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Grooming Deteriorating Bloom Conserves Resources

Daffodil are tidier with timely grooming.

Spring bulbs are now blooming, and some are already done. Summer bulbs will bloom a bit later, and some will continue until autumn. Annuals, perennials, shrubbery, vines and all sorts of other vegetation also bloom. Most simply shed their deteriorating flowers after bloom. Some may benefit from grooming to remove such flowers before they go to seed.

Grooming to remove lingering deteriorated flowers, or deadheading, is obviously neater. Flowers that continue to bloom are more prominent without their decaying predecessors. Camellias may not need such grooming, since their flowers fall away as they deteriorate. However, removal of fading flowers, before or after they fall, eliminates their mess below.

Perhaps more importantly, grooming to remove fading flowers conserves vital resources. Although most bulbs are sterile hybrids, some try to generate fruiting structures for seed. This consumes substantial resources. Removal of fruiting structures before they develop diverts resources to other growth. Canna diverts such resources into subsequent bloom.

For some species, grooming to remove fruiting structures stimulates subsequent blooms. After all, seed production is their priority, and the objective of bloom. If they perceive any deprivation of seed, they are compelled to produce more. Several dahlias bloom initially with single flowers. After grooming, the stems below branch for a few secondary flowers.

For a few potentially invasive species, grooming eliminates unwanted seed. Montbretia, which is famously invasive, is less so if deprived of its seed. African iris might disperse a few unwanted seed and get shabby without grooming. Summer snowflake and common grape hyacinth often disperse their seed. Both are too small and numerous for grooming.

Fortunately, summer snowflake and common grape hyacinth are true to type. Freesia are not. Without grooming, they can produce feral progeny that are similar to their ancestors. Such feral progeny are more prolific with seed for more of the same. Eventually, they can displace the desirable original varieties. Although more fragrant, they are not as colorful.

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San Francisco Flower & Garden Show

(This is an old recycled article that includes very outdated information, some of which was omitted, but the website for the San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is the same.)

Bonsai, composting, palms, flower arranging and lawn alternatives, as well as rare, edible and drought tolerant plants; there will be seminars for almost every horticultural topic imaginable at “Life in the California Garden”, the 26th annual San Francisco Flower and Garden Show. Xeriscapes, contemporary garden design and water conservation; there will be something for anyone who enjoys any kind of gardening. A schedule of seminars and any other information can be found at www.sfgardenshow.com.

The most spectacular display will be the twenty gardens created by some of the most innovative local, and perhaps not so local, landscape designers and horticultural professionals. There will be everything from contemporary to traditional and functional to ‘artistic’ landscapes. Anyone who has been to a San Francisco Flower and Garden Show knows what ‘artistic’ can mean, but will be surprised nonetheless. 

Just about anything that can be done in the garden will be done at “Life in the California Garden”. Bee keeping, practical pest control and water management will all be there. “The Modern Homestead” designed by Star Apple Edible Gardens of Oakland will be a 6,000 square foot exhibit featuring aesthetic vegetable plantings and an elegant chicken coop, as well as beer and jam making demonstrations.

The Marketplace will include more than 200 vendors with all sorts of seeds, plants, tools, gifts, patio furniture, pottery and garden sculpture. Plants will range from orchids, dahlias, epiphytes, vegetable plants, cacti and succulents, to name a few. The Farmers’ Market will have flowers and produce available. Sproutopia will feature interactive gardening experiences and demonstrations for children.

Many very impressive bonsai will be exhibited by the prestigious Bonsai Society of San Francisco. Many of the bonsai subjects that are decades old have been returning to the San Francisco Flower and Garden Show for many years. There will also be bonsai demonstrations.

Horticulturists of the Western Horticultural Society will be available to discuss rare and recently introduced plants, as well as more traditional plants that are regaining popularity. Some recent introductions are not yet available in nurseries. California Garden Clubs will have representatives from many of the various horticultural associations, with information about membership.

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Herbs

California bay can work somethin like culinary sweet bay.

While the winter weather is still cool and damp, most of the herbs in the garden are not very impressive. Like vegetables though, herbs that are new to the garden should be planted as winter ends when no more frost is expected. Also like vegetables, some herbs are easier to grow from small plants or seedlings purchased from nurseries, and others are easier to sow directly from seed. Some are annuals or biennials. Others are perennials. Still others are woody plants.

Basil, cilantro and dill are commonly and easiest to grow from seed. Tarragon, sage, marjoram, mint and thyme are probably easier to grow from small plants found in nurseries. Chives, oregano, fennel and parsley are easy to grow by either means. Woody plants like rosemary, lavender and sweet bay can be grown either from small plants in the herb section of a nursery, or more substantial landscape plants.

All sorts of plants are grown as herbs to be used as seasoning, aroma (foliar fragrance) or even medicinally. Some are best grown strictly as herbs in an herb garden or incorporated into the vegetable garden because they lack visual appeal or because they eventually get cut and harvested. Others function quite well out in more refined landscapes.

Basil, cilantro, tarragon, sage, dill and marjoram are more utilitarian but less visually appealing herbs for the herb or vegetable garden, although some look good until they get harvested. Chives, mint, oregano, parsley and thyme look good enough for a landscape, and are not often harvested in quantities large enough to compromise their appearance. Fennel also looks good enough for the landscape, but then gets removed completely when harvested.

A few herbs are actually more often grown for their practicality in the landscape than in the herb garden. Thyme sometimes gets planted as a ground cover between stepping stones, since it is so compact and imparts its fragrance if trampled. Rosemary is actually a rather common ground cover where the soil does not hold enough moisture for more demanding plants. The various lavenders are nice ‘perennial’ shrubs. (‘Perennial’ shrubs do not last as long as woody shrubs.) Sweet bay is a nice small tree where space is limited, or can be shorn into a small hedge.

It seems that most herbs like good sun exposure and warmth during the summer, with well drained soil. Most do not need too much water once established. Only basil and parsley need regular watering. Chives and mint are not so needy, but do prefer to be watered regularly as well. Mint is commonly grown in pots because it can be somewhat invasive.

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Invasive Weeds Begin Their Invasion

Some invasive weeds are wildflowers.

Wildflowers may not be what they seem to be. California poppy, various lupines, various sages and several others are native species. Saint John’s wort, periwinkle, mustard and several others are not native. They are exotic but naturalized, so can proliferate as if they are native. In other words, several of the most familiar of wildflowers are invasive weeds.

In fact, some of the most invasive weeds were once more popular for their pretty flowers. These includes Saint John’s wort and periwinkle. Pampas grass, various brooms, yellow flag iris and Hottentot fig are more examples. Mustard likely originated as a home garden vegetable. Many grassy weeds were livestock fodder. Not many weeds were accidental.

Nonetheless, invasive weeds are here and established within local ecosystems now. By their simplest definition, weeds are merely unwanted vegetation. Native brambles qualify as invasive weeds as they invade home gardens. Because they are native, though, they are not invasive in the wild. Most of the most aggressive weeds just happen to be exotic.

Invasive weeds become invasive because of their various unfair advantages. Many lack pathogens that limit their proliferation wherever they are native to. Many lack competition from vegetation that they shared their natural ecosystems with. A few may actually prefer local climate to their natural climates. Weeds exhibit too much variety for generalization.

Although, generally, invasive weeds are accelerating their growth with warming weather. Most are proficient at growing faster than their competition and other preferable species. Several bloom and disperse seed before some deciduous species foliate. Weeds exploit resources before desirable species can. Several rampantly overwhelm their competition.

This is therefore a convenient time for weeding, before invasive weeds grow much more. Their roots will disperse more and be more difficult to pull from drier soil later. With more time, most weeds disperse more seed for subsequent generations. Diligence now might not eliminate all weeds for very long, but it helps. Later, weeds should be less abundant.

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Tree Selection

Some trees grow too large for urban situations.

Trees are the most significant components of the landscapes that they inhabit. They get larger than all other plants, and live for decades or centuries. Because inappropriate trees have such potential to cause such serious problems, and can be so difficult and expensive to remove, it is important to select trees that are appropriate to each particular application.

Size and form of trees when they mature are important considerations. Crape myrtles are small to midsized trees that fit nicely into tight spots, but are too dinky to be good street trees. London plane trees are more proportionate as street trees, but eventually displace sidewalks and curbs with their aggressive buttressed roots. Chinese elms can be good street trees, but need to be pruned regularly to maintain clearance. Red maples are a better choice because they get large enough without getting too big, have complaisant roots, and are easily pruned for adequate clearance.

Other features in the area can limit tree selection. Poplars and willows have aggressive roots that invade septic systems or old unsealed iron or terra cotta sewer pipes. Queen palms eventually reach utility cables, but can not be pruned to go around them. Any good shade tree can provide too much shade over solar panels. Partial shade from large trees or structures is a problem for most other trees, but is actually preferred by a few ‘understory’ trees like vine maples, Japanese maples and dogwoods.

Trees that are expected to provide shade through summer should probably be deciduous, like red oaks or silk trees, to allow warming sunlight through during winter, particularly close to the home. However, trees that should obscure unwanted views should be evergreen, like Southern magnolias or arborvitaes.

Some trees that need more attention than others are only appropriate where they will get the attention they need. Mexican fan palms are easy to care for while young, but eventually grow out of reach and need to be groomed by professional arborists. Of course, every tree is limited to particular climates. Various ficus trees that are common in nurseries in San Diego will not survive even a mild frost, which is why they are not available in San Jose.

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Rotating Vegetables Should Enhance Productivity

Tomato plants are greedy for nutrients.

Warm season vegetables are beginning to replace cool season vegetables. Some types prefer to start earlier than others. A few might displace lingering predecessors before the predecessors finish. Timing is not everything, though. Location may be as relevant. If the garden did not move, some vegetables should. Many or most benefit from rotating crops.

Vegetable plants are innately greedy in regard to particular nutrients. They might deplete such nutrients from their soil within a few years. Some may not take that long, particularly within less than ideal soils. However, different types of vegetables deplete different types of nutrients. Rotating vegetable plants disperses and decelerates this nutrient depletion.

Tomato plants deplete their favorite nutrients. Therefore, new tomato plants should likely avoid soil that tomatoes formerly occupied. Corn can use such soil instead, and may not notice a deficiency of nutrients. After all, each craves something different. Beans can use the same soil afterward for the same reason. Rotating crops shares resources equitably.

Bell peppers are related to tomatoes, so deplete similar nutrients. Therefore, they should also avoid soil that tomatoes formerly occupied. All types of beans should similarly avoid soil that any type of bean utilized. Fortunately, warm season vegetables are unrelated to most cool season vegetables. What grew last summer is now relevant for rotating crops.

Nutrient depletion is not permanent, though. Rotating crops, while accommodating such depletion, also accelerates replenishment. For example, beans should not deplete much of what tomatoes crave. They instead replenish some of what tomatoes crave. Tomatoes, can therefore eventually return to where they grew before. After all, rotation goes around.

Warm season vegetables generally require more nutrients than cool season vegetables. That is because so many warm season vegetables are actually fruits that contain seeds. Most cool season vegetables are vegetative, without seed. Consequently, warm season vegetables are more appreciative of rotating. Cool season vegetables are more passive. Cool season vegetables do not grow long enough locally to deplete much anyway.

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Pruning Cane Berries

Their habit of overwhelming untended gardens gives blackberry canes a bad reputation. Their thicket like growth in their native habitats does not help. They are certainly not ‘low maintenance’ and need intensive specialized pruning later in the year. Yet, they become available with other bare-root plants this time of year for a reason. They make great blackberries!

New bare-root blackberry plants do not look like much when they are first planted, and do not produce berries in their first year. They will instead be busy dispersing roots and producing biennial canes that will produce berries the following year. Root barriers can prevent their aggressive roots from getting into neighbors’ gardens, particularly since south or west facing fences are just as practical for supporting trailing canes as trellises are.

‘Trailing’ types like ‘Marion’, ‘Boysen’ and ‘Olallie’ blackberries, which are also known as ‘boysenberry’, ‘marionberry’ and ‘olallieberry, are the most popular locally. ‘Erect’ types, like ‘Arapaho’, ‘Choctaw’ and ‘Navaho’ are more tolerant to frost, so are more popular where winters are colder. ‘Semierect’ types are hybrids of trailing and erect blackberries. 

In their second year, trailing and semierect canes that grew during the first year should be trained onto trellises, fences or wires. As their fruit gets depleted later in summer, these canes can be cut to the ground. Some of the new canes that developed through the season need to be trained onto the same supports to replace the older canes as they get removed.

There should be more than enough new canes. About ten to fifteen of the best canes of trailing types should be selected and pruned to about six or seven feet long. Semierect types need about half as many canes, and can be pruned about a foot shorter. Extra canes should be cut to the ground. A few of the smaller extra canes can be left through summer to be separated with roots as new plants during the following winter.

Side branches that grow from the pruned canes through late summer and early autumn should get pruned to about a foot long at the end of the following winter. New growth from these stubs will produce fruit during the following summer. The process of replacing the old canes with new canes can be repeated as the fruit gets depleted.         The process is similar for erect blackberries, but no support is needed. During the second year, canes should be cut to about two and a half feet tall in the middle of summer. Secondary branches from these canes should be cut to about a foot long in winter. As fruit gets depleted and replacement canes develop during the following summer, these mature canes can get cut to the ground. New canes then get pruned just like the older canes were.

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Wildflowers On The Wild Side

Some wildflowers bloom in shady forests.

Warm season annuals are more varied than cool season annuals for one simple reason. Spring and early summer are the best time for bloom. Afterward, there is plenty of time for seed to develop, prior to cool winter weather. Obviously, most flowers want to exploit this schedule. This includes wildflowers, particularly in regional chaparral or desert climates.

Wildflowers are in more of a rush to bloom for early spring here because summer is arid. They could be more susceptible to premature desiccation later. They last longer and can bloom later in home gardens with irrigation. Actually though, not all wildflowers bloom for early spring. Some bloom for autumn or winter. A few bloom for summer, generally briefly.

There is no explicit definition for wildflowers. Western redbud and the various ceanothus are technically native wildflowers. Yet, they grow as large shrubbery or even small trees. Most popular wildflowers are annuals. A few are biennials or perennials. Some perennial sorts must mature for more than a year before they bloom well. Some are very persistent.

Technically, wildflowers should be locally native, and observable directly within the wild. Realistically, this expectation is unrealistic. Many of the most colorful, like perennial pea, are naturalized exotic species. Most wildflower seed mixes include random species from elsewhere. Some are regionally specific, but to other regions and very different climates.

California poppy and various lupine are the most popular and familiar native wildflowers. Douglas iris, yarrow and clarkia are about as practical for cultivated home gardens. Bush poppy and monkey flower more appropriate to rustic landscapes beyond home gardens. Many wildflowers need aggressive maintenance, such as cutting back after their season.

Seed of most annual and perennial wildflowers prefers to be in a garden by late autumn. It can then settle in through cool and rainy winter weather to grow and bloom about now. With watering after the winter rainy season, several might start now to bloom for summer. Some of the more sustainable species can disperse seed for another wildflower season.

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Cane Berries

Thorny stems complicate pruning.

The fruits of summer are still a few month away. The work necessary to produce them needs to get done now though. Just like bare root trees, bare root raspberry canes get planted while dormant in winter, and later require intensive specialized pruning to keep them in control and to promote abundant production. Canes that are already established need to get pruned now and every winter.

New plants should be planted about two or three feet apart, and then cut back so that only a single bud is visible above ground. Root barriers should keep them from venturing under fences and into neighbor’s gardens, particularly since south or west facing fences are ideal spots to grow raspberries. Alternatively, raspberries can be planted in sunken #15 cans (15 gallon nursery pots), with or without the bottoms cut off. Cans should be buried up to their rims because any exposed black vinyl collects warmth from the sun, which is uncomfortable for the roots within. Mulch should insulate the soil until new foliage provides shade.

The few new canes that should develop during the next few months should be able to support their own weight, but may be easier to work with if tied to a fence or trellis. The popular everbearing types, like ‘September’, ‘Heritage’, ‘Summit’, ‘Golden Summit’ and ‘Fallgold’ may produce fruit on top of their new canes by autumn. The tops of these canes should get cut down as low as fruit developed during the following winter. The remaining lower portions of canes that did not produce fruit in the first year should produce fruit by the second summer, and should be pruned to the ground as the fruit finishes.  

As the spent canes get removed, about five to ten of the best new canes should be selected and tied in place if desired. All other canes should be cut to the ground. Like the canes of the previous year, the selected canes should develop fruit on top in autumn and get pruned as they finish in winter, and then develop more fruit down low before getting pruned out during the following summer. This process should be repeated annually.

‘Willamette’, ‘Tulameen’ and ‘Canby’ are traditional summer bearing raspberries. They do not produce in their first year, and will need to be pruned to about five feet tall during the following winter. As these canes develop fruit, many new canes emerge below. Every winter afterward, about five to ten of the new canes should be selected and pruned to about five feet as spent canes and unneeded canes get cut to the ground.

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Warm Season Vegetables Start Early

Tomatoes are the favorite summer vegetable.

Warm season annuals that are becoming more available in nurseries are a clue. As they become seasonal, so do warm season vegetables, or summer vegetables. After all, they also perform as annuals within their respective seasons. It may still be too cool for many to inhabit the garden directly. However, several that grow from seed can start about now.

Many more varieties of warm season vegetables are available from seed than as plants. Vegetable plants are available in cell packs or four inch pots. They occupy more nursery space than racks of many more varieties of seed. Many more varieties are available from online catalogs. Several true to type varieties can provide seed for subsequent seasons.

Furthermore, many warm season vegetables grow better from seed than from transplant. Corn, beans, squash and root vegetables grow very efficiently from seed. However, they do not recover so easily from transplanting. Root vegetables are particularly susceptible to deformity from such handling. Seed for many root vegetables is ready for sowing now.

Seed is also an advantage for warm season vegetables that grow from many plants. For example, one packet of beet seed can provide more than enough beets. One cell pack of beets costs about as much, but provides only six possibly wimpy beets. A solitary tomato plant might provide plenty of tomatoes, though. Besides, tomato plants transplant easily.

Seed for corn, beans and squash should wait for warmer weather for their direct sowing. So should seed for many warm season vegetables that do not really need direct sowing. However, those that do not require direct sowing can start now inside or in greenhouses. They are easy to transplant from flats, cell packs or small pots later with warmer weather.

The season for warm season vegetables is only now beginning. Ideally, such vegetables arrive as cool season vegetables relinquish their space. Successive phases can replace the last of cool season vegetables. Eventually, cool season vegetables will reclaim their garden space. Currently new warm season vegetables should be finished with it by then.