All posts by Jan Nelson

I am a landscape designer and consultant in the Santa Cruz mountains in California. I write a weekly gardening column for the Press Banner newspaper. I am also a Calif. Advanced Certified Nursery Professional and managed The Plantworks Nursery in Ben Lomond, Ca. for 20 years.
first frost, pruning tips, right place, transplanting

Confessions of The Mountain Gardener

Everything in my garden does not always turn out the way I imagined. I make lots of mistakes. From putting in all the drip emitters backwards- yes, I actually did that- to my ongoing banana slug relocation program I should be able to face challenges in the garden and come out triumphant. But alas that is not always the case.

gaura
Gaura linheimeri ‘Belleza Dark Pink’

If you?re like me there are always plants that end up in the wrong place. My Gaura languish and reach for more light. My mildew resistant crape myrtle never recovered from last May?s foggy weather and has nary a blossom. Other plants shrivel up in too much sun. The possibilities are endless. Every garden is different. A plant that should be able to look great growing in full sun might get too much of a good thing in your garden planted up against a wall or near a flagstone patio. Conversely, some plants that should bloom just fine in partial shade never really do in parts of my garden or grow sideways reaching for more sun, finally flopping over in a valiant effort to get enough light.

I study my sun and shade patterns throughout the year. Really I do. I plant similar plants together in hydrozones to maximize irrigation efficiency. But still as the season winds down it?s obvious that I have made bad decisions along the way. Throw in the rogue gopher, the dog digging for said gopher and the occasional deer and mole and I seem to remember more failures and near-misses that successes.

gaura_reaching_for_light
Gaura reaching for more light

I hope to learn from my mistakes and it?s never too early to start. Now’s the time to move those plants that will never do well where they are now. It?s time to plant new ones including native plants or transplant those in containers into your garden. October through February offers the best time to do this. In the fall the soil is still warm which encourages rooting and rain will be coming soon. Late winter offers natural rainfall to help plants establish before the next warm season arrives. Rearranging the garden makes for satisfactory fall work. After all you already own some of the plants, no need to buy everything new.

Transplanting and installing succeeds best if you take care of the roots as well as the top of the plant. Good growth comes from root health. Here are some tips for happy roots.

Prepare the new location first before transplanting any plant. Dig a hole twice as wide as the rootball but just the same depth. If the hole is dry fill it with water and let drain. Amend the native soil. Don’t be shy about loosening roots. Cut roots will form new, dense, healthy roots. Don’t add soil over the rootball. Keep the rootball a little higher than grade to allow for a layer of mulch and for any settling. Plants need oxygen at the soil level. Firm the soil after planting and water thoroughly.

Lessons I have learned that are easier to follow include when to expect our first frost. I’ve kept a weather journal for many years. Weather patterns change from year to year and we get updates from the media if frost is expected. You should prepare now as the first frost can come in November. Occasionally we have had a late October frost but mostly the first frost arrives about the second week of November with late November being the most common. Be prepared by bringing in your houseplants and moving frost tender plants like those fancy succulents under an overhang or porch.

I?m not sure when I?m going to be planting my wildflower seeds. Normally, I?d do it now but with the potential heavy rains we are hoping to get. I think I?ll hedge my bets, planting some now and another batch in February. By waiting until late winter I?ll be able to hoe off any tall weeds that have germinated that would outcompete the wildflowers.

One last thing and you’ll be happy to hear this. Fall is not a good time to prune. Wounds heal slowly, leaving them more susceptible to disease. As a general rule, don’t prune when leaves are falling or forming. To avoid sap flow on birches and maples prune after leaves mature next year.

aphids, IPM, organic gardening, pests

Troubles in the Garden

Milkweed_aphids
Milkweed aphids

Some of us enjoy sitting in our gardens, relaxing and watching birds and other wildlife. Others grow fruit and vegetables and know their way around the kitchen. Whatever you like to do sometimes pests get in the way.

In my own garden recently I discovered my butterflyweed covered with yellow milkweed aphids. They?re not interested in any other plants just this one. Oleanders get this same sucking pest also. I?ve washed them off twice with a strong spray of water but must have missed a few as they are back. Unfortunately, I haven?t seen any monarch butterflies to help me with this problem. I?d rather not even use an organic pesticide to control the outbreak. It would harm any monarch eggs that I?ve overlooked.

With pest control on my mind this week, I received an email from fellow Press Banner columnist, Dr. Terry Hollenbeck. ?I thought of you when I found an article in an old gardening magazine?, he wrote. ?It?s ?The Home Gardener? and was published in September, 1945.?

DDT ad_The-Home_Garden-Sept1945
DDT ad in ‘The Home Garden’ magazine published September 1945

Dr. Hollenbeck scanned the pages from his own magazine and sent them to me. Terry goes on to note that the editorial about the new wonder insecticide DDT warns readers in 1945 to proceed cautiously with it. Then later in the magazine on page 99 in a half page ad there appears an advertisement for DDT, the ?Army?s sensational insect killer that gardeners have been waiting for?that is absolutely safe to spray?.

There has been a lot of research now on DDT and it?s effects on our bodies and that of wildlife. I was surprised when I Googled DDT that it?s still being used in the world and also found a published study debunking it?s adverse effects on raptors. Guess one can find statistics to support any argument if you look hard enough.

Here is what I found out about current use of DDT that I found interesting.

Back in 1972 the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) issued a cancellation order for DDT use in the United States based on research showing adverse environmental effects to wildlife and potential human health risks. Studies have continued to show a relationship between DDT exposure and reproductive effects in humans and as a result, today, DDT is classified as a probable human carcinogen by U.S. and International authorities.

India is the only country now producing DDT. China and North Korea having discontinued production in recent years. 12 countries still use DDT for vector control of mosquitos and protozoa – the parasitic diseases of malaria, dengue and black fever which kill more than 800,000 people each year.

Many organizations are now promoting an integrated approach to mosquito and protozoa carried diseases. It?s not a DDT or nothing solution. Some of these organisms are developing a resistance to DDT and other chemicals. Like in our own backyards, you have to look at the whole picture. Successful programs to educate communities about non-chemical methods of control mosquitos are underway in many countries such as Vietnam.

DDT is known to be very persistent in the environment. It accumulates in fatty tissues and can travel long distances in the upper atmosphere. Because of its persistence, there is still concern for residues in the U.S.
Today nearly 40 years after DDT was banned in the U.S. we continue to live with its long lasting effects. According to the organization Pesticide Action Network, USDA found DDT breakdown products in 60% of heavy cream samples, 42% of kale greens and 28% of carrots. These breakdown products of DDT were found in the blood of 99% of people tested by the CDC.

Something to think about when I see all those mustard yellow aphids on my asclepsias. Maybe I?ll get the hose out one more time or rub them off with a gloved hand.

compact shrubs, Deer Resistant Plants, drought tolerant gardens, drought tolerant plants

Changing Times – Changing Gardens

Maybe our gardens in California should never have looked like a Monet painting filled with layer upon layer of water thirsty perennials and lush green lawns big enough for a soccer match. Because we were first settled by Easterners who could grow these plants with natural rainfall I?m going to give us a pass. It wasn?t our fault. But now we are wiser and smarter. We may have been kicking and screaming at first but all us us now accept that water is limited and we need to use it wisely.

That doesn?t mean, however, that we have to live in graveled yards with no landscaping. Our goal should be to figure out what the new California landscape should realistically look like and plant accordingly. We can still be surrounded by green and silver foliage and colorful flowers that look lush without breaking our water budget.
Look outside the old box and discover a whole new plant palette and a way of gardening that works for all of us.

drought tolerant plant plugs
Drought tolerant plant plugs

Recently in the mail, I received a collection of low water use, low maintenance plants native to Australia. I plan to trial the small plugs in my own garden but I know already that they are going to be winners. I have seen a couple of them at the wholesale nurseries. Others are improved selections of known tough, drought tolerant plants. They are well suited to our Mediterranean climate, easy to grow in well drained soils and hardy in winter. I?m looking forward to a time when they are available in local nurseries. In the meantime, I plan to specify them where appropriate in future landscape designs.

I?m excited about all 5 varieties of plants I received. Three are grass-like and the other two are compact versions of well known shrubs.

You might be familiar with the compact bottlebrush ?Little John?. Breeders now have come up with a new improved version called Callistemon ?Better John? because of its vigorous growth and dense blue-gray foliage. This 3 foot tall by 3 feet wide shrub is easy to grow, quick to establish and is long lived in the landscape. Hummingbirds love the 4-6 inch long red flowers during the spring.

The other shrub variety I am going to test is Westringia ?Grey Box?.? Westringia are deer resistant and very drought tolerant once established and ?Wynabbie Gem? and ?Morning Light? have been popular for years for this reason. Grey Box is a new dwarf form with beautiful grayish-green foliage. It doesn?t need pruning to keep it at 3 feet tall and wide. From late winter to summer, white quarter-sized flowers appear in small clusters along the stems. I?m anxious to grow this shrub myself.

lomandra
Lomandra ‘Breeze’

A couple of the grass-like plant plugs I received are an favorite of mine. I?ve seen lomandra ?Breeze? growing in heavy shade and also in sun. Deer don?t like it and it looks great with little water. Now there?s a new cultivar called ?Baby Breeze’ which stays at a graceful 18 inches tall. If you want the look of a short grass with no maintenance Lomandra is the new go-to plant. It even has yellow-orange tiny flower spikes in late spring.

Lomandra ?Katrinus Deluxe? is the other selection I?m going to grow out. It?s extremely drought tolerant, very shade tolerant, cold and heat tolerant and deer resistant also. It looks like an ornamental grass but you don?t have to cut it back in winter. It?s evergreen even when temperatures drop into the teens.

Dianella ?Little Rev’ is the last plant I?m looking forward to growing. This flax lily has an weeping architectural habit. It?s a very tough and drought tolerant grass-like plant good for erosion control as well as planting on it?s own or in groups. In spring it blooms with masses of small dark violet flowers. This is a clumping plant for full sun to partial shade that slowly spreads by rhizomes. As with the others this plant also is low maintenance and requires little water once established.

I?ll keep you posted as I discover new plants for our changing times and changing gardens.