Question: Our beautiful yellow squash are being eaten by worms living inside. Is there a way to save the crop?
Answer: No one likes to find a wiggling surprise inside their squash of any type. Interestingly the hard-shelled squash like butternut and Hubbard are less likely to be affected but summer squash, acorn and similar are all the food of pickle and melon worms. Other plants in the cucurbit group including cucumbers and melons are also affected. Pickle and melon worms start as eggs laid by brown moths. Most gardeners never see the moths but only the larvae that bore inside the fruits to feed. Usually the damage is not noticed until holes and borings are seen on the fruits. When cut open the larvae have been feeding and destroying much of the fleshy fruit portions. Some gardeners tolerate the fruit damage and simply cut out the bad parts. Others apply a natural Thuricide BT- or spinosad-containing insecticide. Pick off the affected fruits and then use the insecticide following label instructions. Repeat application may be needed at intervals according to the product label. Also, note time to wait before harvest.
Q. My azaleas have finished blooming and I would like to do needed pruning. How much time do I have?
A. First decide if the azaleas even need pruning. Many use azaleas as hedge plants and they produce poor flower shows due to stems with buds being constantly removed by shearing. Where possible let your azaleas grow for a year or two only doing some light grooming. Southern Indian azaleas and similar types love to grow into four to six feet tall and wide shrubs. When late winter arrives they can fill with blooms. Consider hand pruning your azaleas to only remove out-of-bounds shoots and those that should be tipped back to make more compact plants. Then enjoy the blooms and every four or more years give the plants a renewal pruning to remove a half or more of the plants to stimulate new shoots and growth. All azalea pruning to encourage and not affect blooms should be completed by early June.
Q. We planted tomatoes in our northern garden about this time of the year and I still see transplants at garden centers. Can they still be added to our Florida plantings?
A. Summer like weather came quickly and so did the end of the tomato planting season. Some of the heat tolerant selections and cherry tomatoes may still bear a small crop but the common tomato varieties are not going to be good producers until fall. When temperatures are consistently above 85 degrees tomatoes continue to grow but stop setting fruit. If you still want to give tomatoes a try, find large plants with fruits to add to your garden and look for the heat tolerant and cherry or grape selections.
https://www.orlandosentinel.com/2024/05/04/the-plant-doctor-giant-plume-ginger-a-wonderful-surprise/
Q. Due to the mild winter our young mango tree is producing fruit. How will I know when it is ripe?
A. Harvesting any fruit is somewhat of a guessing game. If you know the variety, you can find the approximate ripening date in University of Florida Extension publications. Mangos ripen mainly between May and September depending on the variety. Regretfully a color change is not always a good indicator or ripeness with mangoes. Some growers suggest you look at the ends of the fruits and when what is called the nose becomes plump and lighter in color, the mango is likely ripe or about ripe. Also, some wait until the hard fruits soften a little then pick one from the tree to taste test. Take the fruit inside and let it soften more then cut into pieces or chunks to determine if sweet enough to eat. Mark the ripening time on your calendar as most should be ready to eat about the same time each year.
Q. Large pods forming on our tabebuia trees make a mess when they shed seeds and fall to the ground. Can the pods be removed as they form after flowering?
A. Feel free to remove what can be nuisance seed pods from any tree, shrub or palm. Cutting them back to the trunks or limbs may actually allow the plantings to make more growth using the foods that would otherwise be diverted to the seed-forming portions. Some gardeners like to start new trees from the seeds to share with friends. When the pods split open the seeds can be scattered across a container of potting soil and lightly covered. When kept moist they germinate in about 10 or more days.
Q. I purchased two roses and transferred them to large containers. They were beautiful for a short time but then looked like they were going to die during the day but recovered at night. I can’t figure out what is wrong.
A. Pouring on a little more water can likely save your new roses. Probably the root balls have dried and are not being rewet by your regular waterings. Slowly sprinkle the water on the root balls until they appear saturated. Repeat this several days in a row then resume normal waterings. Roses growing in containers need watering when the surface soil begins to dry. During hot sunny weather roses in containers may need daily watering.
Q. While inspecting milkweed plants in a butterfly garden for milkweed bugs I found small yellow insects around the tips of the shoots. I don’t want to affect the caterpillars but the yellow insects appear to need control? What should I do?
A. You have spotted pest number two for this popular butterfly plant. The insects are colorful aphids but they are not up to any good as they suck juices from the new shoots to reduce and distort the plant growth. One option is to wash them off with a strong stream of water and catch them in a container. If only a few shoots are affected by aphids, cut them off to remove the pests. And if you are careful the insects could also be sprayed with an insecticidal soap. Just hit the aphids and you won’t affect the caterpillars. Soaps are contact insecticides and only affect what they touch. Only spray the clusters of aphids in the tips of the shoots to control these pests.
Tom MacCubbin is an urban horticulturist emeritus with the University of Florida Cooperative Extension Service. Write him: Orlando Sentinel, P.O. Box 2833, Orlando, FL. 32802. Email: TomMac1996@aol.com.
