Finally, we are getting ourselves out of another Florida winter.  This month will include a lot of cleaning up from frost damage and getting ready to fertilize.  Your best bet for pruning the unsightly brown from all the tropical plants will be to wait until the threat of frost has past.  In Central Florida, we are technically not past that time until March 15th, however, starting a little can be beneficial since it takes a little time for the plants to flush the new growth.  If there is any severe pruning to be done to all other plants, now is the time to do so.  This will get that flush of new growth by early spring.

Since we all like to be ecologically-friendly, we will be using organic fertilizers for all ornamental plants, palms, fruits and citrus.  For the ornamental plants, you can use either a regular plant tone or a palm tone.  The difference in the two is that the palm tone contains micro elements that the plant tone does not, giving the plants extra nutrients they will need from time to time.  The palm tone can then be used for palms, fruits and citrus. This allows you to use one fertilizer for all plants in the landscape.

Finally, we need to address the turf.  Most of the lawns in Central Florida have some variety of St. Augustine grass, which does best when fertilizer, weed agents, and pesticides are applied at separate times.  Start with a slow release N fertilizer, such as Milorganite.  Follow the instructions as listed on the back of the bag for application instructions – a 10 lb bag should cover about 6,000 sq. ft.  Then, wait two weeks and apply a liquid pesticide treatment.  Two weeks later, apply your weed agent.  It is important to give these intervals of time between applications to prevent any burning to the turf.  Ideally, all applications should be completed by early April.  You’ll want to begin transitioning your watering schedule from twice a week at the beginning of the month, to three times a week by the end of the month.

Remember, if you have any questions, visit our website or stop in our store.  Good luck and happy gardening!