Stuart Gauthier, Singh, Raghuwinder, Strahan, Ronald E., Fontenot, Kathryn, Kirk-Ballard, Heather
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Citrus trees require annual fertilization for good growth and high yields of good size, high quality fruit. Newly set trees should not be fertilized until they show signs of growth, usually six weeks after they are set in the spring, usually in mid-March. On newly planted trees, apply half a pound of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 per tree in mid-March.
After the second year, fertilize citrus trees in February. Apply 1 to 1 ½ pounds of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 per year of tree age up to 12 years. Increase the rate of fertilizer 1 to 1 ½ pound per year as the tree gets older. A 1-year-old tree gets 1 to 1 ½ pounds of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13, and a 5-year-old tree gets from 5 to 7 ½ pounds. The fertilizer rate is increased each year until the tree is 12 years old. Trees 12 years old and older are at the top limit of fertilizer and should receive 12 to 18 pounds of 8-8-8 or 13-13-13 per tree. A simple fact to remember is that 1 pint of 13-13-13 weighs about 1 pound and a quart weighs 2 pounds. (Example: A 1-year-old tree will require 1 pound or 1pint of 13-13-13, and a 4-year-old tree will require 4 to 6 pounds or 2 to 3 quarts of 13-13-13.)
A small amount of nitrogen fertilizer (one-quarter pound of ammonium nitrate or ammonium sulfate per year for the age of tree or one-half pound of calcium nitrate per year for the age of the tree) should be applied to bearing trees (trees 4 years and older) in late May or early June. The rate of fertilizer is increased each year until the tree is 12 years old. This helps the tree make adequate vegetative growth and appropriately sized fruit. The additional nitrogen also will encourage the tree to set a crop the following year.
Nitrogen fertilizer should not be applied after the end of June. Fertilizer applied after the end of June will decrease cold hardiness and delay fruit from ripening. Broadcast the fertilizer beyond the spread of the limbs where most of the feeder roots occur.
A general rule when fertilizing trees is to put your left shoulder near the outer branches and hold the can of fertilizer in your right hand. You can simply walk around the tree and evenly spread the fertilizer in a 12- to 18-inch band on the outer branches of the tree. This technique will ensure that the fertilizer is placed a safe distance from the tree.
Avoid fertilizing citrus trees after the end of June. Late fertilization will encourage vigorous growth, delay fruit maturity and decrease the cold hardiness of the tree. Homeowners are also encouraged to pay strict attention to the amounts of fertilizer applied to citrus trees.
Amounts above those recommended will encourage vigorous growth, delay fruit maturity, ruin fruit quality and decrease cold hardiness. Vigorous growth can result in extensive freeze damage or death of the trees, even in a moderate freeze.
Stuart Gauthier
Extension Agent
An appropriate time to prune most summer-flowering trees and shrubs, including crape myrtles, is late January through early March.
Crape myrtles are leafless at this time, and it is easy to see the structure of the tree. This is helpful when deciding where to prune. Pruning generally should be done to enhance a crape myrtle’s natural shape while also correcting any problems.
An unfortunate trend in crape myrtle pruning is to cut back the tops, which results in a tree reduced to large main branches ending in stubs. The lush growth that occurs at these cut sites appears vigorous but actually is structurally weak and more susceptible to fungal diseases, such as powdery mildew. Even more, when pruning is conducted improperly over the years, unsightly large, swollen knobs form at the points where pruning is done each year. Although cutting a tree back can be considered an option when pruning crape myrtles, it is certainly not, and never has been, the preferred way of handling these graceful and beautiful trees. Perfectly beautiful crape myrtles often are disfigured and deformed for no good reason. In most cases, this annual pruning is needless work and expense that generates huge amounts of pruning trash that ends up in landfills. Also, it is not healthful for the trees in the long run.
To prune a crape myrtle properly, first decide if it needs to be pruned. As with any pruning project, you must have a specific and valid purpose in mind before you begin. In other words, if you can’t come up with a good reason to prune your tree, leave it alone.
If you see something that calls for pruning, however, study the tree carefully and determine what needs to be pruned to accomplish the specific purpose identified. If the problem is one branch touching the edge of the roof, deal with that branch. Don’t cut back the whole tree.
Every crape myrtle will need some pruning in its life to grow properly and fit well with its surroundings. Here are some examples:
Stuart Gauthier
Extension Agent
You don’t need a large yard or a lot of space to create a beautiful garden. You can create beautiful planters or containers that fit any space with limitless plant combinations that bring beauty and joy to wherever you call home.
There are plenty of options to choose from when it comes to the size, shape and color of containers and planters — hanging baskets, window boxes, small and large containers for combination plantings, single plant containers and clusters of pots. Your options for the plants themselves are plentiful and diverse, too.
To create a beautiful container design, begin by choosing a container that suits your spatial needs. Most garden centers, retail nurseries and online shopping venues offer many types.
Next, choose the plants and arrange them in a design of your choosing. Keep them looking good until you want to change the design.
One of the great advantages is that you can change these out. Year after year, you can play with the plant combinations, colors, textures and themes.
A combination planter typically has what is known as a filler, a thriller and a spiller. If you haven’t heard these terms yet, let me explain them to you.
The thriller is the plant that is main attraction of your container planting. It will be the focal point of your design. Choose a plant that has some height and a striking flower form or color.
The filler is just as the name suggests. Use these plants to fill in areas to create a fuller look in the arrangement. Fillers are medium-sized plants, typically in a mounded form, that make up the bulk of the plant material in the container. You can choose just one type of plant for focal impact, or you can choose several different plant types of similar sizes.
Spiller plants are the trailing, cascading plants that flow over the sides of the containers and complete the arrangement.
When choosing fillers and spillers, a good rule of thumb is to use an odd number of plants — three, five, and seven and so on.
Symmetry brings a good balance to beginning designs. Although it is not required to have an equal number of similar or identical plants on each side of the focal point, it does bring a visual balance to the arrangement.
Be sure you bring different textures into the container planting and design. Add fine-, medium- and coarse-leaved plants. Use tall pieces that bring height for the focal point; shorter, mounding species en masse; and low-growing spiller plants to soften the edges of the container planting.
Lastly, use proportional sizes to match the container. For large containers, use larger plants; use smaller plants in small containers. The rule of thumb is that the tallest plant should not be taller than 1 to 2 times the height of the container.
Now is the fun part: picking the plants. Be sure that you use season-appropriate plants. For example, if you are creating a design for the summer, make sure you are using heat-tolerant, warm-season annuals and perennials.
Most trees and shrubs will be fine throughout the seasons, but be sure to use evergreen selections unless you plan to rotate them out with the seasons as you do with your annuals and perennials.
Here are a few suggestions of Louisiana Super Plants for each category for medium-sized containers.
Thriller plants: Suncredible yellow sunflower, Flamethrower coleus series, Fireworks pennisetum, Senorita Rosalita cleome, Intenz Classic celosia, Flutterby Tutti Frutti buddleia, Camelot foxglove series, Diamonds Blue delphinium, Jolt and Amazon dianthus series.
Filler plants: Beacon impatiens series, Babywing begonia series, Serena and Serenita Raspberry angelonia, Mesa gaillardia series, Butterfly and Lucky Star pentas series, Sorbet viola series, compact varieties in the Sunpatiens impatiens series, Kauai torenia series.
Spiller plants: Mini Vista Indigo and Vista Bubblegum in the Supertunia petunia series, Homestead Purple verbena, lemon sedum.
Heather Kirk-Ballard, Ph.D.
Consumer Horticulture Specialist
Heather Kirk-Ballard, Ph.D.
Consumer Horticulture Specialist
Enjoy the Garden,
Kathryn “Kiki” Fontenot, Ph.D.
Vegetable Gardening Specialist
Lawn |
Number of fertilizer applications/year |
Recommended months |
Bermudagrass |
3 |
March/April, June, August (optional September) |
Centipedegrass |
1 to 1.5 |
April and possibly June at ½ fertilizer rate |
St. Augustinegrass |
2 to 3 |
April, June, August |
Zoysia |
2 |
April and July |
Ron Strahan, Ph.D.
Weed Scientist and Turfgrass Specialist
Raj Singh, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Director, Plant Diagnostic Center