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Letter to the editor

Start holiday gifts from yard and kitchen

By Times Staff Writer
Published October 20, 2007

Already Christmas decorations and gifts are elbowing Halloween costumes and candy off the shelves. If you're thinking of giving plants as gifts, now's the time to get them started so they'll be leafed out and attractive by December. This is also the time to dig out those recipes for garden gifts: flavored vinegars, pickled vegetables, fruit-flavored spirits - things that need a few weeks for flavors to ripen.

It's countdown time for amaryllis

Do you want to have a blooming amaryllis in time for the holidays? Get busy. It takes four to six weeks to establish bud-bearing bulbs in a pot, Month by Month Gardening in Florida says. Mark the calendar and shop for bulbs. Fill a 6-inch pot to within 2 to 3 inches of the rim with potting soil. Settle the bulb in the center so its neck is level with the rim and add soil to within an inch of the rim. Keep it in a bright-to-sunny location and keep the soil moist. Don't fertilize.

Trees that best weather the storm

We're knocking wood as we say this: We may have escaped the hurricane season unscathed. But there's always next year. If tree-planting is on your horticultural calendar, visit www.floridagardener.com for a list of trees that are hurricane-worthy and those that aren't. On the "don't plant here" list are trees with shallow root structures (they'll blow over) or brittle wood. Better choices: trees with low centers of gravity and deep root systems.

Nip annual winter weeds in the bud

Winter annual weeds will be appearing soon, so this is a good time to apply your pre-emergent herbicide. Use Atrazine in St. Augustine grasses and Balan or Betasan in Bahia grass. Herbicides may injure turf grass when applied improperly or when temperatures are above 85 degrees. Check the label to be certain it is safe for your lawn grass before you make your purchase, the Pinellas extension service advises.

Resurrect last year's poinsettia

If you want last year's poinsettia to bloom again this year, it's time to keep those plants in the dark so they can form their flower buds. Even a few minutes of nighttime light can stop or delay flowering. Cover plants from before sundown until after sunrise with a paper bag or a piece of black cloth, or put them in a closet. Do this until the colored bracts are almost fully expanded, around mid December.

Another reason to stamp out weeds

Speaking of weeds: Get 'em out of there. With water as precious as it is these days, don't waste it on weeds. Let the plants you want to grow drink up every precious drop.

[Last modified October 18, 2007, 14:37:06]