April 20, 2026 • 39 mins
Garden expert Teresa Watkins teams up with Heather Stickney from Summit Responsible Solutions to discuss keeping bromeliads and yards mosquito-free, plus tips for tick-free outdoor activities. The Dirty Word of the Day is "Air layering," and garden topics include success report on caring for avocado trees, managing freeze-damaged Christmas palms, and pruning evergreen shrubs.
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Speaker 1 (00:10):
Good morning, Welcome back to the second hour of Better
Lawns and Gardens from the Summit Responsible Solutions Studios. I'm
Teresa Watkins. I am a horticulturist, landscape designer, garden author,
and I love helping people with their gardens and their
landscapes and going through and making the world a more
(00:31):
beautiful place. And so I love answering gardening questions. If
you have a gardening question, we're going to be taking
it this hour one triple eight four five five, two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. But it's time for the dirty word of
the day. And now it's time for the dirty word
(00:52):
of the Day on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins,
and the dirty word of the day is air layering.
Air layering. Air layering is an old method for propagating
plants of large size that you can do for It's
just a special purpose. You want a tree or a
shrub that's evergreen and flowering. You can even do it
(01:15):
with deciduous trees and you can't find another one, well,
you can make your own by air layering, and this
especially works with tropical trees and shrubs. So how do
you do it? Well, here's the steps for making an
air layer planting. One, you take a section of the
(01:35):
stem and you can girdle it. And by girdling it,
I mean you're going to very slightly, very tenderly cut
the outer outside bark very carefully, and then about an
inch or two inches down, you cut another ring around
the stem and you remove that bark area very very carefully.
(01:59):
Then you remove several layers around this wound, because that's
what it is. It's wounded, and you pack it. You
take some wet sphagnum moss, wrap it around the stem
and tie it. You can use spagnum moss or peat moss,
and then you wrap it around and tie it onto it.
You cover the moss with a polyethylene plastic and you
(02:23):
tie each end of that plant. Now you want to
check to make sure the moss remains moist until roots form,
and they will. It'll start it'll start producing roots in
that cut area. So after the roots are visible, you
can see them inside the bag. Then the rooted stem
can be cut from the mother plant and repotted. That's
(02:46):
called air layering. And you will see this if you
go down to south Miami to the growers. They will
have shrubs and trees out in their nursery and you
will see bags hanging from the trunks of the branches
in the trees, and that's them producing propagating more plants
for future potting.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Okay, I've seen that, and I did wonder what is
going on there? So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, So it's very interesting and very easy to do.
You can do it very easily with your tropical plants
and then the green portions of your trees, other trees
that you would like to have another copy of. So
the dirty word of the day is air layering.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Okay, all right, I uh so my one of my
adventures that I thought I was going to go on.
But you know, you really should pay attention to your plants,
especially if you're one to propagate them. So I did
the research on how to propagate point settus because I
found at a box store what I call splatter paint
(03:47):
point sets. Yes, they were so gorgeous, and some of
the leaves were two faces, so they were bright red
with a like an ivory color splatter paint, and so
some of them were two faced, they were half the
the ivory and half red and then the others have
the splatter over it anyway, So I'm like, okay. So
I researched and I got the root, the root hormone powder,
(04:09):
and then I cut it where I was supposed to
on the notches and the what however, you diagonally there
you go. I did everything perfect, and then I actually
had like a little bit of a cover over them,
and they were out of the sun and beautiful. And
then uh, four days later I remembered them. Yes, yeah,
everything was dry, and.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Oh you didn't keep them moist enough. Oh, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So I'm glad that I only like really sacrificed one
of my plants. So I got three more.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So you go to try it again.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, sure, that sounds great, sounds like something I don't
want ever do again.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
No, no, no, you should do it again and try
it and uh and and just to make sure you want.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
It, he said a timer on my phone me to
go back every day.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yes, that would that would be good. Yes, growing plants
is not easy to take.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Care of kids.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
That's it exactly a pet.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You just don't have to take it out to go
to the bathroom.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
There, there you go. One triple eight four five five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
six eight zero. What should you be doing right now?
Now it's April, we've had three months since our major freeze.
If anything is dead in your yard, cut it back,
find if it's still living. If it's not living, you
(05:30):
can go ahead and take it out. And I will
tell you what's a really good thing to do with
your dead shrubs that are all sticky and they look
terrible is put them behind your shed where you don't
see them, and then in October, when it's Halloween, take
them back out and plant them in your front yard
so your front yard looks like a cemetery. Oh, you
can do like a spooky tree.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I know a few years ago you had actually done
a whole segment on how to create a spooky looking garden,
and it was already It's one of those things's kind
of like it's already too late because we didn't save
our old stuff right.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
So now's the time to go ahead and save it
for Halloween. And also you can use it to make
Halloween decorations. So just go ahead and pull everything out
that's dead, cut grasses back, all the ornamental grasses that
have fronds and flowers from last year should be cut
back now. Okay, they should get cut in January February.
(06:21):
But if you haven't cut them back, this is the
time they're not going to come back. Chefloras are really
looking bad too. So if you have dead cheflea's dead,
exoras dead, any type of plant that's dead, go ahead
and you know, just go ahead and cut. Okay, great,
super duper all right, So let's go ahead and we
(06:44):
are going to be talking to Heather Stickney in just
a few minutes. We're going to be interviewing it with
the Summit Responsible Solutions 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 to
(07:32):
Better Lines and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins. Joining me right
now is Heather Stickney. She is the marketing director for
Summit Responsible Solutions Studio or Summit Responsible Solutions.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
There you go, Can I say this real? Okay? Case?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So we did that.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Actually, this is this is perfect timing text wife. So
we had a we had a listener. Her name is
as Becky, and she said, thank you Teresa and Lizzie
for fining such a great show and so much information.
She goes, I get a kick us. You'll get a
kick out that she goes. For months, whenever you were
saying somewhat responsible solutions, always thought you were saying somewhat
(08:08):
responsible solutions. And I thought to myself, why would a
bat business advertise that they are somewhat responsible? Becky, you
cracked us up.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
There you go, it is Summit responsible Solutions. Good morning, Heather,
how are you?
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Good morning? I'm well, thank you, how are you?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I am great? Tell us what spring is like where
you live.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Well, spring has been a roller coaster this week. I
was in Baltimore and they had high temperatures of ninety
degrees on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That is unbelievable in April?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
No less, Yeah, it is. Well, we were experiencing a
little bit more of a cold for and I'll be
up in Virginia and the Maryland section next week, so
I'm hoping the temperatures are going to be in the
seventies and sixties.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
When I left yesterday that was what they were forecasting,
So it should be a little more pleasant.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, yep. So I'm back in Ohio today and we
had some rain overnight. It's a little bit wet, but
definitely more moderate temperatures here.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Excellent, excellent. Have you started your spring garden?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Honestly I have not. We have had record rainfall that spring.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Oh my goodness, we.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Ten inches, So it's made it a little bit challenging
to get outside and do anywere.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I can understand that.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Rainfall is probably one of the things that concerns us
most here in Florida, and with rain, we have the humidity,
and we get insects and disease issues. And your products,
some responsible solutions products are excellent. Tell us about your
year round spray oil.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
So our year round spray oil is a highly refined
horticultural oil and it can be used in both the
dormant and growing season to kill things like aphids, might scale,
and any other type of soft body insects. It's approofd
for use in organic gardening, so it is a more
(10:05):
environmentally friendly option for the consumer mm hm. And it
can be used on just about any type of plant,
including edibles, and used up to the day of harvest.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
That that's really really very important because it can be
used up to the day of harvest and so so
on the instructions, does it say that you need to
wash off the vegetables or what would you do if
you sprayed it on the day up?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
You know it does. I don't know that there are
specific instructions for once the fruit or the vegetable is picked.
I think it's always just a matter of good practice
to wash the vegetables in case there's any dirt or
anything else that might be on that.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
That is true, And so yournme eighty five. Tell us
about that. This is a new product, and I will
tell you I've had good success with it. So tell
us about Neme eighty five.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Meme is also an oil. It is an oil that's
derived from the Meme seed, which is a plant that
comes or grows primarily in Southeast Asia. In addition to
being an oil, our name is it's a cold press product,
so it maintains a compound called AzID eactin, which has
(11:17):
some additional insecticidal properties. So it works as an anti
sterilant and an anti feed in addition to being a
suffocant to kill and control various insect paths as well as.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Diseases, right, And that's important because the oil kind of
suffocates the insects like the scale that have a little
shell on it. It protects them from regular insecticide. So correct,
that works really well. I'm very pleased with it and
I've been recommending it and I was even thinking about
it today when Gary called about his magnolia and he
(11:53):
had black spot on it, and I said, you know what,
you know, we should really just check it for scale
and use an oil on it. That's very important. Now,
the mosquito bits, you we have a need for them.
With an even when it's dry here, the irrigation can
have pockets of leave pockets of water in your landscape
and in your bird baths, and then also with bromeliads.
(12:16):
So tell us about the mosquitobits for those people who
do not know our listeners, who do not know about
this great product.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So mosquito bits work with a that they have an
active ingredient called BTI, which is a soil born bacterium
that is toxic only to mosquito larva. So mosquitoes don't
need a lot of water to breed. They can breed
in as little as you know a capful of water.
(12:45):
I know, so any place that might collect water, like
your bermeliads, those little cups. If you sprinkle mosquito bits,
the active ingredient will dissolve off the granule and kill
the mosquito larva before they become biting adults.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
That's so important. I really do appreciate that. Really, and
so this doesn't harm birds going to your bird bath,
or even birds going into a bromeliad. It doesn't hurt them.
It doesn't hurt you know, wildlife butterflies or our pollinator insects.
It doesn't hurt them at all.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
That is correct. This is what I would call a
very responsible solution. It is harmless to virtually everything except
mosquito larvae.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
That's fascinating. I love Mother Nature because this is a
natural product, an organic product that Mother Nature provides for us,
and you supply it so that we can get it
very easily. So I do appreciate that. Now, if people
are going because this is getting into the season for
spring breaks and also camping and vacations are coming up
in a couple of months, what products do you have
(13:50):
to help people when they go camping and hiking for
their clothing and for like their tents.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I think one of the biggest concerns people have and
they're out is certainly we're hearing more in the news
about the disease that ticks and mosquitoes can spread. So
one of the solutions that we offer is our Green
Armor insect repellent for clothing and gear. This is a
permethn based spray and the permethrin binds to the fabric
(14:21):
of your jackets, your shoes, your pants, your tents, your
backpacks to kill and repel mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects.
So it's a great way to help prevent a mosquito
bite or a tick bite that could lead to a
bigger problem.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
And I also see that you guys have a thing
called tick take. It's a tick removal tool which a
lot of people who don't know how to remove ticks
and what the seems to be a pretty big problem
this season we have coming up. I'm pretty interested in this.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
The tick take is really you know, if you haven't
taken measures to prevent a tick bite and you do
find one embedded, the tick take is a small spoon
shaped tool. It's notched at the end and you simply
slide it along your skin to grab the tick and
pop it out. It's both physician and veterinarian and approved.
(15:21):
So if you have a dog that might happen to
get bitten by a tick, it's you know, a great
way to help remove that from your your pet.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
That is and so and then you can take it
with you along on your your vacations and stuff and
do your nightly tick checks there.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And it also has it it's a set so you
can actually put on your key ring. So if you
have keys that you take with you on that weight trip.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Oh yeah, you can pop one in the glove box
of your car. You're exactly right, you can put it
on your key ring. It's very small and you know,
really a great tool to have should you ever need it.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
That is great. I am so impressed. Uh and so
so so Heather. What how the miss mosquito bits the
mosquito dunks? How would you know which one to use,
whether you want to use the bits, whether you want
to use the dunks.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
With the mosquito bits, those work very quickly. So if
you have a problem and you want to take care
of it very quickly, I would use bits to clean
up the current problem. They work to kill within twenty
four hours and last for seven to fourteen days. Mosquito
dunks are a little bit longer release and offer a
little bit longer control. So, for example, in a bird bath,
(16:29):
you could apply bits to clean up the problem and
then add a dunk to prevent the problem going forward.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
That's so great. Now Mother's Day is coming up. There's
going to be a lot of picnics, especially here in Florida,
up in Ohio. I hope you have great weather and
all across the country celebrating Mother's Day. How can people
take care of their yards and say, okay, I don't
want any insects the day of and I don't want
a fleas or ticks or mosquitos or any kind of
(16:57):
biting insects. What would you suggest the.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
We make a product. We make two different products. One
is called mosquito and gnat barrier. The other is called
tick and flea spray. Both will work to do the
same thing. They're just labeled a little bit differently depending
on your specific type of problem. So you can use
that particular product in your lawn, apply it a day
or two in advance of your picnic or your outdoor
(17:23):
event and apply to areas where or mosquitoes might harbor.
That will help to control the adult populations for up
to thirty days and really keep your backyard bug free.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Well, what I love about your products is that they're natural.
Most of them are labeled where you can use them anywhere,
and you have such great products. You are very responsible.
That's one of the reasons why we love having you
as a sponsor of the show. In our studios, we've
named them after you. They are so your products are
excellent and I get nothing but raves from all of
(18:00):
the people who call us and talk about your products.
And when I meet them at talks and things, they go,
we love your mosquito bits or they say we use
the mosquito dunks. And I'm very very I'm very proud
of that. So thank you so much, Heather, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
We appreciate all the support in our partnership.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
You're welcome, Han, take care, We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
All right, bye bye. That's Heather Stickney with Summit Responsible Solutions,
and she is a sponsor. And one of the reasons
why is because her product is so great.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yes, and I've used I've used her their products prior
to even working here at iHeart and the fact is
I feel very comfortable using their products around we have
dogs with turkeys, and we have turkeys. That's the thing
is I really feel very comfortable because you know, birds
are just very weird and it's like, I mean, they
(18:54):
use canary canaries and coal mines.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
What do you think, you know, So.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
They're very sensitive certain things compared to other you know.
So I feel very comfortable using these Summitt Responsible Solution
products on my property.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
So for wonderful thank you. So we do appreciate that.
So that's Summit Responsible Solutions dot com and you can
also just google Summit Responsible and they're there. So we
do appreciate her coming on lit. If we're gonna have
more gardening questions, we've got some text messages here from
John and Palm Bay and Lauren from Bartow. If you
(19:27):
have a gardening question, you can give us a call
one triple eight four five five two nine sixty seven,
or you can text us two three six eight zero.
It's Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa wat because this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
(19:54):
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. We want to
thank Heather's nickname with some responsible solutions. She is a wonderful,
wonderful person and I love we love talking with you.
She's great. So 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. John and
(20:16):
Palm Bay sent a text message and he goes, when
is the best time to prune evergreen shrubs? Is any
time of the year, all right, And he said, thank you, well,
thank you John for your text message. So pruning, there's
got to be a reason for the pruning. And so, uh,
if it's evergreen and it's not flowering, you can cut
(20:36):
those back any time of the year, you know, especially
if you're wanting to keep them in line where they're
not overgrowing a sidewalk or they're going they're they're growing
out of bounds. You can cut those any time of
the year. Not a problem. Flowering shrubs you always want
to cut after they finish blooming. Okay, So evergreen shrubs
(20:57):
anytime of the year, not a problem. And then he
had a question about his Christmas palm. He has a
triple Christmas palm. That means that it's got three trunks.
Two of them are alive and one doesn't seem like
it is from the freeze. And in Palm Bay they
got extremely cold. So what I would look for, John
(21:18):
is I would look at the top. If you could
see a new frond coming up, okay, emerging from the
top of that trunk. See if any new fronds are
coming up. Cut off any of the dead fronds. I
would wait probably another month to six weeks and go
ahead and fertilize it with a palm fertilizer. See if
(21:40):
it recovers. It may they just may take a little
bit to come back. If you don't see anything in
six weeks, you may have to cut that palm off.
But it's going to continue to decline. So h just
look at the top. If you can see a new
frond emerging. It should be emerging now if it's still alive.
If it's not, I would probably wait a month and
(22:02):
cut it back. Great question. Lauren from Bartow. Lauren from Bartow.
She said she had a Brogden avocado that she was
so sad to lose, and she put the loose in
quotation marks in the freeze. I thought you would really
like to hear that. I took your advice and cutting
it back and fertilizing and it has lots of new growth.
And she said, thank you, so yay, her avocado tree
(22:25):
is going to make it. And I think that's going
to be. Most of the avocados and mangoes are going
to need to be cut back. It's just the ones
that are large, that are huge thirty feet tall and
twenty feet wide, that they may need to cut those
back drastically, so they may not look so good for
a little while.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
True.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Okay, we have Bruce and Saint Petersburg. He said, I
would like to add color to my shady backyard. What
can I plant? And there are so many great plants
for you, Bruce, that you can put in your yard
to just promote color and bring it to life. If
you'd like maybe a classical look, you could do Abelia's
(23:05):
Edward Goscher. It's got a beautiful pink flowers. They have
white flowers on the different varieties, but the Edward Goscher
is pink that does beautifully in the shade. You can
plant azaleas and camellias, Mona lavender, which is a plectranthus.
Day lilies will bloom in the shade very nicely. You
(23:26):
can do clavias and jugas and rex pagonias or regular
pagonias to as well. So those are nice for a
classical look. Now if you want more of a tropical look,
you could do kalladiums and coliuses, crotons and Waiian ties.
The trio stars as tremanthas, New Guinean patients and bromeliads.
(23:48):
So you've got a lot of great choices, Bruce, for
doing a shaded garden with lots of color, we have
a lot of great plant selections.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
That's actually, those are some really good. I love this.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, So you know you can always have
color and especially the shade. And since we're going to
be planting trees, you know you want to make sure
that if you've planted a tree, or you planted it
years ago and you have plants that are not doing
so well underneath it anymore, it may be time to
go from having sunny plants underneath the tree canopy and
(24:21):
substituting or transplanting new plants that will will take the
shade better. So when plant trees, the plants underneath. It
may be growing fine until it gets too shady and
you can see that they're not responding. They're not growing
well anymore, and it may be because they just need
more sunlight. And then also root competition too as well.
(24:42):
You don't want to be planting shrubs underneath your tree,
that newly planted tree, because the root competition also the
nutrient competition, and you want to make sure your tree
has the best start. So if you're going to be
planting underneath a tree, make sure it's far enough away,
you know, I would say probably, I would say at
(25:04):
least ten feet away from a large canopy tree that
you've planted, and then that way they don't need moved
in the future. One triple eight four five, five, two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. So Tina and Tampa. She says, how can
I use black cow in my yard? And that's a
really great question, because when do you use manure and
(25:27):
when can you put it in your yard? Well, black
cow is a rich source of organic matter. Of course,
manure is always a great source for organic matter. It
improves garden soil, and it provides beneficial bacteria and micro organisms.
That's important in our sandy soils, we don't have a
(25:47):
lot of micro organisms in it to help keep the
soil natural and providing nutrients and things. So the bacteria
and micro organisms in black cow rates the sod, It
breaks down organic materials, and it produces nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus,
and potassium. So it also improves soil structure. So if
(26:10):
your yard, your landscape seems like it's compacted, you can
just you know, till in very lightly just the top
surface area you can place and spread manure on it
and and incorporate it into your soil. And that's going
to help relieve the compaction. But it's also going to
(26:31):
allow the plant roots of your turf and in your
landscape beds to us to have easy access to it. So,
you know black cow, that would be great. So let's
one triple eight four five five two nine six seven
great questions. Thank you Bruce and Tina for those great questions.
Uh one triple eight four five five two nine sixty
(26:54):
seven or you can text two three six eight zero
data On today's show, did he happen to mention when
his upcoming book will be available? No, he did not
but we will ask him about that. That's very important,
so that'll be a great question to ask him. I
would love to have that book, Linda, and Zone eight
(27:14):
B says, does anyone ever put earthworms in their potted plants? Yes,
we do, Linda, and I love seeing potted plants when
I lift them out of the soil and I see
earthworms at the bottom. That's great. We're going to be
right back with more of your gardening questions and Better
Lawns and Gardens Saturday morning. This is where you are
Better Lawns and Gardens from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios.
(27:37):
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. I love our list.
(28:00):
There's in our text messages that Lin then you cracked
me up. She wants to know how many earthworms per pot,
and I would say as many as you can get
that will live there.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
So probably you find those with the same one of
the ones that you buy like the bait stores and
like the like the farm stores.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
You get farmers them there. Yeah, and so that that's
too funny. As many as will live in there.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
That'll and what's the major benefit of like so so,
like my cucumbers I have, like have a big potted
area of them on a trellis, So would it be
behoo of me to go and get some and put
them in there?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Necessarily, you might have them already in there in your
ground already, so you don't need to purchase any But
they what they do is they break down the soil
and with their what they exude out, it helps add
nutrition to the soil. So they're really very beneficial. So
Bob asks a really great question. He says, I enjoy
(28:57):
listening to your show on iHeart. I live in Miami.
What kind of weed killers can I use? Can I
use them? Now? Thank you for your show and so
great question because herbicides they are you know, they're safe
to use when used according to the label and at
the right time of year. But weed killers, herbicides can
(29:19):
also damage your lawns and plants when used at a
wrong time of the year. And when is it wrong
to use them? When the temperatures are over eighty five
degrees when it's too hot. And when that happens, the
weeds are usually stronger than the chemical and they may
get damaged, they may get burned, they don't necessarily go away.
(29:41):
It doesn't get rid of them entirely. So this month
next week, for the whole state of Florida, it will
be an optimum time to use a weed killer and
a herbicide if you have not used one already, And
it will be advantageous for you because the temperatures are
going to be low eighty five throughout the state and
(30:02):
then next weekend we're going to be getting some rainfall
and that will help too as well. So thank you
Bob for listening on iHeart. So you want to make
sure when you use a weed killer, you know what
weeds you're wanting to kill. And so weeds have three categories,
and there's a really cool way to remember them, which
(30:25):
is it could be a sedge. So sedges have edges,
and there can be rushes, which are the broad leaf weeds.
Grasses have nodes from the top to the ground. So
it goes like this. Sedges have edges, rushes are around,
and grasses have nodes from the top to the ground.
(30:46):
So those are the three different categories. So broad leaf
weeds have wide veined leaves that grow from a central
stem and examples of a broad leaf weed would be
dollar weed or spurge or Florida pusley or even beggar
beggar weeds or wood sorrel that oxlust, that shamrock looking
(31:09):
plant in your yard, those are broad leaf weeds. You
want to use an herbicide that has those weeds listed
on the label. And so take a picture of it
and you can send it to me and I can
tell you what kind of weeds you have, or you
can do a Google image search and it will tell
you what kind of weed it is, or you can
(31:32):
take a sample to your extension office. Now, grassy weeds
look like turf grass, but they have narrow and narrow
veined leaves. And examples of a grassy weed would be
crabgrass okay, crabgrass or chickweed. And then sedges, Oh, sedges
are terrible to get rid of. These have solid, triangular
(31:53):
stems and they're often identified. Like I said, sedges have edges.
You can literally feel the edge alone long the stem,
and an example of that would be nutsedge or ground ivy.
So you can use those so when you use a
selective herbicide. So a selective herbicide means that this herbicide
(32:15):
is going to kill a specific weed without hurting another
turf okay, turf or other plants. So an example of
a selective herbicide would be like two four D or atrazine,
and so those would be selective. They're going after a
(32:35):
specific type of weed. Non selective herbicide, make sure you're
reading the label correctly because you don't want to kill
your landscape or your turf. Non selective means it kills
anything green, okay. So if you spray it on it
something as if it gets contact with the foliage, the stem,
the flower, it is going to kill everything. This is
(33:00):
These are good to use if you're trying to clear
out an area. If you're wanting to relay or lay
sawed down, you want everything out so you can you know,
just kind of scrape the ground get it ready and
prepared for new turf. So non selective herbicide kills everything now.
(33:20):
The pre emergence it's too late to use a pre
emergent now for springtime in summer, okay spring and sometimes
weeds are already in the ground and pre emergent means
before it germinates is not going to be effective. So
you want to use post emergent, which means you put
(33:42):
the herbicide on after it's in your yard. Now you
can use pre emergent for your winter weeds, which this
is Florida. We have winter weeds. You can put it
down in late September early October, and that's going to
prevent the winter wes from germinating. All right, So definitely
(34:03):
do not want to use an herbicide or a pre emergent.
If you're putting sawed out with seed, or you're I'm sorry,
you're seeding with grass, or you're putting down garden seeds,
flower seeds, you do not want to use a pre
emergent there, So choosing the right herbside. Thank you so much.
(34:24):
Let's see that was Bob in Miami. Thank you Bob
for that great question. It's important to read the label,
and the label is the law, all right? One triple
eight four five five two nine sixty seven, or you
can text two three six eight zero. Linda said, thank you.
I appreciate you listening. Linda and us. I don't know
(34:44):
who sent it, there's no email. Florida worms are easy
and fun to raise. A twenty plus gallon container in
shade add dead leaves, keep moist, and add your kitchen leftovers.
That's a perfect way to do it. They literally will
come up out of the ground and get into that
twenty gallon container and just start decomposing. They will do
(35:05):
their job.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Yeah, So we want to thank Dana Benrick Quality Green
Specialist Nursery for being on today and sponsoring the show.
We do appreciate it. We do love our sponsors. And
the only reason they are sponsors, Lizzie, is because they
have great products. Yes.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
And the thing is is that I know that you
know a lot of shows and people think, oh, you know,
you're just going to say that you like the product
because their sponsor won't. Okay, No, Teresa goes through and
she vets whoever decides to sponsor the show, and things
like black Cow and some Responsible Solutions is items that
I have used and I have not been paid to
(35:44):
say that I like them. So I stand by, you know,
our sponsors also because I've experienced the high quality if
either their customer service, their product, and their knowledge exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
So we've got some text messages coming in now. Please
ask Teresa her top three fruit trees. She recommends for
Central Florida. Their recommendation said, mulberry, Florida, peach, and starfruit.
Those are great ones. I do love them. I do
like that we have chickasaw plums. I love chickasaw plums.
Pineapple guavas are wonderful. And then I also like mulberry's too.
(36:21):
Mulberry's are a great fruit tree as well. So those
are my pineapple, guava and chickasaw plums. They're great natives
that sit so one text message, Teresa, we had such
a wonderful hold on it's going crazy. There we go, No,
there we go. Our technology today it has been spicy, Teresa.
(36:42):
We had such beautiful high biscus for twenty years. Kept
them trimmed, but they did get taller than we wanted.
Got them cut way back after the freeze. They are
not sprouting at all. Are they totally dead? Like the
book and Villa. I don't know if you will see
this text station does not report whether you're alive or
no answer on phone. That's Alice and Melbourne. Alice, great
(37:03):
to have you listening. They may be dead. I don't know.
They should have sprouted by now. Did you cut them back?
I would cut or I would just keep them for
about another month or so, but if they don't come
back after a month that'll be into May, then you
might well want to replace them. We're replacing a lot
of the tropicals, the Cheffleer's, the hibiscus, and the exoras
(37:29):
we've been having to replace because they just did not
make this freeze. It was a once in a hundred
year freeze, and hopefully we're not going to have it
this year with the El Nino, whether we're going to
be getting.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yes, and speaking of that, go ahead and start preparing
yourself for you know, hurricanes seas and granted God blessed
us and we didn't have hurricaneses last year at least
that hit us directly, however, but you know, go out
there and buy that you know what, I go by
at least one case per person and if not two
cases per person who are going to be in your household,
(38:02):
and just rotate them out so like you get an
extra case. So say, you know, for me personally, I'll
have three cases of water, one that I'm drinking right now,
and then whenever I drink that, then I'll go buy
another case and rotate it to the bottom or use that.
So I always have two cases of water per person
at my house, so you little things like that can help.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
And also too, the wintertime is giving us that the
winter freeze is giving us a great opportunity to cut
back our trees and get them looked at for hurricane season.
So it's a great time. We want to thank everyone
who called in to listen and text us. We do
appreciate it. Check out art and Bloom garden tours and
come with me on a garden tour. I'm Teresa wat
(38:41):
because from the Summit Responsible Solutions Studios. If it's Saturday
morning here listening to Better Lawns and Gardens, take care.
We're going to be back next week. Tom's going to
be back next week. This is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
If you missed any of our share I want to
recap any other shows or if you really miss Teresa
a lot next week. Even though we love Tom mccobban,
you can always go on Better Lawns dot com and
you can listen to Teresa give all of her wisdom.
That's Better Lawns dot Com.
Good morning, Welcome back to the second hour of Better
Lawns and Gardens from the Summit Responsible Solutions Studios. I'm
Teresa Watkins. I am a horticulturist, landscape designer, garden author,
and I love helping people with their gardens and their
landscapes and going through and making the world a more
(00:31):
beautiful place. And so I love answering gardening questions. If
you have a gardening question, we're going to be taking
it this hour one triple eight four five five, two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. But it's time for the dirty word of
the day. And now it's time for the dirty word
(00:52):
of the Day on Better Lawns and Gardens with Teresa Watkins,
and the dirty word of the day is air layering.
Air layering. Air layering is an old method for propagating
plants of large size that you can do for It's
just a special purpose. You want a tree or a
shrub that's evergreen and flowering. You can even do it
(01:15):
with deciduous trees and you can't find another one, well,
you can make your own by air layering, and this
especially works with tropical trees and shrubs. So how do
you do it? Well, here's the steps for making an
air layer planting. One, you take a section of the
(01:35):
stem and you can girdle it. And by girdling it,
I mean you're going to very slightly, very tenderly cut
the outer outside bark very carefully, and then about an
inch or two inches down, you cut another ring around
the stem and you remove that bark area very very carefully.
(01:59):
Then you remove several layers around this wound, because that's
what it is. It's wounded, and you pack it. You
take some wet sphagnum moss, wrap it around the stem
and tie it. You can use spagnum moss or peat moss,
and then you wrap it around and tie it onto it.
You cover the moss with a polyethylene plastic and you
(02:23):
tie each end of that plant. Now you want to
check to make sure the moss remains moist until roots form,
and they will. It'll start it'll start producing roots in
that cut area. So after the roots are visible, you
can see them inside the bag. Then the rooted stem
can be cut from the mother plant and repotted. That's
(02:46):
called air layering. And you will see this if you
go down to south Miami to the growers. They will
have shrubs and trees out in their nursery and you
will see bags hanging from the trunks of the branches
in the trees, and that's them producing propagating more plants
for future potting.
Speaker 2 (03:06):
Okay, I've seen that, and I did wonder what is
going on there? So that makes sense.
Speaker 1 (03:11):
Yeah, So it's very interesting and very easy to do.
You can do it very easily with your tropical plants
and then the green portions of your trees, other trees
that you would like to have another copy of. So
the dirty word of the day is air layering.
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Okay, all right, I uh so my one of my
adventures that I thought I was going to go on.
But you know, you really should pay attention to your plants,
especially if you're one to propagate them. So I did
the research on how to propagate point settus because I
found at a box store what I call splatter paint
(03:47):
point sets. Yes, they were so gorgeous, and some of
the leaves were two faces, so they were bright red
with a like an ivory color splatter paint, and so
some of them were two faced, they were half the
the ivory and half red and then the others have
the splatter over it anyway, So I'm like, okay. So
I researched and I got the root, the root hormone powder,
(04:09):
and then I cut it where I was supposed to
on the notches and the what however, you diagonally there
you go. I did everything perfect, and then I actually
had like a little bit of a cover over them,
and they were out of the sun and beautiful. And
then uh, four days later I remembered them. Yes, yeah,
everything was dry, and.
Speaker 1 (04:31):
Oh you didn't keep them moist enough. Oh, I'm so sorry.
I'm so sorry.
Speaker 2 (04:36):
So I'm glad that I only like really sacrificed one
of my plants. So I got three more.
Speaker 1 (04:41):
So you go to try it again.
Speaker 2 (04:43):
Yeah, sure, that sounds great, sounds like something I don't
want ever do again.
Speaker 1 (04:47):
No, no, no, you should do it again and try
it and uh and and just to make sure you want.
Speaker 2 (04:53):
It, he said a timer on my phone me to
go back every day.
Speaker 1 (04:58):
Yes, that would that would be good. Yes, growing plants
is not easy to take.
Speaker 2 (05:03):
Care of kids.
Speaker 1 (05:04):
That's it exactly a pet.
Speaker 2 (05:06):
You just don't have to take it out to go
to the bathroom.
Speaker 1 (05:08):
There, there you go. One triple eight four five five
two nine sixty seven, or you can text two three
six eight zero. What should you be doing right now?
Now it's April, we've had three months since our major freeze.
If anything is dead in your yard, cut it back,
find if it's still living. If it's not living, you
(05:30):
can go ahead and take it out. And I will
tell you what's a really good thing to do with
your dead shrubs that are all sticky and they look
terrible is put them behind your shed where you don't
see them, and then in October, when it's Halloween, take
them back out and plant them in your front yard
so your front yard looks like a cemetery. Oh, you
can do like a spooky tree.
Speaker 2 (05:50):
I know a few years ago you had actually done
a whole segment on how to create a spooky looking garden,
and it was already It's one of those things's kind
of like it's already too late because we didn't save
our old stuff right.
Speaker 1 (06:01):
So now's the time to go ahead and save it
for Halloween. And also you can use it to make
Halloween decorations. So just go ahead and pull everything out
that's dead, cut grasses back, all the ornamental grasses that
have fronds and flowers from last year should be cut
back now. Okay, they should get cut in January February.
(06:21):
But if you haven't cut them back, this is the
time they're not going to come back. Chefloras are really
looking bad too. So if you have dead cheflea's dead,
exoras dead, any type of plant that's dead, go ahead
and you know, just go ahead and cut. Okay, great,
super duper all right, So let's go ahead and we
(06:44):
are going to be talking to Heather Stickney in just
a few minutes. We're going to be interviewing it with
the Summit Responsible Solutions 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 to
(07:32):
Better Lines and Gardens. I'm Teresa Watkins. Joining me right
now is Heather Stickney. She is the marketing director for
Summit Responsible Solutions Studio or Summit Responsible Solutions.
Speaker 2 (07:45):
There you go, Can I say this real? Okay? Case?
Speaker 1 (07:47):
So we did that.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Actually, this is this is perfect timing text wife. So
we had a we had a listener. Her name is
as Becky, and she said, thank you Teresa and Lizzie
for fining such a great show and so much information.
She goes, I get a kick us. You'll get a
kick out that she goes. For months, whenever you were
saying somewhat responsible solutions, always thought you were saying somewhat
(08:08):
responsible solutions. And I thought to myself, why would a
bat business advertise that they are somewhat responsible? Becky, you
cracked us up.
Speaker 1 (08:18):
There you go, it is Summit responsible Solutions. Good morning, Heather,
how are you?
Speaker 3 (08:22):
Good morning? I'm well, thank you, how are you?
Speaker 1 (08:25):
I am great? Tell us what spring is like where
you live.
Speaker 3 (08:29):
Well, spring has been a roller coaster this week. I
was in Baltimore and they had high temperatures of ninety
degrees on Thursday.
Speaker 1 (08:36):
Isn't that amazing?
Speaker 3 (08:38):
That is unbelievable in April?
Speaker 1 (08:41):
No less, Yeah, it is. Well, we were experiencing a
little bit more of a cold for and I'll be
up in Virginia and the Maryland section next week, so
I'm hoping the temperatures are going to be in the
seventies and sixties.
Speaker 3 (08:54):
When I left yesterday that was what they were forecasting,
So it should be a little more pleasant.
Speaker 1 (08:59):
Wonderful.
Speaker 3 (09:00):
Yeah, yep. So I'm back in Ohio today and we
had some rain overnight. It's a little bit wet, but
definitely more moderate temperatures here.
Speaker 1 (09:08):
Excellent, excellent. Have you started your spring garden?
Speaker 3 (09:11):
Honestly I have not. We have had record rainfall that spring.
Speaker 1 (09:15):
Oh my goodness, we.
Speaker 3 (09:16):
Ten inches, So it's made it a little bit challenging
to get outside and do anywere.
Speaker 1 (09:20):
I can understand that.
Speaker 3 (09:22):
Well.
Speaker 1 (09:22):
Rainfall is probably one of the things that concerns us
most here in Florida, and with rain, we have the humidity,
and we get insects and disease issues. And your products,
some responsible solutions products are excellent. Tell us about your
year round spray oil.
Speaker 3 (09:43):
So our year round spray oil is a highly refined
horticultural oil and it can be used in both the
dormant and growing season to kill things like aphids, might scale,
and any other type of soft body insects. It's approofd
for use in organic gardening, so it is a more
(10:05):
environmentally friendly option for the consumer mm hm. And it
can be used on just about any type of plant,
including edibles, and used up to the day of harvest.
Speaker 1 (10:16):
That that's really really very important because it can be
used up to the day of harvest and so so
on the instructions, does it say that you need to
wash off the vegetables or what would you do if
you sprayed it on the day up?
Speaker 3 (10:31):
You know it does. I don't know that there are
specific instructions for once the fruit or the vegetable is picked.
I think it's always just a matter of good practice
to wash the vegetables in case there's any dirt or
anything else that might be on that.
Speaker 1 (10:44):
That is true, And so yournme eighty five. Tell us
about that. This is a new product, and I will
tell you I've had good success with it. So tell
us about Neme eighty five.
Speaker 3 (10:56):
Meme is also an oil. It is an oil that's
derived from the Meme seed, which is a plant that
comes or grows primarily in Southeast Asia. In addition to
being an oil, our name is it's a cold press product,
so it maintains a compound called AzID eactin, which has
(11:17):
some additional insecticidal properties. So it works as an anti
sterilant and an anti feed in addition to being a
suffocant to kill and control various insect paths as well as.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
Diseases, right, And that's important because the oil kind of
suffocates the insects like the scale that have a little
shell on it. It protects them from regular insecticide. So correct,
that works really well. I'm very pleased with it and
I've been recommending it and I was even thinking about
it today when Gary called about his magnolia and he
(11:53):
had black spot on it, and I said, you know what,
you know, we should really just check it for scale
and use an oil on it. That's very important. Now,
the mosquito bits, you we have a need for them.
With an even when it's dry here, the irrigation can
have pockets of leave pockets of water in your landscape
and in your bird baths, and then also with bromeliads.
(12:16):
So tell us about the mosquitobits for those people who
do not know our listeners, who do not know about
this great product.
Speaker 3 (12:25):
So mosquito bits work with a that they have an
active ingredient called BTI, which is a soil born bacterium
that is toxic only to mosquito larva. So mosquitoes don't
need a lot of water to breed. They can breed
in as little as you know a capful of water.
(12:45):
I know, so any place that might collect water, like
your bermeliads, those little cups. If you sprinkle mosquito bits,
the active ingredient will dissolve off the granule and kill
the mosquito larva before they become biting adults.
Speaker 1 (13:01):
That's so important. I really do appreciate that. Really, and
so this doesn't harm birds going to your bird bath,
or even birds going into a bromeliad. It doesn't hurt them.
It doesn't hurt you know, wildlife butterflies or our pollinator insects.
It doesn't hurt them at all.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
That is correct. This is what I would call a
very responsible solution. It is harmless to virtually everything except
mosquito larvae.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
That's fascinating. I love Mother Nature because this is a
natural product, an organic product that Mother Nature provides for us,
and you supply it so that we can get it
very easily. So I do appreciate that. Now, if people
are going because this is getting into the season for
spring breaks and also camping and vacations are coming up
in a couple of months, what products do you have
(13:50):
to help people when they go camping and hiking for
their clothing and for like their tents.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
I think one of the biggest concerns people have and
they're out is certainly we're hearing more in the news
about the disease that ticks and mosquitoes can spread. So
one of the solutions that we offer is our Green
Armor insect repellent for clothing and gear. This is a
permethn based spray and the permethrin binds to the fabric
(14:21):
of your jackets, your shoes, your pants, your tents, your
backpacks to kill and repel mosquitoes, ticks, and other biting insects.
So it's a great way to help prevent a mosquito
bite or a tick bite that could lead to a
bigger problem.
Speaker 2 (14:42):
And I also see that you guys have a thing
called tick take. It's a tick removal tool which a
lot of people who don't know how to remove ticks
and what the seems to be a pretty big problem
this season we have coming up. I'm pretty interested in this.
Speaker 3 (15:00):
The tick take is really you know, if you haven't
taken measures to prevent a tick bite and you do
find one embedded, the tick take is a small spoon
shaped tool. It's notched at the end and you simply
slide it along your skin to grab the tick and
pop it out. It's both physician and veterinarian and approved.
(15:21):
So if you have a dog that might happen to
get bitten by a tick, it's you know, a great
way to help remove that from your your pet.
Speaker 1 (15:28):
That is and so and then you can take it
with you along on your your vacations and stuff and
do your nightly tick checks there.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
And it also has it it's a set so you
can actually put on your key ring. So if you
have keys that you take with you on that weight trip.
Speaker 3 (15:43):
Oh yeah, you can pop one in the glove box
of your car. You're exactly right, you can put it
on your key ring. It's very small and you know,
really a great tool to have should you ever need it.
Speaker 1 (15:53):
That is great. I am so impressed. Uh and so
so so Heather. What how the miss mosquito bits the
mosquito dunks? How would you know which one to use,
whether you want to use the bits, whether you want
to use the dunks.
Speaker 3 (16:07):
With the mosquito bits, those work very quickly. So if
you have a problem and you want to take care
of it very quickly, I would use bits to clean
up the current problem. They work to kill within twenty
four hours and last for seven to fourteen days. Mosquito
dunks are a little bit longer release and offer a
little bit longer control. So, for example, in a bird bath,
(16:29):
you could apply bits to clean up the problem and
then add a dunk to prevent the problem going forward.
Speaker 1 (16:36):
That's so great. Now Mother's Day is coming up. There's
going to be a lot of picnics, especially here in Florida,
up in Ohio. I hope you have great weather and
all across the country celebrating Mother's Day. How can people
take care of their yards and say, okay, I don't
want any insects the day of and I don't want
a fleas or ticks or mosquitos or any kind of
(16:57):
biting insects. What would you suggest the.
Speaker 3 (17:00):
We make a product. We make two different products. One
is called mosquito and gnat barrier. The other is called
tick and flea spray. Both will work to do the
same thing. They're just labeled a little bit differently depending
on your specific type of problem. So you can use
that particular product in your lawn, apply it a day
or two in advance of your picnic or your outdoor
(17:23):
event and apply to areas where or mosquitoes might harbor.
That will help to control the adult populations for up
to thirty days and really keep your backyard bug free.
Speaker 1 (17:37):
Well, what I love about your products is that they're natural.
Most of them are labeled where you can use them anywhere,
and you have such great products. You are very responsible.
That's one of the reasons why we love having you
as a sponsor of the show. In our studios, we've
named them after you. They are so your products are
excellent and I get nothing but raves from all of
(18:00):
the people who call us and talk about your products.
And when I meet them at talks and things, they go,
we love your mosquito bits or they say we use
the mosquito dunks. And I'm very very I'm very proud
of that. So thank you so much, Heather, Thank you.
Speaker 3 (18:16):
We appreciate all the support in our partnership.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
You're welcome, Han, take care, We'll talk to you soon.
Speaker 3 (18:22):
Okay, thank you so much.
Speaker 1 (18:23):
All right, bye bye. That's Heather Stickney with Summit Responsible Solutions,
and she is a sponsor. And one of the reasons
why is because her product is so great.
Speaker 2 (18:33):
Yes, and I've used I've used her their products prior
to even working here at iHeart and the fact is
I feel very comfortable using their products around we have
dogs with turkeys, and we have turkeys. That's the thing
is I really feel very comfortable because you know, birds
are just very weird and it's like, I mean, they
(18:54):
use canary canaries and coal mines.
Speaker 1 (18:57):
What do you think, you know, So.
Speaker 2 (18:59):
They're very sensitive certain things compared to other you know.
So I feel very comfortable using these Summitt Responsible Solution
products on my property.
Speaker 1 (19:06):
So for wonderful thank you. So we do appreciate that.
So that's Summit Responsible Solutions dot com and you can
also just google Summit Responsible and they're there. So we
do appreciate her coming on lit. If we're gonna have
more gardening questions, we've got some text messages here from
John and Palm Bay and Lauren from Bartow. If you
(19:27):
have a gardening question, you can give us a call
one triple eight four five five two nine sixty seven,
or you can text us two three six eight zero.
It's Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa wat because this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
(19:54):
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. We want to
thank Heather's nickname with some responsible solutions. She is a wonderful,
wonderful person and I love we love talking with you.
She's great. So 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. John and
(20:16):
Palm Bay sent a text message and he goes, when
is the best time to prune evergreen shrubs? Is any
time of the year, all right, And he said, thank you, well,
thank you John for your text message. So pruning, there's
got to be a reason for the pruning. And so, uh,
if it's evergreen and it's not flowering, you can cut
(20:36):
those back any time of the year, you know, especially
if you're wanting to keep them in line where they're
not overgrowing a sidewalk or they're going they're they're growing
out of bounds. You can cut those any time of
the year. Not a problem. Flowering shrubs you always want
to cut after they finish blooming. Okay, So evergreen shrubs
(20:57):
anytime of the year, not a problem. And then he
had a question about his Christmas palm. He has a
triple Christmas palm. That means that it's got three trunks.
Two of them are alive and one doesn't seem like
it is from the freeze. And in Palm Bay they
got extremely cold. So what I would look for, John
(21:18):
is I would look at the top. If you could
see a new frond coming up, okay, emerging from the
top of that trunk. See if any new fronds are
coming up. Cut off any of the dead fronds. I
would wait probably another month to six weeks and go
ahead and fertilize it with a palm fertilizer. See if
(21:40):
it recovers. It may they just may take a little
bit to come back. If you don't see anything in
six weeks, you may have to cut that palm off.
But it's going to continue to decline. So h just
look at the top. If you can see a new
frond emerging. It should be emerging now if it's still alive.
If it's not, I would probably wait a month and
(22:02):
cut it back. Great question. Lauren from Bartow. Lauren from Bartow.
She said she had a Brogden avocado that she was
so sad to lose, and she put the loose in
quotation marks in the freeze. I thought you would really
like to hear that. I took your advice and cutting
it back and fertilizing and it has lots of new growth.
And she said, thank you, so yay, her avocado tree
(22:25):
is going to make it. And I think that's going
to be. Most of the avocados and mangoes are going
to need to be cut back. It's just the ones
that are large, that are huge thirty feet tall and
twenty feet wide, that they may need to cut those
back drastically, so they may not look so good for
a little while.
Speaker 2 (22:42):
True.
Speaker 1 (22:42):
Okay, we have Bruce and Saint Petersburg. He said, I
would like to add color to my shady backyard. What
can I plant? And there are so many great plants
for you, Bruce, that you can put in your yard
to just promote color and bring it to life. If
you'd like maybe a classical look, you could do Abelia's
(23:05):
Edward Goscher. It's got a beautiful pink flowers. They have
white flowers on the different varieties, but the Edward Goscher
is pink that does beautifully in the shade. You can
plant azaleas and camellias, Mona lavender, which is a plectranthus.
Day lilies will bloom in the shade very nicely. You
(23:26):
can do clavias and jugas and rex pagonias or regular
pagonias to as well. So those are nice for a
classical look. Now if you want more of a tropical look,
you could do kalladiums and coliuses, crotons and Waiian ties.
The trio stars as tremanthas, New Guinean patients and bromeliads.
(23:48):
So you've got a lot of great choices, Bruce, for
doing a shaded garden with lots of color, we have
a lot of great plant selections.
Speaker 2 (23:55):
That's actually, those are some really good. I love this.
Speaker 1 (23:59):
Yeah, yeah, yeah, So you know you can always have
color and especially the shade. And since we're going to
be planting trees, you know you want to make sure
that if you've planted a tree, or you planted it
years ago and you have plants that are not doing
so well underneath it anymore, it may be time to
go from having sunny plants underneath the tree canopy and
(24:21):
substituting or transplanting new plants that will will take the
shade better. So when plant trees, the plants underneath. It
may be growing fine until it gets too shady and
you can see that they're not responding. They're not growing
well anymore, and it may be because they just need
more sunlight. And then also root competition too as well.
(24:42):
You don't want to be planting shrubs underneath your tree,
that newly planted tree, because the root competition also the
nutrient competition, and you want to make sure your tree
has the best start. So if you're going to be
planting underneath a tree, make sure it's far enough away,
you know, I would say probably, I would say at
(25:04):
least ten feet away from a large canopy tree that
you've planted, and then that way they don't need moved
in the future. One triple eight four five, five, two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
eight zero. So Tina and Tampa. She says, how can
I use black cow in my yard? And that's a
really great question, because when do you use manure and
(25:27):
when can you put it in your yard? Well, black
cow is a rich source of organic matter. Of course,
manure is always a great source for organic matter. It
improves garden soil, and it provides beneficial bacteria and micro organisms.
That's important in our sandy soils, we don't have a
(25:47):
lot of micro organisms in it to help keep the
soil natural and providing nutrients and things. So the bacteria
and micro organisms in black cow rates the sod, It
breaks down organic materials, and it produces nutrients such as nitrogen, phosphorus,
and potassium. So it also improves soil structure. So if
(26:10):
your yard, your landscape seems like it's compacted, you can
just you know, till in very lightly just the top
surface area you can place and spread manure on it
and and incorporate it into your soil. And that's going
to help relieve the compaction. But it's also going to
(26:31):
allow the plant roots of your turf and in your
landscape beds to us to have easy access to it. So,
you know black cow, that would be great. So let's
one triple eight four five five two nine six seven
great questions. Thank you Bruce and Tina for those great questions.
Uh one triple eight four five five two nine sixty
(26:54):
seven or you can text two three six eight zero
data On today's show, did he happen to mention when
his upcoming book will be available? No, he did not
but we will ask him about that. That's very important,
so that'll be a great question to ask him. I
would love to have that book, Linda, and Zone eight
(27:14):
B says, does anyone ever put earthworms in their potted plants? Yes,
we do, Linda, and I love seeing potted plants when
I lift them out of the soil and I see
earthworms at the bottom. That's great. We're going to be
right back with more of your gardening questions and Better
Lawns and Gardens Saturday morning. This is where you are
Better Lawns and Gardens from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios.
(27:37):
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. I love our list.
(28:00):
There's in our text messages that Lin then you cracked
me up. She wants to know how many earthworms per pot,
and I would say as many as you can get
that will live there.
Speaker 2 (28:08):
So probably you find those with the same one of
the ones that you buy like the bait stores and
like the like the farm stores.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
You get farmers them there. Yeah, and so that that's
too funny. As many as will live in there.
Speaker 2 (28:21):
That'll and what's the major benefit of like so so,
like my cucumbers I have, like have a big potted
area of them on a trellis, So would it be
behoo of me to go and get some and put
them in there?
Speaker 1 (28:34):
Necessarily, you might have them already in there in your
ground already, so you don't need to purchase any But
they what they do is they break down the soil
and with their what they exude out, it helps add
nutrition to the soil. So they're really very beneficial. So
Bob asks a really great question. He says, I enjoy
(28:57):
listening to your show on iHeart. I live in Miami.
What kind of weed killers can I use? Can I
use them? Now? Thank you for your show and so
great question because herbicides they are you know, they're safe
to use when used according to the label and at
the right time of year. But weed killers, herbicides can
(29:19):
also damage your lawns and plants when used at a
wrong time of the year. And when is it wrong
to use them? When the temperatures are over eighty five
degrees when it's too hot. And when that happens, the
weeds are usually stronger than the chemical and they may
get damaged, they may get burned, they don't necessarily go away.
(29:41):
It doesn't get rid of them entirely. So this month
next week, for the whole state of Florida, it will
be an optimum time to use a weed killer and
a herbicide if you have not used one already, And
it will be advantageous for you because the temperatures are
going to be low eighty five throughout the state and
(30:02):
then next weekend we're going to be getting some rainfall
and that will help too as well. So thank you
Bob for listening on iHeart. So you want to make
sure when you use a weed killer, you know what
weeds you're wanting to kill. And so weeds have three categories,
and there's a really cool way to remember them, which
(30:25):
is it could be a sedge. So sedges have edges,
and there can be rushes, which are the broad leaf weeds.
Grasses have nodes from the top to the ground. So
it goes like this. Sedges have edges, rushes are around,
and grasses have nodes from the top to the ground.
(30:46):
So those are the three different categories. So broad leaf
weeds have wide veined leaves that grow from a central
stem and examples of a broad leaf weed would be
dollar weed or spurge or Florida pusley or even beggar
beggar weeds or wood sorrel that oxlust, that shamrock looking
(31:09):
plant in your yard, those are broad leaf weeds. You
want to use an herbicide that has those weeds listed
on the label. And so take a picture of it
and you can send it to me and I can
tell you what kind of weeds you have, or you
can do a Google image search and it will tell
you what kind of weed it is, or you can
(31:32):
take a sample to your extension office. Now, grassy weeds
look like turf grass, but they have narrow and narrow
veined leaves. And examples of a grassy weed would be
crabgrass okay, crabgrass or chickweed. And then sedges, Oh, sedges
are terrible to get rid of. These have solid, triangular
(31:53):
stems and they're often identified. Like I said, sedges have edges.
You can literally feel the edge alone long the stem,
and an example of that would be nutsedge or ground ivy.
So you can use those so when you use a
selective herbicide. So a selective herbicide means that this herbicide
(32:15):
is going to kill a specific weed without hurting another
turf okay, turf or other plants. So an example of
a selective herbicide would be like two four D or atrazine,
and so those would be selective. They're going after a
(32:35):
specific type of weed. Non selective herbicide, make sure you're
reading the label correctly because you don't want to kill
your landscape or your turf. Non selective means it kills
anything green, okay. So if you spray it on it
something as if it gets contact with the foliage, the stem,
the flower, it is going to kill everything. This is
(33:00):
These are good to use if you're trying to clear
out an area. If you're wanting to relay or lay
sawed down, you want everything out so you can you know,
just kind of scrape the ground get it ready and
prepared for new turf. So non selective herbicide kills everything now.
(33:20):
The pre emergence it's too late to use a pre
emergent now for springtime in summer, okay spring and sometimes
weeds are already in the ground and pre emergent means
before it germinates is not going to be effective. So
you want to use post emergent, which means you put
(33:42):
the herbicide on after it's in your yard. Now you
can use pre emergent for your winter weeds, which this
is Florida. We have winter weeds. You can put it
down in late September early October, and that's going to
prevent the winter wes from germinating. All right, So definitely
(34:03):
do not want to use an herbicide or a pre emergent.
If you're putting sawed out with seed, or you're I'm sorry,
you're seeding with grass, or you're putting down garden seeds,
flower seeds, you do not want to use a pre
emergent there, So choosing the right herbside. Thank you so much.
(34:24):
Let's see that was Bob in Miami. Thank you Bob
for that great question. It's important to read the label,
and the label is the law, all right? One triple
eight four five five two nine sixty seven, or you
can text two three six eight zero. Linda said, thank you.
I appreciate you listening. Linda and us. I don't know
(34:44):
who sent it, there's no email. Florida worms are easy
and fun to raise. A twenty plus gallon container in
shade add dead leaves, keep moist, and add your kitchen leftovers.
That's a perfect way to do it. They literally will
come up out of the ground and get into that
twenty gallon container and just start decomposing. They will do
(35:05):
their job.
Speaker 2 (35:06):
That's what I'm talking about.
Speaker 1 (35:07):
Yeah, So we want to thank Dana Benrick Quality Green
Specialist Nursery for being on today and sponsoring the show.
We do appreciate it. We do love our sponsors. And
the only reason they are sponsors, Lizzie, is because they
have great products. Yes.
Speaker 2 (35:23):
And the thing is is that I know that you
know a lot of shows and people think, oh, you know,
you're just going to say that you like the product
because their sponsor won't. Okay, No, Teresa goes through and
she vets whoever decides to sponsor the show, and things
like black Cow and some Responsible Solutions is items that
I have used and I have not been paid to
(35:44):
say that I like them. So I stand by, you know,
our sponsors also because I've experienced the high quality if
either their customer service, their product, and their knowledge exactly.
Speaker 1 (35:56):
So we've got some text messages coming in now. Please
ask Teresa her top three fruit trees. She recommends for
Central Florida. Their recommendation said, mulberry, Florida, peach, and starfruit.
Those are great ones. I do love them. I do
like that we have chickasaw plums. I love chickasaw plums.
Pineapple guavas are wonderful. And then I also like mulberry's too.
(36:21):
Mulberry's are a great fruit tree as well. So those
are my pineapple, guava and chickasaw plums. They're great natives
that sit so one text message, Teresa, we had such
a wonderful hold on it's going crazy. There we go, No,
there we go. Our technology today it has been spicy, Teresa.
(36:42):
We had such beautiful high biscus for twenty years. Kept
them trimmed, but they did get taller than we wanted.
Got them cut way back after the freeze. They are
not sprouting at all. Are they totally dead? Like the
book and Villa. I don't know if you will see
this text station does not report whether you're alive or
no answer on phone. That's Alice and Melbourne. Alice, great
(37:03):
to have you listening. They may be dead. I don't know.
They should have sprouted by now. Did you cut them back?
I would cut or I would just keep them for
about another month or so, but if they don't come
back after a month that'll be into May, then you
might well want to replace them. We're replacing a lot
of the tropicals, the Cheffleer's, the hibiscus, and the exoras
(37:29):
we've been having to replace because they just did not
make this freeze. It was a once in a hundred
year freeze, and hopefully we're not going to have it
this year with the El Nino, whether we're going to
be getting.
Speaker 2 (37:40):
Yes, and speaking of that, go ahead and start preparing
yourself for you know, hurricanes seas and granted God blessed
us and we didn't have hurricaneses last year at least
that hit us directly, however, but you know, go out
there and buy that you know what, I go by
at least one case per person and if not two
cases per person who are going to be in your household,
(38:02):
and just rotate them out so like you get an
extra case. So say, you know, for me personally, I'll
have three cases of water, one that I'm drinking right now,
and then whenever I drink that, then I'll go buy
another case and rotate it to the bottom or use that.
So I always have two cases of water per person
at my house, so you little things like that can help.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
And also too, the wintertime is giving us that the
winter freeze is giving us a great opportunity to cut
back our trees and get them looked at for hurricane season.
So it's a great time. We want to thank everyone
who called in to listen and text us. We do
appreciate it. Check out art and Bloom garden tours and
come with me on a garden tour. I'm Teresa wat
(38:41):
because from the Summit Responsible Solutions Studios. If it's Saturday
morning here listening to Better Lawns and Gardens, take care.
We're going to be back next week. Tom's going to
be back next week. This is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Speaker 2 (38:55):
If you missed any of our share I want to
recap any other shows or if you really miss Teresa
a lot next week. Even though we love Tom mccobban,
you can always go on Better Lawns dot com and
you can listen to Teresa give all of her wisdom.
That's Better Lawns dot Com.
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