Design trends

Allergy Season in the Santa Cruz Mts.

Don’t blame the acacia for your runny nose.

I live on Boulder Creek where the native red alder is in full bloom. Their catkins release wind-borne pollen which along with the redwoods wreak havoc for my friends with seasonal allergies. According to Pollen.com the allergy alert today is medium high. Birches and juniper are also releasing lots of wind-borne pollen. It’s going to be a bad day for those with allergies.

It’s the mating season for redwoods. Redwood pollen is dispersed by the wind. Strong winds blow the yellow redwood “flowers”, which are actually the flowers of the male cone, to release their pollen. Unfortunately because redwoods live in such a narrow band of coast line, there is no allergy shot for those highly affected by them. Pollen.com predicts pollen levels will increase as alder, juniper and birch release their pollen. Then come the oaks and sycamores.

About 25-30 popular landscape plants are responsible for the majority of plant-related allergies in California. During the height of the pollen season- from late February to June- there are often thousands of pollen grains in every cubic meter of air. One can breathe hundreds of them with every breath. Though pollens can travel many miles, the majority tend to stay in the general area of their origin.

Yes, the acacia trees are in full bloom. Being one of the first flowering trees we see they get our attention. Blooming acacias are often blamed as the cause of allergic reactions at this time of year but acacias are largely pollinated by insects and their heavy pollen doesn’t tend to become airborne. It’s the non-showy, quiet plants you have to watch out for. If you’re an allergy sufferer some plants are worse than others for you.

Redwoods, oaks, alders, ashes and other wind pollinated trees like olives, birch, box elder, cypress, elm, juniper, maple, fruitless mulberry, pine, walnut, willow and privet are the major source of spring pollen. Most native plants are good in the sneezeless landscape but if you have bad allergies or asthma it best to avoid wind-pollinated ceanothus, elderberry and coffeeberry.

Flower type is a good way to judge plants. The best looking flowers usually cause allergy sufferers the fewest problems. Plants with bright, showy flowers are usually pollinated by insects, rather than by the wind. These flowers produce less pollen and their pollen is larger and heavier, sticking to the insect rather than becoming airborne and lead to sneezing, a runny nose and watery eyes.

Some trees that are good for anti-allergy gardens are apple, cherry, dogwood, magnolia, pear and plum. Shrubs like azaleas, boxwood, lilac, Rose-of-Sharon, hydrangea and viburnum are also not likely to cause problems. Good flower choices include alyssum, begonia, clematis, columbine, bulbs like crocus, daffodil, hyacinth. Also good are dahlia, daisy, geranium, hosta, impatiens, iris, lily, pansy, petunia, phlox, roses, salvia, snapdragon, sunflower, verbena and zinnia. Lawns of perennial rye grass, blue grass and tall fescue blends are usually OK as they will not flower unless allowed to grow to 12 inches or higher. Bermuda grass, on the other hand, can pollinate when the lawn is very short, sometimes as quickly as a few days after mowing.

You may not be able to avoid those culprits growing on other properties but you can get the most out of your own backyard by creating a sneeze-less landscape. Replacing existing plants may be impractical but planning future plantings with these things in mind will save you a lot of headaches down the road and let you enjoy the sunshine outside in your garden.

Design trends

Love is in the Air – Plant Reproduction

You can smell a fragrant daphne from a mile away.

One of my favorite classes when I attended Cal Poly San Luis Obispo was Plant Taxonomy. On the surface the subject sounds a little dry but the professor was all about plant reproduction which is quite exciting and more varied than you think. So with Valentine’s Day upon us here are some interesting facts about how plants get together.

If you’re like me you’ve caught a case of pre-spring fever. How can we help it when the flowering plums are covered with hundreds of blossoms, the saucer magnolia flowers are opening and the flowering quince are in full bloom? When I lived in Bonny Doon, my Blireiana Flowering Plum was always in bloom around the time of Valentine’s Day. I would have my picture taking under it posing with my presents. Here’s a reminder of how flowering plants reproduce.

Blireiana Flowering plums are in the rose family. They have perfect flowers meaning that they have both male and female reproductive parts on the same flower. They depend on pollinators like bees, moths and hummingbirds to transfer pollen.

Some flowering plants like oaks, spruce, corn, pumpkin and birch trees have separate male and female flowers on the same plant making them self-pollinating. They are monoecious meaning “single house”.

Dioecious plants have male flowers on one plant and female flowers on another. Examples are myrica, gingko, juniper, spinach, walnut, asparagus and ash.

Blooming at this time of year is the fragrant Daphne. How does it reproduce? Daphne have powerfully fragrant flowers filled with nectar to attract pollinators such as bees and other insects. They are monoecious.

Hellebores fall into this category also (kinda) Hellebore flowers are also protogynous, which means that the carpels (female reproductive organs) nature before the stamens ( male reproductive organs). This encourages cross-pollination. But although hellebores are protogynous, they are also self-fertile. Seems like they have all the bases covered- they are never out of bloom starting in early winter and blooming into late spring.

Looking around my little garden I enjoy the cyclamen flowers at this time of year also. Cyclamen are mostly monoecious. Many fruit trees fall into this category, too, like almonds, apricots, cherries, nectarines, peaches and prunes.

Not all flowers are large and brightly colored. Some flowering plants, like grasses, have flowers that are tiny and may even be green.

Other plants have no flowers at all. Mosses reproduce from male and female mosses which produce spores. Conifers produce two type of cones on the same tree. Wind blows the pollen to another cone which combine to make a baby conifer which lives in a seed inside the cone.

So on this Valentine’s Day, take a minute to appreciate plants and all they provide for us.

Design trends

February in the Garden

Our beloved banana slugs are crucial decomposers in the redwood forest.

I’m waiting patiently for the buds on my pink flowering currant to start showing color. They’re still pretty small at this stage but I’ve assured my hummingbird population that they’re on their way. When I was out pruning last week I didn’t touch this plant otherwise I’d have cut off all those potential flower clusters loaded with nectar. Here are some February tasks that I am doing.

I’m not sure if it’s me or my plants that are confused. They probably know exactly what they’re doing. That long warm spell this January stimulated many plants to start growing early. What’s a gardener to do when the roses, fuchsias and many other plants never really became dormant this year?

To stimulate new growth I will trim woody evergreen shrubs like abelia and loropetalum. Cut Mexican bush sage and artemisia to within a few inches of the ground. I don’t use this approach on lavender or ceanothus, though. Lightly prune those after blooming later in the season and don’t cut back to bare wood inside the plant.

Prune fuchsias back by a third and remove dead, crossing branches and interior twiggy growth. Container fuchsias can be cut back to the pot rim. Do this right away if you haven’t already done so. A plant is wasting energy on new growth if trimmed later.

Cut back hydrangeas stems that bloomed last year and apply a soil acidifier if you want blue flowers. Although aluminum sulfate is the traditional favorite for quickly acidifying soil it’s not as kind to beneficial soil microorganisms. Coffee grounds, pine needles, peat moss and cottonseed meal are better for your soil.

Don’t prune spring flowering shrubs like lilac, weigela, spirea or flowering trees such as cherry, plum and crabapple now. These and evergreens like rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias should be pruned after they flower. You can cut some branches while they are blooming to bring into the house for bouquets.

Even if you have pruned your roses be sure to remove old leaves still clinging to the plant even if the leaves look okay now. They will most likely develop fungal spots and diseases later if you don’t. Rake up any debris beneath the plant and discard to eliminate overwintering fungus spores

Wait to prune back perennials that may have their new foliage damaged in a late frost. Same goes for shrubs that might have gotten hit by frost. That damaged foliage can protect the plant from further frost damage. Mid-March is the estimated date of hard frost in our area or at least it used to be. We gardeners are always betting Mother Nature will go our way and our efforts will not have gone in vain.

Prune fruit, nut, shade trees and deciduous vines like clematis.

Cut back ornamental grasses if you live where you rarely get frost. When I grew California fuchsia, salvia ‘Bee’s Bliss’ and hummingbird sage I’d prune now to encourage new, compact growth.

And remember to enjoy your time in the garden. It’s only work if you think of it that way.

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