gardening tips

Garden Tasks for early February -Santa Cruz Mts

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What to do in the garden in early February

Do cut back woody shrubs  To stimulate lush new growth on plants like Mexican bush sage, artemisia and butterfly bush cut back to within a few inches of the ground. Don’t use this approach on lavender or ceanothus, though, only lightly prune them after blooming.  Prune fuchsias back by a third and remove dead, crossing branches and interior twiggy growth. Container fuchsias can be cut back to the pot rim.

Do Cut back hydrangeas if you haven’t already done so and apply a soil acidifier if you want the flowers blue. Although sulfur is the traditional favorite for quickly acidifying soil it is not as kind to many beneficial soil microorganisms. Coffee grounds, pine needles, peat moss and cottonseed meal are kinder to your soil.

Don’t cut back grasses yet if you get frost in the area where they grow.
Don’t prune spring flowering shrubs and trees like lilacs, Flowering cherries, plums and crabapples,  rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, weigela or spirea until after they flower.
Wait to prune back perennials that may have their new foliage damaged in a late frost.
Prune frost  damaged shrubs if you can tell how far down the die back goes, otherwise wait until growth starts in the spring.
   

color in the garden, colorful foliage

Winter Color in the Garden

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Make sure you have color in your garden every month of the year. Whether this comes from vivid foliage, bright berries,  interesting bark or flowers it pays to add to your color palette every month of the year. That’s why it’s so valuable to see what’s available in February as well as summer, spring and fall.

I’m a push over when it comes to striking foliage plants. I find them every bit as vibrant as flowers.  Bright flowers may be the frosting on the landscape but brilliant foliage is the cake. Here are some of my favorites that will add color to your garden this month.

Leucadendron Jester, a sport of Safari Shine is a drought tolerant shrub that’s especially showy this time of year when the flowering bracts turn deep red. Growth is slow and compact to maybe 3-4 feet. It looks like a striped carnival has hit town with its broadly edged creamy white to buff yellow leaves that take on coral pink tints in cold weather, especially towards the tips. It’s hardy to 20 degrees.

Correa Wyn’s Wonder is another favorite in the winter. Bright reddish pink fuchsia-like flowers dangle from this  2-3 foot tall variegated evergreen shrub. Hummingbirds love these flowers from fall through winter. Easy to grow in full sun or part shade it’s hardy to 20-25 degrees.

What’s not to love about a plant with both intensive fragrance and variegated foliage? I’m talking about daphne odora ‘Aureomarginata‘ which is in bloom right now.  A colorful sport discovered in England called Rebecca  has the same sweetly scented pink flowers but the leaves are more vividly variegated than the original. The stripes are wider and more buttery yellow and the flowers are a softer shell pink. These gorgeous little shrubs get a bad name for being finicky to grow.  Less is more when it comes to their care. They thrive in partial shade in humus-rich soil with good drainage. Don’t keep them soggy during the summer or they succumb to crown and root rot. They don’t transplant well but are quite deer resistant. Daphne are not long lived, usually lasting for 8-10 years but what a life they live.

I also am partial to Nandina especially in winter when their foliage turns as bright red as their berries. Sienna Sunrise is useful when you need a 3-4 foot narrow plant, maybe near the front door while the variety fills a space 3 x 3 feet with the same vibrant red foliage in the cool months.

beneficial insects, berries, fruit trees

Warm Spells during the Winter

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Everyone’s talking about the wonderful weather we’ve been enjoying the past few weeks. Spring is in the air. Or is it? Whether you like to putter in the garden or be out hiking, the warblers are calling to you. But is it unusual to have warm weather around here in January? Not at all. Just last year before the rains started we had several weeks of Caribbean-like weather. Back in 2009 during the first two weeks of January temps were in the 70’s and low 80’s. Don’t worry. Mother Nature knows how to adjust to changes in the weather- slowing down when it’s really cold and catching up when it’s mild.

Most plants will acclimate to a gradual return to more normal cooler late winter temperatures. We’re lucky here that we don’t get snow ’cause that’s when nature can really deliver a wallop to tender new growth and buds. If winter remains mild plants may bloom a little earlier. Lilacs, apples and grapes, for example,may flower a week earlier. Weeds can really become aggressive and pests and diseases that were held in check by the cold may become more of a problem. Lifestyles of beneficial insects may get out of sinc with the pests they help control.

Plants make the most of warmer weather. Lawns and other groundcovers, for instance, benefit from warm temperatures in winter. Root growth is encouraged in existing areas and young seedlings  planted last fall become established quicker. If temperatures return to winter norms, grasses will "harden off" and be fine in spring.

Fruit trees usually have no problems with a warm streak. A prolonged warm spell could cause low-chill varieties of peaches, plums and cherries to break bud and flower but these conditions are rare.

It’s a similar story for ornamental trees and shrubs. "Most woody plants have evolved to deal with a brief spell of unseasonably warm weather," says Nina Bassuk, woody plant specialist and director of the Urban Horticulture Institute. Buds won’t open during the first warm spell and then get killed by a return to cold temperatures because buds require a period of cold temperatures to break dormancy. Only some may begin to flower prematurely and risk losing those flowers but the long-term health of most plants probably won’t be affected.

Strawberries are oblivious to the weather. Blackberries and some raspberries are another story. Like some fruit trees, their chilling requirements may have already been met, their buds are swelling and they’re ready to take off. A rapid chill could freeze the buds and canes begin to die from the top down. But even if the entire cane dies, healthy new canes will emerge in spring. The early summer berry crop could be lost but fall berries will be fine.

Most bulbs and perennial flowers should come through a warm spell just fine. The buds of these plants are at or below ground level and often protected further by mulch or leaves. Even if temps return for below freezing, late winter cleanup of old stems will get rid of any winter dieback.

Enjoy this hint of spring. It won’t last for long.
 

bare root plants, berries, edibles, fruit trees

Healthy Edibles to Grow from Bare Root

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Make this the year you take advantage of planting blueberries, grapes, strawberries,  peaches, cherries and apples from bare-root stock. These crops are .

Because of all the rains that fell in December, the growers are late getting into their fields to dig up the 2 million bare-root plants they harvest and deliver to your local nursery. The Santa Cruz Mountains stay cooler for a longer period in the winter, allowing dormant trees, shrubs and vines to be available to the home gardener in bare root form throughout February, too. The early bird gets the worm as far as best selection goes so take a look around your property and decide which yummy fruit and berry you’ll be adding to your garden.

I love blueberries. They are low in calories and so good for you. They contain the highest concentration of antioxidants of all fresh fruit. They have lots of vitamins and help boost your immune system. The list or benefits goes on and on. On top of all that, they make beautiful hedges with stunning fall color.

One variety I’m dying to try is a hybrid from Australia called Brigitta.  This Northern highbush variety is sweet yet slightly tart. The grower says they possess an amazing shelf. They’ve stored this blueberry for over a month in the refrigerator and they were still crisp with a great taste. The berry is medium to large and ripens late in the season. The bush is a fast grower to 4-6 feet with deep green foliage and bronze tinted new growth. It is semi-self fertile but produces more  planted alongside Bluecrop. Try planting them each in their own wine barrel where you can control the soil, watering and sun exposure.

Apples-you know the saying "one a day keeps the doctor away". There are lots of apple varieties to choose from.  Honeycrisp is a large, scarlet over yellow apple with a well-balanced sweet tart flavor. The texture is similar to a crisp watermelon or Asian pear and is very juicy. They ripen in late September.

Another crisp apple to grow is the Braeburn apple. The skin is green overlaid with orange-red while the flesh is firm, crisp and juicy. It is mildly sweet tart with an excellent flavor, is a heavy producer and stores well. It ripens October to early November.

Love biting into a juicy peach in the summertime? Try growing Santa Barbara, considered the best tasting peach for homeowners. Flesh is yellow, freestone and red near the pit. It has a melting texture, delightfully sweet, combined with the delicious peach flavor. Peaches are self-fertile. This variety requires only 300 hour of chill below 45 degrees so is good for warmer winter areas as well as the mountains.

Your favorite fruit are cherries but you don’t have much room for a big tree? Then the Compact Stella cherry is the tree for you. The fruit is firm, sweet and dark red with good flavor and texture. It’s excellent for eating, canning and preserves while being self fertile and a good pollinizer for all sweet cherries.

There are other edibles available now, too, like figs, pomegranate, persimmon, apricot, pears, plums, asparagus, artichokes, strawberries, grapes and blackberries. They all sounds delicious.
 

flowering shrubs, fruit trees, plant care, pruning tips, roses

Time to Prune Roses, Fruit trees and Flowering Shrubs

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I’ll be the first to admit it’s hard to bundle yourself up to go out and work in the garden on a cold winter day. Bright sunshine sure helps but still it’s not t-shirt weather yet. It helps to think how good that fresh air will feel, not to mention that working in the garden relieves stress. And think about all that great exercise you get without getting on the boring treadmill.

Depending on your weight and how vigorous you work, one hour of gardening can burn up about 272 calories. Transplant a shrub, and the number of calories burned could jump to an incredible 340 calories per hour. Just think of that extra helping of potatoes-au-gratin you had over the holidays.

There’s plenty to do this time of year. Neaten things up by removing rotting perennials and sweep the leaves and debris off the driveway and your roof. 

It’s time to prune fruit trees and smother overwintering eggs and insects by spraying with horticultural oil. Combine your spray with lime-sulfur ( except on apricot trees ) to kill fungal disease spores like the ones that cause peach-leaf curl.  has also been shown to supress fungal diseases.You’ll want to do this again when the buds swell but before they open ( about Valentine’s Day )

Control large vines like overgrown honeysuckle, pink jasmine,  morning glory, passion vine, potato vine and trumpet creeper by radically thinning or even cutting back low to the ground if they are a big, tangled mess. Wait until after flowering to heavily prune spring-blooming vines such as wisteria.

Pruning Roses
When buds along rose canes begin to swell, prune repeat flowering roses by removing spindly or diseased shoots and dead wood. Do this before they start leafing out which wastes plant energy. Cut back the remaining stems by about a third, cutting canes at a 45-degree angle just above an outward facing bud. Don’t worry whether your pruning job is perfect. Roses are super forgiving and you can trim them up again later. You want to produce lots of roses not just a few of exhibition size. Aim for a vase-shaped  bush with an open center.

Prune old garden roses that bloom once in the spring after flowering.
Climbing roses require little pruning. Cut out extra stems if there are too many and also cut back long established canes to about the place where they are slightly thicker than a pencil. Then cut each side stem down to several inches. This will cause the cane to flower along its complete length for a beautiful spring display.

If any old leaves still cling to the plant, remove them. Rake up any debris beneath the plant and discard to eliminate overwintering fungus spores. It’s a good idea to spray both the bare plant and the surrounding soil with a combination organic horticultural oil to smother overwintering insect eggs and a dormant spray like lime-sulfur to kill fungus spores. If you usually have a problem only with black spot you can use a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda with a few drops of light oil in 1 quart water and spraying every 7 to 10 days.  Thoroughly coat the trunk, branches and twigs.

Other tasks to do in the garden in January:

Cut back hydrangeas if you haven’t already done so. Apply soil sulfur, aluminum sulfate or other acidifier if you want to encourage blue flowers.

Cut back summer flowering deciduous shrubs and vines.  Don’t prune spring flowering varieties like lilac, flowering cherry, plum and crabapple, rhododendrons, azaleas, camellias, weigela and spirea until after flowering or you can cut some during flowering to bring in cuttings for bouquets.
 

gardening tips, trees

Saving Trees by Removing Ivy & other tips

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Well, it’s that time of year again when all things seem possible. Hope springs eternal –  the spring will be warm and the veggies will get off to a good start this year. That torrential rains won’t knock off the fruit blossoms and that all will be right with creatures big and small.  The narcissus are blooming already signaling the start of the new season.

An important thing to remember is that garden is a verb as well as a noun. It’s the act of gardening that’s important not so much what your garden looks like. So relax a little and enjoy it. With that in mind here are some tips to improve the health of your garden.

I received an email from a reader asking that I please advise people to save the life of their trees, including redwoods and oaks, by removing the ivy that grows up the trunk. Ivy can kill trees by tightening its hold on the trunk while both of them grow and can eventually stop the supply of nutrients and water from the roots to the branches. Trees supporting heavy ivy growth can be uprooted or broken by wind. The environment ivy creates is also harmful to trees. It keeps moisture against the bark of the trunk, creating a state of constant wetness which attracts insects. It covers up any developing problems with the tree. Many tree diseases and decay became major problems because they were hidden by ivy growth.

If you have a tree with a lot of ivy coverage, there are a few simple steps you can take to remove the ivy. Go around the tree and cut out a vertical section of ivy about 1-2 feet wide around the entire tree. A large screwdriver or forked garden tool can be used to pry and snap the cut section away from the trunk. The lower portion of ivy will need to be pulled and cut off periodically to prevent further growth from the base. The upper ivy will die on its own and can be removed much later when it’s easier to pull.

What else should we be doing to enjoy our gardens more?
    Use plants that bloom over a long season, have colorful leaves and attractive bark and berries.

    Garden on a small scale using containers and small, easy to manage plots for organic vegetables, flowers     and herbs.

    Add low voltage, LED or solar lighting so you can use the garden after dark.

    Furnish your patio during the warm season with pots, furniture,a fire pit and a patio heater.

    Add water to your garden with a small recirculating fountain or pondless waterfall.
gold, chartreuse, variegated or burgundy colored foliage in the     garden. Abelia Kaleidescope paired with Purple Smoke tree is one of my favorite combinations.  A combo     to try for the shadier parts of the garden is Black mondo grass with white variegated Jack Frost brunnera.     Look at your garden as a series of small vignettes and pair new plants together you haven’t tried before.
    Go through one of your seed catalogs and see what’s being offered in these tones.

Remember that garden is a verb as well as a noun. It’s the act of gardening that’s important not so much what your garden looks like so don’t sweat the small stuff.    
   
 

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