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Wind Is Messy And Hazardous

Trees lose limbs to strong wind.

Arborists become more popular after storms. That is when consequences of negligent tree maintenance become more apparent. Wind dislodges limbs and destabilizes whole trees. Unfortunately, the most diligent of tree maintenance can not prevent all damage. Trees and other vegetation are naturally vulnerable to frequently stormy winter weather.

Deciduous trees try to be less vulnerable to wind by defoliating prior to winter. Without foliage, they are less resistant to wind. In other words, they are more aerodynamic. Wind blows through them rather than against them. Some unfortunately defoliate slowly within the mild climate here. With such minor chill, some retain foliage until spring replacement.

For example, some sweetgum still retain much of their foliage. That is an advantage for the display of their autumn foliar color. It is a major disadvantage for their aerodynamics though. As a deciduous species, it does not expect to be so vulnerable to wind through wintry weather. What is worse is that sweetgum trees are innately structurally deficient.

Evergreen trees and other vegetation seem to be less concerned about wind. Actually, they merely employ different defensive tactics. Most cypress and some spruce are too dense and sturdy for wind to penetrate. Many pines develop sparse canopies that wind blows through. On the coast, coast live oak stays low and broad for wind to blow over.

Regardless of their efforts, trees of all sorts are vulnerable to damage from wind. Falling limbs or entire trees are very hazardous. Also, they can damage or destroy what they fall onto. That is why timely maintenance of trees is so very important. Any tree that becomes too hazardous to salvage necessitates removal. All trees eventually age and deteriorate.

Also, all trees, as well as all other vegetation, are messy. Some are messier than others; and many get messier as a result of wind. Some of such mess clogs eavestroughs and downspouts when they are most helpful. Detritus fills curbside gutters also. Actually, it gets everywhere. Its removal will be easier between the windy storms that generate it.

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Blackberry Canes Need Specialized Maintenance

Dormant blackberry canes are now available with other bare root stock.

            One of my favorite modern California impressionistic paintings depicts suburban gardening of the post agricultural period in the Santa Clara Valley. It is a finger painting that I made in kindergarten at Bucknall School in about 1972 or 3, to illustrate some of my favorite features of my grandparents’ garden in Santa Clara. To the left is a vertical brown stripe below green squiggles with black spots; the avocado tree. To the right is a similar image with red instead of black spots; the cherry tree. Between and below these, and lacking a vertical stripe, is a flurry of green squiggles with more black spots. These are blackberry canes.

            Blackberries are not at all ‘low maintenance’ since they require rather intensive specialized pruning. Most of the work that they need gets done during summer; but bare-root blackberry plants become available and get planted this time of year with other bare-root plants. Blackberries produce fruit on biennial canes which grow during their first year, and then bloom and fruit during their second year before dieing out.

            Once the tough roots are established, there is no shortage of fresh new canes to replace the old canes. In fact, surplus young canes can be dug and divided with roots to propagate new plants during winter. Because they have a way of spreading outward, blackberries should not be planted too near to neighbors’ fences without root barriers to keep them contained.  

            The most popular blackberries locally are ‘trailing’ types such as ‘Boysen’, ‘Marion’ and ‘Olallie’, which are also known as ‘Boysenberry’, ‘Marionberry’ and ‘Olallieberry’.  Less common ‘erect’ types, such as ‘Arapaho’, ‘Chickasaw’, ‘Choctaw’ and ‘Navaho’, are more tolerant to cold winter weather, so are more popular where winters are more severe. Hybrids of trailing and erect blackberries are ‘semierect’, and are generally treated like trailing types.

            After they get planted in winter, trailing and semierect blackberry canes can do whatever they want to through their first year. In their second year, canes should be trained onto trellises or wires until they have finished fruiting in summer. When the fruit is finished, these canes should be cut to the ground.

            Some of the canes that were growing on the ground below the trellises while all this was going on should now be trained like the canes that were just removed. For trailing types, about ten to fifteen of the best canes should be selected, trained and pruned to about six or seven feet long. About half as many canes of semierect types should be selected and pruned about a foot shorter. All remaining canes should be cut to the ground. (A few of the smallest remaining canes may be left intact through summer to be divided for propagation in winter.)     

            Side branches grow from the pruned canes through late summer and early autumn. At the end of the following winter, these side branches should be pruned to about a foot long. New growth from these stems blooms and fruits during the following summer. Again, when fruit is gone, the spent canes get cut to the ground so that the process can be repeated.

            Erect blackberries do not need to be trained onto support. Canes that develop during their first year can be cut to about two and a half feet tall in the middle of summer. Resulting branches should be cut about a foot long in winter. During the following summer, these fruiting canes should be cut to the ground as fruit is depleted. New canes can then be pruned like the previous canes were.

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Summer Bulbs Begin In Winter

Summer bulbs bloom after spring bulbs.

Spring bulbs begin to go into the garden during autumn to benefit from the chill of winter. Summer bulbs begin to go into the garden during late winter to avoid the chill of winter. Spring bulbs know to remain dormant through winter. Some summer bulbs do not. If they grow prematurely, they can be vulnerable to cool wintry weather. Late is better than early.

Frost is still possible within some climates. However, summer bulbs are now in season. That is because, like spring bulbs, they disperse roots prior to developing foliage. By the time they extend foliage in a month or so, the weather will not be so cool. Later phases of a few sorts bloom later to prolong bloom for the first season. They synchronize afterward.

That is because they establish themselves within the garden. Once they do, some types of summer bulbs become hardy perennials. Some might try to grow prematurely during subsequent winters. If they incur frost damage as established perennials, they can easily replace the damage. Ornamental gingers and cannas do so regularly in inland climates.

Ornamental gingers and cannas may eventually benefit from division. Even if they do not become too crowded, they can migrate where they are not wanted. Their surplus is easy to relocate or share while dormant for winter. Their foliage becomes shabby or dies back during dormancy anyway. Even if mostly green, its removal stimulates healthy refoliation.

Ornamental gingers and cannas also are oblivious to phasing. Gingers bloom only once for late summer or autumn. Cannas bloom randomly from spring until autumn. Gladiolus bloom only once like gingers, but are more conducive to phasing. Early planting allows early bloom. Late planting delays bloom. Unfortunately, they are much less sustainable.

If summer bulbs do not look like bulbs, it is because few actually are. Most are rhizomes. Dahlias, which, like cannas, bloom from spring until autumn, grow from tuberous roots. As the name implies, tuberous begonias grow from tubers. Crocosmias grow from corms. So do taros, which are large foliar perennials. Gingers and cannas are familiar rhizomes. Although alliums bloom as summer bulbs, they go into the garden along with earlier spring bulbs.

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Sustainable Vegetable Gardening

It will be time to add warm season vegetables to the garden soon.

This article is recycled from several years ago, so the information about the class is no longer relevant.

            Just as we are getting accustomed to winter, it is already time to begin to get ready for spring. The first of the six sessions of the Sustainable Vegetable Gardening class with Master Gardener Ann Northrup at Guadalupe River Park and Gardens will be from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. on February 10. Subsequent sessions continue weekly at the same time until the sixth session on March 17, in time for warm season vegetables to replace cool season vegetables.  

            Topics include: soil preparation, amendments and fertilizers; irrigation methods and systems; working with both seeds and seedlings; cultural requirements of specific warm and cool season crops and varieties that do well locally; and how to identify and manage common pests, weeds and diseases of vegetable crops in the Santa Clara Valley. Sustainable Vegetable Gardening emphasizes sustainable gardening techniques, such as mulching, efficient watering techniques, composting, integrated pest management and organic fertilizers and soil amendments. Participants will learn how to manage a successful and environmentally responsible food garden that will produce vegetables and herbs throughout the year.  

            Sustainable Vegetable Gardening will be at the Guadalupe River Park and Gardens Visitor and Education Center at 438 Coleman Avenue in San Jose. Admission is $72. Pre-registration is required and can be arranged by telephoning 298 7657. More information about this and other classes can be found at www.grpg.org.  

            Another reminder of the distant but eventual spring is that seed catalogues start to arrive. Some arrive by email as links to online catalogues. It seems that the best still arrive by mail though. I have yet to receive two of my favorite catalogues from Baker Creek Heirloom Seed and Park Seed. Baker Creek not only has some of the oldest heirloom seeds, including Early American seeds, but also some of the weirdest vegetable, herb and flower seeds from all over the world. Park Seed supplies the more contemporary traditional seeds that I grew up with, as well as all sorts of bulbs and plants.

            It may be too late by the time their catalogues arrive, because the Renee’s Garden Seed Catalogue is already here! The online catalogue can be found at www.reneesgarden.com. Even though I typically do not like mixed seeds, I do like Renee’s Garden color coded mixes with the different types within the mixes dyed different colors. I simply separate the different seeds as I plant them. It is like getting two or three packets of seed in one.

            I think I like Renee’s flowers as much as the vegetables. There is an entire page of sweet peas to choose from! I also like the selection of sunflowers, nasturtiums and morning glories. This last year, the delicate blue stars in the centers of the big white flowers of ‘Glacier Star’ morning glory were my favorite.

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Citrus Fruit Ripens Through Winter

Unharvested lemons stay fresh for months.

Winter is bare root season, which is the best time for installation of deciduous fruit trees. It is also the best time for dormant pruning of deciduous fruit trees. Evergreen fruit trees do not get much attention. Installation and any pruning of evergreen fruit trees happens after winter. However, regardless of perceived neglect, winter is actually citrus season.

Technically, citrus are always in season here. That is because most citrus fruits last so long on their trees after ripening. Also, some types produce a few fruits sporadically after their primary season. The latest ‘Lisbon’ lemons can still be good as the earliest of the following season ripen. ‘Eureka’ lemons ripen in minor phases after their primary phase.

Therefore, winter is citrus season merely because it is when most citrus fruit ripens. The schedule is ideal. It begins as pear and apple season finishes. It finishes as cherry and apricot season begins. Pears and apples, and especially cherries and apricots, are less predictable than citrus. Fortunately, citrus can begin a bit early or finish late if necessary.

All citrus are species or hybrids of the same genus of Citrus. Kumquats also classify as Fortunella though. The primary components of the flavors of their fruits are sweet, sour and bitter. The most familiar oranges are sweet oranges, but sour and bitter oranges also exist. Most lemons and limes are sour, but there are also sweet lemons and sweet limes.

Oranges, which are generally sweet oranges, are the most popular citrus. Navel oranges are traditional eating oranges. ‘Valencia’ is a traditional juicing orange. Blood oranges are a bit more tart, with blushed or red flesh and juice. ‘Seville’ sour orange is useful for marmalade. Rare bitter oranges provide flavoring for teas, and fragrance for perfumery.

Lemons are the second most popular citrus. Mandarin oranges, or mandarines, should probably be more popular. They are the more perishable of citrus though, because their rinds are relatively loose. Tangerines are merely mandarines of the Americas. ‘Rangpur’ lime is a sour mandarine. Real limes are very diverse, but mostly ripen greenish yellow. Grapefruits combine sweet, sour and bitter.

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A Good Arborist Can Be Difficult To Find.

Some of the most avid garden enthusiasts need help with big trees.

            It was probably best that I was not here when it happened. Although, coming home to it was horrible nonetheless. This is the second major tragedy in my garden in only a few months. Last autumn, just before it could defoliate to be less susceptible to the wind, the most magnificent black oak in my garden was blown down. Now I find that the weather has again flaunted its ominous power by claiming the innocent life of the most glorious Douglas fir, and desecrating the shattered remains in the cold mud.

            How can this be?! I am an arborist! I am supposed to protect trees from such demise! Sadly, the truth is that the fir has been deteriorating for a long time before we became acquainted. There was nothing that I could have done for it. If the tree had been located where it could have been hazardous to anyone in the area, it would have needed to be removed.

            Hazardous trees innately become much more hazardous in stormy weather. Rain loosens their anchorage by softening the soil. Wind can either destabilize trees, or break their limbs away. Ideally, it is best to give trees the attention they need before the weather gets unpleasant. Realistically though, we do not often think about it while the weather is not so threatening.

            Now that the weather is reminding us of how important it is to take care of our trees, we should be certain to do so properly. Large trees may require procedures that we are unable to perform. When it becomes necessary to procure the services of tree maintenance professionals, it is imperative to find qualified arborists. (Arborists are horticulturists of trees.)

            Unfortunately, the arboricultural (tree maintenance) industries are infested with unqualified ‘hackers’ who can inflict serious damage. Real arborists are about as specialized as physicians are. Getting anyone else to assess trees is about a sensible as getting a cardiologist to do brain surgery. 

            Arborists inspect trees to identify hazards such as instability and structural deficiency, and then prescribe corrective procedures. Not everyone involved with the crew that performs any necessary procedures is a ‘certified’ arborist. The crew should though be directed by what an arborist prescribes. Sometimes, trees are found to be too hazardous to be salvaged, and will need to be removed.

            The website of the International Society of Arboriculture (ISA) at www.isaarbor.com is an excellent resource for finding local certified arborists. This site also features articles that explain in more detail than I did why it is so important to ‘hire an arborist’, as well as many other relevant topics. Perhaps just as importantly, it demonstrates how serious arborists are about arboriculture.

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Pollard And Coppice During Winter

Proper pollarding and coppicing are rare.

This is extreme dormant pruning. Pollard and coppice pruning involve complete removal of all new growth. They typically involve growth from a previous season annually. A two year cycle involves growth from two previous seasons, and so on. This repetitive pruning to the same origins stimulates distended callus growth there. It is as brutal as it sounds.

This is why pollard and coppice pruning are vilified in America. The techniques evolved through centuries of horticulture and several cultures. Both are still practical for various reasons everywhere else. However, American arboriculture classifies them as topping or disfigurement. Consequently, very few arborists here know how or want to do it properly.

Like other dormant pruning, pollard and coppice pruning must happen during winter. It is too severe for active vegetation. Also, pollard pruning exposes bark of trunks and limbs. Such bark would scald during sunnier summer weather. Growth from distended callus growth, or knuckles, shades lower stems by summer. It is very vigorous through spring.

That is what pollard and coppice pruning is still useful for within other cultures. Vigorous foliage is useful for fodder for livestock, including silkworms. Vigorous stems are useful for kindling and basketry. Some species bloom more vigorously on vigorous new growth. Others can not bloom to produce unwanted pollen or messy fruit within the same year.

Colorful or variegated foliage is more colorful in response to pollard or coppice pruning. Some eucalypti generate juvenile foliage for floral design. Such foliage is more aromatic than adult foliage. Improved foliar vigor enhances resistance to some diseases, such as mildew and rust. Coppicing can renovate some types of overgrown or shabby shrubbery.

The difference between pollard and coppice pruning is that pollard pruning retains limbs. Coppice pruning retains only a stump near grade. It is less reliant on repetition, and may never need it again. Pollard pruning compromises structural integrity, which necessitates repetition. Otherwise, pruning to restore structure will eventually become necessary. Not many species are receptive to such extreme pruning techniques.

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Learn How To Prune Dormant Deciduous Fruit Trees Properly

(This article is recycled from 2010, so includes outdated information. It is deferred from yesterday because Wi-Fi was not operational.)

Deciduous fruit trees require very specialized pruning.

            So many of the kids I grew up with now have an apricot tree in their own back yard, even though not many of us actually like the fruit. We all remember the remnant orchards, mostly apricots, which were scattered about the Santa Clara Valley when we were young. We also remember how we consumed vast volumes of apricots in every form imaginable; including fresh, dried, canned and stewed, and in jams, jellies, compotes, syrups and pies. I could go on, but it would ruin my appetite.

            Deciduous fruit and nut trees are certainly not ‘low maintenance’. Most need to be pruned annually, while dormant in winter. If not pruned correctly, they become overburdened with their own fruit. Also, the process of selecting from the many different cultivars of the many different types of fruit is quite a chore. There are many more cultivars to choose from for home gardens than for orchards, particularly with the many modern cultivars introduced during the past few decades.

            Because those who maintained the orchards are now as nearly extinct from the Valley as the orchards are, we need to know how to care for our own trees. This is why Friends of Guadalupe River Park and Gardens has scheduled the Dormant Fruit Tree Pruning Class with Sean McGrail in only a few days, on January 23, from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m.. Tools, techniques and basic pruning concepts will be explained and demonstrated among the many fruit trees, including apricots, cherries, prunes, apples and others, of the Historic Orchard of Guadalupe Gardens. Participants will then get to participate in pruning some of these trees. The Historic Orchard is located just south of Taylor Street in San Jose, adjacent to the Guadalupe River Park Trails. Admission is $15. 

            A week later, on January 30 from 9:00 a.m. to noon, the Best of the Best class, also with Sean McGrail, as well as Nancy Garrison and the California Rare Fruit Growers, will discuss many of the best fruit cultivars for the Santa Clara Valley. Afterward, planting, site selection, drainage and pruning of new trees will be demonstrated in the Historic Orchard. Admission is $30. Required registration can be arranged by telephoning 298 7657. Information about both classes can be found online at www.grpg.org.     

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Dormant Pruning Exploits Winter Dormancy

Fruit trees become congested without pruning.

Bare root season begins as the year ends for a simple reason. That is when deciduous plants are dormant. They are unaware of the otherwise distressful process of relocation. This is also why winter is the season for dormant pruning. Such pruning would be very distressful at any other time of year. While dormant, deciduous plants are unaware of it.

Dormant pruning of fruit trees is also important for a simple reason. Extensive breeding has increased reliance on horticultural intervention. In other words, deciduous fruit trees now generate more fruit than they can support. Their fruit is both unnaturally abundant and unnaturally large. It is both too heavy and too consumptive for its unpruned stems.

Dormant pruning enhances the quality of fruit by concentrating resources. Although less copious, fruit is bigger and better. Also, dormant pruning enhances structural integrity of supportive stems. Although more vigorous, vegetative growth is more compact. Stouter stems endure less leverage from fruit weight. As a bonus, more fruit is easier to reach.

Almost all deciduous fruit trees require very specialized dormant pruning. This includes some nut trees, as well as grapevines, kiwi vines, cane berries and roses. However, it does not include evergreen fruit trees, like citrus and avocados. They do not need such aggressive pruning. Besides, pruning stimulates new growth that is vulnerable to frost.

Unfortunately, dormant pruning is too specialized to describe in a few paragraphs. For most deciduous fruit trees, it is quite aggressive. Peach and nectarine trees may benefit from removal of half of their stem growth! Apricot and plum trees need a bit less pruning. Cherry and almond trees may need only minor pruning. Yet, all six are stone fruit trees.

Apple, pear and quince are all pomme fruits. Their trees require similar dormant pruning. Their many varieties require various degrees of such pruning though. Fig, mulberry and persimmon trees all require particular types of dormant pruning as well. Deciduous fruit trees are certainly not low maintenance. This should be considered before planting any.

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Bare Root Stock

Bare root stock is none too pretty in the beginning.

Now that Christmas trees have been moved out of the nurseries, it is time for bare root plants to move in! As the term implies, bare root plants have ‘bare roots’, lacking typical media (such as potting soil) which is typically contained in cans or pots. All sorts of deciduous fruit trees, roses, grapes and berries can be purchased bare root, either bagged with moist wood shavings, or out of the ‘sand boxes’ that they are heeled into in the nurseries. Even more are available from mail order catalogues. (Just check climate zone ratings for mail order stock.)

I purchased all of my deciduous fruit trees bare root mainly to save money. Bare root stock typically costs about half of what canned stock (grown in a nursery can or pot) does. Also, because bare root stock does not take up as much space as canned stock does, more varieties can be brought in and made available during bare root season.

Bare root stock gets established into the garden more efficiently than canned stock does. It gets dug, transported and planted while dormant; and can disperse roots into relatively uniform soil immediately after dormancy. However, stock that gets canned wakes up in spring in uncomfortably warm and confining nursery cans. After adapting to nursery conditions, it must then adapt to new garden environments, and disperse roots into soil that is very different from what it already rooted into.

Bare root stock should be planted as soon as possible after it leaves the nursery so that roots do not get too dry. If they can not get planted immediately, plants that were pulled from sand boxes in nurseries should get their roots heeled into (covered with) damp soil. Bagged stock in original packaging is safe for a few days in the shade.

Roots should be soaked a few hours before planting. I prefer to instead keep roots well watered for a day after planting. Broken or damaged roots should be pruned away before planting. Damaged and superfluous stems should be pruned away after planting.

Planting holes for bare root stock can be wide enough to loosen surrounding soil, but should be no deeper than necessary. Plants are likely to settle too deeply if the soil below is too loose. All roots should be buried while graft unions (the odd ‘kinks’ low on the trunks of grafted trees) remain exposed. Soil can be mounded firmly into a ‘volcano’ in the middle of each hole to spread roots over. Backfill soil can be amended lightly; not so much that it is too different from surrounding soil.

A basin should be formed around each new bare root plant so that roots can be soaked and settled in by filling the basins with water twice. Bare root plants are initially dormant and lack foliage, so do not need water again until they develop foliage, and the soil gets dry in spring. Besides, rain and cool weather will keep the soil wet through winter.