What’s blooming

Good day, gardeners. We are reaching the peak of our winter gardening season, and all things ought to be performing well at this time. I’m even seeing some peoples’ pineapple plants showing signs of fruiting already.

We have been enjoying some homegrown broccoli and all the greens such as lettuce or arugula ought to be very happy with the temperatures as they are now. When it comes to flowering plants, many are showing off in February.

Annuals, perennials, and shrubs are all blooming profusely, and if they’re not for you, come in and see me! Do you prune your plants? Many flowering plants respond well to pruning by growing back quickly with new growth, and with new growth comes new flower buds.

Bougainvillea, Costus ginger, plumbago, petunias, impatiens, geraniums, purslane, and so on and so on, ought to all be looking fresh and full of bloom. It is a good time to plant more, and although it is a relatively dry period in the year where supplemental watering may be required, this really is a great time of year to be out in the garden. How to encourage a plant to bloom?

Some plants are very particular about what time of year they will flower in; crepe myrtle, peach and poinciana, for example. Nothing that one can do will encourage them to bloom out of season.

For the shrubs, perennials, and annuals though, if you have some that are not performing as expected, and you’ve pruned them back, then the addition of a bloom booster fertilizer such as a 5-5-15 will trigger them to push loads of new blooms. What does the color of the leaf signify?

Often it is easy to see what is going on with a particular plant simply by noting the color of the leaves. I recently saw a photo that someone had posted about a struggling citrus plant. The few leaves that were on the plant were small and yellow. This signifies a severe lack of nutrients, in particular Nitrogen and often in our native soils, Iron. Hibiscus is an example of a plant that is very dependent on supplemental nitrogen and iron.

Many plants will survive or even thrive in a very poor substrate, if they are receiving ample amounts of nutrients. If there are shrubs in your yard that are struggling, and the leaves are not green, then there is a fertilizer mix to solve the problem. High nitrogen fertilizers are ideal for pushing new growth, I prefer to use a balanced mix, usually 12-6-8.

I get very good results from this combination with sufficient new growth, good leaf color, and profuse blooms. When using or purchasing a fertilizer, be sure to use a combination that is specific to the issues that are being addressed. It is a great time to fertilize, but one thing I must point out again, use low nitrogen fertilizers when boosting Mango trees, unless the purpose is to push growth as compared to pushing flowers.

Early varieties of mango are covered in bloom right now, and if a mango tree is flowering, do not fertilize! Leave it be to do its thing until the fruiting is finished. Once that happens then is the time to fertilize. This is the opposite of what Citrus plants need though. Lawn grass will begin demanding more nutrients and water in the weeks ahead, and there are lawn grass specific fertilizers for this purpose. Even one pot of flowering plants can brighten any garden, patio, entranceway, restaurant, or building. Many can be planted, watered in with a bit of fertilizer, and forgotten about for the next little while and left to do what they are planted to do, show off and be beautiful! All the flowers help to make a yard beautiful. Check out your local garden center or visit us at ours to see what is blooming, and take some home to pretty up that dead spot, or that entranceway, to wow your customers or guests, or to simply brighten your day. Get into the garden. Smell the metaphorical roses, and encourage bees, wasps, butterflies, and birds to visit. All are beneficial and all are essential in creating a balanced and harmonious garden. Plant some flowering annuals, perennials, or shrubs! Plant a tree. Beat the heat and brighten your day. As always, I wish you happy gardening.

• Adam Boorman is the nursery manager at Fox Hill Nursery on Bernard Road. You can contact him with any questions you may have, or topics you would like to see discussed, at gardening242@gmail. com.