East Coast Home Show will most likely be in August 2018. And as always yours truly will be giving talks Saturday and Sunday. Please come out and support local businesses. Bring your soil samples as I will be doing free pH testing. If you would like more information please visit: https://www.tampahomeshow.com/
Talks on Saturday and Sunday are TBD.
4/25/16
Ancient Palms
Palm trees have been with us for a long time. It has been estimated that palms have been growing in our world for 80 million years. Palms also were mentioned 20 times in the Bible. The coconut and date palm have been food sources since man discovered them. No doubt without palms man’s early development would not have occurred as quickly as they did, or as successfully. There are thousands of species of palms and all are important. Early building in the Middle East was done with the use of palms. Although mainly thought of as large grass members, they are monocots. This means one seed leaf, a major division of the plant kingdom. Palms can be cold sensitive, and yet some palms can grow in quite cool areas even below freezing with the help of greenhouses and malls. Many of us have seen palms today in areas where they would not have grown naturally. Palms like all plants need nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium and also seem to require extra manganese and magnesium. Newly planted palms need frequent watering until they become established. For a lush, tropical look in your garden, you cannot choose any plant more suitable than a palm tree. Palms are easy to grow and play a huge role in the world.
6/13/2015
Many people are familiar with the edible Ficus. They may not realize that this family predominates in the indoor arena. This family is one that has a number of species of the Ficus family. Many of these plants are used as indoor houseplants. The edible fig is somewhat interesting in that its flower is a fruit like cavity with an opening on the end. Once an insect pollinates the flower, the fruit forms around the inner flowers; this is the fruit that we eventually eat. For houseplants, often we have a number of species like the weeping fig, the fiddle leaf fig, and even the small little ficus pumila or creeping fig. These can be seen growing in malls and in dark halls because they are adaptable plants. This is also one reason it has become the most grown indoor plant. Remember most Ficus, and for that matter, other houseplants grow best when there is a fairly high light level. When the light level is too low, the plant is on a one-bean-a-day diet.
Remember, we get rubber from ficus and also shade. Some members of the large Ficus family have been known to travel up to a quarter-mile in distance. In South Florida, Ficus have often been used as huge trees that will be 80-90 feet across and reach 60-70 feet in height. Anything that grows this large will have a massive root system; because of this, I often encounter people and advice against planting Ficus too close to their homes. As an indoor plant, they are most popular. Occasionally, you will get some yellow leaves and dropping of leaves; this can be normal. If possible leave your plant in the same spot for best results, don’t play musical chairs with your indoor plants. Trees under stress will normally drop leaves as a protection mechanism. If you do see brown tips on the end of your Ficus leaves, it may be attributed to a water problem. Make sure the whole root system gets a good soaking and dries between the next watering.
One of the most important species for man, the Ficus was mentioned back in the first chapter of the Bible and has been found near the walls of Jerico. In other words, it has been hand-in-hand with man throughout history.
Come on out on November 7, 8, 9 2014. Yours truly will be giving talks Saturday and Sunday. Please come out and support local businesses. Bring your soil samples as I will be doing free pH testing.
Talks on Saturday and Sunday are at 1pm.
Tampa Home and Garden Show save the date April 19-21 2013
Yours truly will be giving talks at the Tampa Home and Garden Show on April 19-21 2013 at the Tampa Bay Convention Center. All are welcome please come out and support local businesses.
Contact me if your having trouble purchasing tickets as I will be giving a few a way.
2/7/2013
Houseplants are part of American history. Everyone likes the idea of having houseplants in their homes for their soothing effects and the added benefit of ridding pollutants. NASA has done research to prove that ammonia and formaldehyde, and a number of other toxic chemicals can be taken out by some of our botanical indoor buddies. Indoor plants have been a part of our home for a long time, although plants in our homes are relatively a new thing. In the old days before glass windows were ubiquitous, people had to think of other ways to keep their plants safe from the elements. They would board up and/or use bricks to cover openings in their homes, and not until the early 16-century did people start developing glass windows for the masses; this shift caused folks to start growing plants indoors. What were they growing? Philodendrons, pothos, and sansevierias also called mother-in-laws tongue are easy to grow. Almost anybody can grow indoor plants. That being said I’m amazed at the number of people who say: “I kill every plant I come in contact with.” If you try these tried and true plants you’ll almost always have success.
Water is the key to life not only for us but also for plants. How often should you water? Well it depends upon the plant size, the larger the container the longer you can go between watering. If you’re not sure about the moisture content use a moisture meter or your index finger, if it’s dry you probably need to water again.
One other factor that’s keys to having successful indoor plant growth is the light level. Most plants need a good deal of light. So how can one tell? If you put your hand out and you can’t see the shade or the silhouette of your hand you probably don’t have enough light for the average indoor plant. Remember that most indoor plants need a good deal of light, so make sure your plants are within 2 to 3 feet of a bright window.
Fertilization is something everybody worries about and yet if you’re going to give it a water-soluble plant food during the warm months or in the growing months, use half strength once a month for your indoor plants. If you use a time-released fertilizer, which looks like little bb’s, these will feed for 3 to 6 months. No extra fertilization will be needed for your indoor plants. They truly are easy to grow. Just remember like your family and friends you will lose them on occasion, it’s a normal part of life, except it, embrace it, and move on.
As the spring season approaches around the corner the folks at AskMrGreenthumb.com have decided to provide you with a brand new website. Complete with a new look and some exciting new features, the site offers our users an improved experience. The site has adopted a new, clean, mobdern look and employs a more organized layout so that your favorite content is easier to find.
In addition to the features and information you’ve enjoyed over the past few years, we’ll be adding some other content as well. We have plans for additional articles and tips from Stan himself, as well as a more robust community forum where you’ll be able to connect with other green thumbs to swap stories and tips from your own backyard. Photo galleries and monthly poll questions are in the works as well.
We hope that you will enjoy the all new AskMrGreenthumb.com and would love to here your suggestions. You can contact us here with your comments.
Thanks for your continued support, we look forward to providing you a place to come for expert advice and enjoyable gardening content.
For those who’ve enjoyed our Garden Chat forums in the past, we’re happy to announce that we’ll be improving and upgrading the forums in the coming months to offer a greater opportunity to exchange tips and hear from Stan DeFreitas, Mr. Greentumb, directly.
In the meantime we’ve removed the forums from the site to mitigate some issues we were experiencing. We hope to release new forums and other new features on the site in the new year.
Everyone thinks of pumpkins on Oct 31, the odds are your already bought one. Did you know that you could grow your own pumpkins, first your must improve your soil by adding extra peat moss, and Black Cow cow manure. Do remember that planting pumpkins from seeds that they require full sun and a good water supply. You should in advance that pumpkins are consider aggressive growers, meaning that they may travel ten feet from the start site in any direction. Keep in mind that pumpkins are considered a long season crop which means that during the middle of summer is a an excellent time to plant your seeds so that by the end of October you can carve your own jackolantern.
