Welcome back to the Joani’s
Corner. January was been a month to forget, that’s for sure. We
now have a neutral landscape which means that it is mostly black
and brown.....with just a touch of green thrown in here and there.
Those garden colors are not what I came to Florida to experience.
The good thing is.....even though we were that cold.....it’s even
worse in Maine, where I used to live and where everything is
white.
I guess most of us will be hoping for our lawns to
green up and soon. Tom and I have noticed that some greening has
occurred after the rain. All the brown stuff can be pruned
back now. ‘If it’s brown cut it down....if it’s black whack it
back!’. Time to fill the trash cans and haul them to the curb.
Fallen leaves can be raked up and used for mulch. It’s free, will
blend in with your gardens and will eventually break down nicely
into your soil. It looks nice in the garden....and lets your
plants and flowers be the focal point.
The cold wouldn’t
have been quite so bad for us if our home heating system hadn’t
quit working and we couldn’t get a repair person to fix it for 3
or 4 days. Right after we had it fixed......our hot water heater
stopped working. But all is well now and I have decided that I’d
rather have hot water than heat. A warm blanket can’t help you at
all when you need a shower.
There will be a full moon February 28th. It’s called the Full Snow
Moon as usually the heaviest snows fall this month. Isn’t it nice
to live in Florida? Last month we did have quite a long spell of
very cold weather. Some areas had snow, some sleet and even in our
backyard we had icicles hanging from trees and shrubbery.
Thankfully it was an unusual occurrence.
Central
Florida
Average High - 74º - Average Low - 51º
Expected rainfall is 2.35"
In 1962 the record high was 90º
In 1996 the record low was 26º
Tallahassee
Average High - 67º - Average Low - 42º
Expected rainfall is 4.63"
In 1948 the record high was 89º
In 1899 the record low was 2º
Jacksonville
Average High - 65º - Average Low 48º
Expected rainfall is 2.84"
In 1962 the record high was 90º
In 1967 the record low was 27º
Melbourne
Average High - 73º - Average Low - 51º
Expected rainfall is 2.49"
In 1962 the record high was 92º
In 1967 the record low was 27º
Florida
Wildlife Adventures for February
Purple Martin
- Purple Martin scouts will be seen looking for a
place to raise their families.
- Pileated
woodpeckers will begin courting by announcing their
territories by drumming on just about anything like
telephone poles and possibly even your house.
-
Other nesting birds will be the Little Blue and
Tri-colored herons, Wood and Mottled Ducks and Snail
Kites.
- Purple Finches and Pine Siskins will
begin their migration back to it’s Northern nesting
places. Hope they check the weather up north before they
decide to leave.
- Swallow-tailed kites will be
returning from South America. - In Central Florida
- Screech owls will begin nesting.
-In South
Florida -Wild turkeys and quail begin their breeding
time.
Frigate birds begin nesting in mangroves.
In North Florida - Ospreys will be nesting by the
end of the month. Woodcocks begin courtship behavior.
You may hear them making a ‘peenting’ sound at dusk in
open fields
(click to enlarge)
Hints:
It is a very pretty moth with a not very welcome beginning. If you
observe one you will notice that it acts like a wasp.
If you
or a neighbor has oleanders you may see them often.
Do you know...... ? ? Whatizzzit ? ?
After Christmas Poinsettia Care
If you’re like us we just hate to part with
our poinsettias especially if they were a little unusual. So
for all us poinsettia lovers who have most of them still
around and in ‘fairly’ good shape. Here’s a few tips to make
sure they remain with us a little longer.
First of all,
if you haven’t already, remove all foil or any other holiday
pot coverings.
Begin feeding them monthly with a liquid
container garden fertilizer or a slow release product. Using a
slow release fertilizer means you won’t have to fertilize as
often......and as always follow label instructions. Keep
your poinsettias in a sunny to lightly shaded warm place and
check often for needed watering.
In March cut the
plants back to within 12 - 18 inches and repot to an inch or 2
in diameter larger container. This is also the time when they
can be moved outside as all danger or frost has passed. Be
sure you put them in an area where they won’t get knocked down
or blown down as some poinsettias can be very brittle.
Planting them in a clay pot is good as it’s heavier and will
help keep them anchored.
After your poinsettia has
grown about 12 inches, remove 4 - 6 inches from each shoot.
When it grows another 12 inches....cut it back
again.....continue doing this until the end of August.
As it grows keep checking for needed repotting. Those roots
will need room to grow. Continue checking often for water
needs and keep up your fertilizing routine.
Then when
October comes make sure your plants receive no nighttime
light. That means no street lights, traffic lights, house or
porch lights.....either yours or your neighbors. Otherwise
they won’t be coloring up in time for Christmas next year.
For ways to re-pot your poinsettias, check our our
exclusive "HisAndHersGardening.com" how-to video
here.
Who Dunnit?
If you see this hole in your citrus, do you ever
wonder who was doing it? Is it the neighbor’s kitty,
those darn squirrels, raccoons or possum. The rats got at 'em It
isn’t squirrels like you probably thought. They
usually pick the fruit and carry it away. They
prefer to enjoy their vitamin C feast from a high
vantage point like on your roof. They usually chew
up the fruit peelings in small pieces.
These
holes were chewed by rats. They probably think that
you planted your citrus tree just for them. They are
usually the first ones to know when your prized
navels or tangerines are ripe. So the bottom
line here is.......if you see small pieces of fruit
peelings....it’s squirrels. A roundish hole or two
chewed out with the fruit almost totally eaten, it’s
rats.
