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Palm Trees Within Home Gardens

Palm trees make a bold statement.

Trees conform to an overly vague definition. Most simply, they are substantial and woody perennial plants with tall trunks and branches. Yet, several Japanese maple trees are no more substantial than big shrubbery. Tree ferns and banana trees are neither woody nor branched. Arboriform yucca trees and palm trees are technically herbaceous, not woody.

Doum palms, which are the only palms that develop branches, are extremely rare locally. Any other palm which develops a branch is an extremely rare aberration. Therefore, with very few and extremely rare exceptions, palm trees develop no branches. A few, such as the Mediterranean fan palm, develop a few trunks though. All trunks develop at the base.

Palm trees are either fan palms or feather palms. Fan palms have round palmate leaves on sturdy petioles. Feather palms have elongated pinnately compound leaves on sturdy rachises. Most fan palms have nasty teeth on their petioles. Several feather palms have dangerously sharp spines on the bases of their rachises. All palms trees are evergreen.

Once palm trunks begin to grow upward, they do not widen. Nor do their foliar canopies. They grow only vertically. Those that encroach into high voltage cables require removal. Unfortunately, most palm trees grow high enough to necessitate the services of arborists. Although trunks do not expand, some large palms develop widely distended basal roots.

Mexican fan palms are the most prominent of palm trees locally because they are so tall. California fan palms, or desert fan palms, are shorter and stouter but much less common. Canary Island date palms are big and bold feather palms with wide and dense canopies. Common date palms, which only became common recently, are not as broad and dense.

Queen palms develop billowy and feathery canopies on tall and elegant trunks. They are among the most popular of palm trees nowadays. Windmill palms are relatively small fan palms with very shaggy trunks, but can grow tall. Mediterranean fan palms stay lower but with a few curving trunks. These are merely a few examples of many different palm trees. A few more are available. Bismarck palm and hesper palm are becoming more popular.

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Pruning At The Proper Time

Timely pruning can allow for bloom.

Motorized hedge shears are the most overused home garden power tools. They are very useful for hedges and similarly shorn shrubbery. The problem is that they too often shear vegetation that needs different types of pruning. Also, they often perform proper shearing at improper times. The efficiency is a distraction from seasonality and proper horticulture.

Dormant pruning happens during winter while subjects are most dormant. It is the proper technique for deciduous fruit trees, roses and many deciduous species. However, winter may not be the best time to prune certain evergreen species. Dormancy may not be such an advantage for them. It limits the ability to outgrow the evidence of pruning or shearing.

For example, an English laurel hedge appears quite tattered immediately after shearing. As it resumes growth at this time of year, it recovers very efficiently. Therefore, it does not appear to be tattered for very long. However, recovery would have been quite slow while growth was slower during winter. Autumn and winter are not good times for such pruning.

Actually, this is a good time to prune or shear all sorts of evergreen hedges. Pittosporum, privet, xylosma and boxwood all recover efficiently from such techniques. They will likely need pruning again, and perhaps a few times, through summer. Then, their growth slows sometime during autumn. Hopefully, they will not need pruning until the following spring.

Some evergreen shrubbery blooms for spring, though. Premature pruning would deprive them of such bloom. Laurustinus is likely already finished blooming, so may be ready for pruning now. Lemon bottlebrush, though, blooms somewhat later. If possible, its pruning should occur after its primary late spring bloom. It will hopefully not grow too big by then.

Photinia is now generating appealingly coppery red new foliage. Pruning would remove much of such foliage, so should be a bit later if possible. Then, shearing as foliage turns green would promote another phase of red new foliage. Of course, photinia trees are too large for such shearing. Also, trees bloom more than regularly pruned hedges or shrubs. Some find the floral fragrance of photinia bloom to be objectionable.

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Ferns Are Splendid Foliar Perennials

Ferns exhibit distinctive form and texture.

Ferns are an odd bunch within home gardens. They lack floral color and fragrance. They produce no fruit or vegetables. The few that are deciduous lack autumn foliar color here. With very few exceptions, they provide no shade. There is quite a bit that they do not do. Yet, they are notably popular for their lush foliage, intricate textures and distinctive forms.

Almost all ferns are a rich deep green. Some are vibrantly lighter green. A few are silvery gray or exhibit intricate silvery patterns. Most exhibit lacy textures. Several are finer than most. Several develop relatively coarse textures. Bird’s nest fern has large but undivided and glossy fronds. Holly fern exhibits coarse texture of fronds that resemble holly foliage.

Most ferns that are popular here are evergreen foliar perennials. They are therefore tidier with occasional grooming to remove deteriorating old foliage. Some extend new foliage above old foliage as the old foliage lies down. Some regenerate lushly after the removal of all their foliage prior to their growing seasons. Deciduous ferns are uncommon locally.

Ferns do not develop stems or trunks like some other vegetation does. They sprawl over the ground with fleshy rhizomes. Tree ferns grow upward only by extending roots into the deteriorating rhizomes below. Such roots are quite strong and wiry, and form what seem to be trunks. Fern roots are rather fibrous. Fern rhizomes grow in length but not diameter.

Because of their fibrous roots, ferns are complaisant to confinement within pots. Several are splendid houseplants. Boston fern is an old fashioned but familiar example. Rabbit’s foot fern, maidenhair fern and bird’s nest fern are also popular as houseplants. Staghorn ferns are weirdly epiphytic. They can grow outside on vertical boards rather than in pots.

Most popular ferns are understory species. That means that, within their natural habitats, they live in the shade of larger vegetation. It also means that, within home gardens, most tolerate partial shade. A few actually prefer it. Most ferns also prefer systematic irrigation. Although, native Western sword fern tolerates both partial shade and lapses of irrigation.

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Watering Resumes With Drier Weather

Irrigation becomes necessary without winter rain.

Even before the last day of winter on March 20, the weather went summery fast. Not only has there been no rain in quite a while, but it has become rather warm also. This climate here can be tricky like that sometimes. While moisture becomes less available from rain, it also becomes more necessary. Watering, or irrigation, needs to resume to compensate.

Watering had not been much of a concern during rainy weather through winter. Only pots and planters that are sheltered by eaves still needed it. Between rainy weather, cool and humid weather inhibited evaporation. Therefore, watering was rarely if ever necessary to compensate for a lack of rain. Even sheltered planters needed less than during summer.

Lack of rain and warmer weather are not the only reasons for the need for watering. Day length is slowly but steadily increasing. Sunlight intensity increases as the sun becomes higher in the sky. Lengthening days of intensifying sunlight accelerate the desiccation of soil. It also accelerates evapotranspiration, which is the evaporation from foliar surfaces.

Furthermore, warming weather accelerates growth of vegetation. This increases its need for moisture that rain no longer provides. Formerly dormant deciduous species will soon develop foliage. They did not lose moisture to evapotranspiration while dormant, but will when foliated. Of course, different types of vegetation demand different types of watering.

Soil texture and composition is also relevant to this increasing need for watering. Sandy soil drains well, but consequently needs more watering than denser soil. Organically rich soil retains moisture more effectively. Potted plants need frequent watering because their roots can not disperse very far. Hanging potted plants want even more frequent watering.

With so many variables, there are no simple formulas for determining watering rates. The process ultimately relies on diligent observation of the soil and vegetation involved. Soil, for many plants, should not remain too dry for too long. However, it should not remain too saturated either. Whether irrigation is automated or manual, it must adapt to the weather.

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Flowering Trees For Spring Bloom

Flowering cherry trees are conveniently compact.

Fruit trees such as apricot, cherry, peach and plum, bloom about now. Some are already finished, while a few are just beginning. Apple and pear trees will bloom somewhat later. More colorfully, flowering or fruitless counterparts of such trees are on similar schedules. Flowering apricot has already finished bloom. Flowering crabapple will likely bloom last.

The difference between fruit trees and their flowering counterparts is not their bloom. It is their fruit or lack thereof. “Flowering” has become a euphemism for “fruitless”. Trees with such designation produce either no fruit or fruit of relatively inferior quality. Wildlife might enjoy some of any inferior fruit. Although, even inferior crabapples might make good jelly.

Purple leaf plums are probably the most popular of this type of flowering or fruitless tree. Flowering cherry is less common. Flowering peach is somewhat rare. Fruitless pear is a popular street tree, but may not bloom as profusely as the others. Also, it does not bloom quite as early. Flowering quince grows as shrubbery rather than trees with upright trunks.

While very closely related, fruiting trees and their fruitless counterparts are very different. Fruiting trees should obviously produce fruit. That is their primary purpose. Their fruitless counterparts are merely ornamental. The truly fruitless types grow and bloom where fruit would be a messy nuisance. For example, some perform well as small scale street trees.

Because they are fruitless, such trees do not require specialized dormant pruning. There is no need to prune to concentrate resources into developing fruit. Nor is there any need to prune to accommodate the weight of fruit. Fruitless trees can assume their natural form and scale instead. Although none are large trees, they can grow taller than fruiting trees.

Also because they are fruitless, their bloom is their priority. They bloom more abundantly than fruiting trees, and some bloom with double flowers. Floral color is more diverse too, ranging from bright white to rich rosy pink. Some flowering crabapple trees bloom nearly red. Since dormant pruning is unnecessary, blooming stems are splendid as cut flowers.

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Native Species Are Naturally Natural

California poppy is a common wildflower.

Vegetation has always been here. Wildlands outside of urban development demonstrate that noplace is or was without it. Native species lived here before any home gardens did. Whether intentionally or unintentionally, some of it still does. Some sneaks in like weeds. Some arrives by invitation. A few old trees never left as the area around them developed.

Native species perform well locally because they are adapted to local climates and soils. It is all very natural to them. In fact, many dislike major modifications to their climates and soils. Although most tolerate or even appreciate a bit of supplemental irrigation, some do not. Many rot if irrigation is too generous. Also, many do not want much soil amendment.

Some native species might be a bit too natural, though. Because they are from chaparral climates, they can get somewhat scraggly by summer. It is not because of a lack of water or other environmental deficiency. It is their natural behavior, and how they survive in the wild. Many wildflowers that bloom so well for spring are completely dormant by summer.

The advantage to this is that almost all native species do not demand much water. Many want none at all. Once established, they get all they need from natural rainfall. Therefore, landscapes of mostly or exclusively native species conserve water. Since native species are adapted to endemic soil, they require no fertilizer either. They are quite conservative.

California poppy, which is the State Flower of California, is a very familiar native annual. Unlike other native species, it appreciates supplemental irrigation after the rainy season. It typically blooms only for spring, but may bloom into summer with occasional irrigation. Sky lupine is another native annual that blooms for spring, with contrasting blue flowers.

Various salvias, bush lupines, penstemons, irises and grasses are native perennials. So are sticky monkey flower, Oregon grape, tree anemone and tree poppy. Toyon, silk tassel and various California lilacs are native shrubbery. So are flannel bush, coyote brush and coffeeberry. California sycamore, coast live oak and redwoods are common native trees.

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Weeds Grow Fast Before Spring

English daisy is a pretty weed.

Vegetables and annuals should be growing well with such pleasantly warming weather. Soon enough and into spring, most should be growing like weeds. Unfortunately though, they are not alone. Undesirable vegetation competes with them for limited resources and space. It is a sadly unavoidable problem, even among the most refined of home gardens.

According to their simplest definition, weeds are undesirable vegetation. Obviously, most of the familiar sorts are annuals or perhaps perennials. However, trees, vines and shrubs can be weeds as well. Silver wattle is an invasive tree which can be difficult to eradicate. English ivy is an invasive vine among many forests. Glossy privet is invasive shrubbery.

With few exceptions, weeds are exotic. In other words, they are not native locally. Native species are generally complaisant within their natural ecosystems. They become weeds only if they become undesirable. For example, native poison oak may grow within home gardens. Native bay trees and some oaks frequently appear where they are undesirable.

Most exotic weeds were not always so undesirable. Some were formerly popular for their ornamental qualities, and then naturalized. These include pampas grass, yellow flag iris, Hottentot fig and periwinkle. Wild mustard likely naturalized from home gardens where it grew as a vegetable. Many naturalized grassy weeds were originally fodder for livestock.

The smaller but prolific weeds are the most problematic for home gardens. They include dandelion, purslane, burclover, various spurges and various thistles. Of course, there are too many to list. They grow and disperse their seed much more efficiently than desirable vegetation. That is how they invade home gardens and become such a prolific nuisance.

That is also why it is so helpful to remove weeds as soon as possible. Their subsequent generations will be less profuse if they disperse less seed now. Besides, they are easier to pull while only beginning to disperse roots within moist soil. They will be more difficult to pull when more established in drying soil later. Weeding may be tedious nonetheless.

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Microclimates Are Different From Climates

Southern exposures are sunny and warm.

Climates are regionally prevalent patterns of weather. The climate here is a chaparral or Mediterranean climate. It is characterized by warm and arid summers, and mild and rainy winters. Many adjacent climates are similar, even if slightly different. Coastal, alpine and desert climates occur elsewhere in California. Microclimates occur within such climates.

The climates of California are as diverse as the geology that influences them. Mountains and valleys and everything in between develops its distinct climate. Some counties here include more climates than some individual states. Many climate zones are impressively compact. So much diversity with small climate zones is often mistaken for microclimates.

Microclimates are small climates within bigger climates. This is obvious. However, there is no definitive description of how small they are. Climates generally conform to geology, like elevation, latitude and proximity of oceans. Microclimates generally conform to what is on such geology, like forests or pavement. They can fit within compact home gardens.

Roofs and pavement of urban areas absorb and radiate significant heat. Such heat alters associated microclimates. Conversely, urban trees and vegetation might cool associated microclimates. Home gardens that are near freeways may be slightly warmer than those that are not. Well forested neighborhoods are a bit cooler during warm summer weather.

These are large scale examples, though. Microclimates originate within individual home gardens also. Southern exposures are much sunnier and warmer or hotter than northern exposures. Eastern exposures are as sunny as western exposures, but are not as warm. Eaves might shelter vulnerable vegetation from mild frost, but also exclude rain moisture.

Microclimates can change as gardens evolve. Shade trees grow to produce more shade. Taller fences may replace shorter fences. Painting a home a different color changes how it reflects or absorbs sunlight. Awareness of microclimates facilitates selection of species for each particular situation. It also facilitates selection of situations for particular species.

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Warm Season Vegetables Are Next

Summer squash grows easiest from seed.

Warm season annuals know what time it is. Although it is still too early for many to move directly into gardens, a few already are. A few can start from seed, either in greenhouses or directly in their gardens. Eventually, as the weather warms, they all can live outside for the summer. Warm season vegetables, or summer vegetables, are in the same situation.

After all, almost all warm season vegetables perform as annuals. The weather is still too cool for seedlings to go out into their gardens. However, it is time to start some vegetable plants from seed. Some should start inside or in a greenhouse. Others might start directly in their gardens. The weather should be warm enough for them by the time they develop.

Seed for most root vegetables can go directly into their gardens now. Root vegetables do not recover from transplanting easily, so prefer direct sowing. Transplanted seedlings are susceptible to root disfigurement. Corn, squash and beans prefer direct sowing also, but should wait for warmer weather. Seedlings grow faster than the weather becomes warm.

Tomato and pepper plants prefer to go into the garden later as seedlings or small plants. Such small plants will become available from nurseries as they become more seasonal. Alternatively, they can start to grow from seed inside or in a greenhouse now. Their fresh seedlings should be ready for their garden as the weather warms. Scheduling is crucial.

The advantages to seed are that it is less expensive and more diverse than small plants. Packets of seed cost about as much as six packs of small plants, but contain many seed. Nurseries stock only a few varieties of each type of vegetable plant. However, they stock a few more varieties of seed for the same type of vegetables. Many are available online.

Cucumber, eggplant and melon can grow either from small plants or directly sown seed. A single small plant may be more practical for melon because only one plant is sufficient. However, if several cucumber plants are preferable, seed may be more practical. If seed are preferable, they can start soon. Small plants might wait a bit longer after the last frost.

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Warm Season Annuals Are Next

Cool season annuals serve their purpose.

Cool season annuals will probably finish sooner than they typically do this season. They do not enjoy the unseasonably but pleasantly warm and dry weather. It accelerates their brief life cycles. Fortunately, warm season annuals, or summer annuals, will be happy to replace them. They are the bedding plants that provide seasonal color until next autumn.

It is still too early for some types of warm season annuals. Several prefer to wait for more sustained warm weather with warmer nights. Petunia and sunflowers can wait until April or even May. This is only the beginning of the season, when the process of replacement begins. Some cool season annuals will not require replacement until petunias are ready.

For those who grow warm season annuals from seed, the season began notably earlier. Some seed starts within a greenhouse, two or three months prior to planting in a garden. For example, seed for petunias that go into the garden in April should be started already. Some annuals, such as nasturtium, should grow from seed sown directly into the garden.

Otherwise, the most popular warm season annuals begin in cell packs. Lobelia, alyssum and wax begonia are already available. Petunia and impatiens will become available as the season progresses. Many warm season annuals are available but more expensive in four inch pots. For substantial areas of bedding, cell pack annuals cover more uniformly.

Many warm season annuals are actually perennials that deteriorate through winter. Wax begonia can actually survive through winter to regenerate about now. Some cool season annuals can similarly survive through summer. There is no need, for example, to remove English primrose from mixed plantings. They can bloom late, and regenerate for autumn.

The same marigold that were popular for autumn are popular again for the end of winter. Ageratum may also be available already. Zinnia and annual salvias should be available a bit later in the season. So should cosmos and celosia. Bedding dahlia and calibrachoa may become available later, but in four inch pots. Coleus is a foliar warm season annual. Gomphrena and annual vinca have become uncommon. Ranunculus and anemone can perform as annuals.