What to Do In Your Backyard in December

Amaryllis at the Isabella Stewart Gardener Museum

North Florida: Average temperature: High 65 Low 43

Average rainfall: 2.76 inches

Central Florida: Average temperature: High 72 Low 51

Average rainfall: 2.44 inches

South Florida: Average temperature: High 78 Low 62

Average rainfall: 2.56 inches

Winter arrives on December 21st .

Average first frost date: December 18th .

What to Plant

Vegetables: Beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onion, pea, radicchio, radish, rhubarb, rutabaga, spinach, Swiss chard and turnip.

Flowers: Ageratum, alyssum, baby's breath, black-eyed Susan, bush daisy, calendula, California poppy, camellia. candytuft, carnation, cat's whiskers, Christmas cactus, chrysanthemum, cleome, cornflower, cyclamen, delphinium, dianthus, dusty miller, firespike, foxglove, gaillardia, geranium, gloxinia. goldenrod, heliotrope, hollyhocks, Iceland poppy, impatiens, Johnny-jump ups, larkspur, lobelia, ornamental cabbage & kale, pansy, petunia, phlox, salvia, shasta daisy, snapdragon, stock, sweet pea, verbena, viola and wax begonias.

Herbs: anise, arugula, basil, borage, chive, cardamon, chervil, cilantro, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lavender, lemon balm, lovage, Mexican tarragon, mint, nasturtium, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram, thyme and watercress.

Bulbs: African iris, amaryllis, anemone, bulbine, crinum, day lily, rain lily, ranunculus, society garlic, spider lily and narcissus; refrigerated Dutch iris, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and similar bulbs needing a cold treatment before flowering.

Lawn care

• Walk yards on a weekly basis. Look for disease and insect damage.

• Water restrictions for most counties throughout Florida are in place.

• Cooler temperatures mean that irrigation 1x a week is all turfgrass and landscapes need.

• If temperatures average 70 degrees, turf will only need 1 inch of water every ten to fourteen days.

• Feeding time is over but iron or minor nutrients can be applied to keep the lawn green.

• If Brown or Large Patch fungus is affecting St. Augustine & zoysia lawns, allow area to dry out and control future outbreaks with a fungicide.

• If lawn has large weedy areas; remove and add new sod or plugs.

• Use spot weed control techniques for small patches of weeds.

• Mowing can be reduced to every other week in most landscapes.

• Mow the lawn at the normal height to continue a uniform look and control weeds.

• Lawn insects are less active at this time and insecticides may not be needed.

• Zoysia lawns often turn brown with cooler temperatures. This is normal.

• Keep lawn mower blades sharp and at their year-round height, mow as needed.

• Ryegrass seed can be sown now.

• Clean and sharpen power and garden equipment before winter storage.

• Rake fallen leaves from lawns and add to the compost pile.

• Fruit and vegetable gardening

• Helene and Milton above average rainfall totals caused early decline of many crops; remove and replant.

• Be ready to have frost blankets on hand before a freeze is announced.

• Warm season planting time is over, replant with cool season vegetables.

• Small but successive plantings guarantee continual harvests.

• It is too late for new tomatoes, peppers & eggplants, replant in March.

• Continue herb plantings in ground or in containers; they love the cool weather.

• Harvest herbs frequently to encourage fresh growth; preserve or share extras.

• If caterpillars and mites have been heavy feeders; control with natural sprays.

• Start seeds of the cool season crops as needed to have transplants available.

• Select vining crops to trellis and obtain the most from garden plots.

• Gardeners with limited space can grow their favorite vegetables in large containers.

• Add more garden soil to containers and raised beds, no need to remove older soil.

• Feed vegetable gardens every 3 to 4 weeks with composted manure or a general fertilizer.

• Feed container plantings every other week or use a slow release fertilizer as labeled.

• Feeding time is over for all fruiting trees, shrubs and vines, feed again in March.

• December is good time to taste-test citrus varieties to find out what you would like to grow. X

• Observe watering rules. 1 inch of water a week is all that your lawns and landscapes need.

• Plantings need less water during the cool weather; water when the surface soil begins to dry.

• Add new cold tolerant fruits to the landscape; delay tropical fruit plantings until spring.

• Delay deciduous fruit tree prunings until next month, citrus pruning until mid-February.

• Peach trees may start flowering but don’t worry there are plenty of buds for normal fruit set.

• Keep frost blankets handy to protect cold sensitive crops from frosts and freezes.

• Irrigate a day or two before a freeze, but not during a freeze.

Landscape

• If temperatures average 80 degrees or more, hand water containers 2x a week.

• Do not commit ‘crape murder.’ Crapemyrtles do not need to be hacked back.

• Crapemyrtles need to only have spent blooms trimmed, limbs growing skewed near other limbs, or if smaller than your pinkie. Trim or rub off suckers.

• Incorporate organic matter with older annual beds and sandy soils to encourage plant vigor.

• Add holiday poinsettias to the landscape in their pots to easily remove during extreme cold.

• Fertilize annual flowers monthly or use a slow release fertilizer as labeled.

• Apply a slow-release fertilizer to container plantings for winter feeding.

• Winter is a stress free time to add hardy trees, shrubs and ground covers to the landscape.

• Do not prune azaleas, camellias, or hydrangeas until after Spring blooms decline.

• Camellias bloom throughout winter; select and plant your favorite colors

• Pruning time is over for most plants; out of bounds shoots and suckers can be removed as needed.

• Feeding time is over for all trees, shrubs and vines.

• Established trees and shrubs can often go several weeks without irrigation.

• Add mulch to keep 3” to 4” levels. Keep mulch away from the base of plants and trees.

• Hurry to plant wildflower gardens to have blooms for spring.

• Control winter seasonal weeds by hand-pulling or correct herbicide.

• Use the cooler weather to transplant trees and shrubs, delay transplanting palms until Spring.

• Check and adjust supports holding trees and palms in an upright position as needed.

• Old soil from containers can be tilled into established gardens

• Add wood chips from tree removal to compost piles or use them as a light mulch.

• Turn compost piles at least monthly to speed the process.

• Divide and replant perennials.

• Encourage wildlife by adding a bird feeder and water feature to landscape.

• Repair and repaint bird houses, landscape furniture and fences.

• Frosts or freezes could arrive at any time; be ready to protect your cold sensitive plants with frost blankets and/or incandescent light bulbs, old-fashioned Christmas lights, not LED lights.

Foliage & house plant care

• Obtain your poinsettias early to enjoy a full season of color.

• Give holiday plants a cool bright location away from air vents.

• Don’t be surprised if new Christmas cactus drop their buds; they will bloom better next year.

• Over-watering Christmas & holiday cactus can cause them to rot; wait until the surface dries.

• Start paper white narcissus and amaryllis bulbs for gifts and winter blooms.

• Replace declining foliage plants with new greenery.

• Move cold sensitive plants from pool enclosures and patios to a warmer location.

• Remove yellow leaves from plants affected by cold but do not cut back till Spring.

• Check for water needs frequently; thoroughly moisten when the surface soil begins to dry.

• Wash foliage with a mild soap solution to remove dust and control pests.

• Subscribe to my free newsletter In Your Backyard on www.she-consulting.com

Suggested Central Florida Plants Least Preferred By Deer

Wildlife use vegetation for a number of reasons: food, water, protection, physical and territorial behavior. A deer’s diet includes foliage, fruit (acorns), flowers and flower buds, but not necessarily all on the same plant, while young stags use the bark of small trees to “rub the velvet from their antlers and mark their area.” (Appleton, 2008) Deer like to eat plants that are young, easily accessible, over-fertilized, overwatered, pruned often, and have new growth. Deer do not like to eat plants that are odoriferous, have either grayish, leathery, or thorny foliage, or have foliage that has milky or sticky sap.

Reducing landscape damage by deer needs to be a community-wide effort. Feeding deer will only lessen their natural fear of humans and encourages them to encroach on residential areas. There are several options to keeping deer off your property. Installing seven-foot fencing will reduce chances that deer will jump onto property. Using chemical repellents are not always effective and can be expensive, foul-smelling, and need to be applied before plants are eaten and on a continuous basis.

To read the rest of my article and download my least preferred plants for deer in Central Florida, click this link.

Suggested Central Florida Plants Least Preferred By Deer.

“Autumn is the season that teaches us that change can be beautiful.” ~ unknown.

We associate Fall with change. Changing our clocks back one hour with Daylight Savings Time. Changing temperatures from humid heat and necessity of air conditioning to more comfortable, windows open weather. The possibility of changes in local, regional, and national politics. Changes our diets from lighter fare of summer salads to more heartier and savory menu of vegetables, soups, and stews. We also see changes in our landscape.

Joanne asks: “Are blueberries supposed to lose their leaves in autumn?

Fruits, like apples, blackberries, blueberries, grapes, peaches, and raspberries are deciduous and after changing color in the Fall will lose their leaves for winter. Blueberry leaves will turn a beautiful reddish color and lose the majority of their leaves. So, Joanne, it’s not only pretty to see the blueberries leaves turn to red and lose a few leaves, It’s normal.

Landscape companies are changing seasons with new Fall annuals for garden beds and new layers of mulch. Check out What to do in Your Landscape in November and Landscape Malpractice #31 to see what to in your landscape.

Lizzie’s had her hands full with her turkeys during Milton. She has an update. The jury is still out if Gerald is going to be indoors or outdoors during Thanksgiving. I’ve been seeing lots of wild turkeys lately. Good news for the environment. Check out my design tips for plotting lots of new ways to attract turkeys to your backyard.

My choice for November’s Plant of the Month was inspiring for me. I love finding new ways to think outside of the box, or in this case, inside the planter. You’ll see. A new way to display your blooming beauties in Central and South Florida. I couldn’t believe it, but it works for me. I hope you’ll think so, too! The color is breath-taking. Check it out!

Big change for Tony and I this month, we are expanding our horizons. Change is good, especially in this case. Hope you will think about joining us on our new adventure. I call it my bucket list (pronounced bouquet).

Welcome to all our new subscribers! Make sure to check out all our sponsors for their great products. They help keep Better Lawns and Gardens and this newsletter free.

Enjoy the cooler weather! It’s the perfect time to start a garden. Have a Happy Thanksgiving - so much to be grateful for - including you in my world.

Big Announcement!

Teresa Watkins and Tony DeSormier, wife-and-husband team have acquired Art In Bloom Garden Tours and will commence with its operations as of November 1, 2024.

Teresa, garden author, landscape designer, horticulturist, and radio personality, designed the landscape for the first certified "green home" in Florida. She taught Florida-friendly principles for the University of Florida and was instrumental in developing the Florida Water Star certification program. Her landscape company, Sustainable Horticultural Environments designs unique, beautiful, and award-winning sustainable landscapes and has won the 2024 Best of Houzz Service award nine years in a row. Over the last 25 years, more than 42,000 green industry associates, Master Gardeners, Master Naturalists, and residential homeowners have attended Teresa’s landscaping talks and programs. Her educational programs range from the ABCs of environmental conservation to theme-designs of fairy gardens and xeriscaping. A member of Garden Communicators International and a 25-year garden radio show veteran of her award-winning garden show In Your Backyard, Teresa now hosts Better Lawns and Gardens, Florida ́s most popular syndicated garden radio show on WFLA-Orlando, iHeart, iTunes, and on podcast. Teresa has authored numerous articles on gardening as well as three volumes of the ongoing series A Gardener’s Compendium, collections of gardening quotes and anecdotes replete with thoroughly researched sources and contexts. Teresa enjoys traveling and leading gardening tours, checking off national and world gardens on her ‘bucket’ (pronounced ‘bouquet’) list.

Tony has a Master of Liberal Studies degree from Rollins College of Winter Park, Florida. For the last 20 years, he has taught humanities classes for Valencia and Seminole State colleges. A writer by trade and a storyteller by avocation, Tony adds to Teresa’s considerable gardening expertise with contributions of historical and culture contexts. Along with working with Teresa to convert their bungalow property into a collection of unique gardens, Tony is an avid cross stitcher.

Together, Teresa and Tony will build on the well-deserved admired reputation of Art In Bloom Garden Tours by continuing the established schedule of trips and adding new destinations.

For more information, check the website, Art in Bloom Garden Tours, email us at artinbloomgardentours@gmail.com, or call 321.210.3615. Cheers!

Teresa's Design Tips - Plotting For More Turkeys

Photo credit: Jeanette Mazza

I received a timely design question this month.

“Teresa: I live in a rural part of Central Florida and would like to have more wildlife, especially turkeys. What can I plant? “

Great question, Jim. Turkeys need three things: protected roosting sites, year-round food sources, and nesting cover. Being out in a rural section with lots of trees is also a preferred environment for turkeys. The wooded perimeter of cow pastures are also habitat for turkeys. Thick trees with understory of shrubs provide a sense of security where they can quickly run to escape a predator. Turkeys roost in trees at night for security.

To encourage turkeys to stay year round, supply food sources such as berries and fruits, insects, nuts, seeds, and vegetables. Oak trees with a turkey’s favorite food of acorns are ideal for turkey plots. A stand of Long Leaf Pine trees is also a good start. If your plot is within a mile of a lake or river that can provide water will also be helpful.

When choosing plant selections, diversity is important to remember. Three types of vegetation is optimal: groundcovers, taller grasses, and grains. Turkeys prefer lower groundcovers and grass when they forage. Grasses and small plants also necessary for turkeys to strut their stuff. Oops… I shouldn’t use the word stuff, should I?

Here is a nutritious menu for turkeys:

• Grains: millet, oats, rice, soybeans, sorghum, and wheat.

• Grasses: chufa, muhly grass, weeds,

• Groundcovers: alfalfa, clover, legumes, rye grass, wildflowers,

• Fruits and Vegetables, Insects, and Snakes.

The size of your turkey plots should be at least one-half to two acres bordering the edge of wooded conservation area or forest. Level the ground before any seeds are planted. Do not use herbicides to remove weeds or wait for the label’s instruction on timing to revegetate the area.

Leave an open strip of sand around the outside of your turkey plot. This will help turkeys dust themselves. Dust baths will help turkeys with itching, skin irrigation, maintain the feathers, and allows them to clean themselves.

Like wildflowers, Spring and late Summer is the best time to plant your turkey plot.

This isn’t a new landscape malpractice but one as old as dirt. Wherever there is an empty space of dirt that sees the light of day, Mother Nature will fill the vacuum with plants. And they are usually weeds. That goes for sparse turfgrass, unmulched landscape beds, areas with not enough mulch, and even a cement sidewalk crack with 150,000 grains of sand (one-half square inch).

The proper landscape maintenance before applying a new layer of mulch is to remove all the weeds, level the ground, and then put down the mulch. Depending on how much mulch is already in the bed, the landscaper would only put down enough mulch to bring it up to 3” – 4”. Mulching over weeds is an endeavor in futility. The weeds will only flourish with 1” to 2” of mulch and spread. Eventually the weeds take over, need removed and it needs more labor to remove around the already existing shrubs and groundcovers.

Don’t mask the weeds. Clean the bed out properly, remove all the weeds by hand or by chemical, (preferably before they have gone to seed), and then put down the mulch. Less work in the long run. Your landscape beds will look well-maintained and attractive for a season or more.

I can now say I experienced climbing a tree during a Category 1 Hurricane to pluck 5 turkeys out of them & bring them into a safer enclosure. No matter how well you prepare for a potential natural disaster, Mother Nature can be fickle. Our 75’ Sycamore trees & Cedars are tattered & torn but we we’re spared devastation by the grace of God. Tree manicuring, replacing fences & resecuring the Turkey Run areas will be our next project to look forward to. 

Updates through “Lizzie Said What” socials.  Remember, life can be a joyful journey. Enjoying all moments is up to YOU! 

I was inspired this month to “think outside of the box’ while working with a client. I get a lot of inspiration from visiting or working with clients who love to garden. Thinking outside the box meant that I could challenge everything that I had been taught to believe.

I was refreshing the older pool garden planters of bromeliads, (some of which were declining after blooming), crotons, blooming curcumas, tropical houseplants, including dracaena, corn plants, and two Cattleya orchids, planted in the dirt. Both orchids were very healthy and blooming magnificently.

I knew orchids were epiphytes and could hang in the air, but ‘hanging’ beautifully in the dirt went against everything I knew. The pool cage was partially shaded by an old, large, live oak tree. The exposure was south-eastern. The orchids had been in the planters for years and loved their location. In November, the largest Cattleya was proudly bragging with more than 25 flowers.

Orchids, not including terrestrial orchids, as a general rule, need to be situated in the air, hanging from trees, or in orchid baskets in a bark medium. I think the secret to these healthy Cattleyas was they didn’t have irrigation in the planters, just subsisting on rainfall and have almost been ignored. Cattleyas like well-drained medium/soil that alternates between moist and dry.

If you are in Zones 9b – 11, you might want to try thinking outside of the box into planters, trees, and outdoor walls, for your orchids.

What To Do In Your Backyard In November

November vegetable garden, Leu Gardens, Winter Park. 

Average temperature: High 79 Low 59

Rainfall: 2.32 inches

Daylight Savings Time Change on November 3, 2024

What to plant

Vegetables: Beet, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrot, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collard, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, mustard, onion, pea, radicchio, radish, rhubarb, rutabaga, spinach, Swiss chard and turnip.

Flowers: Ageratum, alyssum, baby's breath, black-eyed Susan, bush daisy, calendula, California poppy, candytuff, carnation, cat's whiskers, chrysanthemum, cleome, cornflower, delphinium, dianthus, dusty miller, foxglove, gaillardia, geranium, goldenrod, heliotrope, hollyhocks, Iceland poppy, impatiens, larkspur, lobelia, ornamental cabbage & kale, pansy, petunia, phlox, salvia, shasta daisy, snapdragon, stock, sweet pea, verbena, viola and wax begonias.

Herbs: Anise, arugula, basil, borage, chive, cardamon, chervil, cilantro, coriander, dill, fennel, garlic, ginger, lavender, lemon balm, lovage, Mexican tarragon, mint, nasturtium, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, sweet marjoram, thyme and watercress.

Bulbs: African iris, amaryllis, anemone, bulbine, crinum, day lily, rain lily, ranunculus, society garlic, spider lily and narcissus; refrigerated Dutch iris, tulips, daffodils, hyacinths and similar bulbs needing a cold treatment before flowering.

Grasses: Lomandra Breeze, Lomandra ‘Lime Tuff’ (or Tough), Miscanthus ‘Adagio’, Muhly Grass, Dwarf Fakahatchee, White Fountain Grass, Lemon Grass.

Lawn care

• Many lawns have thinned due to September’s rain and the hurricanes, provide extra attention to help recovery.

• Fall is a good time to sod or plug problem areas in lawns; delay bahiagrass seeding until spring.

• Complete fall feedings with a low phosphorus fertilizer during early November.

• Less water is needed during cool weather; reduce waterings to when the grass begins to wilt.

• Lawn watering is limited to once a week in most areas when Eastern Standard Time returns.

• Water lawns separately from trees and shrubs that need less moisture.

• Repair and adjust sprinklers to water efficiently

• Chinch bug and caterpillar control may still be needed during warm fall weather.

• Your turf may not need a complete fertilizer with nitrogen. Have lawn soil tested by the University of Florida lab to ensure proper feeding.

• Lawns low in potassium can be given extra winter protection with a late month application.

• Brown patch disease can be severe in zoysia; treat this month or when first noted.

• Apply herbicides for your lawn type if needed for broadleaf and sedge weed control.

• Continue mowing at normal heights.

• Aerate hard to wet, compacted and nematode infected soils.

• Sow ryegrass in barren areas for a temporary lawn starting in late November.

• Remove and compost fallen leaves on turfgrass.

• Fill in shady problem spots with ornamental ground covers.

Landscape plantings

• Renew mulches to keep height at 3” – 4” to help conserve water during the drier months ahead.

• Most pruning should be completed this month to allow new growth to mature before winter.

• Only remove declining fronds and flower or fruiting stalks from palms to maintain vigor.

• Palm diseases may be spread by pruners; disinfect at least between palms.

• Remove declining warm season flowers and replace with the cool season flowers.

• Work organic matter into flower beds and replace soil in planters before planting.

• Slow release fertilizers are the best way to feed flower beds and containers.

• Extend chrysanthemum life; remove faded flowers, keep the soil moist and feed lightly.

• Make sure poinsettias receive no nighttime light; keep the soil moist and feed monthly.

• Established trees and shrubs need infrequent watering; moisten only during the dry times.

• Flower beds need watering when the surface soil begins to dry to the touch.

• Scale insects have been heavy this year on shrubs and foliage plants; use a natural pesticide oil or spray.

• Leaf spots and die-back are normal on many trees and perennials as they prepare for winter.

• Cooler months provide the ideal time to move small trees and shrubs in the landscape.

• Check braces and supports added to new trees, palms and shrubs.

• Hurricane season ends November 30; select small sturdy trees for new plantings

• Remove limbs and weeds interfering with sprinklers.

• Complete all tree, palm and shrub feedings by mid-month.

• Collect and refrigerate favorite flower seeds in plastic bags and store in the refrigerator.

• Hurry to create wildflower plantings that won’t flower until spring.

• Reduce feedings of orchids and bromeliads in the landscape as the weather cools.

• Divide perennials and bulbs

• Form compost piles to recycle yard waste.

• Be prepared to cover or move cold sensitive plants to a warm location.

• Fill hard to mow and problem areas with shrubs and ground covers.

• Clean birdbaths and prepare feeders for winter.

• Reduce feedings of water garden plantings

Vegetable & fruit gardening

• Remove declining crops and plant the cool season vegetables

• Herbs like the cooler weather; begin new plantings and revive older ones.

• Start seeds of broccoli, cauliflower, collards, onions and similar to produce transplants.

• Cool season vegetables can be added to the garden until February.

• Add a few vegetable plants to the garden each month to have a continual supply.

• The dry season is here; water when the surface soil begins to dry to the touch.

• Improve sandy soils with garden soil, compost, peat moss and composted manure.

• Feed the garden every 3 to 4 weeks with composted manure or a general garden fertilizer.

• Stake or trellis taller growing crops to prevent wind damage and pests.

• Maintain a mulch between plants and rows to conserve water and control weeds.

• Caterpillars have been feeding in the garden; hand pick or use natural controls.

• Give bananas and pineapples a final fall feeding with a general garden fertilizer.

• Many early citruses are ready to harvest; use the taste test to tell when they are ripe.

• Feeding time for citrus and other fruit trees is over.

• Water citrus trees once or twice each week during the dry times.

• Add new citrus or other fruiting trees to the landscape.

• Sow papaya seeds to over winter in containers.

• Delay all fruit tree pruning until late January or February.

Foliage and house plant care

• Plant narcissus and amaryllis bulbs in containers to begin growth for holiday blooms.

• Remember, no nighttime light for holiday plants until they begin to bloom.

• Water holiday cactus and kalanchoe when the soil dries to the touch; keep poinsettias moist.

• Wash away dust and plant pests with a soapy water solution

• Check and treat outdoor plants for insects before bringing them indoors.

• Discontinue or reduce foliage plant feedings every other month.

• Begin bringing cold sensitive foliage plants indoors.

1. Winged Sumac – Rhus copallinum

2. Sweetspire – Itea virginica

3. Fringe Tree – Chionanthus virginicus

4. Parsely Hawthorn – Crataegus marshallii

5. Summersweet - Clethra alnifolia 'Ruby Spice