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Woody Vines Need Constant Attention

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Many woody vines have no limits.

Grapevines that were not pruned aggressively enough last winter are tangled messes by now. Many grapevines that were pruned properly are tangled messes as well. That is their nature. Woody vines like grapevines grow rapidly and vigorously. They rely on other plants for support, and do what they must to get to the top. Woody vines are not concerned about the plants that support them.

Woody vines climb structures also. Some cling to stucco and siding with aerial roots or modified tendrils (holdfast discs), that ruin paint and promote decay. Woody vines with twining stems wrap around posts and beams, and then crush them as they grow. All sorts of vines can dislodge shingles, roof tiles, gutters, downspouts or window screens. Some sneak into basement or attic vents.

Even relatively docile woody vines can get out of control fast. Star jasmine performs well as ground cover, but can climb more than twenty feet up trees if neglected long enough. Pink jasmine, lilac vine and Carolina jessamine are tame enough for lattice, but get overgrown on top if not pruned down. American wisteria is much smaller than Chinese wisteria, but can still strangle small shrubs.

Woody vines are certainly worth growing. Chinese wisteria, autumn clematis, honeysuckle, bougainvilleas and various trumpet vines all have their attributes. They just require diligent maintenance and serious commitment. Most need more than just winter pruning. Some of the more vigorous sorts may need specialized pruning a few times annually. They also need serious accommodation.

Trellises and supportive structures must be resilient to the destructive forces of particular woody vines. For example, Chinese wisteria deserves a trellis or arbor of posts and lumber that its heavy vines will not crush. Boston ivy can climb bare concrete retaining walls, but must not attach to painted or wooden surfaces. No vines should climb on roofs, chimneys, vents, gutters or utility cables.

Just as importantly, woody vines require enough room to grow without crowding or climbing into trees or other plants.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 26 Comments

Six on Saturday: Suburbia

The Santa Clara Valley is the best place in the entire Universe for horticulture. Yet, few of the nearly two million people who live there now appreciate it, or realize that some of the area was still occupied by orchards only half a century ago. These pictures are from the garden where I lived before graduating from high school, and subsequently planting the peach tree #5 in 1985. Apricots and cherries were finishes quite a while ago. Peaches will be ready soon. These are not orchard trees, but they are happy to be here.

1. Garden Annie apricot – is, as the name implies, a garden variety rather than an orchard variety. With surprisingly minimal pruning, it stays compact and proportionate to a home garden.P00801-1

2. Stella cherry – is likewise a garden variety. It was selected because it is self fruitful, so does not need a pollinator. It also has stayed relatively compact and proportionate to limited space.P00801-2

3. Anjou pear – is also known as D’Anjou or Beurre D’Anjou pear. Pears and apples were not common in the orchards of the Santa Clara Valley, but were grown in the Santa Cruz Mountains.P00801-3

4. Golden Delicious apple – is more commonly and more appropriately known as Yellow Delicious apple. It was selected as an all purpose ‘only child’ apple for baking, cooking or eating fresh.P00801-4

5. seed grown peach – came here from a compost pile in Santa Clara in about December of 1985. The fruit is excellent. However, after all these years, I have never been able to propagate it.P00801-5

6. Rhody – performs pre-emergent weed abatement by collecting large quantities of burclover seed. He does not enjoy getting them removed from his finely textured fur afterward though.P00801-6

This is the link for Six on Saturday, for anyone else who would like to participate:

https://thepropagatorblog.wordpress.com/2017/09/18/six-on-saturday-a-participant-guide/

Posted on by tonytomeo · 6 Comments

Santa Barbara Daisy

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Some of us know Santa Barbara daisy by the less appealing name of ‘fleabane’.

Santa Barbara was not exactly its first choice. Santa Barbara daisy, Erigeron karvinskianus, is not even native to California. It is actually from Central America. It just happens to do very well here, and can naturalize if conditions are right. It can be rather grungy through summer in the wild, but with a bit of watering, it can bloom nicely all year.

The thin stems can spread a few feet without getting more than a foot deep. If even shallower growth is preferred, older plants can be cut down or pulled up as they get replaced by their own offspring. The narrow leaves are quite tiny. The white or slightly pinkish flowers are not much bigger, less than half an inch wide, with prominent yellow centers.

Santa Barbara daisy is also known as Mexican fleabane, both because it is actually native to Mexico, and also because it is supposedly useful for repelling fleas. The problem with using it to repel fleas is that only its smoke is effective. There are probably other herbal alternatives that work just as well without being a fire hazard.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 2 Comments

Two Birds With Many Stones

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Gravel and stone function like mulch.

Fads are not necessarily bad ideas. Some evolve out of good ideas. Others are recycled old ideas that worked. The current popularity of stone, gravel and artificial ‘dry creek beds’ is probably the result of the drought. Yet, they were becoming popular before the drought. This is not their first time around either. They were popular through the 1970s and the 1950s as well.

Stone and gravel obviously do not need to be watered. Therefore, more area occupied by stone, gravel or dry creek beds equates to less area occupied by plants that want water. Such areas are not as useful as pavement or decking, but are more appealing where space does not need to be useful, and work nicely where the ground it sloped too much for pavement.

Stone around the trunks of mature trees works like an insulating mulch so that lawn grass and groundcover plants can be kept at a safe distance. Otherwise, the water needed to sustain the grass or plants against trunks can cause root or trunk rot. However, stone should not be piled so deeply that it holds moisture or interferes with aeration.

Stone is actually better than mulch in some situations. It does not decay. Stones and larger gravel are not likely to be blown or raked away, although small gravel can be difficult to separate from debris while raking. Since stone does not need to be replenished, groundcloth can be installed beneath it to prevent weeds from growing through.

Artificial dry creek beds do not need to be completely dry all the time. They can actually improve drainage in low spots that get saturated during rain. Stone on groundcloth drains better than soil or plants do. Artificial creek beds that are only ornamental should stay in low spots anyway. They look even more unnatural in high spots that water would not naturally drain to.

A few plants can go a long way in larger areas of stone or gravel, and particularly in artificial dry creek beds. If the stone is done properly and is appealing enough, the plants merely add a bit of color, form and texture, without completely obscuring the stone. Drought tolerant plants are of course more appropriate if the intention of stone is to conserve water.

Posted on by tonytomeo

No Respect

Like last Saturday and Sunday, the post for today is recycled from more than three years ago. I will be doing quite a bit of this for at least the next month. This one complies with the ‘Horridculture’ meme for Wednesday.

via No Respect

Posted on by tonytomeo · 15 Comments

Lily Of The Nile

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Agapanthus bloom looks like Independence Day.

It is no lily, but it does live on the banks of the Nile River. Lily of the Nile, Agapanthus africanus, endures both long dry summers and winter flooding. While inundated, it clings to the silty soil with a sturdy network of rubbery roots. Densely mounding foliage regenerates as floodwater recedes. If conditions get exceptionally warm and dry, foliage may eventually shrivel after midsummer bloom.

Home gardens are certainly more hospitable than the floodplains of the Nile River. The luxuriant foliage of lily of the Nile is evergreen locally, even if irrigation is minimal. The rubbery leaves get as long as two feet, arching outward from basal rosettes. New foliage obscures deteriorating old foliage. Plants that get too congested to bloom well might benefit from division of individual rosettes.

Lily of the Nile blooms around Independence Day, with round floral trusses that resemble exploding fireworks. Each blue or white bloom stands about two to four feet high, on slim and bare stems. Individual florets are small and tubular. ‘Storm Cloud’ blooms with darker blue or purple. Agapanthus orientalis may exhibit bigger blooms and coarser foliage. ‘Peter Pan’ stays low and compact.

Posted on by tonytomeo · 4 Comments

Collecting Seed For Another Season

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From one year to the next.

Seed that is available in hardware stores and nurseries came from somewhere. Plants just like those that such seed grows into produced it. Someone, or many someones, collected all that seed to make it available to others. Similarly, several plants in our own gardens produce seed. Anyone who is interested in collecting seed to grow more of the same plants could make good use of it.

After bloom, most flowers deteriorate and disappear into the landscape. Some leave behind desirable developing fruits or vegetables. Many of the flashiest flowers are too extensively hybridized to produce seed. Many produce some sort of seed structure that typically gets removed, or ‘deadheaded’. This diverts resources from seed production to subsequent bloom or vegetative growth.

If not removed, such seed structures can mature to produce viable seed. Those who enjoy collecting seed often intentionally leave a few seed structures for that purpose, instead of deadheading completely. For plants with long bloom seasons, this technique should involve the latest blooms. The same applies to vegetables that normally do not mature prior to harvest, like summer squash.

Such seed or fruiting structures, including vegetables, must be completely mature before collecting ripened seed from them.

Sunflower, cosmos, calendula, marigold, campion, morning glory, columbine, hollyhock and snapdragon are some of the easiest flowers for collecting seed from. California poppy, alyssum, phlox, and several other annuals are happy to self sow their seed, although collecting seed from them is not so easy. Nasturtium and honesty (money plant) seed is easy to collect, but self sows as well.

Collecting seed is limited only by practicality. Some plants, particularly hybrids and exotics (which are not native and may lack pollinators), produce no viable seed. Extensively bred varieties are likely to produce progeny that are more similar to the basic species than the parent. Once collected, some seed need special treatment in order to germinate. All seed should be sown in season.