Category Archives: Design trends

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.

Design trends

All About Roses

Hot Cocoa was introduced in 2020 but it’s still a popular selection

January is almost over with nary a raindrop since January 5th as I write this although there is some in the forecast. Our days have been lovely and many of my plants have started growing earlier than usual. Guess I can’t put off pruning my Compassion rose any longer. I see some outstanding new rose varieties available for the new sseason. It won’t come as a surprise that they are very fragrant and have good disease resistance So while you’re out in your garden pruning your existing roses consider adding a new one or two now available Here are a few that caught my eye.

Fashion Forward, Light Years Away, Living the Dream and Nothing But Class all have strong disease resistance as well as a strong fragrance.

Pretty Picotee is a newer hybrid tea rose with huge, bright pink petals with white edges and a citrus fragrance. It’s resistant to powdery mildew and rust which makes it rank high in our climate. In Love Again is another newer variety with very high disease resistance to black spot and downy mildew in addition to rust and powder mildew. The vivid red flowers are exceptional performers with a light fragrance.

If you are looking for a smaller rose that grows to 24 inches and has both strong fragrance and disease resistance, Easy Charmer is the rose for you. With old fashioned cupped fuchsia lavender blooms this rose would look great in a container on your deck. If your garden is in partial shade but you still enjoy roses, try the new floribunda Time After Time. It has considerable disease resistance which enables it to thrive with minimal upkeep.

But what about pruning those existing roses in your garden? First of all remember that roses are super forgiving so just go for it and you can trim them up again later. Here are some tips to get started.

Most of us want our rose bushes to produce lots of roses on a compact shrub and not just a few exhibition size blooms so prune your shrubs moderately. The goal is to keep the center of the plant open for good air circulation aiming for a vase-shaped bush with an open center. Cut out canes that cross, appear weak or are diseased, spindly or dead. Healthy canes appear green or reddish while old and dying canes are brown. Cut back the remaining stems by about one third. When pruning, cut canes at a 45-degree angle just above an outward facing leaf bud or a swelling on the cane Slant the cut away from the bud to encourage growth outward. Clean pruners after every use to prevent the spread of disease and keep your pruners sharp.

Heirlooms roses such as David Austin, other old antique garden roses, and floribunda roses require less pruning because their open look is part of their charm. Keep this in mind and prune lightly. Old garden roses that bloom once in the spring should be pruned after flowering.

Same goes for climbing roses. Cut out extra stems if there are too many and also cut back long established canes to about the place where they are slightly thicker than a pencil. Then cut each side stem down to several inches. This will make the cane flower along its complete length for a beautiful spring display.

It’s best to prune your roses before they start leafing out or some of their energy will be wasted. Pull off and rake away any old leaves. They can spread fungal spores. Consider spraying dormant plants with a combination of organic horticultural oil and copper soap or lime-sulfur. If you usually only have problems with black spot you can use a mixture of 1 teaspoon baking soda with a few drops of light horticultural oil in 1 quart water and spray every 7 to s10 days during the spring.

Prune your roses throughout the growing season, too. Deadheading, or cutting off spent flowers, encourages plants to re-bloom. Mulch around your roses to conserve water and encourage soil microorganisms.