right in the
middle of your garden and have an edible landscape. So
then also peppers and roselle seminal, pumpkins and snap beans, squash,
(22:28):
southern peas, sweet potatoes, tamarillos and yam yams and yard
long beans. And I still think you even have enough
time to do a pumpkin. If you wanted to plant
pumpkins for the fall, then you've got plenty of time.
So it is a great time to be planting vegetables.
(22:48):
Just plant them in your border garden and h and
you know they'll look beautiful and just add to your
your your garden so much. And just go out and
get the food right off, right out of the ground
onto your table, so it could be from your garden
to table dinner. Bulbs my amarillas. I have a burgundy
(23:09):
deep actually it's more like a garnet red amarillis. I'm
gonna take a photograph of it today and post it
on Facebook. It is gorgeous. Amarillis bulbs are blooming like
crazy right now. African Daisies and Ageratums asters a great
native plant. Astors are beautiful in the garden and butterflies
(23:31):
love them. But Copa's and balsam, which is the really
succulent plant that has beautiful flowers that open during the day.
Pogonias and black eyed Susan's blue days and bush daisies,
cat whiskers. Cat whiskers are lovely. Cilosia and Kleiomi's. I
(23:53):
had a client that planted Kleiomi's and she didn't realize
that they have thorns on the stem. So you know,
when you Plantaomi's, they're beautiful. They've reced very easily and
come up. They're gorgeous, but make sure you understand that
the stems have thorns on them. Coliuses and Coreopsis, which
is our state wildflower cosmos and Carssandra's liquorice plants, Licanthius,
(24:19):
marigolds and melanpodiums. Mexican sunflowers which are a gorgeous, gorgeous
red orange. They look just like they k came out
of a Crayola box of crayons that red orange. Not
orange red, but red orange. Million bells, the caliber cooas moonflowers.
Great plant to plant right now. Nicoschiana, narambergias, and pentas.
(24:42):
Pentas are good most of the year. You can plant pentas,
periwinkles and porta weed, portulaccas and pear slains, Salvias and sunflowers,
terirhinias and xenias. And I have a new batch of
xenia flowers from our good friend doctor Gary B. Then
I'll be planting in my garden this week, this week
(25:04):
before I leave to go on our trips. So let's
go to Gary in Palm Bay. Good morning Gary, how
can I help you?
Speaker 4 (25:14):
Hey, Good morning Tresa. Yeah, my magnolia tree is celebrating
Arbor Day by trying to kill itself. Oh no, the
thieves are all turning yellow even from the even new growth,
and most of them have a little black spots on
them falling off the tree.
Speaker 1 (25:34):
Okay. So so where is it located in your house?
Is it in full sun?
Speaker 4 (25:39):
Full sun?
Speaker 1 (25:40):
Full sun? And how often does it get watered?
Speaker 4 (25:44):
Usually along with the grass a couple times a week,
but I know that doesn't go very deep. So I
watered a little bit extra by putting maybe four or
five gallons down, not very often, okay a year.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Okay. So how tall is it? How big is it?
Speaker 4 (26:04):
I topped it off when it was younger, and it's
about ten feet tall.
Speaker 1 (26:08):
Now ten feet tall.
Speaker 3 (26:09):
I'm going to keep it, okay.
Speaker 1 (26:10):
And so you know magnolia is like an acidic soil. Okay,
So that means a pH of four point five to
five point five. And so I where you are in
Palm Bay? Are you near the ocean?
Speaker 4 (26:24):
No, I'm about ten miles away.
Speaker 1 (26:26):
Okay, that's still you. Still probably I would do a
pH test of your your ground there. If it's really
alkaline soils which you get on the coast, then you
may want to put down some acidic fertilizer and get
it to that may be one of the issues is
that the pH is not right. Okay, so check that
(26:46):
and then fertilize it with an acidic fertilizer, and I
would say how long has it been in the ground.
Speaker 4 (26:56):
Well, the house was built in twenty nine and that's
when I bought it, so okay, probably it's a little
older than that.
Speaker 1 (27:04):
Okay, it's still I.
Speaker 4 (27:05):
Had one item here about the problems you're trying to solve.
My other neighbors have the same magnolia trees and they're
looking just.
Speaker 1 (27:14):
Fine and then looking just fine.
Speaker 4 (27:15):
Soil conditions be about the same for both.
Speaker 1 (27:17):
Not necessarily so a pH can change in as much
as ten feet. I would check the soil, check how
much water it's getting because of the drought. It may
need to get a little bit more. Water is just declining.
And what time of the day do you water?
Speaker 4 (27:33):
Well, here's no special times.
Speaker 1 (27:36):
So you don't have an automatic sprinkler system.
Speaker 4 (27:40):
I have turned it off and use it manually on
those days and it needs it. I hate that have
it be watered just after a good rain.
Speaker 1 (27:48):
Right, No, I appreciate that. Okay, So when your system,
when your irrigation systems, when you have it on automatic,
the rain shut off device should work and turn it off.
But it may be it may it may be a
watering issue, and it may be a pH issue. Send
me a photograph and I'll be able to tell you
a little bit better.
Speaker 4 (28:04):
Okay, Gary, all right, I have one other subject. If
you've got a.
Speaker 1 (28:08):
Moment, if you can hang on during the break, Gary,
hang on if you have a gardening question one triple
eight four five five, two nine sixty seven, or you
can text two three six eight zero. If it's Saturday morning.
You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins
and this is Florida's talk and Entertainment network. Welcome back
(28:49):
up Better Lawns and Gardens and now Teresa's top five.
My top five this week honors trees. The top five
reasons to plan a tree. Trees are nature's air purifiers.
They absorb pollutants such as sulfur dioxide and carbon monoxide. Subsequently,
they release oxygen into the atmosphere. It's especially important in
(29:13):
urban environments. It helps take care of a pollution. One
mature tree can sequester up to forty eight pounds of
carbon dioxide each year. Number four. The canopy of a
tree offers natural shading, protecting against the heat that specifically,
it can lower the temperature around your house by ten degrees.
(29:34):
Number three, trees are vital for maintaining biodiversity. Forests applied
vital habitats and foods for wildlife, and then they host
round eighty percent of terrestrial species in the world. So
it's very, very important to get trees in cities and
in neighborhoods to help the wildlife. Number two trees help
(29:57):
conserve water by improving soil permeability and reducing runoff, which
replenishes groundwater. Their shade limits evaporation into water bodies, and
the trees cover in parts supports local water cycles and
roots stabilized soil, so minimizing erosion. And Number one trees
provide notable economic benefits. Properties located near mature trees often
(30:22):
command prices up to fifteen percent higher than others. The
presence of trees can attract businesses and tourists, contributing positively
to the environment. So those are my top five reasons
to plant a tree. So thank you very much, Lizzie
for that. I do appreciate it. Let's go back to
Gary real quick. So, Gary, I wanted so much so
(30:44):
at the beginning of your phone call, you talk about
the black spots. That's what was getting be confused. You
don't have an irrigation system turning on all the time,
and if you don't water at night, black spot is
a fungus and so that's a disease that comes from water.
So I'm just wondering, you know, whether or not you
(31:06):
are watering a little bit more than necessary, or whether
there's not good air circulation around your tree. Is it
planted close to the house, No.
Speaker 4 (31:18):
It's off for distance, it's in the yard. I don't
think I'm overwatering. Okay, it's great for the fungus. The
information on the fungus side didn't specify magnolia trees, but
it had a bunch of other trees.
Speaker 1 (31:34):
And okay, it's also a sign. It could be sooty
mold and it could be from scale. Do you see
white spots on your tree too? No? No, okay, that's interesting. Okay,
so I would go ahead and make sure you fertilize
it and then also check the water, make sure it's
getting enough water. What was your second question.
Speaker 4 (31:55):
Yeah, this is after the previous freeze we've had had
and bushes apparently die out, they dropped all their leaves.
Those that didn't drop on their own. I gently pulled
on them, and after a bit they came off too.
So what I did, rather than looking for a green
spot in the trunk and all that, I figured, if
(32:17):
I were to break these smaller branches that come off
the larger limbs and whatnot and they snap off easily,
I consider that a dead limb and not good to
the bush. When they become pliable, I leave them alone.
I figure that's what new growth is going to come.
Is my thinking skewed?
Speaker 1 (32:34):
Yeah, no, no, you can snap off the brown bro
just I would prefer you, though, to cut them off
so you have a clean cut that will heal naturally.
So I don't want to have any jagged edges, and
so I would just trim it back to the to
the to the new or to the healthy part of
the tree and cut it correctly. Okay, okay, thank you
(32:56):
so much, Gary. All right, take care of the great questions.
Thank you for listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. Let's
go to Eileen. Good morning, Eileen. How are you?
Speaker 5 (33:05):
Good morning, Teresa? I am fine, How are you?
Speaker 1 (33:09):
I am doing great. It's been a wonderful week, wonderful week.
Speaker 5 (33:13):
Okay, I have a question for you. Did you take
care of your African ye? But yes, for one uh huh,
oh you did?
Speaker 1 (33:23):
I did. They're wonderful, so happy. They're very easy to grow, Eileen.
I'm really really surprised. And so they're doing wonderfully good.
Speaker 5 (33:35):
And my other question is I received a galvanized steel
raised garden bit.
Speaker 1 (33:43):
Oh good for you.
Speaker 5 (33:45):
It doesn't have a bottom, right, okay, so tell me
what I can do?
Speaker 1 (33:53):
Okay. So, so it doesn't have a bottom, you put
it on the ground and the dirt. How tall is it?
About two feet tall?
Speaker 3 (34:03):
Yeah?
Speaker 5 (34:03):
But I'm not I want it inside. Oh yeah, inside
because this gun won't come in. And I want to
plant flowers in it where the grasshop first won't get
inside it.
Speaker 1 (34:21):
Okay. So when you say inside, I lean where inside
do you want to plant them?
Speaker 5 (34:28):
I want to plant it on a box. It's the
grade box that I never use.
Speaker 1 (34:34):
Huh. And we'll it get Will it get enough sunlights?
Speaker 3 (34:38):
You know?
Speaker 5 (34:39):
At least?
Speaker 1 (34:40):
Oh, it will get so okay. And so you're asking
what you can do for the bottom, Yeah, okay, I
would just go ahead and I would use if you
have any kind of strong millimeters like thirty to sixty
millimeters plastic that you can tack to the inside of
the raise bed and then growing that. And then I'm
(35:03):
going to be then worried though about drainage for you,
because how are you going to drain the raised bed?
How big is it?
Speaker 5 (35:11):
Okay, well, that's that's your department.
Speaker 1 (35:16):
So how I mean, how wide is it? It's two
feet tall? How long is it?
Speaker 5 (35:23):
Two point two by two point two by nineteen point three?
Speaker 1 (35:29):
Okay, So so it's two point two by two point two,
so it's two by twos okay, And and so it
doesn't have a and you want to put flowers in it,
so yes, okay, so it's going to need to have
a bottom unless you're going to drain out. Is it
going to be on the floor? No, it's probably best.
Speaker 2 (35:50):
One of those is probably best to be used outside.
Speaker 3 (35:54):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (35:54):
I have one of actually one two. I probably have
four or five, no, actually seven of those, and that's
what I use them force for outside because of the.
Speaker 1 (36:03):
Doesn't Yeah, because I can't see you using it inside.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
I lean Yeah, so you may want to attempt to
use that outside and either purchase another one, which I
know is are expensive with a bottom. Immasure, right, But.
Speaker 1 (36:16):
You could get a bottom plastic one that would would
hold plants and have a drainage bottom saucer and the
earth boxes would work too. Oh yes, an earth box
inside would do really nice too to grow flowers indoors.
Speaker 5 (36:30):
What its going they do about the drainage though.
Speaker 1 (36:33):
Well, drain. The earth boxes don't drain. They hold the
water in there. They have two layers, and so they
have a layer where the soil goes and then the
water goes underneath it and gets sucked up. So the
water doesn't drain out of the earth boxes, which is
really cool.
Speaker 5 (36:49):
But on this one, I was going to drill a hole,
put a hose in it, and then let it drain ow.
Speaker 1 (37:01):
Oh well, if you can do that, as long as
it drains outside. I'm I'm just thinking of you and
your and your indoors. So I just want to make
sure you don't.
Speaker 5 (37:09):
Have a mess inside.
Speaker 1 (37:12):
Oh my goodness. All right, got to go. Let us
know what you do next week. Okay, I want to
hear all about it. I will, all right, hen take care.
We want to thank Dana Venrick for coming on today
and talking about native trees for uh indoor in central
Florida and around Florida, and then also on the coast.
He gave us some really good options for coastal trees
(37:33):
and flowers that would do really well and can handle
the salt water. So if you missed any of that,
you can go back and listen on your iHeartRadio. I'll
be uploading it. I will post it on Facebook and
you can hear it. Coming up next we're going to
be doing gardening. You're gardening questions one triple eight four
five five two nine sixty seven, or you can text
(37:56):
two three six eight zero and uh and and we
can answer your gardening questions. If you'd like to know
more about my trips, I'm gonna be gone next week,
Lizzie Yes on my art and Bloom garden tours. We
have the Revolutionary Garden Tour celebrating two hundred and fifty
years of gardening in the United States and the birthday
(38:17):
of our United States. Guess who's gonna be here. Tom
mccubban's gonna host, And I'm so excited he's gonna be back,
and he's gonna have a great time, and I know
everybody's gonna enjoy him. And you can call in and
talk to him, and I'm gonna be listening. I will
love to hear it. So I do appreciate Tom mccoven
(38:37):
coming in and hosting. He is the host emeritus of
Better Lawns and Gardens Doctor The Plant Doctor. He'll be
back here next week. If it's Saturday morning, we got
another hour to go, so you'll be listening in. If
it's Saturday morning, you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment
Network at p V eight dot org
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