| [Image: Flowering Cherry] |
| [Image: Taiwan Cherry] |
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Taiwan Flowering Cherry
Citrus Information
Vegetables to Plant in November
Taiwan Flowering Cherry
I have received a lot of calls about this tree in the past. It has gained in popularity in the nursery industry over the past several years. The tree is called Taiwan flowering cherry. Scientific name is Prunus campanulata. It is one of the small “flowering cherries” for our area. It reaches a height of about 15-20 feet and a width the same. The Taiwan cherry performs best in full sunlight in a fertile, well drained soil but will tolerate some shade.
Brief Recognition Factors:
- Early rosy-pink flowers – January-February.
- Small, deciduous tree.
- Accent, specimen type tree.
- Wildlife food.
Very good tree for our area that will give you 10-15 years of early flower production.
Some of the negative aspects of the tree:
- Last about 10-15 years here.
- Takes three to four years of growth before it blooms profusely.
- Makes a lot of suckers.
- Need to shape at early age for tree-type structure.
Overall, a good tree that can function best tucked away into the edges of other planting.
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Citrus Information
Citrus trees are beginning to ripen with satsumas coming in first. Our office is beginning to get a lot of calls about citrus now. There is still a lot of insect damage out on the trees in the form of sooty mold. In order to control this problem, you need to control the insects.
I want to discuss a few other problems affecting citrus now.
Symptom – Splitting of fruit.
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Usual cause – Physiological disorder.
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When noticed – Prior to and during harvest.
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When usually occurred – Just prior to fruit maturity.
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Will generally be one to five fruit per tree that will split.
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Control – Avoid water stress and fluctuation of water.
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Usually see this happen after heavy rain.
Symptom – Granulation, drying of juice sacs.
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Usual cause – Leaf-footed plant bug or physiological disorder.
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When noticed – at harvest.
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When usually occurred – near harvest.
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Control – check for signs of leaf-footed bug (looks like large stink bug).
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Control – If leaf-footed bugs present, spray with insecticide and follow label directions.
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Comment – physiological and generally worse on young or vigorous growing trees.
Symptom – Thick peel, large course fruit.
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Usual cause – Physiological disorder.
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When noticed – at harvest.
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When usually occurred – near harvest.
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Will generally be four to 10 fruit on tree with thick peel and other will be OK.
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Control – Follow good cultural practices.
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Comments – Worse on trees which are young or over-fertilized and recently pruned.
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This condition can also be attributed to phosphorous deficiency and excess potassium.
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Vegetables to plant in November
Beets, shallots, garlic, Swiss chard, spinach, kale, radishes, mustard, carrots and turnips.
Question
Do grits kill imported fire ants?
Answer
Research plots have demonstrated that this method does not control fire ants. The theory behind the use of grits as a fire ant control is that the ants will eat the grits, which swell in their stomach and cause them to explode. However, since fire ant workers can’t eat solid food, this is not possible. This idea may have its origin in the fact that defatted corn grit is used as a carrier for most of the fire ant bait products.
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