Your Monthly Grow-zine
July 2019
Things to do in the garden this month...
Enjoy night-time fragrance! Things are bursting into bloom everywhere - and some plants unleash their strongest aroma in the evening.
Not just the obvious Night-blooming Jasmine...
...but also "Corn Plant" (dracaena fragrans) - intensely fragrant!
I once made the mistake of bringing a stem of this plant's blooms indoors - but soon realized it was waaay too strong a scent for an encllosed space!
Water twice a week unless we've had rain.
Keep a close watch for insect damage. If you see some, take bagged cuttings to your local nursery for diagnosis and treatment options.
Pineapple Guava - Grow an edible hedge!
Most of us think of a hedge as just a line of green shrubs to keep out the neighbors - well, to keep our lives out of their line of sight, anyway.
But when you grow Pineapple Guava you also get flowers and then delicious fruit!
Even the flowers are edible - with a vanilla flavoring. And the fruit has a sweet fragrance while ripening.
Sometimes called Pineapple Guava Feijoa, this plant (Acca sellowiana or Feijoa sellowiana) is usually grown as a shrub, excellent for hedges you can keep 5 feet or more - or you can sometimes find it trained to a single trunk for a nice small tree.
It has attractive green leaves with silvery undersides, blooms in the spring with white flowers with red stamens flower followed by fall fruit that has a mixed flavor of guava and pineapple with a hint of mint.
This is one very hardy plant - in fact it prefers the cooler temps of Zone 9, though it can be grown anywhere in our state. For best pollination, plant more than one.
If you grow Pineapple Guava as a hedge, avoid shearing it regularly or you won't get flowers or fruit. It may take several years to begin producing fruit.
Full to part sun is best, with regular water but make sure the area drains well.
You probably won't find it as a staple at your local nursery but it can be ordered.
For pix of the flowers and more into see this IFAS article.
Shopping tip
If you're going to the nursery for design help and/or plant suggestions, you're probably already armed with your phone and pictures of your house.
But you'll also need to tell them approximate measurements of the bed you want help with...
...and what kind of light it gets (this is crucial!).
Another key question is what kind of irrigation system do you have.
Without this info, it's difficult for someone to help you make the right choices in plants.
What's new at South-Florida-Plant-Guide.com
I've added this photo to the Plant Page on Fiddle Leaf Fig. It shows a bit of the unique shape of the leaves - like a fiddle!
This unusual and decorative tree is very versatile since it can be left to grow large - up to 40 feet - or kept pruned to 15 feet.
Fiddle Leaf Fig is a favorite for home interior photo shoots - usually shown in large containers. Recently an editor from HGTV.com contacted me to request permission to use one of my photos of this plant "in the wild." At first I was puzzled by that phrase...but I suppose to some folks, our yards in subtropical South Florida are "wild!"
My latest ebooks are here!
"Best of the Grow-zines"
All the best info and ideas from past issues of our monthly newsletter - The Grow-zine!
Garden Ideas & FAQs
Landscaping Tips & Problem Solvers
Buy both "Best Of" ebooks & get this one FREE!
Are you a Snowbird?
Want to know more about growing a beautiful landscape with only part-time care?
Check out the new, updated edition of my paperback book, Snowbird Gardening.
I've added more plants, more photos and up-to-date info for South Florida Snowbirds.
This new edition features 146 plant varieties - palms, shrubs, trees and flowers - with photos and information about each one.
Now available as an ebook! Find out more...
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Happy 4th of July!
Chase Landre
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A visitor asks...
"We just bought a house in FL and one of the palms has several white lacy "flowers" growing off separate branches. The bees love them. Any idea what this could be?"
The flowers you see are probably just that - flowers! Everything blooms, even palms. Some of these flowers are quite beautiful. The picture below is a bloom from a Piccabeen Palm.
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author of
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Take a break!
The ultimate guide to low-maintenance plants
and landscaping!
An ebook by
Chase Landre
author of
South-Florida-Plant-Guide.com
Learn more!
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See our Gardening How-To section for answers!
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Chase Landre
author of
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Learn how to get instant curb appeal with fast growing plants and landscaping techniques!
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