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Gardening

Yard work remains as heat increases

By MARY COLLISTER
Published June 9, 2006

Despite some occasional showers, those of us in unincorporated Hillsborough County now are limited to watering our lawns one day a week. I encourage you to look at the county's Web site at www.hillsboroughcounty.org/water/restrictions/ to make sure you know all the details.

Water rationing aside, there is still much to be done in our yards, although you may want to hold off on adding any new plant material until the real rains begin. The weather will continue to heat up, so any labor-intensive projects should be completed now. I know some gardeners, given the water situation, are thinking of adding more hardscape to their yards to cut down on the water use.

If you are adding more patio area, walkways or other hard surfaces, be aware that these may have an impact on the drainage on your lot. Make sure there is plenty of open soil to absorb the water and that water is not directed toward the foundation of your home.

If you don't want to add any more hardscape but want to wait until the rains begin to add plant material, you can still keep your beds looking clean and neat with a new layer of mulch. Remove any tired looking plants and all the weeds. Trim remaining plants, fertilize and water well. Spread a new layer of mulch, and the fresh color will certainly look better than just bare ground. This mulch will also help conserve any water from rain or your sprinklers. Once water is more plentiful, you can easily add some summer color to these beds.

I did receive a note from a St. Petersburg reader asking about the care of giant amaryllis. These are popular Christmas gifts and are quite dramatic. After the flower fades, you can plant it in the garden. With a little care you may have a repeat visit. The giant amaryllis is much easier to care for than the smaller variety, and you'll have an easier time getting them to rebloom.

The first step after blooming is to provide the plant partial shade outside in the ground, continue watering whenever the surface soil dries and fertilize twice a month.

If you want to move your plant back inside, you can leave the plant in the pot and just plunge it into the ground.

By now, or shortly, the amaryllis leaves will begin to yellow and eventually die back. When this happens, remove the dead foliage with a pair of pruning shears. By fall slowly reduce the amount of water by watering less often. This will prepare the plant for a rest period. If the foliage hasn't begun to wilt by September, the reduction in watering will prompt it to die back.

After the rest, if you want to move the plant back into the house, dig the pot from the ground. Your bulb may have tiny bulbs growing off the main bulb at this time. You can remove these tiny bulbs and pot them in a new pot to grow a new generation of amaryllis plants or you can also leave them to grow off of the mother bulb until they mature. Water the bulb (or new immature bulbs) once and place in a warm sunny location. Wait two or three weeks until growth sets in and continue to water and add fertilizer twice a month until the plant blooms. Don't give up on your plant if it doesn't bloom this year. Starting from a dry bulb is a rigorous process for a plant, and it may need until next year to gain back its resources. However, as time goes on, with some amount of luck, your amaryllis will not only continue to blossom year after year, but it will produce new amaryllis bulbs for you to do with as you please. They do prefer a lower night temperature, and sometimes this makes reblooming difficult in our area but I do believe it is worth the effort.

Another endeavor worth the effort is a trip to MOSI. I finally made it to "Bodies, The Exhibition'' and it was definitely worth the time. The exhibition is over Labor Day so make plans now to go. Of course while you are at MOSI, you must also visit the butterfly garden. As the MOSI literature explains, "butterflies are water-wise,'' meaning that many of the plants that are necessary for the life cycle of butterflies are also drought tolerant.

I have many of the plants listed in the exhibit and have seen many of the butterflies in my yard also. A few monarchs have been in my yard this season, but fewer of their caterpillars are present this year eating my milkweed.

Make sure you pick up the brochure as it has many great ideas for making your yard butterfly friendly and using water wisely. It will be helpful to jot down a few ideas while you are there, and if you have any questions, the staff is friendly and obviously quite knowledgeable. This butterfly garden visit will be a nice break from yard work, but you may leave with a number of ideas you want to incorporate in your landscape. What can be better than to have colorful blooms that also attract butterflies into our yards?

[Last modified June 9, 2006, 08:56:22]