Submitted by Luis Santiago from Miami, FL

Q: I am noticing a black soot collecting on the gumbo limbo's behind my house. This soot has caused the leaves to fall in which all the affected trees are now completely bare. The same thing is happening to the gumbo limbo's in front of my house causing them to become bare as well. The trees have the look of being burned although they haven't been. Any advice would be appreciated. This condition began in the fall. By February the trees were bare.

Answered 03/05/09 14:03:38 by Georgia Tasker

A: The trees are simply shedding leaves. Watch for new growth this spring.

Submitted by Adam_W from Miami, FL

Q: Hi, Georgia. I recently won a dragonfruit plant in a raffle. I don't know a whole lot about gardening (as I've mentioned in previous questions), and I'm not sure I understand the whole "trellis" thing. I saw some nice metal ones at Home Depot, but an online source said that the metal ones will get hot and stunt the growth of the plant. The wooden ones (and the metal ones for that matter) are two-dimensional and I don't see how they're supposed to stand up and support the weight of the plant. Am I supposed to lean it against a fence? Do I arrange three of them into a triangular prism? I really can't picture how to landscape dragonfruit on a trellis and make it look nice. Should I get other vining plants to fill in the trellis, or would they compete too much with the dragonfruit? I have no idea what to do. (sigh) Why couldn't I just win a silk plant?

Answered 03/05/09 14:03:01 by Georgia Tasker

A: Your dragon fruit is likely to topple over in the pot once it starts to add new branches. Ours has. I'd suggest planting it against a fence. I have a fairly large Hylocereus cactus attached to the face of a keystone waterfall. I put a small hook in the stone and tied a piece of cactus to it. It faces south and receives sun most of the day. In no time, the cactus put out roots into the waterfall and began climbing the wall. It produced a fruit this fall, on a branch hanging down and forward. If you go to the website of Pine Island Nursery, you can see the wide array of different dragon fruit, and pictures of how this nursery grows them (www.tropicalfruitnursery.com). Why hope for a silk plant when you can grow a cactus on a waterfall or a fence?

Submitted by Chase Landre from Bradenton, FL

Q: Hi! I'm the author of a brand new book, Snowbird Gardening,A Guide for South Florida's Winter Residents. May I send you a copy to review? Thank you!

Answered 03/05/09 13:48:37 by Georgia Tasker

A: Please

Submitted by Denise Greenstein from Pembroke Pines

Q: My pineapple plants have not yet had fruit this year.I have had fruit from them for the last 10 years. Some are in pots and some in the ground. I water once to twice weekly.I see a neighbors pineapples did get fruit. Do you think the cold and dry conditions are affecting the fruit by not coming out? This has always been my easiest plant to grow and pruduce fruit in the past.

Answered 02/05/09 11:11:42 by Georgia Tasker

A: Once a week watering ought to be OK in well-draining soil (either ground or container). Use a 7-3-7 fertilizer or a palm fertilizer every four months (palm fertilizer is 8-4-12). It takes anywhere from 12 to 24 months for fruit to be produced.

Submitted by Denise Greenstein from Pembroke Pines

Q: I have questions regarding citrus trees. I have a Persian Lime tree and a grafted Key lime/ Meyer Lemon combo tree. I see some of the leaves are being nibbled by insects, and they are not doing all that well. How long does it take for these fruit trees to produce fruit. I have had them both in the ground about 2 years. Can you tell me anything that will help them along with producing fruit?

Answered 02/05/09 11:07:19 by Georgia Tasker

A: Grafted citrus will produce in about 3 to 5 years. Your trees probably are not old enough yet. Use a citrus or palm fertilizer three times a year. A light application should be fine (look on package directions). Limes are more sensitive to cold than other citrus, so you may see some leaf drop after this week's weather.

Submitted by Denise Greenstein from Pembroke Pines

Q: I am having a very hard time with my Gardenia bush. It looks terrible. I have moved it around the yard several times and havent had much luck with it. It currently is in a partial shady/sunny area in the ground. Do you have any suggestions to help my Gardenia bush? I havent had any flowers in well over a year or even two.

Answered 02/05/09 10:56:20 by Georgia Tasker

A: Gardenias are sensitive to wide swings in soil moisture, to nematodes and iron deficiency in alkaline soils. They like some shade in summer. Because we have soil with high pH, an acid-forming fertilizer is recommended. Look for fertililzer indicated for ixora & gardenia. Make sure your plant is a grafted one; Gardenia jasminoides is best grafted onto G. thunbergia to resist nematodes. And the shrub will benefit from chelated iron a couple of times a year.

Submitted by Patti from Miami

Q: I just love Hydrangeas can they grow in Miami?

Answered 02/04/09 16:00:03 by Georgia Tasker

A: I'm afraid our climate is just too hot for hydrangeas to flourish here. They will grow in north Florida. There are plenty of other shrubs for your growing pleasure, however. And if you like pink hydrangeas, you might consider Dombeya, a shrub with large pink flowers.

Submitted by J Delmastro from pembroke pines

Q: we have 3 orchids indoors that have the long, fat thick leaves (i know you prefer the actual name but i do not know) they look beautifully healthy and green but will not bloom. can you tell me why? thank you

Answered 02/03/09 17:06:30 by Georgia Tasker

A: Your phalaenopsis orchid likes lower temperatures to initiate flower spikes. If you've been keeping your plants out of cool daytime & nighttime air, they may not get the signal. Another possible reason they have not set buds is not enough light.

Submitted by Adam_W from Miami, FL

Q: Like many South Floridians, I'm seeing a ton of blooms on my mango tree. However, my mango tree is only five feet tall because it's only a few years old. Should I try to get my first harvest of mangoes, or should I do some sort of pruning or something to focus my tree on getting bigger and not getting bent to the side by the weight of the mangoes? Also, I lost the receipt for the mango tree that I bought and I have no idea what variety it is- is there a way of figuring this out? I'm just curious- I really don't care what variety it is as long as it tastes good (fingers are crossed).

Answered 02/03/09 17:04:47 by Georgia Tasker

A: Mango trees will shed most of the tiny fruit they initiate, but yes, reducing the stress of fruit on young trees is a good idea. Since there are 200-plus cultivars of mangoes grown in S. Florida, figuring out what variety you have may be tough. However, there is a book on mangoes by Richard Campbell, senior curator of tropical fruits at Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden, that pictures many of the most popular types. I believe it's called Mangoes: How to Grow the World's Best Fruit. Fairchild's bookstore carries it.

Submitted by Athena Loucas from North Miami Beach,Florida

Q: What happens to my outdoor plants when we are hit with a cold front? Does their system go through any kind of shock or reaction? What can I do to help them? Or are no preparation necessary unless we hit freezing point?

Answered 01/30/09 11:36:41 by Georgia Tasker

A: Plants suffer when cold fronts come through primarily because of the wind, which sucks out vital fluids from cells. However, they also can have leaves burned or killed by cold if they are from extremely warm habitats originally. I wrap my sensitive plants in sheets (not plastic) and put those in containers or hanging baskets on the ground beneath the protective canopy of large trees and then cover them. I also bring inside many orchids that are in flower. I have plastic on the top and sides of two orchid houses, which can be rolled down during cold to provide some protection. If cold fronts are not preceded by rain, you can water the ground thoroughly (but not the foliage) around tropical plants because the earth holds warmth and will release it at night, and moist earth holds moisture better.

Submitted by Adam_W from Miami, FL

Q: This question might be outside your area of expertise, but do you know what laws are on the books that protect a homeowner's ability to garden and plant trees? I know that my association wants to approve any landscaping changes I make to my house, and I'm a little nervous that I could get fined when my unapproved sugar cane, mango tree, or ambarella tree start poking out over my fence, or when they realize that I've got a tomato plant growing next to my driveway. It'd be great to hear that I'm as protected from my association of growing food as I am of putting up solar panels.

Answered 01/30/09 11:32:04 by Georgia Tasker

A: I suggest that you search the association's rules. I know a women in Broward who was able to deviate from the association's rules by documenting that many others did as well, but other than that one instance, I am afraid you are right, it's outside my area of expertise.

Submitted by nina shepard from richmond heights, fl

Q: Would you please give some advice on how to successfully grow a tropical pitcher plant in a Miami garden?

Answered 01/20/09 15:53:13 by Georgia Tasker

A: Tropical pitcher plants can be spectacular, and they're certainly fun to grow. They like 50 percent shade (can take morning or late afternoon sun, but not midday.)I'd put your plant in a medium of sphagnum moss with some tree fern or coconut husk chips. Use a small amount of slow-release fertilizer. Be sure to use distilled water instead of city water.

Submitted by Sadie Cole from K.C Mo

Q: I have an Australian Tree Fern, in a large pot and it lives happily on the summer porch during warm weather, it had to come inside for the winter as we get freezes, the fronds are drying up and as new ones grow and fill out they dry out on the frond ends and will die, I cannot see any bugs; have used systemics, but still looks so unhappy. what do I do now. Thank you for your time

Answered 01/19/09 12:25:12 by Georgia Tasker

A: Your tree fern needs humidity. Heating a home removed humidity. With small houseplants, it's easy to set a container in a tray filled with pebbles & water up to the top of the pebbles. This allows humidity to increase upward. I'm not sure how big your tree fern is, but you might try something similar.

Submitted by Adam_W from Miami, FL

Q: Hi again, Georgia. I recently purchased some herbs to put in a 1'x10' piece of earth that's abuts either driveway, walkway or house. Unfortunately, since it's up against my house and I don't have a gutter, rain pours right onto it and washes away soil and mulch. I was thinking about throwing down soil and covering it with lava rocks. However, I'm not sure if the lava rocks will work, I'm afraid that they might hinder the spread of the mint I'm planting, and I don't know what other effects (i.e. acidity) lava rocks will have. Any advice? Also, in your answer to somebody else's question, you mentioned that "hatracking" is illegal. Well, I tried looking it up in an online dictionary, and I couldn't find out what you meant. What is it?

Answered 01/13/09 14:16:34 by Georgia Tasker

A: Hi Adam, Why not try your herbs in containers? Lava rock would work, but the herbs might get too pounded by rain pouring off the roof, so I'd say that's not a great location. Hatracking is cutting so much of the tree's canopy that only stubs of limbs remain, which resemble hat racks. It is an extremely detrimental practice, causing a proliferation of weak growth at the end of the stubs and resulting in a thick canopy that a) can act as a sail in high winds and topple the tree and b)adversely impact the health of the tree.

Submitted by Natalie from shelton, CT

Q: How tall does basil grow from a seed in a month?

Answered 01/12/09 12:10:12 by Georgia Tasker

A: You've got me. Since basil seed isn't readily found, I've only grown basil from transplants. Perhaps an herb society in your area could help you.

Submitted by Jerry from Hollywood Florida

Q: my backyard has differing levels of light from the neighbors huge tree. The lawn has gone to dirt and weeds, and the side yard is full of stones. What can I plant instead of St. Augustine grass. The neighbor hatracks the tree every two years

Answered 01/12/09 12:03:28 by Georgia Tasker

A: You can create beds of ferns that can take sun or shade. In an area that stays shady, you can grow colorful bromeliads. Even in sun, there are some bromeliads that will do well. Hatracking, incidentally, is illegal.

Submitted by Adam_W from Miami, FL

Q: Hi, Georgia. I've never planted anything in the ground in my life, and neither did my parents... well, my dad at least took care of a few hanging orchids, but I never really cared. Anyway, a few months ago I purchased a tomato plant and stuck it the ground just to see what would happen. Wouldn't you know it- I'm actually getting tomatoes from that thing! So I went out and bought Mel Bartholemew's latest book on square foot gardening, figuring that 16 square feet might not be so hard. Before I plant anything, I'm worried that my sprinkler system, which pumps rust-staining well water, will be harmful to my plants, or to me if I eat them. Are my fears unfounded? By the way, the Miami Herald's garden calendar is great, but can you recommend a book on South Florida gardening? Thanks!

Answered 01/05/09 17:40:47 by Georgia Tasker

A: Welcome to the gardening world! Rusty water is merely iron-filled water and won't hurt you or the tomatoes. However, a vegetable garden needs about 1 to 2 inches of water a week. An irrigation system designed for the lawn might not apply that to your veggies, and might also wet the foliage, causing disease problems. Think about installing a system that would put water right on the roots. You might investigate a micro-irrigation system or leaky pipes. Hand watering would be fun and you can keep a closer eye on the garden if you use a hose. Tomato horn worms are sneaky critters and will eat a plant before you know they're there. For a South Florida guide, try Enchanted Ground, one of my books, or Month-by-Month Gardening in Florida by Tom MacCubbin or Florida Gardeners Guide by MacCubbin & Tasker.

Submitted by Rosemary Fuller from Homestead, Florida

Q: I recently, found rainlillies on my property. This property has been in my family since 1927. I remember these rainlillies as a child. They had disappeared for a long time and this year we found an 18 inch grouping of these lillies. These lillies have been on this property since 1927. Do these lillies have any value?

Answered 12/29/08 11:59:03 by Georgia Tasker

A: They have sentimental value, for sure. If you can discover what species of rainlily you have discovered, you may be better able to determine the value of your heirloom plants.

Submitted by Alice from West Palm Bch., Fl

Q: Can you tell me why so many leaves from most of my Dendrobium orchids are turning yellow and shedding? This has been happening quite recently. Thanks.

Answered 12/22/08 17:12:44 by Georgia Tasker

A: Your Dendrobium orchids are going dormant for the winter. Avoid any water other than natural rainfall and apply no fertilizer. You will be rewarded (hopefully) with flowers.

Submitted by Louise Garavaglia from Miami, Florida

Q: Dear Ms. Tasker - can you give me the name and conctact address of your spanish counterpart garden writer at the El Herald. Thanks

Answered 12/08/08 15:02:33 by Georgia Tasker

A: Daniel Fernandez covers gardens for El Nuevo Herald.