Gardening

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gardening All about the Pruning for Ground covers lychee tree tree strength

GOOD day gardeners! Often there are areas in a yard that can be difficult to find a plant to fill the space. It may be underneath trees where lawn grass doesn’t grow so well, on the north side of a building where the sun does not shine directly, in a rocky or low spot that is either dry or wet, etcetera.

There are some good ground cover plants that are also excellent as fillers, or to put into the ground (or pots!) to simply, cover the ground.

In the shade or semi-shade, I lean toward Liriope muscari (lilyturf) or ferns (Kimberly Queen, Macho, Boston, etcetera). Liriope is very well suited for dry locations, although it will tolerate short times with saturation if the soil is well drained. The maximum height is typically around 18” to 24”, and it is a clumping evergreen plant that resembles a grass, but it is not a true grass.

Liriope is moderately salt tolerant, it is wind tolerant, and drought tolerant. In some places, liriope is cut back down to the ground once a year, usually around February before new growth starts pushing in the “springtime”. It grows back in quickly and fills quite fast when it is happy.

Liriope is a slow feeder, and it is recommended to use a timed-release nutrient supplement (fertilizer) rather than a quick release, as they are not able to absorb the fast release lower cost fertilizers due to their relatively slow feeding habits.

There are few pest issues for liriope in our environment; scale can sometimes affect them if there is limited airflow, a simple horticultural oil spray can easily control any potential issues with pests. All around, liriope is an easy plant, with good coverage, and is relatively maintenance free while doing an excellent job at providing a simple green groundcover. Use as an edging, a filler, or a mass planting or even in planters and pots. Liriope is a versatile ground cover plant, and I highly recommend it!

For sunny locations, one of my go-to plants is purslane. One of the more popular varieties being used lately is called Puerto Rican purslane. It is the lowest growing and best performing under dry, sunny conditions. Its bright and vibrant flowers are great attractors for pollinators and are a cheerful delight when in full bloom.

Puerto Rican purslane is a groundhugging perennial that has a tight, horizontal growth habit. I’ve seen used wonderfully as a mass planting to cover a sunny and dry hillside, that gave an incredible display of color while being maintenance free and very easy to manage. There are many varieties of purslane, some with larger leaves, and they have been bred to display many different colour options, from yellow to red, pinks, purples, and combinations with bicoloured flowers. There are two edible varieties of purslane, one is a native that grows on the seaside called, get this….. sea purslane (Sesuvium portulacastrum). Its foliage can be picked and eaten out of hand, although it is slightly salty it can be boiled with a change or two of water to reduce saltiness, and the stems can also be eaten raw or even pickled.

Sea purslane is found on dunes and marshes, along the high tide mark in bays and estuaries. This is a primary plant to use when re-establishing seashore dunes after storms or in reconstruction. The other edible variety is considered a weed by many, it pops up seemingly out of nowhere, and will grow in cracks in the asphalt and just about anywhere else it can take hold.

Portulaca oleracea is spread worldwide through the horticultural trade and is most likely somewhere in your yard! It can be eaten raw on salads etcetera as well. So, depending on where you may have a bare area of ground that you wish to cover, liriope works very well in shade, and purslane works very well in the sun. Both are low maintenance plants, that are carefree and best when let to

GOOD day, gardeners! Time flies, yes? Time is subjective also. Had I planted a lychee (Litchi chinensis Sonn/Nephelium litchi Cambess) from seed 15 or 20 years ago, I might have a few lychee fruit from that tree by now to enjoy. Until then, they are a demanding shade tree at best.

Not particularly fast growing, the lychee takes its time to mature, and this is the reason that air layering exists. Commercially, they are layered for propagation as they grow a strong enough rootstock by that method and remain true to type. It is said that the choicest varieties have greater variation in offspring quality, and that the seed of the lychee is only viable for four to five days, so it is not something that is recommended to buy from unknown sources over the internet. I do not have 15 or 20 years to wait on those fruit, if you have got kids, well, eventually they may thank you for planting some of them. It certainly does not hurt to plant them anyway; every tree benefits every one of us.

If you are seeking lychee fruit in a faster time frame though, and if you have space for only a tree or two especially, do not even bother with seeding them. Layer from a friend or neighbour’s tree or buy from a reputable supplier. Now, don’t get upset with me if you’ve just seeded some and you’ve got the space to plant them and let them grow, grow them!

Lychee trees are not very salt tolerant or wind tolerant and they are best planted in a protected location with full to part shade, preferably in a relatively deep soil base. They are a strong tree with a slow to medium be. What could be easier than that? growth rate and they have a relatively Some folks are already preparing thick foliage to make a medium to heavy low hanging shade, but they are highly susceptible to nutrient deficiencies, OK? The history of the distribution of the lychee is complex and quite fascinating if you are up for a follow up read, cite the first reference noted below. for the veggie growing season, those busy bees that are anxious to get going again may consider beginning seeding some of the tougher veggies like corn, okra, peppers, maybe cucumber and beets, everyone will have their own way of doing it. As

The soils in our archipelago are always, I wish you happy garden(generally and variably) alkaline ing! Here is a link to a veg chart that and lychee’s native range is an acidic may help some to decide when to get going: https://www.foxhillnursery.biz/ veg-chart.html

base where they can thrive. At the Redlands in South Florida there are lychee groves that are highly productive in the good years (they are apparently quite cyclical), and when I was roaming the area a few weeks ago the trees were loaded, but the fruiting season in that location is finished now. The current issue now for lychee in the region (other than too much heat and humidity) is a mite that is affecting groves. The mite at issue is called the Erinose mite. It creates galls on the leaf and is supposedly quite difficult to eradicate. It is microscopic and too small to see by eye, but galls on the leaf of lychee will confirm the presence of them. To the best of my knowledge and research, we do not yet have the Erionose mite present in the Bahamas.

Lychee are grown successfully to our north and south, and there are large fruiting trees right here in New Providence. It is possible to grow a fruiting lychee tree, but as usual, it is recommended to either source from a reputable supplier, or to air layer a new tree from an existing fruiting tree. The fruits can be quite variable in size and texture, as well as in the time of year that they fruit in. As per the initial reference noted below, there are many varieties that have been prized in its native ranges in China, but they are limited as to what is available commercially even though they are grown through Asia, Southern Africa, and in the Americas and have been being transported for hundreds of years. The lychee has a grand history, that again I suggest taking a few minutes to read up on if you are interested. To conclude, plant lychee in a protected

NOW that we have had the first storm of the season pass through, pruning is again on my to-do list in the garden. We had some small trees get blown down in that (fortunately) weak tropical system Isaias, and it reminds me that tree pruning needs to continue. It is also a great time to prune hedges, shrubs, perennials, and anything branching. Much of the garden should be growing quite quickly at this time of year. If your garden is not growing quickly it may be worth doing some fertilizing to green and boost branching, flowering and root development. For those of us that are relegated to our own property to help stem the spread of COVID-19, get your clippers, hedge shears, saws or scissors out and get trimming!

It’s important to do a few things correctly when it comes to pruning larger trees, and even medium and small trees will benefit from these steps. Primarily, it is all about the branching angles. Wider angles make for stronger branching. Tighter angles make for weak branching. Early corrective pruning when the tree is young is the efficient way to location away from wind and salt prevent much heavier work in the spray. Choose an area with deep soils future. Try to encourage the crotch if possible and give them ample supangles on branches to be at least plemental nutrients throughout the 45 degrees from the upright, main year. As with anything in our region trunk, up to 90 degrees. This is there will be pest problems, but I especially beneficial to create wind have not noticed anything to attack tolerance (hurricane alley….!), and the lychee to the point where drasparticularly with fruit trees that tic remediation is necessary. Keep an bear more weight than the average non-fruiting tree. Allowing wind to easily move through a tree is always less work that cleaning up the mess left from a tree that the wind moved rather than moved through. eye on your young trees and try to keep the leaf a medium green colour, even though some colour variation exists between the named varieties. Happy gardening, and as always, good luck!

Always remove dead wood from trees and shrubs. Dead wood adds unnecessary weight, wind resistance and it can harbour pests and disease. Termites enjoy dead wood as well! Where to cut is as important as how to cut. For trees, the final cut after branch removal should be made at the branch collar so that the tree can heal properly without allowing for pests or disease to intrude. Here are some helpful pointers for pruning: • Dead, dying or unsightly twigs and branches. • Sprouts growing near the base of the trunk. • Crossed branches and branches growing toward the centre of the tree. • Narrow crotches. If it is possible to do so without ruining the appearance of the tree, remove one of the members forming the weak crotch. This helps to prevent future storm damage. • Multiple leaders. If more than one leader develops on a tree that normally has a single stem, cut out all but one to encourage the tree to develop its normal shape. • Remove branches that may develop into potential hazards such as low-hanging branches that interfere with traffic and weakened or dead branches that may break. • Single branches other than the leader sometimes develop faster than the rest of the tree. They need to be cut back to allow the tree to develop its normal shape. Other than pruning, it is still a very active season for garden pests. If you’re practicing a good IPM (integrated pest management) programme, hopefully all of your garden is not negatively affected by them at this point. Continue to monitor for crawling and flying insects and pests. As earlier mentioned, it may be time to get some plant nutrients down to support stronger pest resistance, wind resistance, branching, rooting, flowering, and fruiting except if your fruit tree has fruit on it now. If your tree has fruit left on it after the wind blew through, wait until a few weeks after the fruiting has finished to begin adding nutrients. Fruiting trees need quite a different fertilizing routine than non-fruiting trees. Native trees typically do not need to be fertilized, except maybe when young to promote stronger and faster

By ADAM BOORMAN • Tribune Features Reporter • acadet@tribunemedia.net

Adam Boorman establishment. If there are no native trees in your yard, please consider planting one or more, if you have the space. If you do not have space for a native tree or more, native shrubs will encourage balance in the garden just as well as native trees.

I wish you all of the best during these difficult and trying times. I encourage you to get into the garden, get to pruning and trimming, get to fertilizing where necessary, and get to composting. Please, plant a native tree or shrub. Pay attention to trees when they are young to avoid problems with them in the future. As always, I wish you happy gardening!

An example of a weak branch angle susceptible to splitting. This type of branch should be removed.

SLOW to grow and a demanding tree, you will have earned the fruits of your success if you cultivate lychee.

PURSLANE flowers bloom alongside the trail in the Portulaca Garden in Tien Giang in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam LIRIOPE MUSCARI

SEA PURSLANE

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