Do not fertilize your bushes and palms yet

[Rons Landscaping]

Just a reminder I know it's warm out and we think it's spring, but do not fertilize any of your bushes and palms just yet. I know it's tempting because of our warm weather, but it is still possible to get a hard frost or freeze yet. Wait at least until the 1st week in March or better yet around the 15th. If you feed now the plants will push out new growth that can get hurt easy if there is a frost or freeze. I was a grower here In Florida for years, and as long as I have been a Landscape Designer I have seen it happen many times when we get a frost or freeze in late February the plants and trees can get hurt bad. I have customers that we have landscaped here in The Villages ask me all the time when should we start to feed our plants in the spring? My answer is always around the 1st or 2nd week of March, let's hope this beautiful weather stays with us until spring. ( I hope this will help some of you )

Thanks Ron,

[graciegirl]

Just a reminder I know it's warm out and we think it's spring, but do not fertilize any of your bushes and palms just yet. I know it's tempting because of our warm weather, but it is still possible to get a hard frost or freeze yet. Wait at least until the 1st week in March or better yet around the 15th. If you feed now the plants will push out new growth that can get hurt easy if there is a frost or freeze. I was a grower here In Florida for years, and as long as I have been a Landscape Designer I have seen it happen many times when we get a frost or freeze in late February and plants and trees can get hurt bad. I have customers that we have landscaped here in The Villages ask me all the time when should we start to feed our plants in the spring? My answer is always around the 1st or 2nd week of March, let's hope this beautiful weather stays with us until spring. ( I hope this will help some of you )

Thanks Ron,


NOW THAT IS A WONDERFUL POST...and so helpful. I will remember your company when I think Landscaper.

[duffysmom]

Thanks for the great advice. Is it too early to trim shrubs and plants?

[Irishmen]

Thanks Ron for the info.....this is first year we haven't performed crepe murder and am looking forward to the results. What mix of N-P-K would you recommend for crepe myrtles? Roses?

[Sunshine Mary]

Thanks Ron for the nice post .I am new here and I am learning did not
know that about fertilize
Thanks Ron

[shcisamax]

Yes. Thank you. We are all tapping our fingers wondering "when". :)

[Rons Landscaping]

If you have a Crape Mrytle in your yard now is the time to trim it back. Depending on how big and how many flowers you want on it late this spring and early summer depends on how far back you trim it. Normally you would trim it late January or the first half of February when the sap is at the lowest point in the plant. I like to trim them back hard usually where I can still reach it from the ground, that way the plant doesn't get to big for these small lots that we live on here in The Villages. If you have more room in your yard, then maybe you would want it to grow bigger. Remember, the harder you trim it back you will have less flowers on it when it blooms, but they will be much bigger. And if you trim it less, you will have more flowers but much smaller. As for other things to trim, plants that are "deciduous" ( that loose there leaves ) you can trim now while they are dormant, but this year some are already starting to bring out new growth. As for most other plants I would wait until the 1st week in March. As for fertilizer I use Lesco 8-2-12 on my own property for all my bushes and palms, I know there are a lot of different fertilizers out there we can use, but this feed is very good for the type of soil amenities that we have here in The Villages. You can purchase this feed from John Deere Landscaping on hyw. 301 just north of cty. 466 in Oxford, it is on the left side of the road about a mile north of 466 (Hope this helps.)

Thanks, Ron

[jimbo2012]

Ron is the only landscaper that contributes info here, maybe he's the only one that knows what he's doing.

Keep the info comming