The Gardening Tutor Gardening Tips · Santa Rosa, California

GARDENING TIPS FOR SONOMA COUNTY

We are fortunate to have many different micro climates here in Sonoma County. The following are some helpful gardening tips and planting information. In order to be most helpful I keep the information general. Keep in mind that when suggesting plants and planting times they are basically for the Santa Rosa area.
- Mary

2011 Gardening Tips
December	Bareroot season is just beginning plus Gardening Tips for December
November	Get rid of your lawn with the least amount of effort plus Gardening Tips for November
October	Planning your Garden plus Gardening Tips for October
September	Things to Consider When you Want to Plant a Tree plus Gardening Tips for September
August	Watch for Wasps... plus Gardening Tips for August
July	It’s not too Late to Plant Sunflowers plus Gardening Tips for July
June	Irrigation Do it Yourself or Hire Out: Things to Remember plus Gardening Tips for June
May	Know Your Foe
April	Demo Garden Chosen for Garden Tour plus What to Plant
March	Weeding Takes Top Priority this Month plus What to Plant
February	Buy Gladiolus and Other Summer Flowereing Bulbs Now plus What to Plant
January	What is Bare-Root Season plus Gardening Tips for January
2010 Gardening Tips
December	Shop Now for Hardy Winter Bloomers
November	Sweet Peas!
October	Avoid ‘Broad Spectrum’ Pesticides Whenever Possible
September	The Balance of ‘Good’ and ‘Evil’ in the Garden plus Gardening Tips for September
August	What’s in a Name? plus Gardening Tips for August
May	Prune Spring Flowering Shrubs after Flowers Fade
April	Time to Flush your Drip Irrigation System plus What to Plant
March	Bees and Yellow Jackets plus Things to Do in the Garden and What to Plant
February	Camellia Petal Blight plus What to Plant
January	Some Local Nurseries Have Gone Out of Business plus What to Plant
2009 Gardening Tips
December	I Have a Black Thumb; I Kill Everything plus Things to Do in the Garden
November	Lonely Tools plus Things to Do in the Garden
October	To Fertilize or Not to Fertilize
September	“Help! My Container Plants Look Terrible” plus What to Plant in September
August	Be Careful Out There plus Things to Do in the Garden
July	Annuals and the Best Use of Your Money
June	Keeping Plants Alive Until You Plant Them plus What to Plant in June
May	Weeds plus What to Plant in May
April	Irrigation Systems plus What to Plant in April
March	Mulch plus What to Plant in March
February	Pruning Roses plus What to Plant in February
January	Tools

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The Gardening Tutor
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in Sonoma County
Santa Rosa, California
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2011 Gardening Tips

DECEMBER 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR DECEMBER

Facebook has really turned into a great forum for The Gardening Tutor to share tips; it’s especially great because Mary can share photos with the tips! If you are reluctant to try Facebook reconsider giving it a try (you might just like it) and remember you can always stop using Facebook at any time.

Bareroot season is just beginning; berries and Rhubarb are in and fruit trees are just around the corner. If you haven’t cultivated the area where you will be planting your fruit trees consider doing it now before the soil is saturated by the rains.
Spring flowering bulbs can still be planted this month as long as the soil is workable.
Remember that Daphne that you wanted to buy last year but didn’t get to the nursery in time before they all sold out? December is a good month to shop for shrubs like Daphne and the sweet fragrance of the blooms will be welcome in early spring. Daphne enjoys great drainage so make sure to amend your clay soil with some aged compost; sandy soil will benefit from an addition of compost too.
It’s time again to prune Wisteria to 2 or 3 buds from the framework branches. You can usually tell if the buds are flower buds (fat) or vegetative buds (thin and flush to the stem). Wisteria vines get immensely heavy over time so pruning out some of the weight and keeping your vine as controlled as you can will be help eliminate future problems. Contact Mary when you are ready for some pruning tutoring.
If your soil is still workable (not completely soggy from rain) then you can still plant any of the frost hardy trees, shrubs and perennials that you’ve been meaning to add to your garden.
Bermuda grass may look dead this month but it’s just dormant waiting to return next spring with vigor. Dig out as much as you can now to save yourself extra work in spring.
Protect Cymbidiums from snails and slugs. Also, protect any newly planted or newly emerging plants from snails, slugs, earwigs and sowbugs.
If you have dormant fruit trees or roses you may want to spray with dormant horticultural oil this month to kill overwintering insects and fungal spores. Be sure to read the directions because some sprays need to be applied when the outdoor temperature is above a certain degree. Also, wear protection for your eyes and long sleeves etc. even if the product is considered ‘organic’. Check with your locally owned nursery for the right dormant spray to use for your plants. Mary mostly uses Neem oil for her roses but not everyone has good luck with Neem.
Continue to cut off the spent flowers (with the stem) of Pansy, Iceland Poppies and other winter annuals to encourage more flowers.

Planting Suggestions for December:

Perennials-Cyclamen and Primroses
Annuals-Breadseed Poppies, Iceland Poppies, Pansies, Nigella damascene (seeds)
Trees and Shrubs-Bundle up and go out to see what locally owned nurseries have to offer

NOVEMBER 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR NOVEMBER

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Want to get rid of your lawn with the least amount of effort? This is the perfect time of year to do sheet mulching to smother the grass instead of renting a sod remover or digging it out. Sheet mulching uses cardboard to help smother the grass and mulch and winter rains to help condition the soil so that you can plant your new garden design in spring. Call Mary for more information at 707-545-6863.
If you like fruit trees and there is a special variety you are looking for, order your bareroot fruit trees now from your local nursery. Bareroot plants start arriving in local nurseries in January. If you know where you will be planting your bareroot plants you can prepare the soil now while the soil is moist but not soggy. You can add compost amendment and/or weed and turn over the soil in that area.
Plant sweet pea seeds starting this month for oodles of blooms in spring!! Sweet peas like rich, well draining soil and a sturdy trellis with thin wires to climb on. You’ll need to protect from snails, slugs, earwigs and sowbugs. Sweet peas are a ‘cool season annual’ so they love the cold weather!
Cut back to basal growth (new foliage at the base of plant) plants such as, Oregano, Aster, Lobelia cardinalis and Monarda. When you are ready to learn more about how to care for your plants contact Mary for a consultation.
Leave fuchsias unpruned to allow them to go dormant.
Continue to plant cool season annuals. Remember to protect the plants from snails, slugs, sowbugs and earwigs. Since it’s getting later in the planting season, consider planting 4- inch plants instead of six-packs. The 4-inch plants will have a larger rootball to help them become established in your garden.
Wildflower seeds can be sown once the rains arrive in earnest. You will have better success if you first weed the area and keep it weeded once the wildflower seeds start to germinate.
Make gardening more fun and easy by preparing your planting area before you purchase your plants. You’ll be able to come right home and plant all your babies instead of risking losing them because you run short of time.
Resist the urge to go out and prune every plant in your garden. Lilacs, Rhododendrons, Forsythias, Camellias, Ribes and many other winter/spring bloomers are pruned just after their flowers fade.
Snails and other plant eaters love to hide out under fallen leaves; continue to clean up fallen leaves from around vulnerable and newly planted plants and bulbs. You can allow fallen leaves to biodegrade around plants that are not susceptible to damage by these pests.
Your blueberry plants will appreciate a nice layer of acidic mulch such as the leaf drop from redwood trees (move aside the larger leaves and collect the more decomposed humus underneath). Keep mulch about 6 inches from the trunk of the blueberry shrub.

To read more tips for October see the archives.

Planting Suggestions for November

Bulbs: Ranunculus, Hyacinths, Freesia, Daffodil, Dicentra spectabilis and all other spring flowering bulbs, tubers and corms
Annuals: Calendula, Pansy, Iceland Poppies, Primroses, Breadseed poppies
Shrubs and Trees: Cotoneaster, Pyracantha, Arctostaphylos densiflora ‘Howard McMinn’

OCTOBER 2011

PLANNING YOUR GARDEN

In many ways, gardening is like shopping for clothes. For instance, do you ever want to buy a new swimsuit in September (when it’s really hot here in Sonoma County) but realize that swimsuits were in the stores beginning way back in the cold of April? By the time you think of getting the suit, if you can find a store that has suits, the choices are dismal. Stores stock most of their clothes for the next season not for the current season. This is why, when you’re cold in February it’s hard to find a turtleneck sweater because the stores are stocking spring dresses!

The same thing can happen with gardening in Sonoma County; when it’s hot in September it’s time to prepare for the winter vegetable garden and replace summer flowering annuals, like cosmos and zinnias, with winter flowering annuals, like pansies and Iceland poppies. The winter annuals can get a good head start on growing their roots while the soil still holds the warmth from summer weather.

Trees, shrubs and natives can go in at this time of year too so that the winter rains can help the roots grow in the nice moist soil! All that’s needed is to keep the new plantings watered until the rains arrive in earnest and then, for months, there’s no need to think about watering unless there is a dry spell. By November, it’s time to think about what fruits and roses to buy at the beginning of bareroot season in January before the selection dwindles down to nothing. Unlike the end of season sales at clothing stores, bareroot season is like a ‘reverse sale’ buying bareroot saves money; one would pay several times more later in the season for the same plant that is potted up and sold in a container.

Bulbs are another project that helps if you plan ahead. Bulbs that will be planted in fall can and (for best selection) should be ordered early in the summer months; most mail order companies will then ship at the right time of year for the bulbs to be planted. The same holds true for other bulbs; spring planted, summer blooming bulbs are ordered in fall. Paying attention to what bulbs are coming in at the local nurseries will pay off with the best selection; purchase the bulbs early and keep them dry and cool for planting out when the time is right.

Another way that gardening is like clothes shopping is when it comes to design. Whether one is putting together an outfit or a garden the principles of good design are the same. Would you ever wear all your jewelry at one time? Then why put out every single garden art piece you own in one area of your garden? Like a special necklace on a solid colored background, a single focal point plant backed by a mass planting of a single, low growing species can be very calming for a meditative garden. On the flip side, wearing a bright colored dress of oranges and yellows with solid taupe shoes and belt would be like having the almost confetti like colors of flowers in the English style garden grounded by some large pots of a solid color placed where the eye can rest. Of course, you can just have fun in your garden design like the newest fad in clothing and then switch out the design the next planting season if you want something more classic.

October
2011 Tips

We are getting great feedback from our Facebook page! Now, Mary is able to show photos and share ideas and techniques with you in real time. ‘Like’ our page and let us know what you think by commenting on the page.

If you missed the article about The Gardening Tutor in the San Francisco Chronicle you can view the article here.

Do you feel like getting out in your garden this month and pruning everything? Many plants need to be left alone at this time of year and not be asked to produce lots of new growth from fresh pruning cuts. Your energy would be better used by pulling weeds and mulching your garden. When you would like help learning which plants to prune and which plants to leave alone contact Mary for a consultation.

Buy wildflower seeds now! For best selection shop now and save the seeds to plant out once the rains have moistened the soil.

If you would like to add some autumn interest to your garden, shop now for trees and shrubs while they are showing their rich reds, oranges and yellows.

Containers can now be planted with lots of winter interest plants. There’s no reason to look outside this winter and see only dried up or dormant plants when pansies, Iceland poppies, cyclamen and primroses can be looking back at you instead.

Some perennial weeds like Bermuda grass are going dormant now but once the rains come winter annual weeds will start popping up! If you plan to plant wildflower seeds spend some time weeding the planting area first. For best results, weed the area, water to germinate more of the weed seeds, weed again and then plant your wildflower seeds. Better yet, weed now and then wait for the rains to germinate the annual weed seeds and then weed again before planting. At the Demo Garden Mary sows wildflower seeds in November.

Many local nurseries are having their fall sales. You can find some great plants for up to 40% off the regular price. If you have hard, dry soil in your garden make it easy on you, the soil and your new tree or shrub by keeping the plant in the container until the rains have moistened the soil enough to be easily workable. Remember to keep the container plant watered. If you would like to learn more about how, when and what to plant contact Mary.

It’s not you. If your Mandevilla vine, Lantana, Bougainvillea, Pennisetum setaceum ‘Rubrum’ (purple fountain grass) do not survive our Sonoma County winter; these are all frost tender plants. In general Sonoma County gardens can experience frost days from Halloween (October 30) to tax day (April 15). In the Demo Garden we have frost into the beginning of May each year.

For more October tips view the archives.

Planting Suggestions for October

Bulbs: Freesia, Anemone, Alliums, Ranunculus (and all spring flowering bulbs)
Container Plants: Asparagus ‘Meyeri’, Cyclamen, Pansies, Satureja douglassii (Yerba Buena-good for spilling over rim of container), flowering cabbage, Ophiopogon planiscapus ‘Nigrescens’ (Black Mondo Grass), Sedum ‘Angelina’
Ground Cover: Rubus rolfei, Veronica umbrosa ‘Georgia Blue’, Sedum ‘Angelina’

SEPTEMBER 2011

THINGS TO CONSIDER WHEN YOU WANT TO PLANT A TREE

To help yourself decide which tree to plant, ask yourself why you want a tree. Do you want fruit; summer foliage to shade the house; bare branches in winter to let in more sun; a focal point; to add some colorful blooms above your head; to attract birds and other wildlife; or to hide the neighbor’s house?

Be careful when choosing a tree because it’s your favorite and you simply ‘have to have it.’ Many gardens today are simply too small for the mature size of some trees, such as Sequoia sempervirens (Redwood), Ginkgo biloba (Ginkgo), Liquidambar (Sweet gum), or Magnolia grandiflora, as well as many others.

When the description of a tree says, ‘fast growing’ or something similar, be aware that fast growing trees may fill in quickly but they also tend to have weak branches that can snap in the wind. This does not necessarily mean ‘never’ plant a fast growing tree, it means that formative pruning while the tree is young and keeping the tree in good form when mature will be extra important.

Formative pruning is important for all trees, especially those trees that have narrow crotches (branching that grows more parallel to the trunk or other branches creating a tight angle where the branch begins). Branches with narrow crotches can grow together (known as ‘inclusion’) and lead to problems in the future. Included branches can tear apart and leave a shredded open wound on your tree.

In years past, when digging the planting hole, gardeners would dig the deepest hole they could in which to plant their tree. Today, horticulture science knows better and we disturb the soil only as deep as the soil level of the tree in the container. We also know today to disturb the soil two to three times as wide as the width of the rootball in the container so that the new roots have an easy time getting established. Also in the past, gardeners added copious amounts of amendment into the planting hole. Now, we know to only add a small amount of amendment (especially if the soil is really poor) or no amendment at all in the planting hole so that the new roots grow into the native soil instead of staying in a highly amended small area.

Many trees come from the nursery with a stake that is tied right up on the trunk. When you get your tree home and are ready to plant it, replace that nursery stake with a sturdy stake placed about 6 inches from the trunk. Use a tree tie and make certain to cross the tie between the tree and the stake (this allows the tree to move a bit in the wind which will strengthen the trunk).In high wind areas you may need three stakes and in no wind areas you may be able to plant your tree without any stake at all.

Remember to consider the mature size of the trunk and canopy of your tree when deciding the placement of your tree next to your house, other buildings or fences.

If you would like to learn more about planting your trees, shrubs and other plants or more about pruning contact Mary.

September
2011 Tips

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Spring flowering bulbs will be arriving in local nurseries this month; shop early for best selection. Remember to choose plump, unblemished bulbs for your garden. Alliums, Anemone, Crocus, Freesia, and Sparaxis are just a few of the choices you’ll have.

Fall is ‘plantapolooza’ time in our area! You can begin planting trees, shrubs, some perennials and all frost hardy plants (including winter annuals) now. Keep all new plants watered until the rains arrive, helping to establish the root systems over the winter.

Continue to weed out Bermuda grass and other invasive grasses before they go dormant for the winter and come back twice as bad next year.

If you did not amend your veggie garden soil with aged compost in August you can still add it now. If the compost is not aged (and you plan to add a lot) you’ll need to wait about 4 weeks before you plant (if you are only adding an inch of compost you do not have to wait to plant-thanks Wendy at igrowsonoma.org). You can tell if manure type compost is aged when it is no longer hot to the touch and it smells like earth and not ammonia.

Birds will appreciate the food source if you leave your sunflowers and Amaranth to go to seed.

Do you want winter color in your garden? Pansies and Iceland Poppies are real wintertime show stoppers. If you plant winter annuals in late September and October they will have time to spread their roots in what’s left of the warmth from the summer soil. Keep annuals deadheaded and your plants will be big and full of blossoms in spring when everyone else is just starting to buy their six-packs!

Once the winter rains come annual weeds will follow. Mulching with at least a three inch layer of compost or other mulch will help keep down weed seed germination. If you apply less than three inches however, you will not block the sunlight from the dormant weed seeds and the compost may simply fertilize the weeds.

You may find some great sales on all kinds of plants at your local nursery this month. Remember to make certain to hand water your new plants for at least a few weeks until the rains arrive in earnest. If you have a drip irrigation system, watering your new plants once or twice a week on drip may not be enough water to keep your new plant happy. Get your hands in the soil the day after you water and check to see how moist it is in the root zone.

If the soil depth in your raised beds is low, now is a good time to add a soil mix to build the soil level back up. You will need to buy a product that actually has ‘loam’ (actual soil) in it not simply compost. Remember that bagged ‘potting soil’ usually does not have soil in it. I know, it can be confusing, just remember to look for ‘loam’ on the label and you’ll be good to go. Call Mary if you need more clarification 707.545.6863

Planting Suggestions for September

Trees: Cercis (Redbud), Crataegus (Hawthorn), Arbutus unedo (Strawberry tree-good for wildlife garden- a bit messy, plant away from patio/seating areas)

Shrubs: Coleonema, Ceonothus, Phlomis fruticosa, Viburnums, Buddleja

Annuals: Flowering cabbage, Pansies, Calendula, and other winter bloomers

Veggies: Artichoke (rootstock), Cauliflower (plants), Collards, Leeks, Carrots, Peas, Chives

AUGUST 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR AUGUST

Watch out for wasps while gardening. Although they are considered a beneficial insect because they eat other insects, those little buggers can sting right through some garden gloves! Wasp stingers have no barb like honey bee stingers so wasps can keep stinging. Use ice right away on the sting.

If you want more flowers, continue to pinch back the more leggy growth of fuchsias to keep bushy.

If you have kept up on weeding, August in Sonoma County is usually time to kick back and enjoy your flower garden and harvest your veggies; however, if you just can’t help yourself and you have to plant more flowers you may want to provide some shade for a couple days after planting while the young plants get going. You can take two empty nursery flats and make a tent over the top of the young plants.

Fertilize most modern roses with an all purpose fertilizer. Remember; when it’s hot, roses may need up to 10 gallons of water a week in order to thrive.

Continue to deadhead marigolds, cosmos and other flowering annual plants to keep them blooming.

Towards the middle of the month it’s already time to start preparing for planting your fall veggie garden plants.

If you live in Sonoma County (or for anyone interested in more veggie gardening information) visit Sonoma County’s iGROW and check out Wendy Krupnick and Sara McCamant’s blog! It’s always a good thing to have more than one source for gardening tips.

If your parsley plants have gone to seed and you have room to let the flowers remain they will attract beneficial insects to your veggie garden.

Most flowering plants in containers will appreciate fertilizer (at half strength) twice a month. Be sure the rootzone is moist before applying liquid fertilizer; water well the night before and fertilize in the morning. Remember, you are ‘mother nature’ for your container plants; they get nutrients from what you provide them.

It may be a little late now but take a walk around your garden to find plants, such as Dahlia, that may need staking. Next spring when you plant your Dahlia tubers you can place stakes when you plant so you do not push a stake through the tuber later in the season.

Do you still have standing water in your yard or garden? Mosquitoes breed wherever they find standing water. Mosquito bites can transmit diseases to horses, cats, dogs and people. Please take a minute to go dump anything in your yard that is holding water.

Trees and shrubs will appreciate a nice long soak this month. Turn the hose on a trickle and set a timer in the house to help you remember the water is running. Depending upon the size of the plant you may need to leave the hose on for a few hours.

Do you know that Mary has a personal shopper service? Mary can go with you to the nurseries or pick plants up for you. Schedule an appointment today.

If your Iris did not bloom as well this year as years past you may need to divide the tubers to encourage better flowering next year. August is a good month to do this garden task.

JULY 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR JULY

It’s not too late to plant some sunflower seeds. If you would like a short (under 3 feet) variety try ‘Teddy Bear.’
Reminder: Always turn off the water faucet when finished watering your plants. Hoses can blow (especially in hot weather) and you’ll come home to a flood of water!
The summer annual Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium) will give you more blooms if you hold back a little on the water. You will know if you are watering too much when the leaves are huge and flowers are few. Nasturtium flowers and the leaves are edible (as long as you haven’t sprayed them with any pesticide).
Speaking of ‘edible flowers’, many flowers are edible but if you are not certain make sure to research if a flower is edible before trying it. If you have too many squash blossoms try lightly frying them in butter; add nasturtium flowers and leaves to your salad along with some pansies and petals of pineapple guava; use scented geranium leaves to scent sugar (put a few leaves in a glass jar along with some sugar, secure the lid and leave lid on for a few weeks) the scented sugar tastes great in tea!
Keep your new plants happy while waiting to be planted.
Have you ever grown Cleome? This is an amazing looking plant and quite the conversation piece not only for the flowers but the ‘fragrant’ foliage. The leaves smell like….well you’ll see.
How do you know you are watering your plants ‘deeply?’ A few hours (or the next morning) after you or your irrigation system water your plants, gently dig a small hole down 3 or 4 inches into the soil and see how moist it is in the rootzone. Ideally with most plants they will appreciate the soil in the rootzone being moist (like a rung out sponge) but not soggy.
On hot days, plants in containers may need water twice a day (depending upon how small the container is) but when you water your container plants slowly you may not need to water so often. When watering, come back around for a second round of slow watering before you put the hose away. Before a heat wave, water container plants at night to give your plants all night to hydrate.
Are you wearing your sunscreen?
Hydrated muscles have less of a chance of becoming injured; so, drink plenty of water while working in the garden.
For more flowers, deadhead summer annuals such as Cosmos, Zinnia, Coreopsis, Gaillardia pulchella, and Marigolds.
When Lobelia erinus plants start to look shabby, shear entire plant to about 2 inches to encourage nice bushy new growth.
Need help deciding what to do with your plants this summer? Contact Mary
You may want to thin the fruit on your apple, pear and any other heavily fruited trees. Thinning out some of the fruits will give more room for the fruit you leave to become a nice size. Also, thinned branches are less liable to break from the weight of too much fruit.
Watering in the morning is ideal but sometimes (especially during a heat wave) watering at night will give your plants even longer to soak up the moisture. If possible keep the watering wand low to avoid getting water on all the foliage; this will help to keep down the possibility of fungal diseases infecting your plants.
Some gardeners use ‘broad spectrum’ pesticides without realizing that ‘broad spectrum’ kills all insects (including the beneficials). If you have to use a pesticide be sure you know what pest you are trying to kill. Sometimes all you may need to keep a pest population (such as whitefly) down to a manageable level are some yellow sticky traps.
Are the spent flowers still on your Rhododendron? It’s not too late to gently snap them off just be careful not to snap off the new growth too.
Bermuda grass blooms are one of the highest pollen producing plants in our area. Weed now!
Herbicides tend to degrade more slowly than organic matter. This means that if you put the remains of plants killed by herbicides into the compost stream there is a good chance that there will be enough herbicide left in the finished compost to kill young plants and keep seeds from germinating. Please, place herbicide laced plants in the garbage can instead of the compost bin.

JUNE 2011

IRRIGATION
DO IT YOURSELF OR HIRE OUT: THINGS TO REMEMBER

This article is intended to help build your confidence when working with irrigation professionals or when installing drip irrigation yourself.

I have tried to think of a diplomatic way to introduce this topic but there is just no way to politely say, “Just because you hire a ‘professional’ does not mean they will install your drip irrigation emitters in a way that is best for your plants or for you.” There are ‘industry standard’ to guide installers but these standards are not law. I have noticed that each installer has their own style when it comes to drip irrigation installations; unfortunately some ‘styles’ do not follow industry standards and actually create future problems. Just to be clear, I’m not saying, “Do not hire a professional.” What I am saying is, it’s ok to ask questions and to ask for examples and explanations of how they will install your emitters. Also, be home when they install (at least during the beginning so you can be assured of best practices).

Three of the most unfortunate things that I see with drip irrigation installations are: the emitters are installed directly in the mainline instead of using 1/4" driplines, the emitters are installed on the top of the mainline making them easy targets to step on and break off, and emitters are placed too close to the stems and trunks of plants.
Here are some things to keep in mind, whether you install irrigation lines yourself or you hire someone to install a system for you:

Pros and Cons of installing emitters directly on top of the mainline:
Pro:

Costs less because fewer parts are used and less time is taken to install the project.

Con:

You will step on the emitters and break them off (creating something that you then will need to repair).

When you mulch on top of the irrigation system the emitter hole is more open to getting particles inside the system.

With emitters directly on top of the mainline there is no way to direct the water for a larger rootzone as the plant matures in size.

In some cases, emitters take a lot of water pressure and do have a chance of blowing off the mainline.

Pros and Cons of installing emitters using 1/4" dripline:
Pro:

Able to direct the water to correct part of rootzone when installing the plant and as it matures.

Hard to break the emitter if you step on it while gardening.

Can easily add to emitters or lengthen the emitter line without dealing with the mainline.

Easy to plug the end of the 1/4" line when you no longer need that emitter instead of pulling out the emitter that was directly in the mainline in order to plug it (this method usually causes a leak in the mainline).

Con:

Initially costs more because more parts are used and more time to install.

When deciding what to use to keep the emitters in place, remember that there are small metal hooks available that are much easier to push into any type of soil then the plastic type. Plus, the plastic 1/4" line holders easily break when stepped on after they have been in the soil a while.
There is so much more to know but here I have kept the topic to 1/4" lines with emitters on the ends; inline emitters have another set of ‘things to know’.

June 2011
Tips

Thank you so much to everyone who made time and spent the money to support the Medical Alliance Garden Tour! The committee said they sold over 1200 tickets!! Jack and I really enjoyed seeing all your smiling faces enjoying our garden!

For months of color in the garden and before hot weather arrives, plant summer annuals such as zinnias, cosmos, and morning glories (not the perennial).
Rhododendrons: Just after bloom, when the flowers of Rhododendrons have faded, carefully remove spent flowers. It may help to hold the stem in one hand and snap off the faded flower with the other hand; be careful not to snap off the new growth that is just under the old flower stem. Removing the spent flowers will encourage the plant to send energy into forming flowers for next year and not on seed production.
Removing spent flower heads from Lilac shrubs will encourage more bloom next year. Cut off the spent flower heads just below the flower stem, leaving the plump buds (just below the flower) for next year.
Only have time for one gardening task? Remove weeds before they go to seed! If you keep at it and keep ahead of the seeds you will see a tremendous reduction in the weed population in your garden. I know, I know but your family will leave you alone when you’re weeding (it’s like doing the dishes). So, ‘need time for yourself’- go out and weed.
Time for two tasks? Remove weeds and apply at least a three inch layer of mulch right away to cut off the sunlight to the dormant weed seeds. Remember, if you apply less than the three inches you may just be fertilizing the weed seeds and then you will think the weeds came in the mulch!
Have you ever mulched around your Camellias, Azaleas, Rhododendrons, Blueberries and other acid loving plants? Now is a great time to do all the mulching for your garden but use a more acid ph mulch for ‘acid loving’ plants. Mary uses GrabnGrow’s Rhododendron mix for these plants in the Demo Garden.
Prune Wisteria’s vigorous growth back to six nodes (growth bumps along stem) from their origin. In winter prune these same points back to two nodes to encourage flowers. If you want your Wisteria to grow longer to cover an arbor leave some of the long, vigorous growth unpruned and guide it along the area you want it to grow.
Would you like help pruning? Have Mary prune for you or show you how. Contact Mary.
Be mindful when using fertilizers; in general, too much fertilizing encourages weak growth that is like candy for pests like aphids. Think of too much fertilizer as your ‘plants on steroids’. Exceptions to the ‘rule’ are flowering plants in containers-use half strength liquid fertilizer once or twice a month. Roses too appreciate fertilizer throughout the season. Shrubs in containers will appreciate one application of a time release fertilizer, such as Osmocote.

Planting Suggestions for June:

Annuals: Salpiglossis, Cleome, Lobelia, Sweet alyssum
Seeds: Sunflowers, Morning glories, Nasturtium
Vines: Large Flowering Clematis, Clytostoma callistegioides (Violet Trumpet Vine), Bougainvillea (planted as annual vine in most frost areas)
Low Growing Shrubs: Santolina, Teucrium chamaedrys-both best when sheared at least once a year
Veggies: Beets, Beans, Summer Squash, Tomato

MAY 2011

KNOW YOUR FOE

What are all those holes in the middle of the leaves and flowers of my plant? Why are mostly the edges chewed off the leaves? How do I get rid of the bugs that are damaging my flowers? Are all holes in leaves made by ‘bad bugs’?

We’ve all been there at one time or another; either we plant new baby plants or we wait and wait for our plants to bloom and seemingly overnight the plants are either eaten completely or progressively chewed to death!

Before you apply bait or a spray, the most important thing to do is read the directions but equally important is to know what is causing the damage to your plant in the first place. Knowing your foe will help you decide whether just a blast of water every few days will help solve your problem and will lead you to buy the correct product if you need one.

On the one hand, if the leaves have the edges unacceptably chomped it may be a type of caterpillar or grasshopper and spraying insecticidal soap on the leaves will not kill these two, since once the soap dries it is ineffective. Insecticidal soap needs to land on the insect you are trying to kill, such as aphids and mealybugs, in order to begin destroying the cells of their bodies. Insecticidal soap will kill beneficials also, so be mindful to spray only the insects you mean to eliminate. For the caterpillars and grasshoppers there is a product called BT or Bacillus thuringiensis. The BT stays active after you spray the leaves, so when the chewing starts again the insects ingest BT and basically get the flu and they die off within days. Butterflies go through a caterpillar stage so proper identification helps you make sure you are killing off only the pest you mean to kill.

On the other hand, some leaf damage is acceptable in The Gardening Tutor Demo Garden. For instance, when there are perfect cutout circles from the rose leaves made by leafcutter bees; the bees use the leaf parts to make their nests.

Of course, this article could go on and on about pest control. The point is, to ‘know your foe’ before you start your counter attack. To find the culprit you may need to go out into your garden with a flashlight late at night or really early in the morning (make sure to check under leaves) but it will pay off in the end when you defend your plants by making a well informed decision about how to take care of the problem.

The best book Mary has found for diagnosing plant problems is by David Deardorff and Kathryn Wadsworth called: What’s Wrong with my Plant? (And How Do I fix It?). If you want to skip the reading and get some help right away contact Mary at The Gardening Tutor.

Remember the Medical Alliance Garden Tour on Friday and Saturday, May 13 and 14, 2011. If you forget to purchase your tickets ahead of time you can purchase them the day of the tour at one of the gardens. You can call Mary (707.545.6863) the day of for the address to the Demo Garden.

May 2011
Tips

Early blooming Clematis’ such as Clematis armandii and C. montana have finished flowering by now; however, May is the perfect time to find some beautiful large flowered Clematis varieties at your locally owned nursery!! Remember that photos of color can be very deceiving, so choose plants that have at least one bloom to make certain you are getting the color you desire (this is especially important for ‘red’ Clematis-so far there is no true red Clematis).
If you were not able to amend your veggie garden soil weeks ago make sure that you use well aged compost now. If you use fresh compost you may get plenty of green growth and little or no veggies.
You will find many different warm-season annuals in the nurseries now. When choosing your new plants, pick the ones that have just enough flowers to make certain it’s the color you like and lots of buds that will flower in your garden instead of at the nursery.
Usually combining plants that have like water needs is the way to go but what about when you want to plant a more thirsty plant near a more drought tolerant plant? One idea is to use a container for the thirsty plant but another way is to make a bit of a depression in the soil where you place the thirsty plant. No need to make the depression super obvious (if you mulch over the top of your soil you will never notice) just deep enough to hold more moisture.
Ants are nature’s little helpers sometimes. Ants just love to clean up squished snails so you may want to consider where you toss that snail so you do not attract ants to areas like the foundation of your buildings or the trunks of trees and shrubs where they are Not ‘little helpers’.
Did you flush your irrigation system yet?
Before you prune …when was the last time you sharpened your pruners and loppers?
If you choose not to mulch and you cannot see yourself using liquid fertilizer for your containers and more ‘needy’ in ground plants, try using a time release, all purpose fertilizer for your plants. Remember products such as Osmocote only release the fertilizer once the soil has warmed.
Mulch, Mulch, Mulch
Weed, Weed, Weed

APRIL 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR APRIL

The Gardening Tutor ‘Demo Garden’ has been chosen to be included, with six other gardens, on the Sonoma County Medical Association Alliance Foundation self-guided garden tour. It is quite an honor to be on this tour and the garden will be all spiffed up for company!! Hope you choose to support this worthy foundation as they continue to fund good health in Sonoma County. Looking forward to seeing you!
–Mary

Have you checked your fencing lately? Now is a good time to find damage and make repairs to lattice and fence boards; although, you may have to wait until the soil is not saturated anymore to replace posts.
Snails and slugs continue to be very active at this time of year. Recently, I found that snails and slugs were attracted to the leaf debris I had left in the walking path of the Demo Garden early in the day. Later that night, I was able to take a bucket of hot soapy water out to the garden and easily pick up hundreds of offenders, right off the path, in just 30 minutes!! Eeewww! Since I used biodegradable soap I was able to dump it all in the compost bin (if you put this mess in your own compost pile, cover it up because as they decay the snails are going to really smell bad).
Weed before seed. If you keep up on pulling weeds before they go to seed, over time you are going to see a big drop in the amount of weeds in your garden. Of course, if your neighbor has a ‘gazillion’ weeds going to seed…..well…. The more plants you plant the less weeds you will have because the canopy of the plants usually shade out weed seeds so the weeds have a hard time germinating.
We are coming to an end of our ‘cool season’ annuals season. Now is the time to start thinking of and planting some ‘warm season’ annual plants, such as lobelia, cosmos, morning glories (seeds), marigolds, and Salpiglossis sinuate. Of course, if you need quick color for a party, cool season annuals such as pansies will be a good choice but do not expect pansies to keep blooming for you once the hot weather arrives.
If you have one blueberry plant consider adding a different variety of blueberry that blooms at the same time as your plant, so they can cross pollinate. Cross pollinating will help encourage more fruit!
After Rhododendrons finish blooming, snap off the spent blooms right away. Removing the spent blossoms will encourage your Rhododendron to create bloom for next year and not spend energy going to seed. Be careful to only break off the spent blossom and not the two new buds at the base of the spent bloom.
When you are ready to amend, topdress and/or add soil to your garden contact The Gardening Tutor. Mary can deliver up to four yards of soil product at a time in her 1966 Chevy flatbed dump truck! 707.545.6863
Before you mulch, check your irrigation system for leaks and broken lines.

Planting Suggestions for April:

Veggies seeds- radish, lettuce, beets, carrot, snap beans

Veggie starts-(after danger of frost is past) summer squash, peppers, cilantro and parsley

Annuals-lobelia, cosmos, impatiens (after danger of frost is past), marigolds

MARCH 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR MARCH

Join Mary at Grab n Grow for a talk on Container Gardening, March 12^th from 10:30 to noon.

Weeding takes top priority this month! Make a point to get outside and weed before the weeds go to seed. If time is limited, at least pull the weeds that are growing close to your desired plants; weeds compete (and usually win) for nutrients and water that your plants need.

Continue to remove the spent flowers (deadhead) from pansies and Iceland poppies to encourage more flowers.
If your roses are still dormant, go ahead and prune but if your roses have put out a lot of new growth only prune out obvious crossing growth and any growth that is in the center (to create good air circulation). Let the other growth continue to grow and produce blooms. After the blooms you can prune down a little farther down the canes.
Once new growth on roses is active, fertilize with your choice of rose fertilizer. Mary uses E B Stone’s Rose and Flower food with mycorrhizae (helps create a healthy soil) in the demo garden.
Stop! Wait to prune spring flowering shrubs such as lilac, forsythia, and rhododendron until after the flowers have bloomed and faded.
Aphids start appearing in spring. Before you get out the spray bottle consider leaving the aphids for a few weeks for beneficial insects to come and help you. If you plan to spray insecticidal soap, first consider using a strong burst of water from your hose to knock the aphids from your plants. Use the water a few times and you may not need to spray.
Yellowjacket queens are still in hibernation. Learn more about yellowjackets now to be prepared for the season.
If you are planning a summer vegetable garden, work a few inches of compost into the soil once the soil is workable (moist but not soggy). If your compost is not aged allow some time to pass before planting in the amended area.
Although it is still too early in the season to plant summer vegetables such as tomatoes and zucchini you can still plant cool weather veggies such as Swiss chard, spinach, and beets.
Remember to fertilize container plantings with half strength liquid fertilizer every two weeks during the growing season (once you notice new growth begin). Winter annual plantings can be fertilized during the cool season (which is the time winter annuals are actively growing). If your containers are planted with single hardy shrubs use an all purpose time release fertilizer instead of bi-monthly liquid fertilizer.
Dahlias-when planting tall varieties remember to place the stake at planting time in order to avoid pushing the stake into the tuber later in the season
Hardenbergia vines are in the nurseries now. Hardenbergia can be frost tender so plan to plant it in a protected spot in the garden that gets plenty of sunlight. The combination of “Protected with plenty of sunlight” may be hard to find in the garden. Plan to cover when temperatures drop close to freezing if you plant in an exposed area.
Nepeta-once new growth starts shear off last season’s growth.
Bermuda grass pollen is one of the worst allergy producing pollens. While the soil is still moist but not soggy, hand pull Bermuda grass so you can stay ahead of any flowering. Think twice before using a rototiller on Bermuda grass since this simply cuts the roots into little pieces that will all sprout new plants! Some gardeners choose to spray Bermuda grass with herbicide; however, with hand pulling (as in the demo garden) one can keep down the spread of this invasive plant while keeping spraying to a minimum. If you do decide to spray an herbicide place the dead foliage into the garbage can and not the compost bin.

Planting Suggestions for March:

Annuals: Pansies, Iceland poppies, Lobelia, Foxgloves
Perennials: Columbine, Astilbe, Dianthus, Campanula portenschlagiana
Veggies: Beets, Swiss chard, Spinach, Sunchoke (tubers), Parsley
Shrubs: Lilac, Ceanothus, Grevillea, Rosemary

FEBRUARY 2011

GARDENING TIPS FOR FEBRUARY

Join Mary at Grab n Grow for a talk on Container Gardening, March 12^th from 10:30 to noon.

Buy Gladiolus and other summer flowering bulbs now. You may need to wait until your soil is not soggy to plant your summer flowering bulbs but the best selection is starting now. Please, support your locally owned nurseries (otherwise our choices are going to continue to be whittled down).
If your soil is moist but not soggy, weed now to save your sanity later!!
Now is the time to start flower and veggie seeds indoors for planting out once the danger of frost has passed.
Dormant oil sprays can still be applied to deciduous plants as long as the plants have not pushed spring growth yet.
Snails, slugs, sowbugs and earwigs seem to want to ruin all our fun in the garden. Remember to bait especially when you just planted something new.
Remember when shopping for Rhododendrons and Azaleas this month that they have early, mid and late season varieties. Buy plants when blooming to make certain to find the color for which you are looking. If you really like Rhodies and Azaleas you can extend bloom time in your garden from 3 weeks to 9 or more weeks by purchasing one plant each from early, mid, and late blooming varieties! Consider planting some native Mimulus (the drought tolerant ones) for a similar look to Azalea but with longer bloom time and less water needed.
Do you have an olive tree with the canopy in an unfortunate position (say, above your parked car)? When those olives drop it’s pretty messy. Did you know you can spray the tree with a growth regulator to stop the flowering? Spray your own or contact a licensed pest company. Always think twice when installing new plants to avoid conditions like this so you can avoid the need for chemicals later.
Finish pruning roses and grapes this month.
Check your plants and trees for signs of girdling. When support ties or labels are left on too long, plant growth will suffer from being constricted. When you get your new plant home from the nursery, those supports that are tied so tightly need to be removed completely or at least moved out to about 6 inches from trunk of the plant.
Prune blueberries while dormant (before new growth begins). Since blueberries fruit on the tips of one year old and older growth, this time of year just prune out twiggy, crossing, dead, damaged or diseased growth. You are looking for a vase shape with good air circulation inside the center of plant. After harvest, you can prune back fruited wood to new growth.
It’s best to plant Rhubarb in the fall but if you have always wanted Rhubarb you can find dormant roots in your locally owned nurseries this month. Rhubarb does like regular water; so, if you are like me, you may want to plant your rhubarb near the hose spigot so you’ll remember to water your plant!
Continue to bundle yourself up and go to your locally owned nursery to shop for winter flowering plants such as Hellebores, Correa, Camellias, Pansies etc.
Now is a great time clean and sharpen your tools before you need them. Bare-root plants are still in the nurseries.If you have unmulched soil, check your plants to see if soil is splashing up, from rainwater, onto healthy leaves. Soil can have pathogens in it and leaves covered in soil will also cut out sunlight from your leaves. Keep leaves clean by washing soil off with your hose. Plan to mulch in spring.
Do you want to plant something new but do not know what will thrive in your area? Take a walkabout through your own neighborhood to see which plants appeal to you. Most people do not mind answering questions about their gardens or you can take Mary along for a consultation.

Planting Suggestions for February:

Annuals: Pansies, Alyssum, Iceland Poppies (and other poppies)

Perennials: Hellebores and Candytuft

Veggies: Chard, Asparagus (roots), Broccoli (plants)

I know it’s sunny and you want to buy tomatoes now, don’t you? Tomatoes planted after danger of frost will grow just as big as the ones you plant early (and struggle to protect from frost). I plant my tomato plants in mid May.

JANUARY 2011

WHAT IS BARE-ROOT SEASON?

“Bare-root Season” means that you can save money! Bare-root is just what it sounds like, the deciduous plant (trees, shrubs and some perennials that shed their leaves each year) is not planted in any soil mix; what you buy is a plant with its roots usually snuggled in some form of sawdust so the roots stay moist. The reason you save money is because you are not paying for the soil, container and the employee’s time potting the plant up and maintaining it. You can save up to 70 percent of what you might pay to buy the same plant just months from now.

This is the time of year when nurseries are not only selling many choices of roses bare-root but many fruits as well. Since bare-root stock take up less room in the nursery than potted plants, you will usually find more of a selection of different varieties of pomegranate, blueberries, apple, pear, persimmon, raspberries, fig, and many more. For instance, instead of just the typical variety of ‘Wonderful’ being sold as a potted pomegranate, in a locally owned nursery you may find up to 10 different varieties of bare-root pomegranate such as ‘Fleishman’, ‘Granada’, ‘Red Silk’, or ‘Sweet’ which has yellow flowers instead of the usual orange flowers of pomegranate. Also sold as bare-root are some flowering shrubs such as Lilac and flowering quince.

Being willing to bundle yourself up and get out there in the weather shopping for unusual bare-root plants will increase the uniqueness of your garden. Go early in the month before the stock is picked over. You want to find plump, moist (but not slimy) roots with healthy well placed limbs. Many local nursery professionals can help you choose your plant if you feel you need a little help. No matter the weather, The Gardening Tutor is always available to bring along as your personal shopper.

Once you have your bare-root plants back home, make sure to either plant right away or keep the roots moist until planting. Some gardeners even soak the roots for a few hours before planting but do not keep the roots in water for days on end. Another way to go is to plant your bare-root in a 5 gallon container in a well draining soil mix. This is the way to go if you would like to encourage faster root growth. If you know that you will keep the 5 gallon container watered properly until next fall you will be rewarded with lots of roots that grew in the warmth of that 5 gallon container. Although it’s not necessary to pot up your bare-root plant for a year, more roots at planting time will give your plant more of a head start then planting when bareroot.

Happy Plantings!

- Mary

January 2011
Tips

GARDENING TIPS FOR JANUARY

Continue to clean up fallen leaves and debris that are so enticing for snails, slugs, sowbugs and earwigs to hide in. If you have areas where keeping down insect populations does not matter, such as under mature shrubs or trees, you may want to let the leaves remain as mulch.
Do clean up fallen leaves from under your roses. Letting the rose leaves sit under you rose encourages fungal diseases like rust and black spot to over winter and reinfect your rose in spring. Think of all those leaves as ‘athlete’s foot fungus’ for your plants.
If you have not sprayed your peach trees to protect from peach leaf curl yet you still have time to get in a spray in between rainy weather. Usually two to three sprays are needed. A helpful way to remember when to spray is Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s before bud break.
January is a good time to start your dormant pruning for your roses. Ideally, pruning your roses will result in a healthier plant with less disease and more blooms! Need some one-on-one tutoring to get your pruning confidence up? Call Mary at 545-6863 or use the contact page to talk to Mary.
Some fruit trees such as apples are pruned in winter every year but others such as persimmon do not usually need yearly pruning. Persimmons need pruning early in their life to create good form but later you can prune simply to remove dead, diseased, damaged, and crossing limbs.
Did you know that you can dry the astringent ‘Hachiya’ persimmon and it turns as sweet as candy? Choose fruit that is still firm (not hard as a rock but not a bit mushy either). Peel with potato peeler (pull peeler towards you for best results) and slice into 1/4" slices. Use an electric dryer for best color and fastest drying. You can dry in your oven but it takes a lot longer and the fruit turns brown (still tastes great though).
The Redwood Empire Rare Fruit Growers are hosting their annual Scion Exchange on January 29, 2011. Open to the public at 10:00 a.m. Become a member and you can get in at 9:00! Mary will be behind the hospitality table, come on by and say, ‘Hi’!
Check the plants close to your house to see if the rain is actually watering the plants. The overhang on building roofs keep many plants from benefitting from rain water and you will need to water them by hand during the winter when your irrigation system is turned off (your irrigation system is turned off, right?). You may need to dig down a few inches in the soil to get an accurate idea of whether the root zone is getting any water.
Continue to protect glazed pottery from frost.
Continue to pull weeds when there is a good break in the weather.
Don’t feel like doing anything in your garden this time of year? Mary has a few new openings for her gardening services. Let Mary do your gardening tasks for you. Call today 545-6863 or use the contact page to talk to Mary.

Planting Suggested for January:

Bare-root roses, fruit trees, and cane fruit

Annuals: Pansies, Calendula, Iceland Poppies

2010 Gardening Tips

DECEMBER 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR DECEMBER

If you want to see flowers blooming in your garden at this time of year bundle up and take your hot chocolate with you as you venture out to shop at your locally owned plant nurseries. Sometimes what’s blooming may be a greenhouse grown plant (usually you find this at the big box stores) so make sure to look the plant up in Sunset Western Garden book to be sure it is a hardy winter bloomer before you make your purchase. Sometimes it’s not the flowers but the catkins as in Corylus ‘Contorta’ (Harry Lauder’s Walking Stick) that add winter interest.

Even though it can be hard to go outside in cold weather, you will really be happy next spring when you make time now to go out and weed in between rainy weather. Allow time for the soil to dry out a bit before pulling up weeds and other unwanted plants. Weeding now, before the winter weeds have a chance to set seed for next winter, will make gardening more of a pleasure next spring.

Once your Wisteria has dropped all its leaves you can do your winter pruning. Prune, leaving two to three buds on each spur. When you look closely you will see fat buds and thin buds. The fat buds will become your beautiful flowers in spring.

Freezing temperatures can chip glazed pottery. Remember to cover glazed pottery containers and garden art when the forecast warns that low temperatures are on the way. If your garden art is small enough, store inside for the winter months.

Clean all mummies (old fruit) that are still hanging in fruit trees. Also, clean up spent fruit that is under and around fruit trees. Like roses, keeping the soil clean of debris will help keep down insect and fungal infestations.

Remember to spray for peach leaf curl. The best way to remember the timing is to spray around Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day (before bud break). Follow instructions on spray as to how to apply.

Pruning of pear trees in the dormant season may encourage fireblight; consider pruning pears in summer instead. Asian pears generally are less susceptible to fireblight.

If the frost looks like it killed off some of your plants be patient, do not go out and prune off the dead parts. By leaving your plants unpruned until you see new growth starting in spring you will be surprised by the plants that survive cold temperatures! Some salvias are a great example; my ‘Indigo Spires’ looks completely dead after the first frosts but in spring I cut this salvia down to about 8 inches and it grows back up to four feet or more and blooms throughout spring through fall until the frost comes again. Of course, warm season annuals such as Coleus, Cosmos, Morning Glories, and petunia will not come back so you can remove those once the frost kills them.

Start looking for bareroot fruit trees and other fruiting plants such as Blueberries. Our local nurseries offer a wonderful selection. Before ordering from a catalog while inside your warm, snuggy house consider getting outside in the refreshing winter air to shop your local nurseries.

Planting Suggestions for December:

Annual plants: Pansies, Iceland poppies, Ornamental Poppies, Shirley Poppies

Seeds: Sweet Peas, wildflowers

Perennials: Cyclamen, Primrose

Shrubs: Daphne, Forsythia and Chaenomeles (Flowering Quince) (both are spreaders)

Veggies: Onion and Shallot sets, cold hardy lettuce and spinach, Pea plants

NOVEMBER 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR NOVEMBER

Sweet Peas! Now is the time to plant those sweet pea seeds so that you have oodles of frilly blossoms in spring. Sweet peas love to have rich, deeply cultivated soil to grow in. Once the sweet pea seeds germinate it will be very important to protect your little plants from insects and weeds. Don’t worry if the plants stay the same size for quite a while throughout winter, the root systems are growing nice and big under your plants and getting ready for their growth spurt in spring! Remember to provide tall open wire fencing for your sweet peas to climb upon.

Mulch, mulch, mulch If you only have time for one gardening task this season make it mulching!

Now is the time to plant those shrubs, perennials, natives, and trees so that the winter rains can help your new additions to become established. For frost tender plants it’s better to wait until spring to plant.

November in Sonoma County is the perfect time to plant wildflower seeds. The reason most wildflower plantings do not succeed is competition from weeds. Weed seeds wait in the soil until just the right amount of rain allows the weeds to germinate. Let the weeds come up first, remove the weeds, let more weeds come up and remove again. Weeding the area a few times before sowing your wildflower seeds will be the best help you can give your little seedlings. Also, don’t let the area dry out in between the early rains.

If you are considering installing plants for a hedge that you plan to trim with electric hedge trimmers, keep in mind that smaller leaved plants such as Buxus sempervirens (Boxwood) or Myrsine Africana (African Boxwood) will look much better after shearing than large leaved plants such as Photinia that will look ragged after using an electric trimmer. When you are ready to learn how to use your hand pruners instead of an electric trimmer to shape your plants contact The Gardening Tutor.

Clean up dead leaves and debris from under and around your rose plants. Keeping the area clean will help reduce overwintering insects and fungal diseases. Also, if you have large bark under your roses consider replacing the bark with a finer compost mulch; insects and fungal diseases can hide out in bark.

Look around your garden where there are overhangs from buildings. Remember that the plants under the overhang may not get irrigated from rainwater. Once you turn off you irrigation system you will need to water these plants by hand.

Antitranspirants can be applied to plants, such as Citrus, that tend to be frost tender. Read directions on the product so that you apply correctly and when the temperature is right.

When cultivating soil remember to work soil that is moist but not soggy. This is also true for working dry soil; it’s better to moisten the soil first.

You know that plant that you have been meaning to move to a better spot in your garden? Once the soil in your garden is moist from the rains it’s a great time to transplant your more hardy plants. Prepare the new planting hole first and then dig up the plant you want to move, making certain to bring as much of the rootball and soil as possible without hurting your back. Mary uses one of her 6’ x 6’ tarps to move plants around in the garden. For $6 you can purchase one of these tarps from Mary and save your back! Tarps are not shown in The Garden Shoppe. Call Mary at 707.545.6863 to purchase your tarp. Once transplanted, mulch heavily around your plant to protect from cold weather.

Planting Suggestions for November:

Annuals: Pansies, Iceland poppies, Ornamental poppies

Perennials: Cyclamen, hardy salvias, primrose

Veggies: garlic, peas, Swiss chard, shallots, spinach, radishes, Fava beans

OCTOBER 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR OCTOBER

THE BALANCE OF ‘GOOD’ AND ‘EVIL’ IN THE GARDEN

Do you ever feel a little ‘bad’ when you use a pesticide, fungicide, herbicide, synthetic fertilizer or other product to help you out with your gardening efforts? If ‘organic’ is ‘good’ and anything not ‘organic’ is ‘evil’ can you find a balance between the two? Although there are strict regulations for farmers (whether they farm organically or conventionally) homeowners can buy and apply as much as they want without fear of regulators checking up on them. Instead of tossing out a lot of statistics on just how much product homeowners use each year, let’s agree that finding a balance (leaning towards ‘organic’) would be ideal.

In the Demo Garden there are several things that I do that are on the organic side (including applying compost twice a year, keeping plants from becoming stressed in the first place and using ‘organic use’ labeled products) but even I resort to stronger products when a pest problem becomes overwhelming. Let’s take snails and slugs for instance: Sometimes I step on snails and let them lie on the soil so that they biodegrade, I also go out at night with my lighted eyeglasses (looking like a Wookie from Star Wars) and hand pick snails and slugs while they are feasting on my beautiful plants; I toss all the offenders into a bucket of hot soapy water. I’ve also used diatomaceous earth as a deterrent. But there are times that I use bait that controls snails, slugs, earwigs and sowbugs so that I know my newly planted annuals will still be there in the morning. I keep this product away from my bird bath (just in case) because the Blue Jays are our biggest helpers with insect control. It’s all about balance.

Do I use herbicide here at the Demo Garden? The answer is ‘sometimes and sparingly and properly’. Herbicide is never used within the garden (I pull the Bermuda Grass and other weeds by hand) but I do use it sometimes on the rocky driveway. I have observed some homeowners using herbicide for any weed that pops up on their property, a practice that is concerning. Again, it’s about balance.

You know this already but it bears repeating: the most important part of buying and applying pest products is to read the directions. Sometimes I have to read the directions three or four times before I feel confident that I will be applying the correct amount in the correct way. I also mark my calendar for the ‘follow up application’ which is equally important!

Gardening Tips for September:

Weeding is an ongoing task. Remember the saying, ‘One year of seeds…seven years of weeds’. If the weeds in your garden have dried make sure to rake up as many of their seed heads as possible.

Vines: remember to guide your vines whenever possible so that you can avoid the ‘hairy blob’ look of a vine growing all over the place when that’s not what you want. Judicious pruning out of some of the leaders may be all you need to do to keep your vine looking good.

Fertilize roses with 0-10-10.

Continue to bait for ants before the rains come and they all move into your house.

This is a great time of year to start thinking of which plants you will transplant and/or which plants you will add to your garden once we get closer to our rainy season.

Mary will remember the ‘summer’ of 2010 as ‘spummer’ since it has seemed more like spring with all the cool weather and overcast but September may bring some pretty hot weather. Remember to water plants (especially trees and shrubs) slowly and deeply in order to make sure the water reaches the root zone.

When it’s hot, some smaller containers may need water twice a day. Water slowly to make sure the water gets into the root zone and does not run straight out the bottom.

Now is a great time to start shopping for and buying your spring flowering bulbs such as daffodils, anemones and freesia from your local nursery. Here at the Demo Garden Mary plants bulbs in pots each year and keeps them in the back until they are in bloom, then she brings the colorful pots out to the front garden. Growing bulbs in pots helps Mary keep ahead of all the snails and slugs. You can space the bulbs closely for a big design impact!

If you plan to install some new plants this month help yourself and your new plants by preparing the soil. Digging in dried out soil or in mud can damage the structure of the soil. When possible, slowly and deeply water the area the day before so that when you start digging the next day the soil will be moist (like a wrung out sponge) not soggy.

Deer: September can be the hardest month on deer and they tend to enjoy munching your plants more at this time of year since their native habitat is all dried up. To keep your plants from attracting the deer, remember to apply a deer repellent such as Not Tonight Deer. Repeated applications are usually a necessity and changing which product you use is also recommended.

Clients have been super happy with their Watering Cans they purchased from The Garden Shoppe There is a Large Watering Can and a Smaller Watering Can. These make a wonderful gift for your friend or for yourself!

Mark your calendar for October 9 when the Milo Baker California Native Plant Society holds its annual plant sale.

AUGUST 2010

WHAT’S IN A NAME

Many people say to me, ‘What difference does it make if I know the correct name of a plant!” Here is an article I wrote for the Santa Rosa Garden Club that just might help you be a little more willing to try using ‘plant language’.
-Mary

If you have low confidence in your ability to use or pronounce the scientific names of plants, take heart. Just for a moment, set aside anything you know about the proper this or the proper that. Let’s have some fun.

Say you are strolling through a park and you pass by a woman sitting on a bench; you probably barely notice her and then go about your day. But now, say you know that same woman with the curly brunette hair and blue eyes. Her name is Jane Ann Doughy, her nickname is ‘Curly.’ In addition, you know that she comes from a big family and her sister looks just like her but her sister’s nickname is ‘Flame’ because her curly hair is red. You can tell them apart, not only because of their hair color but also because you know each one of them individually.

That’s how it can be with plants. When you become familiar with their scientific names, each plant becomes a distinct character in the landscape, instead of a blur of greenery and flowers. Each name is a compact description, an introduction.

For example, a plant name can tell you its bloom color: Alba-white, Flavus-yellow, Ruber-red, Purpureus-purple; its form: Pendulus-hanging, weeping, Repens, Reptans-creeping, Horizontalis-flat to the ground, horizontal; its size: nana-dwarf, compactus-compact, alti-tall, gracilis-slender, parvi-small, mega-large; or its namesake, which generally ends in a double “i” as in arendsii. When the name ends in “oides” it means “resembling” as in Jasminoides-resembling Jasmine. And some names are romantic, such as Iris-named for the Greek goddess of the rainbow.

Now, back to the woman on the bench, what if you had to find her? If you did not know her name, could you find her in the phone book or even online? Ah, but if you just knew her name (not just her description) your chances of finding her improve greatly. So it is when trying to find or identify a specific plant. Perhaps you see a beautiful morning glory vine growing up a trellis and you just have to have one for your garden. You know that it is morning glory but do you know which morning glory it is? If it is Ipomoea indica you may think twice before buying this rampant growing perennial vine. However, if it is Ipomoea tricolor you might enjoy this annual vine that reseeds for next year without taking over your garden.

Learning scientific names is like learning any foreign language, it takes practice. If anyone laughs at your pronunciation no harm done, just laugh back at them. What is important is that you are both talking about the same plant. What is important is that now your world will include a whole bunch of new characters!

To learn more about plant names read Demystifying Scientific Plant Names in the newest edition of Sunset Western Garden Book.

August 2010
Tips

Gardening Tips for August:

Remember to keep your compost pile moist (like a rung out sponge) for quicker composting. Plus, ants love dried out compost areas so keeping the pile moist (but not soggy) discourages ants.

Get the most for your money when purchasing your plants. Instead of buying a plant that is in full bloom, try to find plants with only a few flowers in bloom and the other flowers on the plant in bud.

It is generally better to water your plants slowly and thoroughly less often than to water lightly everyday. People with drip irrigation systems tend to run their systems too frequently for too short a time. Consider running your drip irrigation for at least one hour at a time once or twice a week instead of ten minutes everyday. Automatic spray irrigation run times are different than drip (this is why it is wise to keep drip and spray on separate lines).

When installing your drip irrigation emitters consider placing one emitter on each side of the plant instead of one emitter. For instance: two half gallon emitters instead of a single one gallon emitter.

When installing drip emitters on a slope: work with gravity and place emitters on the upper side of the plant.

Keep irrigation lines covered with mulch to help protect the plastic lines from the elements. Plus, your beautiful plants are the highlight, not the irrigation lines. Right?

Bare soil dries out so fast and this can really stress your plants. Keep your soil covered with at least a three inch layer of mulch.

Keep Fuchsias blooming by pinching off the spent flowers and seed pods.

Most roses like about ten gallons a week of water in the summer!

Many flowering plants will appreciate some all purpose fertilizer this month. Mary uses Maxsea. Make sure the soil is moist before applying a liquid fertilizer. Never apply fertilizer to dry soil; Mary did that once years ago and killed every single plant in several hanging baskets!

Container plant care is generally different than in ground plant care but container plants like a layer of mulch too!

Shear Erigeron karvinskianus (Santa Barbara Daisy) plants three or four times a year. If you did not already shear your plants go ahead and shear now. Shearing keeps this plant from becoming invasive and encourages several rounds of bloom! Shear plants when about 25 percent of blooms are left after active blooming.

MAY 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR MAY

After their flowers fade, you can prune spring flowering shrubs such as Lilac, Rhododendron, Azalea, Camellia, Forsythia, Ribes, and Flowering Almond. If you would like to improve your confidence for pruning contact Mary for an appointment.
We ask a lot of our plants. Here in our Mediterranean climate we experience approximately six months of rain followed by six months of drought. Our climate also has six months of frost followed by six months of no frost. This time of year it’s super important to flush irrigation lines and check all emitters so that your plants will be happy throughout our hot/dry summer.
Hold yourself back from buying those beguiling cool season annuals such as pansies. Now is the time to plant warm season annuals such as zinnias, cosmos, lobelia, and marigolds. Of course if you are just looking for quick color for a party pansies planted in containers would be perfect for you.
After the flowers of Camellia, Rhododendron, and Azalea fade, fertilize with an acid fertilizer so they get a good start on the year it takes for them to form next year’s flowers!
Weeds!
Gardenias appreciate regular fertilizing to keep flowering throughout the growing season. Use an acid fertilizer once a month for in ground plants and every two weeks (at half strength) for container plants.
Blueberries will appreciate some acid fertilizer this month too! Blueberries are great for large containers.
Speaking of containers remember to mulch your container plants.
Ferns-if you have not pruned out the old fronds from your ferns do it now. Follow all the dead fronds down to the base of the stem and cut out entire frond; being careful not to cut the new growth.
Fruit trees-although there is a natural thinning of fruit in nature referred to as “June drop”, it’s still a good idea to thin fruits a little before June drop. After June drop you can thin some more. The most important reason for thinning fruit is to lessen the weight on the branch so that you do not come out to your garden one morning and see an entire branch on the ground and a big gaping wound in your fruit tree. The other reason is to encourage bigger fruit!
Control ants with bait. When you see ants crawling up and down your fruit trees, ornamental shrubs and other plants this is a sign that your plants may be infested with aphid or other piercing, sucking insects. First, control the ant population. Then wash off the aphids with a strong stream of water. If the infestation is still heavy use insecticidal soap (remember the follow up spray-follow directions on the bottle). Sometimes, if you control the ants, the beneficial insects will show up to control those aphids for you.
If you like the look of Azaleas, consider purchasing some California native Mimulus (Monkey Flower) that are better suited to our climate. The flowers of Mimulus are amazing! Each Mimulus has different water needs so be sure to ask your local nursery professional what your Mimulus needs.
Avoid wasting water- your lawn needs water when you walk on it and the blades do not spring back up. Now is a good time to have your lawn aerated. Call Mary 545-6863 if you would like a referral to a lawn professional.
Remember to water your roses. At the demonstration garden we are already watering the plants. The soil dried up so fast this year even after all that rain!
Do you like Nasturtiums? Now is the time to plant your seeds or seedlings of Tropaeolum (Nasturtium). Remember that once you have established your plants you can start to hold back on the water. Watering Tropaeolums less creates more flowers. Watering more creates bigger leaves and fewer flowers.

May is a great time to sit outside and enjoy your garden, remember that book you’ve been meaning to read?

APRIL 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR APRIL

Flush your drip-irrigation system and check that all emitters are working properly. If you have too many emitters to check them all, keep a close eye on your plants throughout the season. By noticing changes in your plants early you can usually save a water starved plant before it dies by fixing the emitter problem.
Weeding continues to be one of the most important tasks to do in the garden.
Mulching is also high on the list of gardening tasks.
We are at the end of our ‘cool season’ and we are entering the ‘warm season’. Pansies, Iceland poppies, sweet peas, and calendula (among others) are ‘cool season’ annuals. If you need quick color for a party go ahead and plant some pansies; however, if you want color in your garden throughout the summer plant ‘warm season’ annuals.
Now is the time to start planting your ‘warm season’ annuals such as, Brachyscome iberidifolia (Swan River Daisy), Celosia (Cockscomb), Cosmos, Lobelia, and Salpiglossis sinuate (painted tongue). If your garden tends to get frost, plant towards the end of the month.
Protect plants (especially vulnerable new plantings) from snails, slugs, earwigs, and sowbugs.
You may be eager to plant your tomato starts but remember that tomatoes are ‘warm season annuals’ here in Sonoma County. Generally our frost dates are from Halloween to tax day (April 15). Here in the demo garden we can get hard frost as late as the first week in May! Just to be safe, I plant my tomato starts the second week in May. If your garden tends to be frost free it may be safe for you to plant your starts this month.
Now that the soil is not as saturated it’s time to plant your Dahlia tubers. Dahlias like a rich, well draining soil. If your soil is not well draining, amend the soil with some good compost several weeks before planting. Also, if the mature size of you Dahlia is tall place the stake just to the side of you tuber when you plant.
Remember, when you shop for your plants this season, we are fortunate to have many small nurseries from which to choose. Many times the selection and quality are better than the larger stores.
Did you set out your yellow jacket trap yet? If you entertain outside in the summer now is the time to set out your trap.
Watch for ants climbing up the trucks of plants (especially shrubs and trees). Ants are usually a sign that you have some yummy aphids, scale, or other insects that the ants use for a honeydew food source. Controlling ants with bait or barrier products is preferred over spraying. Consider what pets are in your yard when deciding how to control ants.

Need help? Contact Mary to schedule an appointment!

Planting Suggestions for April:

Remember, in our climate it is best to plant trees, shrubs and many other frost tolerant plants in the fall!

Perennial plants-Coreopsis, Bergenia, Campanula portenschlagiana, Salvia (some are frost sensitive, plant those later)

Warm season annual plants-Lobelia, Cosmos, Cleome, Impatiens and Coleus (both later in month)

Veggie seeds-early corn, eggplant and cucumber can be planted later in the month. Carrot, beet and turnip anytime this month

Veggie Plants-cauliflower, lettuce, parsnip, bush snap beans

MARCH 2010

BEES AND YELLOW JACKETS

Let’s talk about bees and yellow jackets before their active season really gets going.

I love bees! I like to quietly sneak up behind them and pet their little bee backs! That said I understand that not everyone shares my enjoyment of bees. Respecting bees and their importance in our world is a different story however.

We all need to respect bees and other pollinators in order for them to thrive and pollinate all those flowers so we can eat! Both bees and yellow jackets can be helpful friends of the garden. Paper Wasp yellow jackets eat insects and other garden pests. In the demo garden, I watch the Blue jays hover under the roofline and pluck the yellow jackets from their nests (the circle of life).

Understanding the difference between bees and yellow jackets will help you decide how to manage any possible problems. Sometimes there is no need to do anything but other times you may need to set traps or call for help. It’s about balance. Know what you are dealing with before automatically spraying poisons.

Beginning around the first week in March and ending around June is swarm season for honeybees (they are looking for a new home). If you have a swarm of bees that choose an inappropriate area of your property to set up shop please go to www.sonomabees.org and accept the help of the volunteers who can come collect the swarm (depending on your situation you may be charged a fee). When you call please be ready to answer questions such as ‘how long has the swarm been there’, ‘in relation to the size of a sports ball how big is the swarm’, ‘in relation to your roofline how high up is the swarm’, etc.

If you entertain outside, this is the time to set out yellow jacket traps. Placed early in the season (about one trap per acre) you have a good chance of catching the queen and therefore decreasing the amount of yellow- jackets near your picnic areas. There is only a small window of time that the queen is flying about so do not put off placing your traps until summer.

When you are outside and you feel something that feels like a bb pellet hit you be aware that this ‘hit’ may be a warning sentry yellow jacket or bee telling you to stay away. Get out of the area quickly and assess the situation from afar!

For more information check out “Yellow Jackets and Other Social Wasps” at http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7450.html

March 2010
Tips

Things to Do in the Garden:

Plan on checking your drip irrigation system in the next month or so. Flush the lines, check for leaks, check all emitters.
Fertilize your roses starting around the middle of this month. I have had wonderful results with EB Stone Rose and Flower food but there are several organic fertilizers from which to choose.
Apply a rich compost mulch around your roses instead of a chunky bark where insects and fungal diseases love to hide.
Clematis can be fertilized now as well as pruned in some cases. If you feel confused by what your plants need perhaps it’s time to make an appointment with The Gardening Tutor.
Treat yourself to a new pair of good quality bypass pruners such as Felcos. Keep them clean and sharp and they will last for years!
Buddleja (Butterfly Bush) blooms best on new growth. Once your buddleja starts its spring growth in earnest you can prune it. I prune mine down to one and a half feet from the ground each year to keep it to 8 feet or so. You can choose which height works for you. Prune out some of the oldest stems to the ground in order to make room for new shoots.
Are you planning on planting a vine to cover an outdoor eating area? When deciding which vine to plant consider when it blooms. If you plan on eating under that vine do you want to share that space with bees and wasps working those flowers in the summer or would you like the vine to bloom in winter or early spring when you can enjoy the flowers from inside your warm house. Also, when choosing any vine consider how quickly it grows. Here are a few vines to consider:
- Clematis montana-Early spring Blooming/ fast growing/deciduous
- Clematis armandii-early to mid spring/fragrant white flowers/evergreen/slow to start growing but after established spreads 15 to 20 feet
- Clytostoma callistegioides-late spring/violet trumpet flowers/slow to moderate grower easy to direct
Remember to make some time for hand weeding, even ten minutes will help. Looking out at your garden full of weeds can be daunting. In the demo garden, this time of year my most time consuming task is hand weeding. I understand how overwhelming the weeds can feel. Keeping your garden thickly mulched or sheet mulching will help with this ongoing battle.
Pansies love cold weather! Run out to your local nursery today and pick up some Pansies and other violas for adding instant color to your cold, wet garden. Protect from snails, slug, earwigs and sowbugs and keep deadheading. I plant my pansies in November. By March they have filled in nicely and are blooming profusely!
If you are looking for the unusual and cannot find it at your local nursery visit Annie’s Annuals. Annie has lots of interesting plants and her mail order service is outstanding! The plants arrive in excellent condition ready to plant right away!
Did you know: Sebastopol has the highest concentration of bees in Sonoma County!

Planting Suggestions for March:

Veggies-Beets, Carrots, Fava beans, Leeks, Lettuce, Peas, Radish, Potato tubers
Annuals-Pansies, ornamental poppies
Start looking for summer flowering bulbs such as Dahlia and Gladiolus

FEBRUARY 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR FEBRUARY

Petal blight can affect Camellias. If all of your Camellia blossoms turn blotchy brown soon after opening you more than likely are dealing with this fungal disease. The best plan of action is to remove all the blotchy blossoms and throw them in the trash. Also, keep the area around and under the plant clean of debris. In the demonstration garden, I had to remove every single blossom and I also replaced about two inches of the top soil under my Camellia. I kept the whole area clean and repeated this for two bloom seasons. Today it looks like my Camellia is healthy once again!
February is a good time to shop locally owned nurseries for deciduous Magnolia trees. It’s always a good idea to see a plant in bloom at the nursery so you can get just the color that pleases you.
In between the rain storms (if your soil has drained enough) get a handle on all those weeds you see growing out there. The OXO weeder is a great tool to help you remove the tap root and all!
When you need to remove weeds from around your seedlings or root vegetables try snipping the weeds out with the Deluxe Snips instead of pulling them out. Pulling out the weeds that are that close to your other plants can disturb the roots or even pull out your seedlings.
Also, if you have large swaths of weeds you can always sheet mulch. Put a layer of cardboard or many newspaper sheets right on top of the weeds (make sure to overlap by six inches or so) and then apply a thick layer of mulch on top. In a few months when you get to planting, most weeds will be gone.
Before your fruit trees and roses leaf out you can still get in that dormant spray to kill overwintering insect and fungal pests.
Finish up rose pruning.
Many fruit trees can be pruned in the summer. You can especially wait until summer to prune the ‘stone fruits’ such as, nectarine, peach, cherry and other fruits that have a pit, in order to lessen the chances for disease. Pear trees are another fruit tree to prune in summer to help lessen fire blight infection.
Magnolias will start flowering this month. In general “Tulip” Magnolias are pruned for shape in the summer.
Acers (Japanese Maples) usually need little pruning except for shape and to remove dead, diseased or damaged limbs. Prune Acers in July.

Planting Suggestions for February:

Looking for evergreen shrubs for large containers?
Look for Camellia, Podocarpus, Pieris japonica, Sarcococca, Dodonaea, Rhododendron, or Daphne in your local nursery.
It’s still bare root season. Make a point to get to the nursery early so you have plenty of bare root roses, fruit trees, blueberries, and cane fruit from which to choose. Waiting too long may mean the roots have been compromised.

JANUARY 2010

GARDENING TIPS FOR JANUARY

DECEMBER 2009

’I HAVE A BLACK THUMB; I KILL EVERYTHING”

NOVEMBER 2009

LONELY TOOLS

OCTOBER 2009

TO FERTILIZE OR NOT TO FERTILIZE

SEPTEMBER 2009

“HELP! MY CONTAINER PLANTS LOOK TERRIBLE”

There are many tips and tricks to creating beautiful container plantings but this month I am going to focus on some basics so you can feel a little more confident in your ability to have healthy, happy plants in containers.

I am not talking about water garden plants or cactus type plants. I am talking about plants that prefer well draining soil and prefer to have that soil continually moist but not soggy.

The following are a few of the suggested things you can do if your plants are not looking well:

First, get into the soil medium. Dig down in there a few inches and check to see how moist or dry the root zone (where most of the roots are growing) feels.
If the soil in your container has dried out, the best way to moisten the soil again is to slowly add the water. You can stand there all day pouring copious amounts of water on the surface of the soil and it will probably not penetrate into the root zone. To add the water slowly, either turn the hose on a trickle and place on the soil surface or use one gallon water bottles (with a small hole punched at one edge of the bottom).
Some bagged potting “soils” have peat moss in them. Once the peat moss dries out it can be hard to remoisten. Follow the steps for slowly moistening the soil or you may want to replant your container using a mix without peat in it. I use Grab n Grow’s Landscape Planters mix for my larger containers and Nursery Planters Mix for my smaller containers. I do not put anything in the bottom of my containers such as rocks or broken clay pots.
Always apply fertilizer to moist soil. Many container plantings appreciate a weekly or bi-monthly application of half strength liquid fertilizer. My plants respond very well to Maxsea (a seaweed derived plant food).
If the soil is too moist perhaps your plants are drowning. The hole at the bottom of the container may be plugged (poke a stick in there to open up the drainage). To create better drainage, perhaps your container needs to be raised up slightly from the surface it is sitting on. See the Pot Pads in the Garden Shoppe.
Check for possible pests. If the soil seems to be well moistened perhaps there are pests sending your plant into decline. Make sure to check for pests under the foliage as well as on top.
Controlling ants with bait traps will help to keep some pests populations down. If you see ants crawling up the stems and branches of your plants, control the ants before, or in addition to, tackling the pests. Also, ants are generally a sign that the soil has dried out.
To get ahead of possible problems with your container plants, at least give them a glance each day. If you are paying attention, the look of your plants can tell you when they are not happy in plenty of time for you to correct the problem.

Some Planting Suggestions for September

Veggie Seeds: Beets, Spinach, Radish, Peas

Spring Flowering Bulbs: Start looking in the nurseries for spring flowering bulbs, such as Freesias, Anemones, Daffodils, and Crocus

Annual Plants: Start planning where you will plant your cool season annuals, such as Pansies, Iceland Poppies, and Calendula that you will plant in October/November. Also start thinking about where you will prepare and plant your wildflower seeds and Sweet Pea seeds in November.

AUGUST 2009

BE CAREFUL OUT THERE

This time of year many of us are inspired to pick up our pruners and get out into the garden. Before you start pruning your thorny plants you may want to keep a few things in mind.

Getting pricked or scraped by such plants as rose, citrus, palm, blackberry or other plants with thorns can open up our body to bacterial infection such as Cellulitis or Tetanus. Bacteria are everywhere (some “good” some “bad”). The tetanus bacteria live in soil and manure. Worst case scenario, tetanus can lead to lockjaw (rare) and a case of Cellulitis can land you in the hospital on intravenous antibiotics (not so rare). There is nothing you can do about where the bacteria live but there are precautions you can take when gardening.

Help prevent infection by keeping up on your 10 year booster shot for Tetanus and wearing good garden gloves (especially gloves that have leather that covers your forearms). Also, wear a hat when pruning. Needless to say, safety glasses are always a good idea.

If you do get a scrape or puncture wound, immediately wash the wound with soap and water. Many times I do not have soap and water available to me when I am working so I use the alcohol and antibacterial ointment that I carry with me. As soon as I get home I wash the wound with soap and water.

August 2009
Tips

Things to do in the garden

Keep up the weeding.

Shear or prune Achillea (Yarrow) to about 2 inches from the ground. If you prune out the spent flower stocks you can prune closer to the ground. If you shear, your patch of yarrow may look unsightly for a few weeks but it will come back.

To encourage more blooms, continue to deadhead perennials and summer annuals such as Cosmos, Coreopsis, Dahlia, Fuchsia, Salvias and Zinnias.

Prune most of your roses to encourage a good fall season show.

Fertilize roses. In general, August is the last fertilizing for the season.

Keep area under and around roses clean of leaf and petal debris.

Prune non-everbearing berry vines after harvest.

Lemon Verbena may appreciate being pruned back now to encourage fresh new growth.

To keep spider mite populations down, wash shrub foliage down with a strong spray of water once or twice a month (daily washing may encourage fungal infections). Also, keep plants looking good by using a metal shrub rake to rake through the fine webbing of spider mites.

Keep the area under and around fruit trees free of fallen fruit so as not to attract insects.

Mulch where needed.

Read a book.

Sip lemonade or iced tea.

JULY 2009

ANNUALS AND THE BEST USE OF YOUR MONEY

Have you ever purchased six-packs or 4 inch containers of Pansies at this time of year? You planted them and then they quickly died. If you have, you are not alone. Even though Viola x wittrockiana (Pansies) are a “cool season annual” nurseries offer them at this time of year because people want them. A better choice when the weather warms would be to plant “warm season annuals” such as Zinnia, Lobelia erinus, Celosia (Cockscomb), Cleome hasslerana (Spider flower), Petunia, Lobularia maritime (Sweet alyssum), Cosmos, and Tropaeolum majus (Nasturtium).

The life cycle of an annual plant is to bloom, be pollinated, create seeds and then die, but you can trick some of your annuals into blooming for many months by deadheading and/or shearing. Without deadheading, when you brought those Pansies home while they were full of blooms the plant thought that its job was done and “went to seed”.

In defense of the novice gardener, I have noticed that many of the gardening magazines feature Pansies in their summer issues; however, here in Sonoma County, Pansies are actually happier when they are planted when temperatures are cooling down in October or November. In our demonstration garden, I plant Pansies and other cool season annuals, such as Iceland Poppies, in the fall. Because the plants have had time to establish nice big root systems and I have regularly removed the spent flowers with the flower stems (deadheading) these cool season annuals are still blooming in July!

July 2009
Tips

Here’s how to get your monies worth from your annuals

Plant cool season annuals when temperatures start to cool off in the fall or winter.

Plant warm season annuals when the temperatures start to warm up in April or May.

Deadhead regularly (daily or weekly).

Purchase plants with just enough bloom to make sure you have the color you desire.

If you buy your annuals, such as Pansies in full bloom cut off most of the flowers when you plant them (this will encourage the roots to establish). Trust me, your plants will soon be full of blooms again.

If the Lobelia plants you purchase are spindly or leggy when you buy them you can shear them to about two or three inches high and they will bush out again.

KEEPING PLANTS ALIVE UNTIL YOU PLANT THEM

While at the nursery “Just to look” the pretty plants call to you to take them home. Once you get them home you have no idea where to plant them. You figure you will get to them tomorrow but tomorrow turns into next week. You finally have a minute and when you go outside the pretty plants are crispy/ limp or dead/dying. Take heart, we have all been there. Here are some suggestions for keeping your plants happy while they wait to be planted:

As soon as you get your plants home water them and place them in a spot with light shade. Even if the tag states that they are “full sun” plants it will help to place them out of full sun while you find time to get back to them.

Do what the nursery does. In the nursery, container plants are watered every day. Generally, the container size equals the amount of water needed. The smaller the container the more quickly they dry out. For instance, six packs and 4 inch containers may need to be watered more often on a sunny day with temperatures in the 90’s (morning and late afternoon) to keep them from drying out.

When you are purchasing a specimen plant in a large container (5 gallon or larger) ask the nursery professional how often the plant is being watered.

If your plants do end up drying out, water them slowly so that the water can saturate the soil. If you give them too much water too fast the water will just run off and the roots will remain dry.

On the day of planting, water your plants well while they are still in the containers. This will make sure that the roots are well hydrated and ready to be planted.

If the soil is dry when you are ready to plant make sure to water around the plant in the planting hole before you cover the hole with soil. This extra moisture in the planting hole will help keep the dry soil from leaching moisture from your newly planted root zone.

After watering the newly planted area mulch around all your plants.

Sometimes you need to know when to let the plants go straight into the compost bin. It’s ok, keep the faith you’ll do better next time.

Planting Suggestions for June

Annuals: Petunia, Marigold, Impatiens, Cleome (may need staking), Zinnia, Celosia

Veggie Seeds: Lettuce, Radish, Carrot

Veggie Plants: Lemon Cucumber (save space use trellis), Eggplant, Squash, Basil, Nasturtium (not a veggie but leaves and flowers are edible)

WEEDS!

Did you know that a weed seed can stay dormant in the soil for 100 years until something (the right amount of water, soil disturbance, fire or other change) starts the germination process? Yikes! Have you ever heard the adage ‘one year of seeds, seven years of weeds”? Am I trying to scare you? Perhaps.

Weeds steal the nutrients and water from the soil around your plants and trees. Some weeds can attract certain insect pests to your garden. The more you can keep ahead of the weeds, the healthier your plants will be. If you can eke out a piece of time to be in your garden and the garden is full of weeds, you may want to do some weeding instead of adding new plants. One way for me to get time alone is to do the dishes or go out and pull weeds; everyone seems to vaporize when I start these chores.

If there are too many weeds to pull by hand, at the very least go out and mow them down with the weed eater or lawn mower. Ideally this mowing is done before seeds are formed. If you missed this pre seed head time, after you mow the weeds down rake up the cuttings and remove them from your property. I have pulled a weed just before it went to seed and left it on the ground only to come back a few days later to see that the weed had gone to seed after I pulled it! If you are ahead of the seeds you can compost weeds such as dandelion; however, if you have Cynodon dactylon (Bermuda Grass) or other weeds that spread by underground rhizomes do not put them into your compost pile (remove these weeds from the property too).
Sometimes people use a rototiller to grind up the weeds to make it easier to remove them but if you chop up perennial weeds such as Bermuda Grass or Convolvulus arvensis (Bindweed) you will just spread the problem.

Things to do

After weeding, see our OXO Weeder, apply a 3 inch layer of mulch on top of the soil in order to keep the sunlight from reaching the weed seeds and germinating them.
Protect plants (especially young plants) from snails, slugs, earwigs, sow bugs and other garden pests.
When you control pests in the least toxic way, birds will be able to come to your garden and help you keep the pests down.
Spray aphids off plants with a firm shot of water from the hose. Hold your hand behind the foliage/buds while you shoot the aphids off.

If you leave the aphids for a little while, at the beginning of the season, there is a good chance that predator insects will come help you kill off the aphids. If the aphids persist, start with the water spray and then go to insecticidal soap (remember to do the follow-up spray).

Planting Suggestions for May

Annuals: Salpiglossis (may need staking), Calibrachoa (Million Bells) grown as annual or perennial, Antirrhinum majus (Snapdragon), Alyssum, Sunflowers (seed or plants)
Veggie Seeds: Beets, Corn, Eggplant, Lettuce
Veggie Plants: Celery, Tomato, Brussels Sprouts, Peppers

APRIL 2009

IRRIGATION SYSTEMS

Although I wish it weren’t true, irrigation systems are interactive. Watering systems are not a chicken, you cannot just “set and forget” about your irrigation system even though we would all like to do just that.

Here are some tips to keep in mind when installing your own drip/spray system or when you hire someone else to install the system for you:

Take photos of each zone of installed lines before covering the lines with mulch.
Ask the installer to provide you with a detail of what type of emitters were used (1 gallon/hour etc.) and how many emitters are on each plant. If the installer charges for this service, pay the extra money. I promise you will appreciate the investment later when maintenance needs to be done and you have a map of what is under that mulch!
Make sure that the watering zones are clearly marked on your control panel.

At least every spring (preferably more often) before you need your drip irrigation system take the time to do the following:

Flush the system. Open the end of the line and turn on that zone for 30 seconds or so in order to flush out insects and debris that may have accumulated in the lines over time. If you have sandy soil, this is a good practice at least every season. Remember to reclose the main line.
Turn on each zone one at a time and “walk the line”. Follow your main lines and observe where you see leaks, broken sprayers, and lines without emitters.
As your plants mature, look for emitters that need to be moved farther away from the base of your plant. Keeping the irrigation delivery towards the edge of the plant roots will help to prevent root rot.
Once “drought tolerant” plants have established in your garden you can change the amount of water they receive by deleting an emitter or changing the emitter to deliver less water.

Remember, in order to deliver the water that your plants need to thrive, it is generally better to run the drip system for a longer period of time (say, 1 to 2 hours) a few times a week, rather than in short intervals several times a week. Every system is different and that is where the interaction between you, your plants, and your irrigation system plays a vital role for a healthy and beautiful garden.

Planting Suggestions for April

Annuals: Lobelia, Petunia, Ipomoea (Sweet Potato Vine)
Veggie Seeds: Radish, Lettuce, Arugula
Veggie Plants: Swiss Chard, Peas, Bush Beans
Herbs: Parsley, Cilantro, Thyme, Chives

MARCH 2009

MULCH

We are finally getting our much needed rain! If you have not already applied a layer of mulch to your garden, I encourage you to plan for this task in March. Now that the soil is saturated it’s a good idea to wait until we have a few days break in the rain, to allow the soil to dry a bit before applying mulch. Walking on saturated soil can really compact the soil and compromise the soil structure. When applying mulch in the rainy season, it’s a good idea to use some small pieces (2’ x 2’or so) of plywood or something for you to step on to disperse your weight over the soil surface in order to lessen the compaction. Make sure to keep the mulch approximately six inches from the base of plants.

Clients ask what the difference is between mulch and amendment. Basically, mulch is like placing a porous blanket on top of the soil and amendment is like feeding the soil by incorporating the amendment into the soil. Mulch can be just about anything that covers the soil including gravel, bark, and even cut up rubber tires but here I am talking about the benefits of compost mulch. Compost mulch can be used as both an amendment and mulch.
Here are some of the benefits of applying a 3” layer of compost mulch:

To suppress and/or control weed growth
Feeds the soil (which feeds your plants) so you can use less fertilizer
Protects the soil from erosion
Attracts earth worms and other beneficial soil organisms
Aesthetically pleasing to the eye, gives a sense of cohesion to your garden
Keeps soil warmer in winter and cooler in summer
Slows water evaporation from the soil so you can water your plants less
Keeps soil born disease organisms from splashing up onto your plants

We are so fortunate in this area that we have local suppliers who mix their own mulch so that we can buy in bulk and save money. A 10’ by 10’ area of your garden spread with a 3” layer of mulch takes approximately one cubic yard of material. There are 27 cubic feet in a cubic yard of material. When you buy your compost by the 1.5 cubic feet bag that means you need to buy 18 bags to equal a cubic yard. If the compost is $10.00 a bag you will spend $180.00 for a yard of compost compared to buying in bulk, which can vary from approximately $19.00 to $40.00 a yard. Sometimes it makes sense to buy bags; however, when you are ready to buy in bulk call or email The Gardening Tutor to hear about our new hauling service.

Planting Suggestions for March

Annuals: Bellis perennis (English Daisy), Iceland Poppies, Pansies, Stock, Snapdragon
Veggie Plants: Broccoli and Cabbage
Veggie Seeds: Carrot, Parsnip, Peas, Swiss Chard, Turnip, Beets
Veggie Tubers: Potato
Start looking for summer flowering bulbs, such as Gladiolus at your local nursery!

FEBRUARY 2009

PRUNING ROSES

The question I hear most often this time of year is, “How do I prune my roses?” Here in the Santa Rosa area there is still time to prune your roses.
One of the most helpful tasks you can do to keep your roses healthy is to keep the area below and around the roses clean of leaves. Diseases such as rust, powdery mildew and black spot are fungal diseases that spead easily. To remind you of why you would want to keep the area cleaned up, it may be helpful to think of this leaf debris as similar to athlete’s foot fungus. Before you prune, gently strip off all the leaves and thoroughly rake the area. Striping the leaves first will help you to clearly see which stems you are pruning.

Different types of roses prefer different pruning but here are some general things to keep in mind. Angle your pruning cuts away from the bud so that any water will run away from the bud. Prune a quarter inch above an outward facing bud (or to a bud that is going to grow in the direction you would like). Cut out any spindly growth (growth that is less than the diameter of a pencil). Prune out any growth that will be growing into the middle of the rose so that the rose bush will have good air circulation. Good air circulation will cut down on the possibility of diseases. Also, prune out any dead, diseased, or damaged growth. Where branches cross, decide which branch to keep and prune out the other branch.

After you prune and clean up the area, apply a 3" layer of good quality mulch on top of the soil to help reduce weeds and feed your roses. Keep the mulch about 6 inches from the base of the plant.

Planting Suggestions for February

Bare root roses
Bare root fruit trees
Annual plants such as pansies, cyclamen, Iceland poppies and primroses
Veggie seeds such as beets, lettuce, and carrot as well as onion sets