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Cool Season Annuals Are Back

Cool season annuals are now seasonable.

Warm season annuals may not seem ready to relinquish their space. Although some are beginning to get tired after a season of performance, some are not. They might be happy to continue blooming until cooler winter weather. Bedding plants are temporary, though. The time for winter annuals, or cool season annuals, to have their turn is now beginning.

There is no rush, though. Only cool season annuals that begin as seed must do so while the weather is still warm. Most begin as cell pack seedlings, so can, if necessary, wait for a little while longer. Some actually prefer to begin later in autumn. Ornamental kales and cyclamens can wait until winter. Various cool season annuals are on various schedules.

Besides, various warm season annuals are also on various schedules. Some deteriorate sooner than others. Ideally, their replacement should coincide with the beginning of their deterioration. Some are already deteriorating, so are ready for their replacement. Others, though, can perform until cooler autumn weather. Their replacement is generally sooner.

Some annuals, both warm season and cool season, are actually perennial. They merely perform as annuals because replacement is easier than salvage. They likely get shabby during their off season, but can have potential to survive. Wax begonias, for example are warm season annuals. They get tired through winter but can survive until the next spring.

On small scales, cool season annuals can coexist with overwintering wax begonias. For example, pansies can partially obscure tired wax begonias through winter. In spring, the wax begonias may regenerate to replace the pansies. Sweet Williams and primroses are cool season annuals that are actually perennials. They can survive through the summer.

Pansies and violas are the most familiar and reliable of cool season annuals. Marigolds, calendulas, and snapdragons are popular autumn annuals. Cyclamens and ornamental kales can replace them later for winter. Stocks are notably fragrant cool season annuals. Alyssums can begin about now and continue into next summer, as if they are perennials. Iceland poppies are nice for pots and smaller plantings. Cornflowers are nice wildflowers for cutting.

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Trellises And Arbors Provide Support

Boston ivy climbs without a trellis.

Vines are very diverse. A few are annuals. A few are perennials. Many are woody vines. Some climb by twining their stems, leaves or tendrils. Some cling onto their support with aerial roots or suction discs. Within home gardens, some need the support of trellises or arbors. Most vines are naturally aggressive, so should get all the support that they need.

Vines that cling onto their supports with roots or suction discs need no trellises or arbors. They climb regardless. English ivy clings with aerial roots. Boston ivy clings with suction discs. Both can be destructive to their support. They ruin paint and promote rot in wood. Therefore, they should only climb surfaces that they can not damage, such as concrete.

Vines that climb by twining their stems, leaves or tendrils are the sorts that need support. On trellises, some can cover otherwise bare walls or fences, or stand freely like hedges. On arbors, vines frame gateways. On pergolas, they mostly shade patios like small trees. Vines are not low maintenance, though. Actually, they require specialized maintenance.

Vines, by nature, seek the top of their support, where they grow the most. Consequently, vines on trellises tend to get top heavy. Carolina jessamine, lilac vine and mandevilla all need grooming to limit upper growth. Then, their lower growth is fuller and more uniform. Star jasmine is naturally more uniform, but even it may get somewhat overgrown on top.

Upper overgrowth may not be so undesirable on arbors or pergolas. However, pruning is as important. Grapevines need annual dormant pruning during winter. Such pruning is a bit more complicated at the height of a pergola. Wisteria can be spectacular on pergolas. It needs aggressive pruning, though, so that it will not become too overgrown and heavy.

Bougainvillea is one of several vines that does not actively climb. It requires guidance to follow trellises or arbors, or to reach the top of pergolas. Then, it needs frequent pruning to avoid overgrowth. Its various cultivars behave differently, though. Some stay compact enough for small trellises and arbors. Some grow large enough for substantial pergolas.

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Sustainable Plants Need No Introduction

Lemon bottlebrush is resilient and sustainable.

Neglected gardens demonstrate sustainability more effectively than maintained gardens. They display that which survives with minimal intervention. Also, that which requires too much intervention does not survive. Weeds are obviously too sustainable. They seem to survive anything. Desirable annuals are the opposite extreme, so do not survive for long.

Sustainable horticulture, excluding weeds, has become a fad. Unlike most fads, though, it is actually quite practical and sensible. In theory, it is horticulture that requires minimal intervention. It excludes what requires impractically intensive cultivation. Native species that grow wild, for example, are sustainable. Overly demanding tropical species are not.

A common problem with such fads is their marketability. They are too easy to exploit. Any commodity might be marketed as sustainable, whether or not it actually is. Sustainability sells. Realistically, in lucrative marketing, sustainability is unsustainable. It compromises any later needs for subsequent sales. Planned obsolescence is actually more lucrative.

Modern cultivars are not necessarily more sustainable than old cultivars. Simple species are generally more sustainable than their hybrids. Extensive breeding can cause genetic deficiencies. Variegation compromises vigor, and can revert. For example, New Zealand flax is generally sustainable. However, some of its variegated cultivars commonly revert.

Again, native species are technically sustainable. They can survive without irrigation or intervention. However, in gardens that receive generous irrigation, some are susceptible to rot. Therefore, they are less sustainable for such situations. Also, some native species are not good options if combustibility is a concern. Sustainability involves many factors.

Many of the most common and passe plants happen to be the most sustainable. That is why they are common and passe. Lily of the Nile, African iris and many yuccas are some of the most sustainable perennials. Juniper, oleander and lemon bottlebrush are among the most sustainable woody shrubs. Realistically, there are far too many examples to list.

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Flowers For Late Summer Bloom

There are plenty of late flowers.

Most flowers bloom within their particular seasons. Many bloom for spring. Fewer bloom for winter. Only a few bloom randomly throughout the year, generally while the weather is warm. Several bloom specifically for late summer or into autumn. All have their particular reasons for blooming when they do. It is all about pollination and dispersal of their seed.

Most flowers bloom in spring to maximize the time for their seed to develop before winter. Some of these may begin to bloom even before early spring, in late winter. Many rely on wind for pollination, so are unconcerned about pollinators. Those that attract pollinators are bigger, more colorful, or perhaps fragrant. They wait for pollinators to become active.

Many flowers that bloom randomly throughout the year are actually from milder climates. Some are from tropical climates. Within their native ecosystems, they can disperse seed at any time. Also, their pollinators are as perpetually active as they are. Angel’s trumpet, for example, only stops blooming for cool winter weather. it is presently blooming nicely.

Canna similarly begins to bloom for late spring, and continues to bloom until autumn. It is from a tropical climate, so is more responsive to weather than to seasons. It could bloom as long as the weather is warm enough for it to do so. Like angel’s trumpet, it is presently blooming nicely. Several popular sages are likewise naturally native to tropical climates.

Several late summer flowers happen to be of the ‘Compositae’ Family. Their flowers are actually composite blooms of many tiny flowers. These include confelower, zinnia, aster, cosmos, blanket flower and black eyed Susan. Coreopsis, sneezeweed, cosmos, dahlia and sunflower are more examples. Chrysanthemum will become more seasonable later.

To be enjoying these flowers now, it would have been better to plant them earlier. Some are still available in bloom from nurseries. Potted dahlias are particularly nice. However, most perform best if they can grow into their situations prior to blooming. Sunflower grow best from seed sown immediately after winter. Those with big flowers need time to grow.

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Fragrance Is Really For Pollinators

Angel’s trumpet is fragrant but prominent.

Many flowers are fragrant. Many are colorful. Several are both. The majority, though, are neither. That is because flowers use fragrance and color only to attract pollinators. Most flowers rely on wind for pollination, so do not need to attract pollinators. Such flowers are not so conspicuous, though. Fragrance and color are much more prominent and popular.

Most prominently colorful flowers are not very fragrant. They do not need to be. Flowers can use one technique or the other, fragrance or color, to attract pollinators. They do not need to waste resources on redundancy. Hibiscus, dahlia, sunflower, daisy, camellia and canna all lack floral fragrance. Yet, they efficiently attract pollinators with their floral color.

Most prominently fragrant flowers are similarly not very colorful. Night blooming jasmine, sweet box and sweet osmanthus produce small white flowers. Yet, they efficiently attract pollinators with their floral fragrance. Gardenia is more colorful only because its blooms are larger. Star jasmine is more colorful only because its blooms are much more profuse.

Victorian box and mock orange also bloom with fragrant but subdued flowers about now. Most angel’s trumpet blooms with fragrant but impressively large flowers in pastel colors. Hyacinth, narcissus, freesia and lily flowered both fragrantly and colorfully last spring. So did wisteria and pink jasmine. Daphne flowers are diminutive but fragrant for next winter.

Modern roses and some bearded iris are not as fragrant as some old cultivars. Many lack fragrance altogether. This is generally because fragrance had not been a priority of their breeding. Both roses and bearded iris now bloom with bolder flowers, which last longer. Roses bloom for a longer season, instead of only once. Fragrance was the compromise.

Floral fragrances are as diverse as the pollinators that they attract. This is because, like floral color, they appeal to particular pollinators. A few appeal to a single specific species of pollinator. Several flowers disperse their fragrance at night for nocturnal moths or bats. Most flowers, though, are receptive to pollinators that they do not intentionally appeal to.

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Stakes Should Stabilize New Trees

Binding should subordinate to staking.

Initially after planting, many new trees and some large shrubs rely on stakes for stability. Some limber trees also need temporary structural support for thin trunks. Staking is only necessary until confined roots disperse and young trunks mature. Then, trees and large shrubbery stand on their own. Stakes help with the transition from nursery to landscape.

Different trees require different types of stakes. Palm trees need none at all. Spruce trees are likewise stout enough to stand alone. Camphor trees, though, typically need staking both for structural integrity and stability. Landscape stakes provide stability while nursery stakes provide trunk integrity. For most trees, landscape stakes displace nursery stakes.

Landscape stakes are those that loosely support new trees within their new landscapes. Nursery stakes, if present, are those that direct straight trunk growth in nurseries. Binding to nursery stakes inhibits trunk expansion, though. Therefore, it is better to remove them as soon as possible. This should occur after planting and staking with landscape stakes.

Landscape stakes, for adequate stability, should extend below roots of associated trees. This puts them into the solid undisturbed soil below the excavated soil. Also, they should be about as high as the lowest branches of their associated trees. For shrubbery and low branched trees, they should be about five feet high. Stakes are in standardized lengths.

One stake is adequate for some small trees. Other larger trees may justify two. Likewise, one top strap for each stake may be adequate. Secondary straps about halfway between top straps and the ground might be useful. They minimize bowing of limber trunks. Short nails can hold straps in place. Straps should cross over between their stakes and trees.

Staking should be as unobtrusive as possible. If it supports trees too rigidly, it can inhibit trunk growth and development. Trunks that are able to move somewhat with breezes will be stronger. If binding remains necessary, it should be as loose as possible. It constricts as trunks expand. Ultimately, as trees mature, staking and binding become unnecessary, and should be removed.

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Potted Plants Within Home Gardens

Philodendrons are famously adaptable to potting.

Potted plants would rather be in the ground. That is the simplest truth. Pots confine roots that would prefer to disperse more extensively into natural soil. Yet, container gardening is more popular than ever, for various reasons. Planters and pots happen to be practical for many situations. They allow cultivation of plants that require special accommodation.

Houseplants, for example, can only inhabit their homes as potted plants. There is no soil for them to disperse roots into. Cascading plants, like Boston ferns and pothos, can only cascade from elevated pots. Several popular houseplants live only as houseplants here. They might be too vulnerable to winter weather to live in the garden throughout the year.

Potted plants are also practical for balconies and elevated decks. Some condominiums, townhomes and apartments have no more garden space than that. Regardless of garden space, pots contain invasive plants, like mint and horseradish. Bamboo popularly grows in big tubs that it can not escape from. Also, pots protect vulnerable plants from gophers.

Portability is a primary advantage of potted plants. Where winters are cool, potted plants that are vulnerable to frost can relocate to shelter. Plants such as cymbidium orchids can move to more prominent sites while blooming. Then, they can go to less prominent sites when they finish. Potted plants can move about on patios and decks like patio furniture.

There are also a few disadvantages to potted plants, though. They are always reliant on watering. Confinement of roots limits the drought tolerance of otherwise drought tolerant plants. Thin plastic pots can get uncomfortably warm in full sun exposure. They can also get quite cool during cool weather. Pots can rot wooden decks and stain concrete patios.

Conventional pots are wider on top and narrower at their bases for a reason. This shape allows firm root systems to slide out for planting in the ground or bigger pots. Such roots can not slide out of pots that are wider in the middle than on top. Pots with narrower tops are practical only for small plants, like annuals. Such plants do not develop sturdy roots.

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Fruit Trees Versus Shade Trees

Excessive fruit can become a problem.

Why are more urban shade trees not fruit trees? Urban landscapes could produce much more food than they already do. It could be so nice to be able to pick fresh fruit from trees in parks or flanking streets. After all, this region formerly sustained orchards of fruit trees. It could certainly sustain more fruit trees again. Why waste space on mere shade trees?

Many cities in California sustain more trees than they naturally did prior to urbanization. Both San Jose and Los Angeles were chaparral grassland with only isolated woodlands. Their urban trees are now more numerous than native trees were only two centuries ago. The same applies to several urban areas, including San Diego, Bakersfield and Fresno.

Trees are not only more abundant than they naturally were. They are also more practical. They perform specific functions. Those that are street trees must develop high canopies, and need minimal maintenance. Those in parks must be broad enough to create shade. For many reasons, fruit trees are impractical for such applications in public landscapes.

Fruit trees generally require significantly more maintenance than typical shade trees do. Deciduous fruit trees require specialized dormant pruning each winter. Without adequate pruning, their limbs become overburdened with fruit and break. Such pruning is very time consuming. It also necessitates cordoning off space below trees during the procedures.

Also, fruit trees are significantly lower than shade trees. This facilitates both specialized pruning, as well as collection of fruit. Street trees and most shade trees are much higher for clearance below. With the same clearance, particularly over roadways, fruit would be out of reach. Limbs that are low enough to produce fruit within reach would be obtrusive.

Fruit that is out of reach becomes messy below. For street trees, it becomes a slip hazard on paved surfaces. Furthermore, fruit attracts unwanted wildlife, including rats, raccoons and opossums. Ultimately, trees selection should be appropriate to specific applications. Fruit trees are better within private home gardens. Shade trees should not produce fruit.

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Roots Are A Necessary Compromise

Surface roots can be very aggressive.

With very few exceptions, all plants have roots. Almost all roots remain out of view within soil or potting media. Consequently, they do not get much consideration or credit for their important functions. They stabilize and collect nutrients for the plants that disperse them. They are as diverse and specialized as the stems and foliage of the plants they sustain.

Naturally, large plants like trees and big shrubbery disperse their roots very extensively. They must in order to obtain the nutrients and moisture they need to sustain themselves. In home gardens, though, they do not need to disperse their roots nearly as extensively. With watering and maybe fertilization, they can obtain what they need relatively closely.

Roots of domestic trees and shrubs are therefore more confined than those of wild trees. They are also closer to the surface of the soil. Roots of plants that prefer better drainage will not disperse very deeply. Unfortunately, some are likely to displace infrastructure on the surface of the soil. They damage sidewalks, curbs, driveways, and even foundations.

Repair of such damage typically involves removing or at least severing the causal roots. Severing substantial roots can be stressful to their associated trees or shrubs. It can also destabilize them. Some of such trees and shrubs may actually require complete removal. Future damage is somewhat avoidable by simply planting appropriate trees and shrubs.

Near pavement, appropriate trees should innately exhibit complaisant root systems. For trees that have potential to damage nearby concrete, root barriers might be useful. Root barriers are rigid plastic devices that surround the root systems of new trees. They direct root growth downward. Most extend into the soil two feet deep, but are open underneath.

Other types of root barrier are available for established trees. They are either flexible but firm plastic flashing, or fabric studded with herbicide pellets. They too extend into the soil two feet deep. After trenching to cut damaging roots next to pavement, a root barrier goes into the trench. Filling the trench holds the barrier in place to redirect encroaching roots.

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Sunlight Is Necessary For Photosynthesis

All home garden plants require sunlight.

Almost every plant needs sunlight. Only parasitic plants that lack chlorophyll are the few exceptions. Even they rely on plants that need sunlight to conduct photosynthesis. Some plants require full sun exposure, while others tolerate some degree of shade. Actually, a few plants prefer partial shade. Situating plants accordingly promotes their performance.

Modern home gardens are generally shadier than older home gardens. They are smaller and surrounded by larger homes and fences. Taller fences, taller hedges and evergreen trees obscure adjacent homes. They also produce more shade. Plants that tolerate some degree of shading have consequently become more popular. They require less sunlight.

Most of such plants are understory plants. In their natural habitats, they live in the partial shade of larger plants and trees. They should do the same within home gardens. Ferns, philodendrons, alocasias, colocasias and Natal lily are a few examples. They are some of the few plants that actually prefer partial shade. They can roast with too much sunlight.

Azaleas, rhododendrons, andromedas and hydrangeas are also understory plants. They prefer a bit more sunlight than the other examples, though. They like eastern exposures, where they get plenty of sunlight, but only in the morning. Then, they are in partial shade as the weather gets warmer after noon. However, some can tolerate more sun exposure.

Oleander, bougainvillea, lavender, lily of the Nile and agaves are the opposite. They like full sun exposure as well as warmth. Unshaded southern and western exposures are no problem for them. Shade inhibits their performance, and promotes thin etiolated growth. Most yuccas and cacti require sunlight and warmth, but can be difficult to accommodate.

Northern exposures are the shadiest. Southern exposures are the sunniest and warmest. Both eastern and western exposures are partly shady, but eastern exposures are cooler. They get all their sunlight prior to noon, while western exposures get all theirs after noon. Big eaves extend shade. Deciduous trees shade during summer, but not through winter.