The February 2007 Garden News Releases

February Garden News Releases 2007

Gardener's Checklist February 4-10, 2007

• Remove old flowers on camellias and azaleas to reduce the chance of petal blight.
• Apply chelated iron to azaleas, citrus, and gardenias to keep them green.
• Check with your local garden center for a blooming token of love this Valentine Day.
• February is your last chance for dormant spraying. Dormant spraying controls insects that hibernate during the winter and fungal diseases such as peach leaf curl.

  February 11-17, 2007

  • Azaleas are starting to bloom now. Come to your local garden center for the best selections.
  • Choose dahlia bulbs now for a rich array of color and different flower forms in your garden. You can plant them in late March and April.
  • Plant perennials now for texture and flowers through the spring and summer.
  • Get a jump on aphids this year. Check with your local California Certified Nursery Professional for effective controls.

  February 18-24, 2007

  • Use polymers with all your indoor and outdoor plants. It makes a huge difference on water consumption.
  • As flower petals fall, spray apple trees with Sevin and a wetting agent. Follow up with additional treatment when fruits are the same size as a dime, quarter and half dollar.
  • Think spring! Plant annual bedding plants such as petunias, marigolds, and lobelia for beautiful flower beds.
  • Crabgrass and spotted spurge can be prevented with applications of a pre-emergence weed control and fertilizer. Check with your local California Certified Nursery Professional for recommendations.

  February 25 - March 3, 2007

  • It's a good time to transplant azaleas and camellias.
  • Set out snail bait to protect newly planted seedlings. Renew if it rains.
  • Before planting your flowerbeds condition them with the addition of soil amendments and fertilizers.
  • Plant a cherry tree in honor of our president!

  February Garden Fillers

  1. Nothing is as glamorous as the gorgeous tuberous begonia. Its perfect petals and wonderful color range make it an eye-catching addition to the shady portions of the garden. Begonias like partial shade, a sheltered location and filtered sun. They are available in a multitude of colors and flower forms.
  2. Start the tubers in damp peat moss. Place them in the peat moss dented side up, and cover completely with about an inch of peat moss. When leaves appear, transfer the plants to their permanent location whether it be in a bed, pots, or hanging baskets (baskets should be eight inches deep). They like cool nights, plenty of moisture and good ventilation. Many of us talk to our plants, but the begonia has its own communication. It tells you when it's hungry. If the leaves are light green and cupped, feed with a balanced fertilizer. Dark green foliage and crimped down foliage means everything is fine.
  3. Bring more charm into your garden with a good assortment of colorful spring flowering shrubs. They make excellent backgrounds for annuals, perennials, and beautiful blooming flower bulbs: daffodils, tulips and Dutch iris. All of these shrubs have lush foliage for summer gardens and some will provide eye-catching foliage for autumn. Choose from quince, lilacs, mock orange, spiraea, viburnum, weigela and forsythia.
  4. Early spring is the second bulb planting season of the year. In the fall bulbs are planted for spring color and the late winter and spring for summer color. You can brighten your garden with exotic amaryllis and their trumpet shaped flowers, tuberous begonias to make the shade areas shine and calla lilies, hybrid lilies, and gladiolus will brighten your garden and indoor bouquets.
  5. Pruning fuchsias is a February job in the milder climates of the states. Before you prune, take time to consider what needs to be done. A fuchsia, like a rose, blooms on the new growth every year. The gardener's aim is to promote new growth to carry plenty of bloom next summer. First, remove all weak or damaged wood. Then, cut back the rest of the plant rather severely unless you have some special reason for keeping it long. At least half the old wood can be removed without danger to the plant; and taking more is not an uncommon practice.
  6. Is there a shady spot in your garden? Then by all means plant cineraria and its beautiful companions such as dwarf campanula, primroses, fiberous or tuberous begonias, foxglove, Canterbury bells, ferns and other foliage plants. Or mass them in wooden wine barrels or other such large containers and display these shade lovers on the lanai or under a covered patio.
  7. If you ever wanted a plant with year round interest, Chinese pieris is it. This plant is an evergreen shrub whose new growth in the spring surprises you by being pale salmon pink to flaming red in color. Later this growth turns into long, wide leaves of dark green. In the fall, delicate strands of greenish pink buds hang form the branch tips; and when these bloom in early spring they are pearl white and urn-shaped. The shrub itself grows up to six to ten feet in an open manner. Some of the newer varieties can be held to four or five feet.
  8. Thinking about a vegetable garden? If so, prepare your soil in advance to increase your yields and to have stronger, healthier vegetable plants. Work the soil down to a depth of eight to twelve inches and add organic materials. If you aren't inclined to prepare the soil, a ready to use planter mix can be worked into the ground at the time you plant. Vegetables are best planted in rows for easy access. Be sure to mulch around the base of your vegetable plants to help conserve moisture and keep the weeds to a minimum.
  9. The Japanese maple is a tree that fits into any garden. It grows as a small tree or shrub that offers spring growth that is red in color, soft green summer leaves, and scarlet, orange or yellow foliage in the fall. As a bonus, it provides a graceful silhouette of delicate green or red branches in winter. This tree is adaptable for many garden situations. Plant it in a container to place on the deck or patio. Use it as a small lawn tree or even in the backyard by the pool where it's beauty will be reflected in the water. Since a filtered sun location is desirable, this makes the Japanese maple even more adaptable.

  February Articles

  Winter Cheer For Our Winged Friends

  Help our winged garden visitors to get through early spring a little more comfortably by planning your garden to include some of their favorite delicacies! Although it may be too late to include these plants in the garden for this winter get a jump on next year by planting ahead.

  Consider the darling of the bird world, the hummingbird. Everyone likes to see this jeweled beauty flit through the garden on his search for nectar. You can increase the popularity of your yard for this tiny sprite by planting shrubs and trees with large, colorful blossoms. Purple, blue, pink, red or reddish-yellow colors will draw them. They are particularly fond of bright flowers with deep-throated tubular shapes. Some of their favorites are: azaleas, columbine, clematis, trumpet vines, fuchsias, honeysuckle, penstemon and viburnum. During the late fall and winter months supplement the hummingbird's diet with a feeder. Hummingbirds require a special feeder. Fill it with nectar according to directions. Don't make it too strong (it's not good for the birds) or too weak (they won't come back). Stop by your favorite nursery and choose a bird feeder. It will give a new dimension to your garden.

  Other birds look for berried plants and shrubs as a food source. Plant crabapple, cherry, quince, persimmon, pomegranates and other fruit trees to provide spring and summer food sources. Pyracantha, barberry, cotoneaster and honeysuckle are also good additions to the garden. If you are planting fruit trees to entice the bird population there will probably be little left for you to enjoy because they will begin feeding on it as soon as the fruit begins to ripen and show color.

  Although it is best to feed birds all year round most people begin in the late fall. As the days grow shorter, wild birds begin investigating the area for steady food supplies. Seed are best for winter foods in California. Many birds get oil from the common black sunflower seed that helps keep them in good health throughout the year.

  Check with your local garden center if you'd like to purchase a feeder. Beginners traditionally use the Hooper or lantern bird feeder because they attract a wide variety of birds and because almost any seed can be used. To hang a feeder use a very thin galvanized wire and locate it at least 15 feet from any tree trunk or limb and at least four feet up from the ground. This will prevent squirrels from either jumping from the tree or up from the ground onto the feeder. It will also discourage cats from taking illegal possession of your feathered friends.

  Hang bird feeders in areas sheltered from the wind and close to trees for protection from predators (remember to bell your cat if you want birds to hang around). A good location for a feeder is one that is easily seen from the window and accessible for refilling.

  Birds are attracted to gardens with plenty of cover. It gives them refuge from predators. An ideal set up is a garden with established trees such as conifers and some deciduous trees that produce fruits and berries that are an additional food source for the birds. They are also attracted to yards that have a water source such as a birdbath or fountain.

  Choose Trees By Their Shadows

  Ever think of choosing an evergreen tree by its shadow? You should, because “choosing by shadow” is as important as choosing by leaf and color textures. Most homeowners want an evergreen that will both soften and accent their house without absorbing too much space. And often they think that evergreen trees are too large for their frequently limited garden area. This is not the case, however. There are many medium sized broadleaf evergreens that will provide comfortable shade without crowding. The answer can be found by measuring the shadow of the tree you desire to plant.

  How, you ask, can you measure the shadow of a tree that isn't planted yet? Just do this. First, get your California Certified Nursery Professional to help you select a desirable tree for your particular needs. Then, draw a scale diagram to your nursery professional and ask him to position the prospective tree on it and estimate and plot the shadow the tree will cast at various times of the day when it is mature. While boulevard trees are out of the question, most medium sized evergreens will provide a pleasant amount of shade for afternoon terrace and patio entertaining or for cooling a living area, without throwing your house and garden in complete shadow.

  Evergreens are practical for suburban use as their dense foliage minimizes street and neighborhood noise to a great extent. They will help maintain privacy the year around, while functioning as a cooling system, that often lowers garden temperatures 10 degrees or more in the summer. In winter they will help restrict frost damage.

  Most evergreens can be depended upon to present a consistently clean, glossy, symmetrical appearance. There are many medium sized evergreens, however, that also flower and fruit. Several are included in the list below.

  Dwarf Southern Magnolias: A small edition of the popular M. Grandiflora. The dwarf retains all the pleasing characteristics of its larger parent. It produces huge, waxy, cream-white blooms surrounded in summer and winter by large leathery, glossy green foliage, radiate a permeating fragrance. It stays comparatively small, blossoming as a young tree. The saucer like flowers can be picked for floating bowl arrangements.

  Evergreen Dogwoods: A smaller and hardier species (Cornus capitata), Cornus has typical dogwood foliage and a naturally low, branching, billowy habit that is dogwood clusters of creamy flower bracts cover the tree from May to July. Berries form in summer and turn a brilliant red in early fall. Cornus thrives in average soil and reach a height of 18 to 20 feet. While they prefer partially shaded locations in milder climates they will do well in full sun.

  Acacia: Although most acacia varieties are unsuitable to small gardens, the pearl acacia (A. podalyriifolia) grows an average of 12 t o15 feet and is perfect for patio areas. Fast growing and upright in habit, it makes a dense round head. Fluffy creamy-yellow flowers bloom in winter. Most varieties prefer coastal or southern locations.

  Loquat: Distinctive leathery foliage that progresses from light to deep green and finally rich yellow copper and bronze has made this species (Eriobotrya japonica) an outstanding garden conversation piece. It is particularly striking contrasted against a white stucco wall or tall wooded fence. Delicious medium sized edible fruit ripen during spring. It grows from 10 to 20 feet over the years, thrives in a variety of soils in the coastal and southern section of the state.

  Mock Orange or Victorian Box: Although it is a large tree by habit reaching 24 to 30 feet, its neat standard form can be easily trained. It makes an excellent medium sized lawn tree. The glossy dark green “citrus like” leaves of this species (Pittosporum undulatum) have a light but pungent citrus scent.

  Dwarf Flowering Eucalyptus: A good lawn tree, this dwarf variety like most citrus trees, is well suited to southern California. It's a typical gum, lanceolate leaves are fragrant, turning from summer green to reddish tan in the fall.

  Avocado: This tree is a delight to southern California gardeners, providing those who have them with perfectly delicious salads. The trees themselves develop handsome compact forms of glossy green leaves. There are several varieties that can be used in a small garden or container. Avocados require perfect drainage, however, to set good globular fruit. Local California Certified Nursery Professionals can recommend a suitable species.

  Hedges Make Good Neighbors

  Are you planning to build a fence one of these days? And if so, wouldn't a hedge serve just as well? Certainly you can save some money, time and effort by planting your fence instead of building it.

  It's true that a living fence requires some upkeep over the years. But initial cost and effort is so much less, and the future result is so much more pleasant to look at.

  Members of the California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers say that the same thought and care should go into choosing plant material for a hedge that you would give to choosing material for a fence. Look around your neighborhood for examples that please you. Then talk it over with a local California Association of Nurseries and Garden Centers member to find out just how wide a choice there is available.

  Privet is beyond a doubt the most widely used of hedge materials for the very good reason that it is so satisfactory. Different varieties available make it possible to use privet for hedges from two to ten feet tall. Trim it to your liking for formal effects or leave it untrained for an informal effort seldom attributed to the species.

  Try another old favorite, Glossy abelia, where frost threatens. Abelia is more graceful as an informal hedge, but stands shearing in summer if you prefer the clipped look. Tubular white or pink flowers are abelias' best known asset.

  For tall and mild formal hedges, English laurel, viburnum, euonymous, and pittosporum, are some of the recommendation plants. Any of the above will make a full, wide screen when left untrimmed.

  A Lilac Full of Memories

  Lilacs are sentimental favorites with gardeners. Our memories are stirred by the sight and smell of these lovely shrubs and by the words that have been written about them. In California intense efforts have been made to develop strains fitted to our climate, as well as new varieties with extraordinary qualities.

  These lilacs are magnificent in every way. Their color range runs the color chart from dazzling reds through delicate pinks and deep purples, blues and carmine. Individual flowers are often over an inch in diameter, borne on flower heads that measure up to a foot in length. Blooms are either double or single.

  Ask about such beauties as Clark's Giant, a single flowered blue lilac with unbelievably large flower heads; or Sensation, each floret tipped with white to set off the maroon red. It shimmers in the sunshine. Michel Buchner and Burgundy Queen are both worth your attention. The former is a rosy lilac, the latter a vibrant burgundy red with eye catching florets. Don't stop here, however, there are countless other varieties, both new and old which can give you pleasure each spring.

  For the best efforts with lilacs, give them a spot in your garden that gets the most winter cold, some summer sun and plenty of water. Keep them always in reach of the hose as they need water throughout long dry seasons. And don't expect full bloom in a year or two. You'll get some color, it's true, but nothing compared to what's in store for you later on.

  Now is the time to find bareroot lilacs in your local nursery, since most of them will arrive sometime after Christmas or the first of the year.

  Create a Winter Fantasy in your Garden.

  Yes! It really is possible to put some pizzazz into your winter garden landscape. There are some real noteworthy plants that will bud and bloom beginning in January and really show their glory in February. Here are a few favorites.

  Hardenbergia violacea also known as the Happy Wanderer is the best winter blooming vine. This sun lover blooms from late December through March with cascading lilac purple blooms. There are also white and rose colored varieties. Nothing beats this evergreen winter blooming vine. Prune back hard to keep in check.

  Spirea prunifolia also known as Shoe Button Spirea, blooms in February with a huge show of white flowers covering the whole plant.

  Camellias of all sizes and varieties will add a profuse show of large blossoms during the coldest of winters. Pinks, reds, whites and combinations of colors will give those shady areas of the garden a bright patchwork of color.

  Daphne odora is one of the classic winter blooming and extremely fragrant plants. When you pass by this small to medium sized shrub and catch a whiff of its pervasive floral perfume it will put a smile on your face and you will look forward to its bloom period year after year. Daphne works great as a container plant in terra cotta and wood, which enables the roots to breath. As a container plant it can be brought up to the front door so you can enjoy it's heavenly fragrance.

  The first tree to bloom is a lesser known flowering cherry called Prunus campanulata or Taiwan flowering cherry. By January its pendulous bell shaped buds are showing a bright purplish pink display of color. This graceful, slender, upright growing tree can find a place in any size garden to add a surprise burst of color in mid winter.

  The Blireiana flowering plum has a little later bloom, but by late February this beautiful small tree looks like pink cotton candy come rain or shine. Millions of double, fragrant flowers will give you a month of spectacular color.

  The Deciduous flowering magnolias are grown as spectacular multi trunked specimens. One of the first varieties to bloom is Magnolia x.s. 'Alexandrina' with its deep purplish pink outside and white inside coloration that will really catch your eye.

  With so many winter blooming plants available it really is possible to create a winter fantasy in your garden. In between the showers stop by your favorite nursery to see the latest displays of winter blooming landscape plants and don't forget to smell the daphne.