Gardening with Tropical Fruit

October 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

This month it’s time for the fall feeding of all tropical fruits as well as ornamentals to get them in good shape for the upcoming winter season.

Hopefully we’ll be spared damaging storms the remainder of this hurricane season and if you have trees in containers that need to be planted, do so in the next few weeks to take advantage of our remaining growing season.

Young trees need to be watered regularly as we are now approaching our dry season to insure that they establish quickly. Also if you’re doing budding, grafting, or air layering that can still be done this time of year, but after this month it will become more difficult as plants start to go into their dormant period.

If you’re doing air layering, many air layers put on this month may not be well rooted enough to remove until late February or March of next year, but it’s OK to leave them on through the winter season in most cases.

Seeds that are planted this time of year, too, will be somewhat slower to germinate due to lower soil temperatures as we move later into the fall. Make sure seeds are planted very shallow and irrigated lightly but frequently to insure proper moisture levels.