Teresa give us a list of what to plant.

Anne Morton with Hose Link talks about hose problems. Dirty Word of the Day. Teresa give us a list of what to plant.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning, Welcome back to the second hour of Better
Lawns and Gardens from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. I'm
Teresa Watkins. I'm a garden designer, landscape designer, horticulturist, garden author.
I just love taking care of plants and helping people
with their plant questions, just walking through and just seeing

(00:30):
how beautiful the world can be with a beautiful landscape.
So we love to talk with you. If you have
your garden questions we have You can call in with
your garden questions one triple eight four five five, two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. We have a wonderful interview coming up. I'm
very excited about this product and I just I can't

(00:54):
wait to talk about it because it's exciting. But I
did want to remind everyone that we are in a
drought period right now, and what that means is that
we're not getting rainfall even in the springtime. In the winter,
which is supposed to be our dry period, it's even
drier than normal and that's not a good thing. So

(01:16):
there is a burn band throughout most of the state
of Florida. You do not want to be burning anything,
because everything will catch fire very easily, and we want
to prevent forest fires. So there is a burn band
going on right now. Now, what does it mean when
we're in a drought. Does that mean gosh, I got
a water more? No, We're going to get some really
good rain tomorrow. That should be all we need for

(01:38):
the week. In fact, if you wanted to water just
once a week, if no rainfall for the entire year,
that's all we need to water. You do not have
to water every couple of days, three times a week,
or every day. If you're doing that, one you're wasting
a lot of money, and two you're hurting your own
landscape because as we go through these droughts, the landscapes

(02:02):
that are watered most often and most in depth, they
are going to be the ones that die first. Okay.
So the more you water, the shorter root system your
plants will have and they will not be able to
handle a dry period. Okay. So when we are in droughts,
it doesn't matter if it's native or non native. We

(02:24):
have our native xeric plants that handle dry sandy conditions
like you have in Lake County and Clearmont parts of
central Orlando. But then we also have our music soils,
which have really good earthworms in them, lots of organic material.
If you have earthworms, you have mesic soils. And what

(02:46):
that means is that your soil has moisture and organic material,
not too much because worms can't swim, but just enough
to keep, you know, hold on to the water just
a little bit longer. And then we have our hydrich soils.
These are soils next to lakefronts and shallow areas, compacted
areas that have a clay pan soil like that there's

(03:10):
no percolation of the water, and those are really wet soils.
And so, you know, to determine what you have, what
kind of soil you have, you want to go out
to the yard, to the area you want to plant
in and dig down about you know, five to six
inches and put the soil in your hand. Now you

(03:31):
want to do this forty eight hours after rainfall or
after irrigation. So if we get rain Sunday and Monday Wednesday,
go out to your yard, put some soil in your hand,
five or six inches down under the ground. Put it
in your hand and squeeze it. If after forty eight

(03:52):
hours you could open your hand back up, and the
sand is warm and it just filters right through your hand,
doesn't make a mound, it just filters right through. Then
you have xeric soils, very sandy soils. You need to
buy plants and install plants that can handle those conditions.
If after forty eight hours you squeeze your hand and

(04:13):
open it back up and it makes a little mound,
you know, it's shaped like your fingers, and you see
little twigs in it. It's dark brown, you see a
little bit of bark in it. Some dark soil. Those
are music soils, and so you know to have plants
that can handle those conditions. Then after forty eight hours,

(04:35):
if you can squeeze your hand and still get moisture
or feel the dampness in the soil after forty eight hours,
then you have hydric soils. You need to buy plants
that can handle wet conditions. All right, So that's a
really easy way to do this, and so just check

(04:55):
your soils. That way. We should plant so that we
can our plants and our landscapes are based just on rainfall.
We don't want them to uh to be in a
situation where we have to water them to keep them.
You know healthy and thrive. Lizzy, do you like to
lug the irrigation hose around your turkeys in your yard? Absolutely?

(05:18):
Love it?

Speaker 2 (05:19):
Do you?

Speaker 1 (05:20):
I don't. I thought you do so annoying. It is annoying.
The hoses are so heavy, aren't they And you're dragging them,
and then after a while they start to get deteriorate
and degrade and they get stiff.

Speaker 2 (05:35):
I am so angry. I just had to throw out
like one hundred and fifty dollars hose because I didn't
plan ahead when we had the freeze, and so yeah,
it got a huge crack in it. Oh my good
looking at it now, Yes, I could have actually cut
it and redone it. But you know what, I'm that paid.
How much going on in life? Yeah, that's out the door,
so yes.

Speaker 1 (05:55):
No, okay, yeah, so lugging the it's annoying. In my
front yard. I do not like to lug around the
thing because you have to lug them around plants, and
then you it lays on top of the plant and
it breaks the shrubs, and then then you have to
pull it back in and roll it back up again
and throw it underneath the house. And you know, it's

(06:15):
just I just lug it. You've been at my house before.
There you go. Well, we have a product that we're
going to be talking about with Annie Morton. She is
with host Link and it is incredible, it's beautiful, it
can go anywhere, and I just can't wait to talk
to about it. So we are going to be back.
Did I miss the dirty word of the day? You
sure enough? Then we'll have to do that at the
bottom of the half hour. Okay, the dirty word of

(06:37):
the day will be at the half hour. 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.

(07:08):
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins.
Since joining hose Link in twenty twenty, Annie Morton has
been a key contributor to the company. She leverages her
expertise in gardening, sustainability and her appreciation for the natural environment.
She has comprehensive experience across product development, customer service, and marketing.

(07:30):
So this diverse background enables Annie to provide valuable insights
into hose links impact on how quality tools can have
on both effective gardening and overall lifestyle enjoyment. So I
so appreciate Annie coming on. I saw this product this
week and I said, you have to come on and
tell us about it because it's so exciting. Annie Morton,

(07:53):
good morning, How are you?

Speaker 3 (07:55):
Good morning? Thank you so much for having me. I'm wonderful.
It's nice to join you.

Speaker 1 (08:00):
Thank you so much. So despite vital conservation efforts and
water restrictions around Florida, there are still reasons homeowners need
to hand water their landscapes, particularly when caring for new plants, containers,
and hanging baskets. So Annie, what challenges do residents face
with hoses, irrigation systems, and hoa's when dealing with manual watering?

Speaker 3 (08:24):
Yeah, look, water, Your restrictions are really challenging as a homeowner,
aren't they. But I also think they're a bit of
a nice reminder of our obligation to be good citizens
and to be really mindful of our resources. So normally,
I think, you know, we think of sprinklers and irrigation
systems as being time savers, which they certainly can be.
But while we've got all these restrictions in place, we

(08:46):
actually just need to really focus on getting right to
the root of what needs water the most, and so
handwatering really comes in as kind of the savior on
the spot there, so that we can really target plants,
get right in at the bay with our hand watering
as opposed to kind of dispersing a huge amount of
water through the air, you know, our sprinkler systems.

Speaker 1 (09:07):
And whatnot, right, and it just inspires and it's wasted
really when it goes through the air.

Speaker 3 (09:12):
Exactly. The last thing we want to be doing is
you know, we've got this tiny amount of water to
use right now, we really want to make sure it's
going where it needs to go. And also hand watering
also lets us get up nice and close to our
plants and really identify any extra stresses or diseases that
are happening as well. So you kind of you get
a bit of a two for one benefit with handwatering
at the moment.

Speaker 1 (09:31):
Oh, I so appreciate it. I have a client, wo
we just installed a new landscape for and he likes
to go out there and water the plants. And that's
what he does. And you know, I said, enjoy it,
and he does. He goes out there for you know,
twenty minutes and water is the plants, and he kind
of meditates and you know, he really appreciates the landscape
a little bit more so to me, we hear that

(09:54):
a lot with people.

Speaker 3 (09:54):
There are a lot of coffee cups dispersed through the
garden where people are going through doing their morning watering
and kind of enjoying that meditative property. And before you
know what, you've left a week worth of coffee mugs
out there.

Speaker 1 (10:05):
That is That's so true. So your product is called
it evolved. So how did the Evolve irrigation series evolve?
See what I did there?

Speaker 3 (10:16):
I see you so hoas Link is actually an Australian
company and growing up in Australia, we experience these water
restrictions every single year. You know, this is everything that
people are experiencing Florida at the moment. This is kind
of an every summer situation. So it's a really natural
progression for our products to consider how we can best

(10:38):
conserve water. So with Evolve, I think we've managed to
strike a really nice balance between making sure that there's
still a really strong and consistent flow. But the real
one of the real water saving up upgrades is actually
the quick connect fittings that we use so instead of
a click on style, which if you've used a click

(10:58):
on style fitting with a strong water pressure, you'll see
sometimes they just come off and all of a sudden
you're gushing water everywhere and it's hugely wasteful and your
water bills going through the roof. So our fittings actually
have a bayonet style connection so it's completely water type,
impossible to burst, and it actually saves you thousands of
gallons of water each year, so sorry just in terms

(11:22):
of just a regular drip or a leak. So you've
got huge water saving benefits of that. And then there's
another piece, So our all of our R and G
has gone into evolve and so what you've got is
that strong water flow, a user friendly design, but also
it's you've stabilized. So with that, it's also is going
to withstand the sun because obviously if we're not getting

(11:43):
if we're not getting rain, we are getting a lot
of sun. That's true, and so we're not just addressing
the need to conserve water, we're also making sure that
the hose is wrapped up in a nice kind of
protective casing so that the entire product is designed to
last year in years.

Speaker 1 (12:00):
I am so glad that you say that, because our
hose do break down, they do degrade in our heat
and it doesn't take long. And so from Australia, I
could tell your accent from Australia. And so they are
very They're number one in conservation. They're just really really
progressive in that in that respect. So there are plants,

(12:21):
the conservation plants. They are just incredible. They do well
here in Florida too as well. So what hose lengths
are available?

Speaker 3 (12:31):
Sure things. So we have we have a couple of
different models of retractable hose reel. So if you were
in say a townhouse, then we have a fifty foot
retractable model and it goes all the way up to
one hundred foot retractable model. So whatever size property you're on,
you can absolutely enjoy the convenience of a retractable hose reel.
It is I don't want to say it'll change your life,

(12:55):
but at the same time, that's what our customers have
told us. It feels like hyperbole, but it truly kind
of makes a chore something that's actually quite enjoyable.

Speaker 1 (13:04):
I so agree with you, and I will tell you
I appreciate the accessibility of a hose, and for home
owners young and old, this is a very easy way
to get out in the garden and hand water. But
I'm also very impressed by its elegant design. That's what
caught me right away. I love the design. It's very
classy and it will look good on your patio or

(13:27):
your pool area.

Speaker 3 (13:29):
Yeah. Look, I think we wanted to make sure that
we're creating a solution and not another problem. I think,
you know, hoses can be such an eyesol where they are,
you know, tangled up around a cart or in a
bit of a mess of a pile on the ground.

Speaker 1 (13:44):
I think, you know, we.

Speaker 3 (13:45):
Really want to make sure that whilst we're offering this convenience,
it also it needs to look good. I think we're
working so hard on our yards and our gardens to
make sure that they're they're beautiful, they're calming, they're pleasing,
and so this product it's you know, we're not trying
to add not trying to add another mess to a landscape. Sure,

(14:06):
the idea is that it tidies itself away. It's got
a beautiful, smooth, sleek casing, and we've got two colorwaves,
beige and charcoal, but both of which are quite neutral,
so they can really blend in with your yard to
keep everything kind of intact, to keep the aesthetic that
you've designed for your home, to keep that intact.

Speaker 1 (14:24):
And this is what's nice about it is that it's
kind of like hoa friendly.

Speaker 3 (14:29):
Oh incredibly, so you know you are never going to
get things for leaving your hose out on your yard
because one little tug and the entire thing retracts smoothly
back into the casing. So in that case, you know
it's hoa friendly. It gets through the tripping hazards in
your yard. You'll never have to wonder is that a
hose or is that a snake.

Speaker 2 (14:52):
That is a good selling point exactly.

Speaker 1 (14:55):
So, now's the traditional irrigation hoses, as they last four
or five years, how long can you expect the evolved
retractable hose to work. Is it difficult to replace it
if it needs replaced.

Speaker 3 (15:08):
No, So we've actually made evolve very very easy to
work with and for it to last a very long time.
So in terms of that retraction mechanism, you can honestly
expect say about twenty five years worth of daily watering.
So that spring loaded retraction is tested for ten thousand,
ten thousand attractions, So that's twenty five years of daily use. Wow,

(15:31):
which is we are just.

Speaker 1 (15:32):
So proud of. Sure, so proud of that.

Speaker 3 (15:35):
And then another couple of really nice pieces. It comes
with a five year warranty, which again that's the longest
warranty we've ever been able to offer us on one
of our host products, and also has some replaceable parts
as well, So it's actually the only retractable in the
market where if something was to happen with your host
for whatever reason you I think, life happens, right, Sometimes
a dog thinks it's a true toy. Sometimes you should

(15:57):
retract it, but you didn't, and then someone goes over
it with a lawnoll. Now if that happens, we can
replace the actual hose. So the product itself is actually
incredibly sustainable and really really serviceable. So in that sense,
it really can last years and years and years, as
opposed to like, as you said, those traditional hoses that

(16:18):
you're getting from your big box store leaving out in
the sun and you know, cracking from the heat and
then you get you get that freak freeze that comes through. Sure,
everything's just protected within that casing, so it's really it's
tucked away out of the element. So you're extending the
life of your host just by having it sitting there
in the casing. And then on top of that all

(16:39):
of those durable features that we've designed into the product
as well, so you truly you are looking at about
a lifetime of watering out of this well.

Speaker 1 (16:46):
That that's so good to hear. And I like the
five year warranty. That that's important. Now, Annie, so let's
talk about price, because something that's quality isn't always cheap.
But tell us about the price, and is it a kid?
Do you buy all of it? And one? So, how
much does it cost?

Speaker 3 (17:06):
Sure things? So look, I'm not going to tell you
it's the cheapest piece of watering equipment on the market,
but I will say it's a one. It'sful investment. So
our retractable hose reels all come into everything that you
need to get started. So that is the casing, the
hose so sorry, the mounting bracket and hardware, spray nozzle
and quick connect fittings, so it is it is truly

(17:28):
and all in one. And that's for our Revolved series
hose reels. They come in at two hundred and ninety
nine dollars. So what we find is that, you know,
people start with one because they want to taste it out,
and then truly within weeks.

Speaker 1 (17:43):
They get another one well and not the other because
they're like, well, how did I do this?

Speaker 3 (17:48):
Why did I deal with this previously? Why did I
deal with manually winding up my hoses? And before you
know it, there's one out the back, there's one out
the front, and come Christmas time there's one for the
kids or one for their pets.

Speaker 2 (17:58):
Sure right, Actually add up the cost of a good
sturdy hose, it doesn't kink and doesn't like the sun
damage and rot here in the state of Florida, and
then the quick connects like the brass ones. If you
add that all up, you're actually in my opinion is
that you're getting a better price and a better quality

(18:19):
set up with them.

Speaker 1 (18:21):
Yes, that the evolved series. That is so true. So
so Annie, thank you so much for coming on. What
where can people see this product? It's gorgeous. I love
it and definitely going to invest in it for our yard.
But where can people see the video and things?

Speaker 3 (18:39):
Sure thing, I had to www. Dot hoselink dot com
and you can find all of the details there. You
can also find us on social so Instagram and Facebook
at hostlink USA. But for everything you need just jump
on the website and any questions. We've got a wonderfully
friendly customer service team here in the US as well,
so always do not hesitate to reach out to us

(18:59):
with any questions.

Speaker 1 (19:01):
Well, Annie, thank you so much. I will also be
posting it on our Facebook page and in my newsletter,
so you'll be able to get it from there too
as well. Annie, thank you so much for reaching out
from down under. Thank you so much for having me
all right, Annie, thank you so much. That's hoselink dot com.
And it's just beautiful. I can see this for use

(19:23):
in pools, patios, small front yards, h o as and
uh and and just the just the Turkey runs, Turkey runs.
There you go. Thank you so much. Annie Morton with
hostlink dot Com. It's Saturday morning. You're listening to Better
Blogs and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins. The Dirty Word of
the Day is next. This is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.

(19:59):
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins,
and we're taking your phone calls one triple eight four
five five two nine sixty seven one triple eight four
five five two nine sixty seven, or you can text
two three six eight zero and we can answer your
gardening questions. I want to remind everyone that the Seminole

(20:21):
County Expo is going on today from nine a m.
Until three pm. Lots of things to do for the
children's activities, lots of scavenger hunts and educational workshops, and
even the museum is free today to go into open
for everyone. They'll have somebody there at Historical Docent there

(20:43):
and then also do lots of talks on bees and
native plants. I will be doing a talk at ten
thirty on landscape design, designing your dream landscape. I look
forward to seeing everyone and giving you all my little
tips and some great photos.

Speaker 2 (20:58):
I have a question, sure, when do we need to
plant potatoes or and or do we need to start
them so they have the eyes? What do we need
to do?

Speaker 1 (21:11):
Well, you can take them in and let them dry
out a little bit, you know, so that and then
when you can plant them. Usually potatoes are planted in
the fall, late summer and fall, but you can go
ahead and plant a midsummer too as well, and just
let them grow in the ground. Okay, even potato bags.
I like the potato bags.

Speaker 2 (21:30):
Okay, yeah, you bought me one, and that's those.

Speaker 1 (21:33):
Are really cool.

Speaker 2 (21:34):
Yeah, we don't want to get a dirty though. I
keep looking at like it's so pretty. It has its
own little what's that called that the pajamas that had.

Speaker 1 (21:42):
The little the diaper bottom.

Speaker 2 (21:44):
Yeah, they get the trap trap shoot.

Speaker 1 (21:46):
Or whatever, the trap door where you can open it
up without taking all the plants out of it.

Speaker 2 (21:50):
Yeah, but yeah, that's you know. So I was wondering
because I see that in a box store that they
have a bag of them for like ten twelve bucks.

Speaker 1 (21:57):
There's like four in there. I'm going, wow, potatoes are
so expensive when it's so easy to grow your own. Asked, Yeah,
I agree that. And the corn is the time for corn,
if you will like the midsummer corn and corn for picnics.
Now it's the time to plant it, okay.

Speaker 2 (22:13):
Seeds or yeah, like I mean, you go ahead, get
through your seeds and the brown right now.

Speaker 1 (22:17):
Right seeds right now is fine? So one triple eight
four five, five, two nine sixty seven, or you can
text two three eight two three six eight zero. And
I would love to answer your gardening questions right now.
You can be also two perennials. Your plants that are dead,

(22:38):
they may not be so dead, you know, just again,
like Tom McCubbin said earlier, depends on how patient you
want to be. All right, So we are gonna have
that little cold front come through on Monday. We're used
to it. You know. If your plants haven't been cut,
they will handle it just fine because they haven't had
any new growth stimulation. But I'm really surprised to see

(22:59):
the new growth like crinum lilies. Quinum lilies got really damaged,
and they already three days after the freeze, they were
already starting to shoot up new plants.

Speaker 2 (23:07):
It's great and it's crazy because it's like this freeze
like turn a lot of my plants that end up
getting hit that still had copboard, but turn them into mush.

Speaker 3 (23:17):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (23:17):
Then I look down into the soil and they've got
a pretty little green flower leaf coming up, and I'm going, what.

Speaker 1 (23:24):
Do you know what's blooming beautifully in my yard right now?
I must have I should have. I'll send to show
you pictures my a Marilla's all the orange red red
orange flowers. They're all blooming like we didn't have any
any winter, you know, and they're they're just beautiful right now,
Amrylla's and they're blooming gorgeous and like they didn't even

(23:45):
experience the wintertime. Nice And I'm just really I was
really surprised. I walked out my yard and go, whoa,
those are already blooming. That's great. And so because you know,
we started Lent and Easter is gonna be right here
around the corner.

Speaker 2 (23:58):
This is true.

Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yea, what do you do for Easter?

Speaker 2 (24:01):
Absolutely nothing.

Speaker 1 (24:03):
You don't do anything.

Speaker 2 (24:04):
I mean, I it's so crazy because the kids.

Speaker 1 (24:07):
The kids are too big.

Speaker 2 (24:08):
Yeah it's it's yeah, they're just too big. And then
they have their own families that they do their own stuff.
So we do a little Easter story and we talk
about Jesus, you know, and the resurrection, and but yeah,
we don't. Isn't really our big thing. Our big thing
is the fall and Christmas.

Speaker 1 (24:24):
So I agree with you. I agree with you. I
just remember getting all dressed up and the little white
gloves and a little dressed with the bows, and.

Speaker 2 (24:32):
Well, I have a grand niece in Seattle, Washington, and
so I found at Cracker Barrel they had cute little
bunny the little shoes, the dress shoes, they had the
little bunnies on them.

Speaker 1 (24:47):
So I got a cute dress to.

Speaker 2 (24:49):
Go with it.

Speaker 1 (24:50):
And oh how cool is that? We used to when
we dressed like that. My dad would take us the
three oldest because that's all there was at the time,
just paper's gardens, and we would get our photographs taken
in cypress gardens and it was just lovely. So point
setia is, if your point setia made it through the freeze,
you can go ahead and put it out in the landscape. Now.

(25:12):
If you brought it in, that will be great. I
want to hear from the guy who had the five
foot tall coconut tree on the coast. Remember he called
in and said he had a five foot tall coconut tree.
What did you do with your cocona tree? Because I
told him very seriously to dig it up and bring
it into the garage. And I wonder if he did that. Uh,

(25:32):
so you can take it now out of the garage
and put it back in the yard.

Speaker 2 (25:37):
You do, okay, So what is case? So he takes
it out after Monday, he take it out. Does he
need to put anything in the ground and fertilized what
you need to do to make it re established.

Speaker 1 (25:47):
You don't want to. You don't want to fill a
single hole with any organic material because most of your
plants when you buy them already have good soil in them,
and so there's no reason to amend a single hole. Uh,
you want to amend the attire guarden bed if you
do any kind of soil amendment, and then that way
it is spaced throughout where all the roots grow. If

(26:08):
you amend a single hole, what's gonna happen is that
the tree is going to send out new roots and
it's going to love that new organic material and it's
going to keep on growing. And then either with the
warmer temperatures or if you put fertilizer down again, it's
going to go through another gross spurt and it's going
to send the roots out more and it's going to
hit that sugar sand. Most likely it's not gonna like it,

(26:30):
and it's going to turn back into the good organic
soil and it will literally, over the next couple of
years girdle itself. So you want to while the plants
in shock go ahead and amend your soil bed. You
want to use one bag of top soil, one bag
of compost, one bag of manure black calminure for every
ten square feet of property, and then you just mix

(26:54):
it all up and incorporate it. Then you plant your plant,
and then while it's in shock, it's going to send
those new roots out and it's going to be in
the soil that is there, and then when it goes
to another growth spurt, it's just it's going to be
the same soil. So it's going to continue to expand
out into the garden bed. If you amend a single hole,
the chances of you girdling your plant and it dying.

(27:17):
Have you ever seen I don't know in your yard,
but I've seen in landscapes where after two to three
years you pull the azalea up and it's still in
the same root ball as what it was planted.

Speaker 2 (27:27):
Oh, it happens more often because we have a lot
of sand. I mean, we're Florida. We have a lot
of sand on our property alone. And it's like, I'm like,
it didn't make sense. It didn't make sense. So yeah,
that makes sense now that you Yeah.

Speaker 1 (27:40):
So it doesn't it didn't. One, you didn't probably stimulate it,
you know, open up that root ball a little bit.
And then two so when you add the organic amendments,
it's going to kind of stay in that area. So
it mend the entire garden bed, not a single hole,
and that'll save you some some time and it'll save
your plants and that'll be great, all right. So also too,

(28:01):
we want to thank Tom for calling in this morning.
It's always great to talk with him, and we do
appreciate him, and I appreciate him. He's going to be
filling in for me. So yes, I'm very excited when
we go on these wonderful garden tours. If you would
like to hear more about our garden tours, we would
love for you to come with us. Go to Art
and bloomgardentours dot com. We're going to some beautiful places

(28:23):
this year and we're very excited about it. And we
have small groups, beautiful accommodations, delicious food, and we just
have a great time.

Speaker 2 (28:32):
I mean, I know, you know, I know that everybody
sees Teresa as a rockstar, which she is, but she
does like to keep it to smaller groups.

Speaker 1 (28:40):
Yeah, yes, more it it does you know, but I
just want to be able to talk to everybody and
get to know everybody, yes, and then talk about our
gardens because when we go, I will let you know
what we'll grow in Florida. And you know, the color
combinations you see are all exciting. But that's how I
found out some of my plants that are great for Florida.

(29:01):
I saw them in Scotland and Ireland and you know
up in Canada, and I'm going, this will grow great
in Florida. Why didn't I know about this? I love that?

Speaker 2 (29:10):
And you know you're also passing that knowledge onto those
who go on the tour. So where do they go?
Because they need to know the cost They you know
that there's possible waiting lists and they need to make
sure that they've got their their passport.

Speaker 1 (29:20):
To their passport to if we if you want to
go to the international tours, they can go to art
and bloomgardentours dot com. And so right now you can
go ahead and well, just your container gardens, get them
all prepared for springtime. If you haven't replenished the soil,
it's gonna have. You'll see your containers the soil and
the containers go down and down and down and down.

(29:43):
And that's because plants eat soil. They don't eat fertilizer.
You know, if I was to give Tony a plate
of fertilizer, you know, plate of vitamins, because that's what
you're basically going to jail. Yeah, no, he would not
be a happy camper. And so you know the vitamins
that are very important for plants, but they get nutrition
from the soil when the fertilizers break down and it's

(30:03):
absorbed by the plants. So that's important. Great time to
start composting leaves. The oak trees are going to be
dropping their leaves again, so it's a great time to
use those composts. You know, those leaves in your composts.
If it's Saturday morning, you're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
Thank you to Annie Morton hostlink dot com and Tom

(30:23):
MCCOBBN appreciate them, and Lizzie, thank you for all you do. Oh,
thank you.

Speaker 2 (30:27):
Thank you for our listeners, those that have called in,
those that didn't want to speak on air, we still
I'll relay the message. So everyone for you guys, well,
you know what, we wouldn't have such a good time.

Speaker 1 (30:36):
From the Summit Responsible Solutions Studios. This is Florida's talk
and entertainment network.

Speaker 2 (30:41):
You can always go back and recap any of the
shows at Better Lawns dot com and also check out
the Facebook and social media pages, which is Better Lawns
and Gardens.

Speaker 1 (31:16):
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. And I went
right through. I was so interested in my letting you
know what kind of soil conditions you have, that I
forgot about the dirty word of the day. So let's
do it right now. Let's do the dirty word of
the day. And now it's time for the dirty Word
of the Day on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins.

(31:36):
And the dirty word of the day is California flory
califlory calliflory. It is a botanical phenomenon in which plants
produce flowers and fruits directly from their main stems or
woody trucks, rather than from new growth or shoots. And
so the word comes from Collie meet collis meaning stem

(31:59):
and flory from the word flour, and the tray is
uncommon in temperate regions but very common in tropical forests.
One widely discussed hypothesis for the evolution of califfery califfery
thank you is that it facilitates pollination or deed seed

(32:19):
dispersal by animals such as bats, which can climb on
trunks and sturdy limbs, to excess nectar and fruit. Certain
species may instead bear fruit that falls from the canopy
and matures only upon reaching the ground. Additional theories include
competitive dynamics for sugars and minerals between flowers and young leaves,

(32:41):
as well as mechanical support for larger floral structures and fruits.
Examples of cliffery are cacao trees, showy bottlebrush, umbrella plant,
the Schefflers, starfruit, jackfruit, coffee, Arabica, cannonball tree, Haaya, the
eastern red bud fig species, and Durian, which is the

(33:06):
king of fruits. Califfery provides several advantages pollination. Flowers are
accessible to climbing mammals, bats and birds, seed dispersal fruits
are easier for animals to reach, increasing the likelihood of
spreading seeds away from the parent tree and adaptation to environment.

(33:27):
In dense tropical forests, flowers on trunks are more visible
and reachable than those in the canopy. So the dirty
word of the day is califfery.

Speaker 2 (33:37):
Hmm.

Speaker 1 (33:38):
Set it correctly at the end there. Thank you so
much that we are going to take your phone calls
one triple eight four five five two nine sixty seven,
or you can text two three six eight zero. Let's go, Linda.
We're glad you're up and running again. So thank you
very much for letting us know. We want to make
sure you could hear us. So greetings from Melbourne Beach.

(33:58):
This is Buffalo. Good morning. My avocado tree, papaya, my
guava tree, and my bananas suffered terribly. Some of my
bananas have started sprouting out green again, and I'm not
worried about the ones that have the big, big root
systems grown. Those will regrow. I'm mostly worried about my
avocado tree that does not have one green leaf on it.

(34:19):
I don't see green buds at the top. Should I
cut those back? Or what should I do? The same
with a guava which is as much smaller tree. Everything
in here, everything here in Melbourne Beach suffered terribly. I
guess that's what we call the Florida fall, when the
leaves turn. I had a beautiful cheffle or tree that
has lost every leaf, and I see some green sprouts
at the tips, and I lost all the shade in

(34:41):
my back porch. Will those come back? Thank you very much? Well, Buffalo,
I will tell you I think it will be just fine.
I'm concerned about your avocado tree. But what I need
you to do is start at the highest level that
you can reach, and again scrape that outer layer of
a bark to where if you see green. If you

(35:03):
see green, then the tree's going to recover. Scrape until
if it's brown, keep scraping back and it will probably
come back, you know, probably just right above the main trunk.
So you may have to cut it back some. But
I would find that green first before, and that'll tell
you where you need to cut. Okay, your guavtree, I
would do the same thing too. It may come back, Okay,

(35:28):
might not, but it should come back, and then everything
else your scheffler will be just fine. Just go ahead
and cut the shuffler right down to where you can
keep it as a tree. Cut it back as much
as you can. Go ahead and scrape and find the
green area, and it should come back. So it's not
going to be too bad. Just take a deep breath, Buffalo,

(35:51):
we will recover good morning trees, said Lizzie. I don't
really have a lot of plants, but I would like
to grow some cherry tomatoes in a container and wonder
which ones are best. I'm in a courtyard villa and
I have no grass. My bushes came through the freeze. Okay.
I just enjoyed listening to the program and I learned
a lot. Last time I asked a question, it was

(36:13):
can I grow a tree in a pot? Was told yes,
as long as every so often I pull it up
and trim the roots so it doesn't become pot bound.
Are peach trees feasible to grow in a pot? And
what kind of cherry tomatoes are the best? Thank you
Terrees for your advice and suggests. Well, I appreciate you texting,
and so, yes, you can grow your peach tree in
a pot in a container. Just think of Spain and

(36:36):
in the courtyards they have all those fruit trees growing
in containers. So you want to make sure you've got
a good sized container so that you have enough room
for a good sized root ball. So I would say
anything from fifteen to twenty five gallon Okay, pot that
you can put into your patio area or outside in

(36:57):
your patio area and it should do just fine. You
want to make sure that you're cutting it correctly at
the right time of the year and you're fertilizing. Okay,
so that would be fine. But it's got to get
enough sunlight in your courtyard. Okay. That's gonna be the
one thing that I'm concerned about is how much sunlight
you get. Now. Your cherry tomatoes sweet millions are wonderful.

(37:19):
You can do black night are the darker ones. There's
so many different varieties of cherry tomatoes, including the Everglades
cherry tomato, which has fruit all year round. So there's
so many different varieties sweet one hundred, You've got the
sweet million, and then you've got million, all kinds of

(37:39):
really great cherry tomatoes.

Speaker 2 (37:41):
So I'm gonna have to look to see what I got.
And because I'm not a big cherry tomato fan, because
they just I haven't really found too many that are
actually sweet. So but I was going by the name
it said.

Speaker 1 (37:53):
Sweet million, sweet million, try those. And then there's also
the sweet one hundred, so you can grow those. So
let us know how you do with your your container
pot and your tomatoes. Thank you for texting one triple
eight four five five two nine sixty seven, or you
can text two three six eight zero. So what can
you be doing right now in your yard? Well, I

(38:13):
just kind of want you to focus. If you're growing
deciduous fruit trees like your apples, your peaches, your pears,
your nectarines, your plums, you need to prune those now
so that they can go ahead and get their new
growth going and produce flowers for the springtime. You want
to make sure you're cutting your peach tree so that
it's in a vase shape. Keep the peach trees and

(38:36):
nectarines at a height that you can see across. That's
going to enable you to harvest the peaches and the
nectarines reasonably and you'll get more. So the vase shape
just think of a champagne glass, the old fashioned cocktail glass,
and you want to have where the interior kind of cups,

(38:57):
and that's going to be the best wave for air circulation.
You Also, it's an open center and it's called face shape.
If you need to have a publication on it, just
send me an email and I'll send you a publication
on it. It's okay to prune your decidrous trees and
fruits right now. Go ahead and do it. This Saturday morning.
You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins

(39:19):
and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network