February 21, 2026 • 39 mins
Tom MacCubbin reassures us most of our plants are going to come back. Teresa's Top Five Spring Flowers that will bloom.
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Speaker 1 (00:09):
Good morning, Welcome to Better Lags and Gardens from the
Summit Responsible Solution Studios. I'm Teresa Watkins. I'm your host today.
I thank you for joining us this morning, and we
have a lot to talk about today. We've got great
guests today, so I'm very excited. Good morning, Lizzie. How
are you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I am doing good?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What is up?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Everybody's like sending the oogie boogie stories that it's supposed
to have another freeze falling iguanas What is going on?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
No, No, remember what I said last week that winter's over.
Winter's still over. We're not gonna see any major freezes
this weekend or the beginning of the week. Some parts
of North Florida may see a touch of frost, but
it's not gonna stay. We're gonna be back up into
the sixties by Monday afternoon. Tuesday, Wednesday sixties, fifties and
(00:59):
six these sunny weather, it's gonna be nice. We need
the rainfall, so this cold front's gonna be bringing us
in rainfall, so it's not big a big deal. Some
parts of or Okla. You know, just if you're right
out there in the boondogs with those micro climates, you
might see a little frost, but your plant should still
be okay. If you haven't cut them back yet, they're
(01:20):
not gonna be affected because the Dorman Sea, the brown
leaves are gonna protect them. And if you did cut
them back, they really haven't started to grow, so you
know you're not gonna see that much damage. So everybody
can just take a chill. We're fine. This is why
we live in Florida. We don't have to shovel sunshine
and and so it's gonna be just great. But I'm
(01:43):
gonna be talking. Our guest this morning is gonna be
Tom MCCOBBN and he has seen many a freeze in Florida,
so we're gonna be asking him about it, and he's
got I know, he's just gonna it's just gonna be
a great time. I love talking with Tom, so he
is just the best. Today. If you are in Seminole County,
(02:05):
the Seminole County Extension, the University of Florida i FITS
Extension is putting on a expo today from nine am
to three pm. Lots of things going on. If you
have children at home, if you want to get outside
for a great day, then the Seminole County Expo is
(02:27):
for you. They're gonna have museum. The museum is gonna
be open and talking children. Events are gonna have scavenger hunts,
coloring stations, all kinds of things for the children to do.
Plus lots of speakers and talks going on today. You're
gonna be able to learn about bees, about verma culture
which is using worms, growing worms, and native plants expos
(02:51):
and I will be doing a talk. I will be there.
Come out and see me. At ten thirty this morning.
I will be doing a talk on landscape design. Great
inspiration for you if you'll come out, and it's going
to be a wonderful day. Plus I think they have
a plant sale going on too, so they'll be able
to sell some plants, and so it'll be a great
(03:14):
day all the way around. The vendors out there, lots
of fun things to do. That's the Seminole County Expo
at the Seminole County Extension Office in Sanford. That's at
two fifty West County Home Road in Sanford from nine
o'clock this morning till three pm this afternoon. You don't
want to miss it, so come out and see me,
(03:34):
and I would love to talk to you and meet you.
Bring me some of your things that you'd like to
talk about. If you have an issue going on in
new yard, or you want me to give you some
design tips by bringing a photograph of it. I'd love
to see that.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And the best photographs is you take at least two,
if not three, one from far back, and then one
if you have a problem with something a little closer,
and then a third one on that problem is just old,
little closer of it and make sure it's kind of
not fuzzy.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, that is so good. That is so good. So
the weather this week, I don't want anyone to panic.
Like I said, we're having a cold front come through tomorrow.
We're gonna get some much needed rain, remember our cold
front spring rain, and so starting today, rain in North Florida.
Tomorrow we're gonna get rain in Central Florida and South Florida.
(04:24):
You're gonna be doing great. Tampa, you got an eighty
percent chance of rain tomorrow. No freezing for you though.
So North Florida's gonna get highs in the fifties and sixties.
Monday is gonna be low's in the thirties. It's not
gonna last long. Back up in the seventies on Wednesday.
Rain again for North Florida on Thursday, so that's gonna
be good. Central Florida we have a sixty percent chance
(04:45):
of rain tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that. Highs are
going to be in the fifties and lows in the
high thirties. No freezing, spotty areas. Okalla, you're gonna have sunshine.
Highs in the fifties. Few areas may see thirty two degrees,
but it won't last long. And Tampa no freezing. Like
I said, South Florida, beautiful weather all week. Highs in
(05:05):
the sixties and seventies. You can wear those those knitted
bikinis down there a little bit, so you know, woolen
bikinis there. Monday and two's not you're going to be
in the forties, but the rest of the week is
going to be sixties at night, no rain. So it's
just going to be a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful week ahead.
And so we're going to after our interview, Thomas coming on.
(05:27):
I'm very excited to talk to him. He is such
a good friend, but he also knows he's got the
experience of the world, and so I am sure he
is going to tell us about what he has seen
and what he thinks is coming up. I'm interested in
hearing that. And so he's going to be able to
provide therapy for our freeze damaged plants. He's going to
(05:51):
be our landscapes because I've been getting a lot of requests.
You know, people want to change out. They don't want
to use tropicals anymore. Okay, no, high biscus hyps.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
No, no, no, no, don't be like that, because it'll
it'll be all It'll be all good.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And the reason.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Why is not only there is Teresa and Tom know
what they're saying, but you can take it from me,
who will totally mess things up. Okay, but I walked
by my hibiscus and I did the Teresa scraping, the
the the uh the trunk on my high biscuses. I
don't know if you'd call a trunk, but whatever, and
it was green. I was like, wow, look at that.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, and you're out in the boom dogs, so you
got really really super cold. So so that's good. What
should you be planting this time of the year. We
are gonna come back and we're gonna tell you that
Tom is gonna come right up. He's with us right now.
I can't wait to talk to him. You're gonna want
to hear him from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. It's
Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm
(06:46):
Teresa Watkus and this is Florida's Tuck and Entertainment Network,
(07:10):
and welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. Joining us
right now is Tom mccovin. He was the host of
Better Lawns and Gardens and still is for thirty four years.
He comes in and he is just such a help.
Good morning, Tom, How are you?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Good morning, Teresa. I am fine. I am in recovery
stage now. All my plants are feeling better.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
That's well. I'm so glad to hear that, Tom, because
we have a little bit of a cold front coming
through on Monday and everyone's starting to panic again. So,
I mean, you have seen a lot. You've lived in Florida.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
How long I've been here for fifty four years, but
I can go back to the eighteen thirty five. I
know you just wanted an old timer this morning to
tell you more about these freezes. Well, thank goodness. For
Henry Swanson's book Countdown for Agriculture back in eighteen thirty five,
they had ice across the lakes in Florida.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Wow, that's incredible, Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness. And
so Florida seeing these kind of winters before. We have
them about every ten to fifteen years, sometimes twenty and
so what so what can you say, are we going
to have another one like next year?
Speaker 5 (08:24):
You know, I don't know. I go a little closer
than you do. I go every five or ten years.
But I went through the eighties, so that was the
toughest eighty three, eighty five, eighty nine, and then in
two thousand and three we had another one. So we've
been fairly lucky last few years, maybe last five, maybe
(08:45):
seven or eight. We haven't had a really bad freeze.
But you know, we're gonna get these every once in
a while, so we kind of got to get used
to them. I have.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Well, so, so should people plant tropical plants anymore? I'm
getting that question. People are not wanting to use hibiscus
and all kinds of like blue Days, which I think
is an annual, but salvias and things. What should they
still be using? Tropicals.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Sure, My question to them is why not. I mean,
they're still colorful most years, they're going to survive even
this year. Like Lizzie was saying, her high biscus is
still alive. It's going to come back. It's Mother Nature's
way of doing a little pruning that we're scared to do.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
That's a good thought too, Yeah, because people don't like
to cut back, and so this gives them the opportunity
to do that, and they'll make the plants that are
in denser.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
Yeah, I'd still plan them. I mean, I don't see
why not. Next year it might be a light year.
It just kind of tells us what we have to
be ready prepared to do to protect some of these plants.
So sometimes just to cover that's all I used.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Right, And so what kind of damage did you see
in your yard?
Speaker 5 (09:52):
In my yard, the high business was damaged. Of course,
the crotons were frozen way back. They'll probably come back.
I remember I think it was in nineteen eighty three
where the croton froze to the ground and I said, oh,
it's a dead plant. I'll probably pull it out. But
I left it. It took it till July to come back,
but it came back. It was amazing. So the trenettes
(10:15):
of the sheet was frozen way back, but you know
it's going to come back. A lot of those tender
type plants things that made it believe or not burn
of paradise. I did throw trash can over top of
them and they came back, okay. But those type of plants, crotons,
trennettes were pretty heavily damaged.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Well, is it all frost damage or I mean, I
know we had some winds coming through at fifty to
fifty five miles per hour. Are we seeing any wind damage?
Is any of this we're seeing?
Speaker 5 (10:49):
You know, I don't think most of us wind damage,
although where the covers blew up all of my vermeliads,
for instance, I did get some damage. Vermeiliads were amazing.
I had some damage to them them, but most of
them made it through and we'll be back without any problem.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Okay. And so people that do have damage from me lands,
what do you suggest they do with them? Cut them
back or just throw them away?
Speaker 5 (11:11):
You know, I think most of them will come back
from the base without any problems. But you're gonna you
have the older plants that the tops are dead and
cut off the old leaves if you want. It depends
on how long you want to wait. I'll be honest
with you. If you don't want to wait very long, Hey,
get new ones. I have a neighbor right now. They
(11:31):
have bought in really nice looking croutons and some other
tropical plants. They're ready to replant.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Wonderful, wonderful. So, so what do you advise people who
have birds of Paradise, the giant bird of Paradise, the
travelers palms? What should they do with them?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
You know, I think they're frozen way back once that
button the top has gone. They could they could watch
them for a while. They could either cut them back
to the ground, and I think that's what juice one
of the things you suggest, Uh, and just wait for
new shoe to come up from the base, because they will.
Or they can just trim off the old dead fall
agi and see if the plants are able to survive.
(12:08):
We're talking about the same things with bananas. I have bananas.
I'm sure frozen to the ground. I'm not going to
wait for them. I'll just cut them back.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Yeah, bananas will recover, I mean they grow back fast.
So what plant zone should Central Florida, or for Floridians used,
what zone should we use to gauge our plans?
Speaker 5 (12:25):
The hardiness zones and newer schedules have moved some of
us into ten. But I am thinking we are all
still nine A and nine B and mainly around the
right heart of Central Florida. I think we're nine B
and that's where I stay.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That's what I totally agree with you, I certainly do so.
Now does this landscape damage does it affect the timing
of when we should fertilize and how much to fertilize?
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Well, we should probably wait until we see growth coming back.
For instance, with the lawns. I'm just telling people, you know, no,
you need to fertilize, and until you see growth coming
back from the lawn or from the other shrubs. My
guess is it's going to be the middle of March
for the lawns in most areas, and a lot of
the shrubs, believe it or not, a lot of the
(13:13):
things are coming back right now. I have a lemon
tree that I went down and I saw new buds
coming out on it.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
And that one was in a semi protected area. And
then lemons are normally very susceptible to cold, but this
one here has made it through. Just the tips of
it were damaged, and so I see new growth already.
And if you got new growth, then I think you
m as well go ahead and put down the fertilizer.
You talk about this cold spell coming through, you probably
(13:41):
won't to wait until it comes through and see what happened.
But it doesn't look like it's going to be that
bad in most.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Areas, right, That's all I'm hoping. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed because I made a prediction that winter was over
last week.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
I predict winter is over. Also, thank you me, we
won't still have some of this chick You know, normally
right around Easter we get another chill and then it's
over with.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Okay, So that's great news. So what about pre emergence
Usually we put them down at the end of January,
first part of February. Can pre emergence still be used
right now? And then weed killers?
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Yeah, I'd use pre emergence now because the temperatures are
warming out. The crabgrass is going to be germinating very quickly.
And my friends in the lawn care business who put
out pesticides or watching to see when the crabgrass starts
to germinate. But I think it's going to be germinating
very soon. There's a lot of weed seeds out there
that are already growing. To be honest with yeah, the
(14:39):
regular weed control products, wait until you see some growing
back of the weeds, you know, like the weed and
feed type products. Although there's some that will give you
some pre emergence also, but if you're after the main
growing weeds, wait until you just start to see them
and then put it out.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Okay, that sounds great. So what's the most important thing
for New Floridians, Because I think that's who's panicking the most,
the ones that we've just gotten, the new residents from
the last two to three years, four years that have
moved into the state. What's the most important thing for
them to know?
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Now, we're going to continue to get these freezes periodically
every five to ten years, I say, maybe fifteen. But
if you go through the history and you follow along
Henry Swanson's book Countdown for Agriculture, you can see every
five to ten years there's a devastating freeze come through.
And he was monitoring the citrus industry, but the same
thing for the homeowner industry, and so I would go
(15:38):
ahead and use the colorful, attractive plants. I'd still use
them and just be ready to protect them or replant.
Sometimes it's better just to have them killed back and
start over again. But I wouldn't give up on the
croutons and the plants of that nature of tropicals. I
have a ficus, for instance, and a container one of
(15:58):
the big ficus alasticas, and that was frozen back. But
you know what, I see a new leaf already coming
out at the base.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Wow, that's great.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
They're gonna grow back.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
What about palm trees like the pygmy date palms and
the queen palms and foxtales got really hit.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
The foxtails got hit hard. The robolinies pigmy date palms
are burnt back, but they're okay. I worry about the
foxtails the most, I guess the Christmas palms, of course,
are heavily damaged. But the foxtails may come back, and
people want to know what to do about them. I
just prove back the fronds that are damaged and sit
(16:36):
and wait and see if that bud in the top,
you know it really depends on what happened to the bud.
If the bud was damaged, it may not come back.
But back in the early eighties, I saw queen palms
killed back and the tops would come out of them
and the bud would still be good and they'd regrow.
But they may want to be putting the copper fungside
(16:56):
on those to try to protect the new growth in
the center.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Yeah, they plan had quean palms all down Orange Avenue
in Orlando and they're they're all gone. So they did
it also at Howie and the Hills and they're gone.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
So it all depends on what happens to that bud
in the top, and it can take a long time
for that bud to come back out. So you don't know.
But my Queen Sago, for instance, is all burned back,
but I know it's gonna survive, so I'll just cut
the fronds off. The king segos I think are all okay.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, so what do you suggest? What are you planting
this year for tomatoes? You what are you putting down?
Because I know you've already probably got started growing.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Yeah, my tomatoes are up. I will have them ready
for the garden in about a week or two right
after this cold spell goes through. And I like I
like the cherry tomatoes that's what we eat the most.
And I grow sweet Million that is probably one of
the better ones. Juliet is nice, also a sweet treat.
I've got one this year sugary that I'm growing for
(18:00):
the second year. That was pretty good. If I do
have some Champion Slicer tomatoes and Bella Rosa slicers. Better
boys always a good pick also, So those are my favorites.
You know, I overdo it. I think I have about
sixteen varieties out there right now.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Wow, that's pretty cool. That's great. Anie peppers or Anie
peppers or any what other vegetables are a.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Number of peppers. I have better Bell, I have Parkswhopper.
I think I have Aristotle Star of the North. But
they all do about the same. I guess if you
had to pick the best that has been the best
performer because it has the most resistance, it'd be better Bell.
And that one was designed by Florida growers.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Excellent. I'm so glad. Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I really do appreciate you coming on. It's always great
to talk to you. And thank you. You're going to
be sitting in for me whenever I go on these
garden tours, and so you're going to be back every
every month for us for a while.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
Yeah, I'll be back in April. I think it is
excellent for Yeah, but I'm looking forward to it. I
have a Lance Walheim, author of a new Citrus book,
gonna be with me for an interview that is excellent.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I'm so excited. I heard he was writing a new book,
so I'm very very excited. I can't wait to hear him.
Thank you so much, Tom. You have a great weekend.
Speaker 5 (19:20):
Okay, you have a great weekend too.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Take care all right, Bye bye. I love Tom, I
love too. He is so great and he just he
just knows everything. And so I'm glad he's still hosting.
So if it's Saturday morning, we're going to be taking
your gardening questions one triple eight four five five two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
(19:42):
eight zero Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Good morning, Welcome back to Better Lawns and gardens. I'm
(20:04):
Teresa Watkins. I'm your garden expert, landscape designer, garden author,
and a garden tour guide. So we still have a
couple of spots left on our Revolutionary Garden Tour and
that is going to be very exciting for the two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the United States. We're going
to go to some very historical gardens and just locations
(20:30):
and spend a great time in seeing some private gardens
and colonial Williamsburg. So if you're interested in going with
me on a tour and just geeking out at plants.
We love to go walking through gardens. They inspire me
so much, even as a garden designer. I love to
go walk through gardens and get inspiration. You can go
to art in Bloomgardentours dot com art and Bloomgardentours dot
(20:54):
com and are trips are filling up fast. We're going
to London that the historic iconic Chelsea Flower Show and
then also the Newport Flower Show, which is very exciting.
It's the Royalty of the United States where they lived
in gardened and their pleasure gardens, and then also Buffalo
(21:17):
with a side trip to the Niagara Falls on the
Canadian side. Wow, is very exciting. And then also too
the our trip to France, the Artiste gardens of France
and then the Brandywine Valley, and then also for Halloween
and for the fall, a trip to the Ethereal Gardens
(21:40):
of New Orleans. Oh wow, So we're gonna have a
great time. So if you're interested in going with us
art and bloom garden tours. Now what should you be
planting this time of the year? Right now you could
be planting beans and canalog start planting your corn, cucumbers
and eggplants, loof of squash, peppers, pumpkins, summer squash, tomatoes
(22:00):
and watermelon. Get those all down right now. Herbs are
the annis and basil, borage and chives, diyl and fennel, lemon,
balm and mint, oregano and parsley and rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram,
tarragon and thyme. It is a great time to garden.
This week is going to be great, especially after the
cool the cold front comes through, brings us that rain
(22:23):
the landscape. The soil will be really prime to be
planting this week. Now, we had a text message two
three six eight, Oh, if you'd like to text us
and it said will using the weed killer prene used
under bird feeders harm birds? And the chemical that is
(22:44):
used in Prene is called triflorin, and when used according
to the label, it is safe for pets and birds
and even people, so it's not going to harm the
birds at all. Always follow the label. And when they
do studies like this on the you know, the herbicides
that we can use in the gardens, the insecticides, they
(23:06):
always use it to what to the to the size
of the insect you would have to use so much
you'd have to have a pile of it in your
yard before it even does any damage at all. So no,
Prina is very safe to use underbird feeders. So that's
a great direction. Always follow the directions. The label is
(23:27):
the law, but also too it's just all you need
to use. You don't want to waste your money and
then and it's safe when used according to the instructions.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Also, we had a caller call in Maryanne from Melbourne.
Huh she was calling a back her jack Aranda tree.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Okay, beautiful tree jack arandas are beautiful. Yeah, no leaves,
no leaves. Well, it's gonna flush back out again. And
so when she says tree, I'm assuming it's eight to
ten to twelve feet tall, okay, okay, And so if
it is, it's gonna be just fine. It's gonna start
growing new leaves again, so she should look for that.
It's not gonna have been damaged. Is this part? I mean,
(24:07):
I just looked it up. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Why I don't have five hundred of these in my yard?
I don't understand why, life, because I love purple. But
are they part of like a weeping willow family?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
No, they're not a weeping willow. No, they're not jack Randa's.
They're a tropical tree. I don't know what family they're in.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Right off the top of my head, a little sad
weeping willow kind of.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Looks like they have a weeping canopy. Yes, so the
canopy is a weeping so you're correct about that. It's
kind of just you know, it's just hangs down and
it's just lovely. But hers should be just fine.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah, don't have a bunch of these in your yard.
I just may come and put up camp and just
stay there.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
They are gorgeous there. They're a great plant. But they're
kind of they're going to get hit when we get
Central Florida is kind of at the outside of their scope.
They are a tropical tree zone for zone ten and
a nine to nine B like Tom, and I think
more Central Florida, they're going to get damaged, but they'll recover.
(25:08):
So let's so, Mike and Venice, excuse me, I am
having a little trouble this morning, my throat. Good morning, Teresa, Lizzie.
Happy to hear the next cold wave is not going
to be destructive like the last one. Nice to hear
Tom's voice this morning. He was part of our Saturday
morning routine for over thirty years and he will continue
(25:30):
to be. Mike. Yeah, he's so pleased. I love working
with Tom, and he was my boss at the University
of Florida and at Extension for over ten years, and
so it's just he's a great man and I look
forward to it. And Henry Swanson, the gentleman. He mentioned
the Swanson Auditorium and it's very like the Lake County
(25:52):
Extension Office. Henry Swanson was a giant and he was
he was a great man. In the early nineteen forties.
These here in Central Florida one triple eight four five five,
two nine sixty seven or you can text two three
six eight zero.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Now I did look because we Eileen had text me,
and I did look up on this spectrum the the
news and they're saying for that area and the Polk
City Ish area they're going to have a freeze, at
a mild freeze, but they may have so do they
need to do any covering if they're gonna.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
You know, again, if you've got something really tropical that
was hit and you've cut it back and you think
it's going to get that cold again, you can go
ahead and cover it. Yeah, I would cover it if
you're scared. Better to be safe.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Sorry, my tomatoes is that, you know. I had them
on the porch. I had all the certain stuff up
on the you know, the screen windows. Thought it was
safe and it came out and they looked like melt.
Looked like someone took a candle, like melted all over
my bell peppers had to pull them all on the ground.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
I'm like, I'm you know, but but hey, yeah, so yeah,
better safe and star safe and sorry if you think
you're getting cold, and so I lead. She lives way
out in the boondog. So she lives out in the country,
and so yeah, you know it might get down into
thirty two. I don't think it's gonna get colder than that, though,
it's not. We're just not gonna have this. I think
it's going to be a bust. That's what I'm praying for. Yes, definitely,
(27:20):
it's not. It's not like the week before last. No, exactly.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, and again, you know this is Florida's eighty degrees
one day, fifty you know, twenty five the next day.
So it's just really very bipolar. 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.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Welcome back up Better Lawns in Gardens and now Teresa's
top five.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
My top five today is my top five favorite spring
flowers that will not fail. They are very, very successful
in the Florida garden. Number five Salvia blue, black and
blue salvia. This is salviaiyantica and it is gorgeous. It's tall.
(28:31):
It gets to be about two and a half three
feet tall. It looks gorgeous in the garden. Butterfli's love it.
Number four whirling butterflies Gara Linda Hamurai and it is beautiful.
I love the sisca u pink, the hot pink, the
beautiful color, great garden of flower for your area. And
it waves in the wind. It's just gorgeous. Number three
(28:53):
the old fashioned pentas also called ruby glow. These are
the red red peppers pentas that do not have any
kind of hybridized white coloring in them. They're solid red.
They get to be three to five feet tall. Butterflies
love them, hummingbirds love them. Number two is the rosy periwinkle.
(29:14):
And this is the Cazaranza Rosia. Gorgeous plant takes a heat,
will grow out of a sidewalk concrete block. It is
wonderful for Florida gardens. And again butterflies love it. And
my number one plant is the dune sunflower beach sunflowers
heliansis debilis. It is gorgeous in the garden and bright
(29:35):
yellow flowers. The butterflies love it. So those are my
top five spring flowers that will not fail and they
look great in your garden. Yellows and blues and pinks
and reds. Yes, it'll be gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. If
you have a question, you can give us a call
one triple eight four five five two nine sixty seven,
or you can text two three six eighth zero. Let's
(29:58):
go to Rob in Chris. Good morning, Rob, How are you?
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Good morning? I am well, I'm really doing good. I've
got some tomato plants that have been babying, and I
brought them inside during the freeze and they're doing well.
I even have a fruit set on them. But they're
developing a white or a light green coating of some
sort of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Okay, well, it's powdery mildew. So where are they now?
Where are they inside or outside?
Speaker 5 (30:27):
They're outside on the front porch.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Okay, so they're in the front porch. Okay, this is
that's probably gonna be one of the reasons why you're
getting it, because powdery mildew is caused by a humidity
and lack of air circulation. Okay, So inside the screen
room the air is still, and so they can they
can develop a fungus, and so you need to spray
(30:50):
them with a fung aside, but I would kind of
suggest that you move them to the outside where they
can get nice, good air.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
I'm thinking about transplanting them into the garden.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Now, sure, sure that'll be good. Spray it with a
fungicide that's labeled for powdery mildew and they should be
just fine.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
Thank you very much. Y'all have a great day.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Thank you so much. Rob appreciated great, great question. So
now in a let's see Nora from Ovido, she says,
my deep red crape myrtle has lots of moss and airplants.
Does it need something extra nutritionally? I'm manually removing what
I can, but they may not be able to reach
higher limbs. Well, I'm thinking that you are near a
(31:30):
lot of trees, okay, and so your crape myrtle needs
full sunlight. And if it is, if it's near an
oak tree or there's your crape myrtle is in a
lot of shade, it is going to you know, get
these tlansias, these airplants and the moss on them. So
(31:51):
I would just suggest that if it's possible, if you
could move it or trim back some of the trees
in the area so it has more unlight. But you
can remove them manually. They're not a problem for the
crepe myrtle, but it's a symptom, a symptom that it's
not getting enough sunlight and that it's too close to trees,
(32:12):
and so the air circulation again is going to be
an issue. So yeah, manually removes them. You can't spray
them with a copper fungicide and that copper will take
out the moss and the air plants. But yeah, it's
they're not going to really damage it as long as
it's healthy. So remove them though, if you can, that'll
be great. Let's go to Allen in Mount Verd. Good morning, Alan,
(32:36):
how can I help you?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
Good morning, Mysteresa. I have a bone to pick with you.
A native born Floridian in the Claremont, Central Florida area
at the age of sixty seven, I do not I
grew up in third generation citrus and you never fertilize
until I know you won't find this hard to believe.
After the Central Florida Fair left the neighborhood because it
(33:01):
could be wonderful eighty degree temperatures in the week of
Central Florida Fair, it rained got near to freezing or freezing.
And I have lived my life as do not plant
until the weekend after the Central Florida Fair, and I
have never lost anything due to frost. I hated is
(33:21):
all ready to go, everything's going. I'm like, nope, you
got two more weeks. Then it goes in the ground
and I can sleep good at night and I'm having
to worry about pull it in, pull it out, cover
it up, uncovered.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
There you go, Alan, I so appreciate you. No, I
agree with you. I agree with you. But you know,
people get in seeing they want to do something, and
so you know less he's say in her, and so
you know, I'd certainly greasy. March fifteenth is usually the
date of the last recorded freeze, so mid mid March
is it. But we could start to plant some of
(33:54):
these plants and you know, you know, keep them covered
as they need to be. But I just don't think
we're going to get to freeze in Claremont or here
in this area in the next couple of weeks. I
think I think we're good.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
You mentioned two very special people in me as Tom mccovin,
and I happen to know Henry Swanson. My father grew
up with him, very honorable man. And it's just you
couldn't have asked for a fine, finer county agent than
Henry Swanson and knew everybody treated you like your first
class and it was fantastic. I know him.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I so agree with you. He was a hero. He
just was just stellar.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
And I was happen to be down south as far
as Stuart. And it's like, if you really want to
see what's the plant in your yard, you go down
to West Palm Beach and Fort Pearson. You look at
the commercial nurseries and you see everything that's brown, and
you go, oh, don't plant that in soil for if
it didn't survive down there and ain't going to survive
(34:49):
up here.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Well, you know that's what I tell I would tell
people that. Alan, again, I so appreciate you. I'm saying,
you know, we do get cold here. I've seen to
get down to eighteen degrees in Lake County and the
snow lay on the ground till one o'clock in the afternoon,
and so you know, people don't realize we do get
that cold. But it's the shock of the cold. It's
eighty degrees one day, like you said, and you know,
(35:10):
twenty five thirty degrees the next day. The plans just
don't know what to do.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
You're doing a great job I'm a long time listening
to Tom and I've been listening to you whenever I can,
and so keep up the good work. We have too
many people who don't know what Florida is really about,
and so you're doing a great job of educating it
and so of what not to plant it and when
not to planting.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
So Rob you, thank you so much. You've made my day.
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Alan.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
I'm sorry, Alan, thank you for calling in. I love
talking with you. Please call back again sometimes that's great.
Bye bye. I love talking to Florida residents, and especially.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
If anybody's done any type of agriculture, and they'll have
to be professional, but if they've actually done their own
stuff for quite a while and they've seen the changes,
that does make so well.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
You know, when I was thinking when he was talking,
all I was imagining was the miles, hundreds of miles
of citrus growth through the Claremont area that you would
just go through, rolling hills of citrus for hundreds of miles,
and we don't have that anymore, and that is so sad.
(36:14):
But Henry Swanson and Tommicam they are just stellar. They
get other stars and it's but we were getting back
there we're growing our crops. Again, Agriculture is very big
in Florida, and you know, we supply the country with
vegetables and flowers, tropical plants all throughout the country, and
so Florida is still the greatest place to plant. Yes,
(36:38):
and we do appreciate. That was a great call.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I never thought about that, and that does make sense.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
If you are.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Wanting to either like do redo your landscape or put
in something brand new, this would be the time to
go down to a couple counties down and check to
see what's burnt up and be like, Okay, maybe I
didn't really need.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I'm telling you, you know, we are zone nine. We
will get a freeze every year. And people are planting
those those ten and eleven tropical plants and like Pigmy
Day palms. The village has had all these Pigmy Day palms,
and I'm going, oh my goodness, gracious, you know, you know.
So here's what I say. If you want to have
tropical plants, just don't buy expensive ones. Okay, those foreheaded
(37:20):
Pigmy Day palms that cost six hundred dollars. You're gonna
lose an investment. Buy the thirty five dollars you know,
Sago palm or you know, not Sagos, but yeah, the
Sagos and the Pygmy day palms. Just buy a cheap one.
That way, you know, if you lose it, you can
replace it. It's not, you know, not a big deal.
You know, call it your seventy five dollars annual and
(37:42):
if it dies then you can just replace it. But
don't spend a lot of money on them.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
So you don't have anything in your hand that you
can throw out the window. And I'm fixing to ask
you this because we have a way. We have a
glass window between us. So if for some reason that
I my bulbs are still sitting in my fringe in
the garage.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
You can go ahead and plant them. Oh okay, Yeah,
they'll bloom in a couple of weeks. They won't last
as long, but they'll bloom because they'll be eighty degrees
when they start to bloom, and so that'll kind of
knock the wind out of them. But I want to go.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Pull the drawers in the garage and I'm like, oh man,
these were supposed to go on.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
The ground in November.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
I'm like, oh, Manes is gonna murder me.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
No, no, no, no, go ahead and put them in
the ground now. They'll have a long winter chill that
will be great. And so we want to give Tom
thank you so much for calling in and helping us
with our plants. We look forward to having him on
all the time. And uh, you know, we want to
thank our sponsors, Black Cow, some Responsible Solutions Studios, Quality
(38:41):
green specialists. Go get peach trees right now, peach and nectarines,
all the deciduous trees you could be planting right now.
They will do well in your garden. 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.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
You always gonna Better lands dot Com and recap anything
that you may have missed. You can also check out
Better Lawns and Gardens on Facebook and all your social
media's
Good morning, Welcome to Better Lags and Gardens from the
Summit Responsible Solution Studios. I'm Teresa Watkins. I'm your host today.
I thank you for joining us this morning, and we
have a lot to talk about today. We've got great
guests today, so I'm very excited. Good morning, Lizzie. How
are you?
Speaker 2 (00:28):
I am doing good?
Speaker 1 (00:29):
What is up?
Speaker 2 (00:30):
Everybody's like sending the oogie boogie stories that it's supposed
to have another freeze falling iguanas What is going on?
Speaker 1 (00:37):
No, No, remember what I said last week that winter's over.
Winter's still over. We're not gonna see any major freezes
this weekend or the beginning of the week. Some parts
of North Florida may see a touch of frost, but
it's not gonna stay. We're gonna be back up into
the sixties by Monday afternoon. Tuesday, Wednesday sixties, fifties and
(00:59):
six these sunny weather, it's gonna be nice. We need
the rainfall, so this cold front's gonna be bringing us
in rainfall, so it's not big a big deal. Some
parts of or Okla. You know, just if you're right
out there in the boondogs with those micro climates, you
might see a little frost, but your plant should still
be okay. If you haven't cut them back yet, they're
(01:20):
not gonna be affected because the Dorman Sea, the brown
leaves are gonna protect them. And if you did cut
them back, they really haven't started to grow, so you
know you're not gonna see that much damage. So everybody
can just take a chill. We're fine. This is why
we live in Florida. We don't have to shovel sunshine
and and so it's gonna be just great. But I'm
(01:43):
gonna be talking. Our guest this morning is gonna be
Tom MCCOBBN and he has seen many a freeze in Florida,
so we're gonna be asking him about it, and he's
got I know, he's just gonna it's just gonna be
a great time. I love talking with Tom, so he
is just the best. Today. If you are in Seminole County,
(02:05):
the Seminole County Extension, the University of Florida i FITS
Extension is putting on a expo today from nine am
to three pm. Lots of things going on. If you
have children at home, if you want to get outside
for a great day, then the Seminole County Expo is
(02:27):
for you. They're gonna have museum. The museum is gonna
be open and talking children. Events are gonna have scavenger hunts,
coloring stations, all kinds of things for the children to do.
Plus lots of speakers and talks going on today. You're
gonna be able to learn about bees, about verma culture
which is using worms, growing worms, and native plants expos
(02:51):
and I will be doing a talk. I will be there.
Come out and see me. At ten thirty this morning.
I will be doing a talk on landscape design. Great
inspiration for you if you'll come out, and it's going
to be a wonderful day. Plus I think they have
a plant sale going on too, so they'll be able
to sell some plants, and so it'll be a great
(03:14):
day all the way around. The vendors out there, lots
of fun things to do. That's the Seminole County Expo
at the Seminole County Extension Office in Sanford. That's at
two fifty West County Home Road in Sanford from nine
o'clock this morning till three pm this afternoon. You don't
want to miss it, so come out and see me,
(03:34):
and I would love to talk to you and meet you.
Bring me some of your things that you'd like to
talk about. If you have an issue going on in
new yard, or you want me to give you some
design tips by bringing a photograph of it. I'd love
to see that.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (03:48):
And the best photographs is you take at least two,
if not three, one from far back, and then one
if you have a problem with something a little closer,
and then a third one on that problem is just old,
little closer of it and make sure it's kind of
not fuzzy.
Speaker 4 (04:03):
Thank you.
Speaker 1 (04:03):
Yeah, that is so good. That is so good. So
the weather this week, I don't want anyone to panic.
Like I said, we're having a cold front come through tomorrow.
We're gonna get some much needed rain, remember our cold
front spring rain, and so starting today, rain in North Florida.
Tomorrow we're gonna get rain in Central Florida and South Florida.
(04:24):
You're gonna be doing great. Tampa, you got an eighty
percent chance of rain tomorrow. No freezing for you though.
So North Florida's gonna get highs in the fifties and sixties.
Monday is gonna be low's in the thirties. It's not
gonna last long. Back up in the seventies on Wednesday.
Rain again for North Florida on Thursday, so that's gonna
be good. Central Florida we have a sixty percent chance
(04:45):
of rain tomorrow. I'm looking forward to that. Highs are
going to be in the fifties and lows in the
high thirties. No freezing, spotty areas. Okalla, you're gonna have sunshine.
Highs in the fifties. Few areas may see thirty two degrees,
but it won't last long. And Tampa no freezing. Like
I said, South Florida, beautiful weather all week. Highs in
(05:05):
the sixties and seventies. You can wear those those knitted
bikinis down there a little bit, so you know, woolen
bikinis there. Monday and two's not you're going to be
in the forties, but the rest of the week is
going to be sixties at night, no rain. So it's
just going to be a beautiful, beautiful, beautiful week ahead.
And so we're going to after our interview, Thomas coming on.
(05:27):
I'm very excited to talk to him. He is such
a good friend, but he also knows he's got the
experience of the world, and so I am sure he
is going to tell us about what he has seen
and what he thinks is coming up. I'm interested in
hearing that. And so he's going to be able to
provide therapy for our freeze damaged plants. He's going to
(05:51):
be our landscapes because I've been getting a lot of requests.
You know, people want to change out. They don't want
to use tropicals anymore. Okay, no, high biscus hyps.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
No, no, no, no, don't be like that, because it'll
it'll be all It'll be all good.
Speaker 1 (06:04):
And the reason.
Speaker 2 (06:05):
Why is not only there is Teresa and Tom know
what they're saying, but you can take it from me,
who will totally mess things up. Okay, but I walked
by my hibiscus and I did the Teresa scraping, the
the the uh the trunk on my high biscuses. I
don't know if you'd call a trunk, but whatever, and
it was green. I was like, wow, look at that.
Speaker 1 (06:25):
Yeah, and you're out in the boom dogs, so you
got really really super cold. So so that's good. What
should you be planting this time of the year. We
are gonna come back and we're gonna tell you that
Tom is gonna come right up. He's with us right now.
I can't wait to talk to him. You're gonna want
to hear him from the Summit Responsible Solution Studios. It's
Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens. I'm
(06:46):
Teresa Watkus and this is Florida's Tuck and Entertainment Network,
(07:10):
and welcome back to Better Lawns and Gardens. Joining us
right now is Tom mccovin. He was the host of
Better Lawns and Gardens and still is for thirty four years.
He comes in and he is just such a help.
Good morning, Tom, How are you?
Speaker 5 (07:26):
Good morning, Teresa. I am fine. I am in recovery
stage now. All my plants are feeling better.
Speaker 1 (07:32):
That's well. I'm so glad to hear that, Tom, because
we have a little bit of a cold front coming
through on Monday and everyone's starting to panic again. So,
I mean, you have seen a lot. You've lived in Florida.
Speaker 5 (07:43):
How long I've been here for fifty four years, but
I can go back to the eighteen thirty five. I
know you just wanted an old timer this morning to
tell you more about these freezes. Well, thank goodness. For
Henry Swanson's book Countdown for Agriculture back in eighteen thirty five,
they had ice across the lakes in Florida.
Speaker 1 (08:05):
Wow, that's incredible, Oh my goodness, Oh my goodness. And
so Florida seeing these kind of winters before. We have
them about every ten to fifteen years, sometimes twenty and
so what so what can you say, are we going
to have another one like next year?
Speaker 5 (08:24):
You know, I don't know. I go a little closer
than you do. I go every five or ten years.
But I went through the eighties, so that was the
toughest eighty three, eighty five, eighty nine, and then in
two thousand and three we had another one. So we've
been fairly lucky last few years, maybe last five, maybe
(08:45):
seven or eight. We haven't had a really bad freeze.
But you know, we're gonna get these every once in
a while, so we kind of got to get used
to them. I have.
Speaker 1 (08:53):
Well, so, so should people plant tropical plants anymore? I'm
getting that question. People are not wanting to use hibiscus
and all kinds of like blue Days, which I think
is an annual, but salvias and things. What should they
still be using? Tropicals.
Speaker 5 (09:10):
Sure, My question to them is why not. I mean,
they're still colorful most years, they're going to survive even
this year. Like Lizzie was saying, her high biscus is
still alive. It's going to come back. It's Mother Nature's
way of doing a little pruning that we're scared to do.
Speaker 1 (09:26):
That's a good thought too, Yeah, because people don't like
to cut back, and so this gives them the opportunity
to do that, and they'll make the plants that are
in denser.
Speaker 5 (09:34):
Yeah, I'd still plan them. I mean, I don't see
why not. Next year it might be a light year.
It just kind of tells us what we have to
be ready prepared to do to protect some of these plants.
So sometimes just to cover that's all I used.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Right, And so what kind of damage did you see
in your yard?
Speaker 5 (09:52):
In my yard, the high business was damaged. Of course,
the crotons were frozen way back. They'll probably come back.
I remember I think it was in nineteen eighty three
where the croton froze to the ground and I said, oh,
it's a dead plant. I'll probably pull it out. But
I left it. It took it till July to come back,
but it came back. It was amazing. So the trenettes
(10:15):
of the sheet was frozen way back, but you know
it's going to come back. A lot of those tender
type plants things that made it believe or not burn
of paradise. I did throw trash can over top of
them and they came back, okay. But those type of plants, crotons,
trennettes were pretty heavily damaged.
Speaker 1 (10:38):
Well, is it all frost damage or I mean, I
know we had some winds coming through at fifty to
fifty five miles per hour. Are we seeing any wind damage?
Is any of this we're seeing?
Speaker 5 (10:49):
You know, I don't think most of us wind damage,
although where the covers blew up all of my vermeliads,
for instance, I did get some damage. Vermeiliads were amazing.
I had some damage to them them, but most of
them made it through and we'll be back without any problem.
Speaker 1 (11:04):
Okay. And so people that do have damage from me lands,
what do you suggest they do with them? Cut them
back or just throw them away?
Speaker 5 (11:11):
You know, I think most of them will come back
from the base without any problems. But you're gonna you
have the older plants that the tops are dead and
cut off the old leaves if you want. It depends
on how long you want to wait. I'll be honest
with you. If you don't want to wait very long, Hey,
get new ones. I have a neighbor right now. They
(11:31):
have bought in really nice looking croutons and some other
tropical plants. They're ready to replant.
Speaker 1 (11:38):
Wonderful, wonderful. So, so what do you advise people who
have birds of Paradise, the giant bird of Paradise, the
travelers palms? What should they do with them?
Speaker 5 (11:47):
You know, I think they're frozen way back once that
button the top has gone. They could they could watch
them for a while. They could either cut them back
to the ground, and I think that's what juice one
of the things you suggest, Uh, and just wait for
new shoe to come up from the base, because they will.
Or they can just trim off the old dead fall
agi and see if the plants are able to survive.
(12:08):
We're talking about the same things with bananas. I have bananas.
I'm sure frozen to the ground. I'm not going to
wait for them. I'll just cut them back.
Speaker 1 (12:15):
Yeah, bananas will recover, I mean they grow back fast.
So what plant zone should Central Florida, or for Floridians used,
what zone should we use to gauge our plans?
Speaker 5 (12:25):
The hardiness zones and newer schedules have moved some of
us into ten. But I am thinking we are all
still nine A and nine B and mainly around the
right heart of Central Florida. I think we're nine B
and that's where I stay.
Speaker 1 (12:41):
That's what I totally agree with you, I certainly do so.
Now does this landscape damage does it affect the timing
of when we should fertilize and how much to fertilize?
Speaker 5 (12:52):
Well, we should probably wait until we see growth coming back.
For instance, with the lawns. I'm just telling people, you know, no,
you need to fertilize, and until you see growth coming
back from the lawn or from the other shrubs. My
guess is it's going to be the middle of March
for the lawns in most areas, and a lot of
the shrubs, believe it or not, a lot of the
(13:13):
things are coming back right now. I have a lemon
tree that I went down and I saw new buds
coming out on it.
Speaker 3 (13:20):
Wow.
Speaker 5 (13:21):
And that one was in a semi protected area. And
then lemons are normally very susceptible to cold, but this
one here has made it through. Just the tips of
it were damaged, and so I see new growth already.
And if you got new growth, then I think you
m as well go ahead and put down the fertilizer.
You talk about this cold spell coming through, you probably
(13:41):
won't to wait until it comes through and see what happened.
But it doesn't look like it's going to be that
bad in most.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
Areas, right, That's all I'm hoping. I'm keeping my fingers
crossed because I made a prediction that winter was over
last week.
Speaker 5 (13:54):
I predict winter is over. Also, thank you me, we
won't still have some of this chick You know, normally
right around Easter we get another chill and then it's
over with.
Speaker 1 (14:04):
Okay, So that's great news. So what about pre emergence
Usually we put them down at the end of January,
first part of February. Can pre emergence still be used
right now? And then weed killers?
Speaker 5 (14:17):
Yeah, I'd use pre emergence now because the temperatures are
warming out. The crabgrass is going to be germinating very quickly.
And my friends in the lawn care business who put
out pesticides or watching to see when the crabgrass starts
to germinate. But I think it's going to be germinating
very soon. There's a lot of weed seeds out there
that are already growing. To be honest with yeah, the
(14:39):
regular weed control products, wait until you see some growing
back of the weeds, you know, like the weed and
feed type products. Although there's some that will give you
some pre emergence also, but if you're after the main
growing weeds, wait until you just start to see them
and then put it out.
Speaker 1 (14:58):
Okay, that sounds great. So what's the most important thing
for New Floridians, Because I think that's who's panicking the most,
the ones that we've just gotten, the new residents from
the last two to three years, four years that have
moved into the state. What's the most important thing for
them to know?
Speaker 5 (15:14):
Now, we're going to continue to get these freezes periodically
every five to ten years, I say, maybe fifteen. But
if you go through the history and you follow along
Henry Swanson's book Countdown for Agriculture, you can see every
five to ten years there's a devastating freeze come through.
And he was monitoring the citrus industry, but the same
thing for the homeowner industry, and so I would go
(15:38):
ahead and use the colorful, attractive plants. I'd still use
them and just be ready to protect them or replant.
Sometimes it's better just to have them killed back and
start over again. But I wouldn't give up on the
croutons and the plants of that nature of tropicals. I
have a ficus, for instance, and a container one of
(15:58):
the big ficus alasticas, and that was frozen back. But
you know what, I see a new leaf already coming
out at the base.
Speaker 1 (16:04):
Wow, that's great.
Speaker 5 (16:05):
They're gonna grow back.
Speaker 1 (16:07):
What about palm trees like the pygmy date palms and
the queen palms and foxtales got really hit.
Speaker 5 (16:14):
The foxtails got hit hard. The robolinies pigmy date palms
are burnt back, but they're okay. I worry about the
foxtails the most, I guess the Christmas palms, of course,
are heavily damaged. But the foxtails may come back, and
people want to know what to do about them. I
just prove back the fronds that are damaged and sit
(16:36):
and wait and see if that bud in the top,
you know it really depends on what happened to the bud.
If the bud was damaged, it may not come back.
But back in the early eighties, I saw queen palms
killed back and the tops would come out of them
and the bud would still be good and they'd regrow.
But they may want to be putting the copper fungside
(16:56):
on those to try to protect the new growth in
the center.
Speaker 1 (16:59):
Yeah, they plan had quean palms all down Orange Avenue
in Orlando and they're they're all gone. So they did
it also at Howie and the Hills and they're gone.
Speaker 5 (17:11):
So it all depends on what happens to that bud
in the top, and it can take a long time
for that bud to come back out. So you don't know.
But my Queen Sago, for instance, is all burned back,
but I know it's gonna survive, so I'll just cut
the fronds off. The king segos I think are all okay.
Speaker 1 (17:30):
Well, so what do you suggest? What are you planting
this year for tomatoes? You what are you putting down?
Because I know you've already probably got started growing.
Speaker 5 (17:38):
Yeah, my tomatoes are up. I will have them ready
for the garden in about a week or two right
after this cold spell goes through. And I like I
like the cherry tomatoes that's what we eat the most.
And I grow sweet Million that is probably one of
the better ones. Juliet is nice, also a sweet treat.
I've got one this year sugary that I'm growing for
(18:00):
the second year. That was pretty good. If I do
have some Champion Slicer tomatoes and Bella Rosa slicers. Better
boys always a good pick also, So those are my favorites.
You know, I overdo it. I think I have about
sixteen varieties out there right now.
Speaker 1 (18:18):
Wow, that's pretty cool. That's great. Anie peppers or Anie
peppers or any what other vegetables are a.
Speaker 5 (18:26):
Number of peppers. I have better Bell, I have Parkswhopper.
I think I have Aristotle Star of the North. But
they all do about the same. I guess if you
had to pick the best that has been the best
performer because it has the most resistance, it'd be better Bell.
And that one was designed by Florida growers.
Speaker 1 (18:46):
Excellent. I'm so glad. Well, thank you so much.
Speaker 5 (18:49):
Tom.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
I really do appreciate you coming on. It's always great
to talk to you. And thank you. You're going to
be sitting in for me whenever I go on these
garden tours, and so you're going to be back every
every month for us for a while.
Speaker 5 (19:01):
Yeah, I'll be back in April. I think it is
excellent for Yeah, but I'm looking forward to it. I
have a Lance Walheim, author of a new Citrus book,
gonna be with me for an interview that is excellent.
Speaker 1 (19:13):
I'm so excited. I heard he was writing a new book,
so I'm very very excited. I can't wait to hear him.
Thank you so much, Tom. You have a great weekend.
Speaker 5 (19:20):
Okay, you have a great weekend too.
Speaker 1 (19:22):
Take care all right, Bye bye. I love Tom, I
love too. He is so great and he just he
just knows everything. And so I'm glad he's still hosting.
So if it's Saturday morning, we're going to be taking
your gardening questions one triple eight four five five two
nine sixty seven, or you can text two three six
(19:42):
eight zero Saturday morning. You're listening to Better Lawns and Gardens.
I'm Teresa Watkins, and this is Florida's Talk and Entertainment Network.
Good morning, Welcome back to Better Lawns and gardens. I'm
(20:04):
Teresa Watkins. I'm your garden expert, landscape designer, garden author,
and a garden tour guide. So we still have a
couple of spots left on our Revolutionary Garden Tour and
that is going to be very exciting for the two
hundred and fiftieth anniversary of the United States. We're going
to go to some very historical gardens and just locations
(20:30):
and spend a great time in seeing some private gardens
and colonial Williamsburg. So if you're interested in going with
me on a tour and just geeking out at plants.
We love to go walking through gardens. They inspire me
so much, even as a garden designer. I love to
go walk through gardens and get inspiration. You can go
to art in Bloomgardentours dot com art and Bloomgardentours dot
(20:54):
com and are trips are filling up fast. We're going
to London that the historic iconic Chelsea Flower Show and
then also the Newport Flower Show, which is very exciting.
It's the Royalty of the United States where they lived
in gardened and their pleasure gardens, and then also Buffalo
(21:17):
with a side trip to the Niagara Falls on the
Canadian side. Wow, is very exciting. And then also too
the our trip to France, the Artiste gardens of France
and then the Brandywine Valley, and then also for Halloween
and for the fall, a trip to the Ethereal Gardens
(21:40):
of New Orleans. Oh wow, So we're gonna have a
great time. So if you're interested in going with us
art and bloom garden tours. Now what should you be
planting this time of the year? Right now you could
be planting beans and canalog start planting your corn, cucumbers
and eggplants, loof of squash, peppers, pumpkins, summer squash, tomatoes
(22:00):
and watermelon. Get those all down right now. Herbs are
the annis and basil, borage and chives, diyl and fennel, lemon,
balm and mint, oregano and parsley and rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram,
tarragon and thyme. It is a great time to garden.
This week is going to be great, especially after the
cool the cold front comes through, brings us that rain
(22:23):
the landscape. The soil will be really prime to be
planting this week. Now, we had a text message two
three six eight, Oh, if you'd like to text us
and it said will using the weed killer prene used
under bird feeders harm birds? And the chemical that is
(22:44):
used in Prene is called triflorin, and when used according
to the label, it is safe for pets and birds
and even people, so it's not going to harm the
birds at all. Always follow the label. And when they
do studies like this on the you know, the herbicides
that we can use in the gardens, the insecticides, they
(23:06):
always use it to what to the to the size
of the insect you would have to use so much
you'd have to have a pile of it in your
yard before it even does any damage at all. So no,
Prina is very safe to use underbird feeders. So that's
a great direction. Always follow the directions. The label is
(23:27):
the law, but also too it's just all you need
to use. You don't want to waste your money and
then and it's safe when used according to the instructions.
Speaker 2 (23:37):
Also, we had a caller call in Maryanne from Melbourne.
Huh she was calling a back her jack Aranda tree.
Speaker 1 (23:47):
Okay, beautiful tree jack arandas are beautiful. Yeah, no leaves,
no leaves. Well, it's gonna flush back out again. And
so when she says tree, I'm assuming it's eight to
ten to twelve feet tall, okay, okay, And so if
it is, it's gonna be just fine. It's gonna start
growing new leaves again, so she should look for that.
It's not gonna have been damaged. Is this part? I mean,
(24:07):
I just looked it up. Okay.
Speaker 2 (24:09):
Why I don't have five hundred of these in my yard?
I don't understand why, life, because I love purple. But
are they part of like a weeping willow family?
Speaker 1 (24:19):
No, they're not a weeping willow. No, they're not jack Randa's.
They're a tropical tree. I don't know what family they're in.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Right off the top of my head, a little sad
weeping willow kind of.
Speaker 1 (24:30):
Looks like they have a weeping canopy. Yes, so the
canopy is a weeping so you're correct about that. It's
kind of just you know, it's just hangs down and
it's just lovely. But hers should be just fine.
Speaker 2 (24:42):
Yeah, don't have a bunch of these in your yard.
I just may come and put up camp and just
stay there.
Speaker 1 (24:47):
They are gorgeous there. They're a great plant. But they're
kind of they're going to get hit when we get
Central Florida is kind of at the outside of their scope.
They are a tropical tree zone for zone ten and
a nine to nine B like Tom, and I think
more Central Florida, they're going to get damaged, but they'll recover.
(25:08):
So let's so, Mike and Venice, excuse me, I am
having a little trouble this morning, my throat. Good morning, Teresa, Lizzie.
Happy to hear the next cold wave is not going
to be destructive like the last one. Nice to hear
Tom's voice this morning. He was part of our Saturday
morning routine for over thirty years and he will continue
(25:30):
to be. Mike. Yeah, he's so pleased. I love working
with Tom, and he was my boss at the University
of Florida and at Extension for over ten years, and
so it's just he's a great man and I look
forward to it. And Henry Swanson, the gentleman. He mentioned
the Swanson Auditorium and it's very like the Lake County
(25:52):
Extension Office. Henry Swanson was a giant and he was
he was a great man. In the early nineteen forties.
These here in Central Florida one triple eight four five five,
two nine sixty seven or you can text two three
six eight zero.
Speaker 2 (26:10):
Now I did look because we Eileen had text me,
and I did look up on this spectrum the the
news and they're saying for that area and the Polk
City Ish area they're going to have a freeze, at
a mild freeze, but they may have so do they
need to do any covering if they're gonna.
Speaker 1 (26:29):
You know, again, if you've got something really tropical that
was hit and you've cut it back and you think
it's going to get that cold again, you can go
ahead and cover it. Yeah, I would cover it if
you're scared. Better to be safe.
Speaker 2 (26:44):
Sorry, my tomatoes is that, you know. I had them
on the porch. I had all the certain stuff up
on the you know, the screen windows. Thought it was
safe and it came out and they looked like melt.
Looked like someone took a candle, like melted all over
my bell peppers had to pull them all on the ground.
Speaker 1 (26:59):
I'm like, I'm you know, but but hey, yeah, so yeah,
better safe and star safe and sorry if you think
you're getting cold, and so I lead. She lives way
out in the boondog. So she lives out in the country,
and so yeah, you know it might get down into
thirty two. I don't think it's gonna get colder than that, though,
it's not. We're just not gonna have this. I think
it's going to be a bust. That's what I'm praying for. Yes, definitely,
(27:20):
it's not. It's not like the week before last. No, exactly.
Speaker 3 (27:24):
No.
Speaker 1 (27:24):
Well, and again, you know this is Florida's eighty degrees
one day, fifty you know, twenty five the next day.
So it's just really very bipolar. 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.
Speaker 3 (28:04):
Welcome back up Better Lawns in Gardens and now Teresa's
top five.
Speaker 1 (28:11):
My top five today is my top five favorite spring
flowers that will not fail. They are very, very successful
in the Florida garden. Number five Salvia blue, black and
blue salvia. This is salviaiyantica and it is gorgeous. It's tall.
(28:31):
It gets to be about two and a half three
feet tall. It looks gorgeous in the garden. Butterfli's love it.
Number four whirling butterflies Gara Linda Hamurai and it is beautiful.
I love the sisca u pink, the hot pink, the
beautiful color, great garden of flower for your area. And
it waves in the wind. It's just gorgeous. Number three
(28:53):
the old fashioned pentas also called ruby glow. These are
the red red peppers pentas that do not have any
kind of hybridized white coloring in them. They're solid red.
They get to be three to five feet tall. Butterflies
love them, hummingbirds love them. Number two is the rosy periwinkle.
(29:14):
And this is the Cazaranza Rosia. Gorgeous plant takes a heat,
will grow out of a sidewalk concrete block. It is
wonderful for Florida gardens. And again butterflies love it. And
my number one plant is the dune sunflower beach sunflowers
heliansis debilis. It is gorgeous in the garden and bright
(29:35):
yellow flowers. The butterflies love it. So those are my
top five spring flowers that will not fail and they
look great in your garden. Yellows and blues and pinks
and reds. Yes, it'll be gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous, gorgeous. If
you have a question, you can give us a call
one triple eight four five five two nine sixty seven,
or you can text two three six eighth zero. Let's
(29:58):
go to Rob in Chris. Good morning, Rob, How are you?
Speaker 3 (30:02):
Good morning? I am well, I'm really doing good. I've
got some tomato plants that have been babying, and I
brought them inside during the freeze and they're doing well.
I even have a fruit set on them. But they're
developing a white or a light green coating of some
sort of it.
Speaker 1 (30:22):
Okay, well, it's powdery mildew. So where are they now?
Where are they inside or outside?
Speaker 5 (30:27):
They're outside on the front porch.
Speaker 1 (30:29):
Okay, so they're in the front porch. Okay, this is
that's probably gonna be one of the reasons why you're
getting it, because powdery mildew is caused by a humidity
and lack of air circulation. Okay, So inside the screen
room the air is still, and so they can they
can develop a fungus, and so you need to spray
(30:50):
them with a fung aside, but I would kind of
suggest that you move them to the outside where they
can get nice, good air.
Speaker 3 (30:56):
I'm thinking about transplanting them into the garden.
Speaker 1 (30:58):
Now, sure, sure that'll be good. Spray it with a
fungicide that's labeled for powdery mildew and they should be
just fine.
Speaker 5 (31:06):
Thank you very much. Y'all have a great day.
Speaker 1 (31:08):
Thank you so much. Rob appreciated great, great question. So
now in a let's see Nora from Ovido, she says,
my deep red crape myrtle has lots of moss and airplants.
Does it need something extra nutritionally? I'm manually removing what
I can, but they may not be able to reach
higher limbs. Well, I'm thinking that you are near a
(31:30):
lot of trees, okay, and so your crape myrtle needs
full sunlight. And if it is, if it's near an
oak tree or there's your crape myrtle is in a
lot of shade, it is going to you know, get
these tlansias, these airplants and the moss on them. So
(31:51):
I would just suggest that if it's possible, if you
could move it or trim back some of the trees
in the area so it has more unlight. But you
can remove them manually. They're not a problem for the
crepe myrtle, but it's a symptom, a symptom that it's
not getting enough sunlight and that it's too close to trees,
(32:12):
and so the air circulation again is going to be
an issue. So yeah, manually removes them. You can't spray
them with a copper fungicide and that copper will take
out the moss and the air plants. But yeah, it's
they're not going to really damage it as long as
it's healthy. So remove them though, if you can, that'll
be great. Let's go to Allen in Mount Verd. Good morning, Alan,
(32:36):
how can I help you?
Speaker 4 (32:37):
Good morning, Mysteresa. I have a bone to pick with you.
A native born Floridian in the Claremont, Central Florida area
at the age of sixty seven, I do not I
grew up in third generation citrus and you never fertilize
until I know you won't find this hard to believe.
After the Central Florida Fair left the neighborhood because it
(33:01):
could be wonderful eighty degree temperatures in the week of
Central Florida Fair, it rained got near to freezing or freezing.
And I have lived my life as do not plant
until the weekend after the Central Florida Fair, and I
have never lost anything due to frost. I hated is
(33:21):
all ready to go, everything's going. I'm like, nope, you
got two more weeks. Then it goes in the ground
and I can sleep good at night and I'm having
to worry about pull it in, pull it out, cover
it up, uncovered.
Speaker 1 (33:32):
There you go, Alan, I so appreciate you. No, I
agree with you. I agree with you. But you know,
people get in seeing they want to do something, and
so you know less he's say in her, and so
you know, I'd certainly greasy. March fifteenth is usually the
date of the last recorded freeze, so mid mid March
is it. But we could start to plant some of
(33:54):
these plants and you know, you know, keep them covered
as they need to be. But I just don't think
we're going to get to freeze in Claremont or here
in this area in the next couple of weeks. I
think I think we're good.
Speaker 4 (34:06):
You mentioned two very special people in me as Tom mccovin,
and I happen to know Henry Swanson. My father grew
up with him, very honorable man. And it's just you
couldn't have asked for a fine, finer county agent than
Henry Swanson and knew everybody treated you like your first
class and it was fantastic. I know him.
Speaker 1 (34:24):
I so agree with you. He was a hero. He
just was just stellar.
Speaker 4 (34:29):
And I was happen to be down south as far
as Stuart. And it's like, if you really want to
see what's the plant in your yard, you go down
to West Palm Beach and Fort Pearson. You look at
the commercial nurseries and you see everything that's brown, and
you go, oh, don't plant that in soil for if
it didn't survive down there and ain't going to survive
(34:49):
up here.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Well, you know that's what I tell I would tell
people that. Alan, again, I so appreciate you. I'm saying,
you know, we do get cold here. I've seen to
get down to eighteen degrees in Lake County and the
snow lay on the ground till one o'clock in the afternoon,
and so you know, people don't realize we do get
that cold. But it's the shock of the cold. It's
eighty degrees one day, like you said, and you know,
(35:10):
twenty five thirty degrees the next day. The plans just
don't know what to do.
Speaker 4 (35:14):
You're doing a great job I'm a long time listening
to Tom and I've been listening to you whenever I can,
and so keep up the good work. We have too
many people who don't know what Florida is really about,
and so you're doing a great job of educating it
and so of what not to plant it and when
not to planting.
Speaker 1 (35:30):
So Rob you, thank you so much. You've made my day.
Speaker 5 (35:33):
Alan.
Speaker 1 (35:33):
I'm sorry, Alan, thank you for calling in. I love
talking with you. Please call back again sometimes that's great.
Bye bye. I love talking to Florida residents, and especially.
Speaker 2 (35:45):
If anybody's done any type of agriculture, and they'll have
to be professional, but if they've actually done their own
stuff for quite a while and they've seen the changes,
that does make so well.
Speaker 1 (35:54):
You know, when I was thinking when he was talking,
all I was imagining was the miles, hundreds of miles
of citrus growth through the Claremont area that you would
just go through, rolling hills of citrus for hundreds of miles,
and we don't have that anymore, and that is so sad.
(36:14):
But Henry Swanson and Tommicam they are just stellar. They
get other stars and it's but we were getting back
there we're growing our crops. Again, Agriculture is very big
in Florida, and you know, we supply the country with
vegetables and flowers, tropical plants all throughout the country, and
so Florida is still the greatest place to plant. Yes,
(36:38):
and we do appreciate. That was a great call.
Speaker 2 (36:41):
I never thought about that, and that does make sense.
Speaker 1 (36:43):
If you are.
Speaker 2 (36:44):
Wanting to either like do redo your landscape or put
in something brand new, this would be the time to
go down to a couple counties down and check to
see what's burnt up and be like, Okay, maybe I
didn't really need.
Speaker 1 (36:56):
I'm telling you, you know, we are zone nine. We
will get a freeze every year. And people are planting
those those ten and eleven tropical plants and like Pigmy
Day palms. The village has had all these Pigmy Day palms,
and I'm going, oh my goodness, gracious, you know, you know.
So here's what I say. If you want to have
tropical plants, just don't buy expensive ones. Okay, those foreheaded
(37:20):
Pigmy Day palms that cost six hundred dollars. You're gonna
lose an investment. Buy the thirty five dollars you know,
Sago palm or you know, not Sagos, but yeah, the
Sagos and the Pygmy day palms. Just buy a cheap one.
That way, you know, if you lose it, you can
replace it. It's not, you know, not a big deal.
You know, call it your seventy five dollars annual and
(37:42):
if it dies then you can just replace it. But
don't spend a lot of money on them.
Speaker 2 (37:47):
So you don't have anything in your hand that you
can throw out the window. And I'm fixing to ask
you this because we have a way. We have a
glass window between us. So if for some reason that
I my bulbs are still sitting in my fringe in
the garage.
Speaker 1 (38:01):
You can go ahead and plant them. Oh okay, Yeah,
they'll bloom in a couple of weeks. They won't last
as long, but they'll bloom because they'll be eighty degrees
when they start to bloom, and so that'll kind of
knock the wind out of them. But I want to go.
Speaker 2 (38:14):
Pull the drawers in the garage and I'm like, oh man,
these were supposed to go on.
Speaker 1 (38:18):
The ground in November.
Speaker 2 (38:19):
I'm like, oh, Manes is gonna murder me.
Speaker 1 (38:21):
No, no, no, no, go ahead and put them in
the ground now. They'll have a long winter chill that
will be great. And so we want to give Tom
thank you so much for calling in and helping us
with our plants. We look forward to having him on
all the time. And uh, you know, we want to
thank our sponsors, Black Cow, some Responsible Solutions Studios, Quality
(38:41):
green specialists. Go get peach trees right now, peach and nectarines,
all the deciduous trees you could be planting right now.
They will do well in your garden. 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.
Speaker 2 (38:59):
You always gonna Better lands dot Com and recap anything
that you may have missed. You can also check out
Better Lawns and Gardens on Facebook and all your social
media's
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