The March 2007 Garden News Releases

March Garden News Releases 2007

Garden Calendar February 26-March 4, 2007

Resist tidying up the garden by trimming off the damage caused by harsh winter storms. It's difficult to tell how much the plant is permanently damaged and if trimming is done now, it forces new growth that will be tender and easily damaged by another cold snap.

When you purchase tuberous begonias, select the largest and the healthiest bulbs.

It's a good time to plant delphinium. Use them as background plants because they can reach a height of seven feet. The bright splashes of blue, white and lavender will enliven your garden.

Proper planting techniques may mean the difference between a healthy, vigorous tree and one that performs poorly. Check with your California Certified Nursery Professional ™ when planting bare root trees, shrubs and berries this winter.

March 5-11, 2007

Spring has arrived. Spruce up the garden with annuals – pansies, ageratum, dwarf snapdragons, alyssum and more.

Have you started your vegetable garden yet? If weather permits in your area of the state, get vegetables in as soon as possible to extend your harvest by planting now and then rotating crops later.

With dwarf citrus, you can have your own delicious fruit growing in a minimum of space or in a container. The fruit is normal sized just like any other fruit tree.

Add cheer to your garden with plants that have daisy flowers. Try the marguerite, Transvaal daisy, Shasta daisy or even the blue marguerite (Felicia).

March 12-18, 2007

When you're through planting for spring and summer color, as well as vegetables for a tasty harvest this summer, be sure to mulch (2 inches thick) to help conserve moisture and lessen the problem of weeds.

March is the time to renovate the lawn. Be sure fertilizing, weed and pest control are part of the program.

Plant sun lovers for added garden color in the month to come – Shasta daises, geraniums and salvias.

Fibrous begonias, cinerarias, and impatiens will brighten up the shade garden. Plant after the last frost has passed.

March 19-25, 2007

To get the most from your seasonal annuals and perennials prepare the soil well by adding soil amendments. Work the ground to remove large clumps of soil and rotted root mass to give your plants the best possible home.

For exceptional roses this spring begin to fertilize and mulch them this month.

Petunias should be high on the list to plant for garden color. Cream, yellow, coral, salmon, red, pink, purple, blue, violet are some of the colors available to create a riot of color in your garden.

Plant Nicotiana (Flowering Tobacco) as a background plant in your flowerbeds. You'll be rewarded with constant blooms and a slight fragrance at dusk.

March 26-April 1, 2007

Consider geraniums for their bright, bold, flower heads to accent your garden and containers this summer.

Marigolds will fill the void in any flowerbed as an edging, background plant or simply massed by itself because of its various sizes, flower forms and colors!

Establish regular watering and mowing schedules for your lawn. Warmer weather is around the corner and you want to keep it in tip top shape.

There's still time to plant and reap the rewards from a vegetable garden.

Fillers

Spring is a season of new beginnings.

A vase, glass cylinder, or terra cotta dish planted with grass seed can quickly provide a focal point and accent for your home. The fresh, green carpet brings the brightness of spring indoor and the wonder of nature to your table. Often used for an Easter display, the idea can be used anytime. To get started fill a container partially full of moist potting soil, spread a single layer of barley seed or annual rye grass seed over the soil. Press the seeds flat down onto the soil surface. Spray or mist the container to keep the soil moist. In just 2 days you will witness the seeds sprouting and by one week you will have a beautiful stand of grass 3 or more inches high. Keep the soil moist and trim the grass as needed.

A Snow Storm in March!

Snowball viburnum is a lovely addition to the landscape will brighten the season with its fluffy white flower balls. Its bare winter branches give way to beautiful clusters of flowers. The blooms start out green and become white-white as they mature. Small flowers form 3-4” snowballs. Plant in sun or part shade. Allowed to grow unpruned they will grow 5' wide and 5' tall with gently arching branches. It's medium green serrated leaves provide welcome texture to the summer garden. Fall's cooling temperatures coax leaves to turn beautiful shades of red, cerise and orange. This is a plant for all seasons.

Gardening Is Good For Your Bones

Did you know one of the ways to help maintain bone density (especially for women over 50) is gardening? A study of 3300 women, aged 50 and older, at the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville was conducted on which types of weight-bearing activities have the strongest influence on maintaining bone density. The study surveyed the subjects' exercise activities including yard work, calisthenics, bicycling, dancing, aerobics, swimming, jogging, walking and weight training – to bone mass. There were two activities that were significant for maintaining healthy bone mass. One, weight training, was not a surprise but the other, yard work, was unexpected because it had not been considered vigorous enough to be significant.

Yard work is more likely to be undertaken regularly and it carries a low risk of injury. And, because it is done outdoors, where sunlight boost vitamin D production, it may aid the body in calcium absorption the study reports. So ladies, grab a rake and let's help maintain those bones!

Nasturtium, The Edible Flower For Shade Garden

Warm your palette and your plate with these spicy summer annuals. Nasturtiums; long time a favorite for the bright shade garden, come in hot salsa colors of red, orange, yellow and everything in-between. Nasturtiums spicy attitude is inherited from its close cousin, the herb, watercress and like their cousin, nasturtiums are also edible. The brilliant colors are both beautiful and tasty tossed in salads, or filled with cream cheese piped through a pastry sleeve.

Nasturtiums look fabulous in the garden or patio. They lend an informal, country feel. They are great in hanging baskets or planters or massed in a bed. Choose from dwarf varieties that hug the earth at 8” high or vining varieties that ramble or climb.

Plant seeds for nasturtiums in a location where plants will receive morning sun and afternoon shade (or a spot with bright shade all day) If you don't have a shady spot, plant them in among cosmos. The cosmos will grow tall and the nasturtiums will climb up through its shade. Nasturtium seeds require darkness to germinate. Sow seeds in the garden about the middle of March or later and cover with ½ inch of soil. They grow easily this way or if you would like to wait just a bit, nasturtium plants arrive at the nursery later this month.

Perennials, sometimes called “the busy person's favorites” are diverse groupings of herbaceous plants, meaning they die down to ground level every year but come back up again in the spring. Most perennials have only one bloom period per year and their foliage and flowers add an interesting texture and color to the garden. With judicious selection and plantings of perennials, you can have a continuous color change in the garden from spring through fall for years on end.

Perennials can provide a wild cottage garden effect or they can be maintained in borders or used as spot accents throughout your garden. March is a good month to plant perennials in your garden.

Frost protection and warmth are of primary importance in the early spring garden. The chance of frost lingers into April. Use of protective covers will not only protect against frost, they will also warm the soil and encourage plants to grow and establish more quickly.

Plant and seed blankets are plastic blankets that “breathe”. Roll these out over your plants and seal heat in the ground as well as keep bugs from bothering your plants.

“Hot Cap”, is a waxed paper hat that covers each individual vegetable seedling to protect it from cold as well as from wind. New to the scene and extremely popular, the “wall of water” provides excellent protection and additional heat retention to promote quicker growth. These plastic “walls” are filled with water. The plastic absorbs the heat of the day and retains it to protect the tomatoes or other plants through the night.

Articles

Blooming Trees Add to the Garden

Spring flowering trees add a wonderful dimension to your garden – every year the flowering show gets bigger and bolder bringing a sense of awe to your garden. And as the seasons progress the trees add the statement of lush foliage in the summer, fiery color in the fall and silhouettes for the winter garden. Your local garden centers carry a selection of flowering trees. Choose while they are in bloom to select the right one for your garden.

Dogwood are a graceful addition to the garden peeking out from under larger trees protected by their open branches. Try Cherokee Chief (deep rosy red bracts) and Cloud Nine (large white bracts). “Stellar Pink” (light pink) and “Heart Throb” (deep rose pink) were added to our selection last year and are proven winners. A recent introduction is Cherokee Daybreak that sports large white flowers and creamy variegated foliage with white margins and Cherokee Sunset is crowned with large purplish-red flowers and has variegated green, white and pink colored leaves. Both are small trees – just to 8-9 feet and have colorful foliage in the fall.

Crab Apples can fit in almost any yard. Most varieties average 15' to 20' in height. Malus floribunda and Malus ‘Prairie Fire' and Malus ‘Red Jade' are popular varieties. Come check out the different displays of color from these excellent varieties.

Japanese Flowering Cherry varieties will be plentiful in the spring. ‘Kwanzan,' ‘Mt. Fuji,' ‘ Beni Hoshi' and ‘Akebono' are the traditional varieties that have rose pink to white flowers in large clusters. White Snow Fountain or Pink Double Weeping flowering cherries are the weeping specimens that form fountains of weeping branches. (These two are available in a 3' or 6' top graft).

Flowering Magnolias are valley favorites and early March is the best time to choose your favorite colors. Some of the featured varieties are: ‘Vulcan', a ruby red favorite of our staff, ‘Alexandrina' with its deep purplish pink flowers and three rare yellow varieties called ‘Elizabeth', ‘Dr. Merrel' and ‘Leonard Messel'. For the smaller garden, ‘Nigra' blossoms open deep purple and then fade as they open to reveal white inside. ‘Stellata' is a wonderful heavy bloomer with small 3 inch white flowers.

Flowering Shrubs & Perennials Bring Glory to Spring

The garden is alive in March and April with flowering shrubs and trees. Everywhere you look the garden is shaking off the affects of a long winter's rest and rejoicing in the warmer spring temperatures. Flowering shrubs lead us into late spring and summer. By the time their glory has faded bedding plants are in full bloom and the shrubs are decked out with lush foliage providing a lush green backdrop for summer.

One of the all time favorites is Winter Daphne with its intense pre-spring fragrance. Daphne is a very neat, handsome plant with narrow long thick leaves. Nestled in the crown of these leaves is a nosegay cluster of flowers with pink to deep red edges and creamy pink throats that bloom in February and March.

Lilac is the one addition to the garden that transcends generational preference and is known for its sweet fragrance as well as armloads of cut flowers. Available in a large palette of colors from pure white, to pink, rose, lavender, purple and some bi-colors. Flowers appear in April and May.

Peonies are an excellent addition to a perennial border or cottage garden. Many of them have a fragrance similar to old fashioned rose varieties. Peonies are long lived and are available in a range of colors, single, semi-double or double flower forms. They make excellent cut flowers.

The cascading form of Spiraea p. ‘Plena' or Bridal wreath Spiraea presents hundreds of tiny double white flowers shaped like roses on long graceful branches. It has a pleasant fragrance. Bridal wreath increases in size and “show” each year.

Snowball viburnum is a lovely addition to the landscape and will brighten the spring season with fluffy white flower balls. Its bare winter branches give way to beautiful clusters of flowers. The blooms start out green and become white on white as they mature. In the fall, cooling temperatures coax leaves to turn beautiful shades of red, cerise, and orange. This is a plant for all seasons.

Citrus Grow Well In California – Include Some in Your Garden.

There are many varieties of citrus that do well in California. Select a lemon, tangerine, orange or grapefruit tree for home grown citrus. Choose a dwarf variety for a balcony or patio; they do equally well in planters or in the ground; or choose a standard size tree for larger spaces. It will add to the beauty of your landscape as well as produce delicious fruit. Follow these steps to a healthy, productive citrus:

Select a warm, sunny location. Citrus need heat and sun and they need to is the warmest and provides maximum sun.

Provide a well-drained soil that allows roots to absorb moisture, not stand in it. To avoid root rot, our heavy Valley soils need good soil preparations: dig a hole 2 times the size of the container and mix your soil 50-50 with Planting Mix. Add and mix a cup of Bone Meal to the hole, backfill with the soil mix and water with Root Master. For container planting, plant directly into Potting Soil. Do not cover the top of the existing rootball and trunk with any soil.

If your trees have dropped leaves or been burned back by the frost wait until the weather has warmed up and new growth starts to break forth before pruning back the frost damage. Don't prune if there is a chance of frost left in your area; wait until that danger is gone.

Some varieties of citrus might be in short supply this year because of the frost. Check with your local garden center.

Fertilize monthly with Citrus Food as citrus are heavy feeders.

We recommend the following feeding schedule for optimum growth and heavy fruit set.

Citrus Feeding & Care Schedule

Year around: Feed Citrus Food monthly. Check directions for specifics. March, May and September: Apply Iron Sulphate as directed. It acidifies and adds needed iron. For insulation from the cold, spray the foliage of citrus trees with Cloud Cover in early November. Tent with plastic and add outdoor Christmas lights for extra protection. Snail, Slug and Insect Bait: Apply this bait as directed to control snails, slugs, and other hungry bugs.

Tree Trivia For Arbor Day

• Trees give us so much: color in the fall, fruit in the spring and shade in the summer.
• Trees reduce pollution and are effective smog and dust fighters.
• Each day, we breathe 35 pounds of oxygen. All of it comes from trees and other green plants.
• Trees serve as homes for birds, insects, and other wildlife. In fact, many plants and trees attract a variety of birds, and insects that naturally prey on each other, helping to keep our ecosystem balanced.
• An Arbor Day tree can grow to be a natural air conditioner. The evaporation from a single tree can produce a cooling effect equal to a ten-room size air conditioner operating twenty hours a day.
• One cherry tree fragrances the air with as many as 200,000 blossoms!
• Tree roots can hold the soil in place and keep silt from washing into streams.
• Trees giving us a constant supply of products; paper, maple syrup, adhesives, color crayons, mulches, to name a few.
• Plant a tree in your garden, your park or local school and you will bring:
  1. Reduced energy use. A well placed tree will provide cooling shade in summer and insulation in winter.
  2. Cleaner air. Did you know trees absorb 26 lbs. of carbon dioxide and replace it with precious oxygen.
  3. Homes for birds. Trees provide shelter and homes for our feathered friends.
  4. Cooler communities. Trees provide oasis of shade during the summers and trap heat from our concrete streets and walkways.
  5. Prevent soil erosion. Tree roots hold the soil in place on slopes as well as flat surfaces.

Remember Arbor Day is March 7. Celebrate by planting a tree. You can make a difference in your own yard as well as your community.

Get the Lawn Ready For Summer Enjoyment

March is the perfect month to prepare the lawn for spring and summer activities. The winter rains and cold temperatures compact the soil and deprives the roots of the necessary nutrients and air they need to flourish in the warmer temperatures. To have your turf look its best for the spring and summer there are several steps to follow for success.

First aerate the lawn to allow oxygen to reach the root zone. Then dispose of the cores created by the aeration and water.

Cold temperatures and abundant rainfall in the winter make it a good idea to thatch lawns this month. This procedure will remove the dead materials that get trapped around the root area of the lawn and ill allow oxygen and fertilizer to reach it. Finally spread a good organic mulch at a rate of one bag per 200 square feet.

Begin a regular feeding program to restore nutrients and ensure a healthy lawn this summer. Check with your local California Certified Nursery staffer for the best recommendation of fertilizer.

Water less frequently but more deeply to encourage a deep root system that will draw on a larger reservoir of water.

This is a good time to trouble shoot for cultural problems that might be starting in your lawn. If you aren't familiar with turf diseases or just aren't certain of what to do bring a sample of your lawn into the local California Certified Nursery and have the problem diagnosed. The sample should be at least 6”x6” and include roots and soil.

Vegetable Gardening Is For the Whole Family

Looking for a family activity that gives more than a moment's thrill? Something you can dig into? Well, pardon the pun but one of the greatest, most rewarding family activities is planting, tending and harvesting a vegetable garden. There's something for everybody in gardening. Besides it will get the kids on more intimate terms with spinach and other good things! It's a rewarding experience for everybody.

First consider the soil preparation. A garden is only as good as the soil it's planted into. Use a good organic mulch and dig it into the soil about eight inches deep with a balanced vegetable garden fertilizer. Then head out to the nursery and choose your vegetable seedlings and packets of seeds. If you aren't sure about the best choices ask a California Certified Nursery Professional ™ for recommendations for your area.

For Tasty Tomatoes ….Try These!

Everyone enjoys the tangy taste of homegrown tomatoes. Tomatoes are usually easy to grow and produce bushels of fruit. Look for “VFN” on the label of the variety you are considering purchasing. “VFN” represents verticilium, fusarium, nematode. The first two are destructive root fungi; the third, microscopic root attacking insects. Tomato varieties listed with VFN are resistant to these diseases and make it easier to have a successful experience in the garden.

Choose from these varieties:

Check with your local California Certified Nursery professional™ for other tomato variety suggestions.