Judi's Blog

Yea!! Finally we got some much needed rain.  So far, at this writing, we really haven't had a heavy soaking that would constitute a "deep" watering.  Just steady, light showers that seem to be enough to allow the weeds to germinate and grow like crazy.  So be aware, you might have to supplement with an additional soak to your trees and shrubs if we don't get some more "real" rain.  Don't forget, it was 80 degrees just a week ago and the ground was very dry and alot of plants were showing stress from lack of water.  You can dig into the soil, outside the drip zone, to check and see just how deep the rain was able to penetrate around your trees.  Remember, strong roots go deep.

 

If you sprayed your fruit trees or roses with the "dormant" spray within three days of this storm, you should do it again once things have had a chance to dry out.  Try to spray a couple of times before the fruit tree buds open or the foliage leafs out on the roses.  You want to make sure that you get good coverage to get any fungal spores.  So that means spray the head of the tree or bush, the trunk, and the ground around it.

 

If we do get a substantial amount of rain, you want to be careful about working your soil while it is still wet.  A healthy soil needs airspace in it.  You can damage and destroy its structure by digging or walking in your garden and compressing and compacting the dirt.  Very, very bad for your soil.  Wait a few days and give it a little time to dry out a bit.  Weeding and cultivating should be just as easy and much better for your garden, by waiting a week or so.

 

And don't forget, you still have plenty of time to put in a winter vegetable garden.  The cool weather crops like, brocoli, cauliflower, cabbage, peas, chard, spinich and so many different varieties of lettuce.   Also root crops, carrots, beets, onions and potatoes.  Have you ever had a homegrown potato?  Melts in your mouth-no butter or salt needed.  I lived in Idaho for ten years, where I discovered that the potatoes in most stores are already a year old!  Try growing your own.  Fresh makes all the difference and its an easy and fun crop for the kids.  You can keep planting most of the cool season veggies on into March.

 

And for all you aspiring vegetable gardeners, we will have a Free, Organic Vegetable Growing Clinic.  It will be on February 7, 2009 at 10:00 A.M., in our greenhouse.   The class will be taught by Oscar Carmona, an experienced grower and supplier of vegetable starts to our community.  Be sure to bring something to take notes on and come early as there will be no admintance after the first 100 chairs are filled and the class has started.

 

See you there,

 Judi

P.S.

Please, don't anyone ask me for tomatoes before March.  It's just wrong to make plants perform before there time and expect them to be healthy and produce well, just because we want to extend our already long season.

D's Blog

Rose Pruning

In Santa Barbara rose pruning season is generally between Christmas and Superbowl. Roses are a deciduous shrub.  In our mild climate, we don’t often receive the cold required for real winter dormancy, so it’s especially important to clean them up for a good healthy start in the New Year. Pruning actually breaks dormancy.

 

We prune roses for health, shape, growth control, and to encourage new canes.

 

·      Remove any dead, diseased or damaged wood.

·      Check for sucker growth. Suckers are canes from below the bud union.

·      Leave 3, 5 or more, young strong canes. Remove week spindly canes . Remove old gray ones. Best blooms come from new growth. Remove crossing canes, and canes that rub against each other.

·      Cut back desired canes into an open vase shape. All pruning cuts should be made ¼ inch above and angled away from an outward facing bud.

·       Light pruning is removal of about 1/3 of the height. Hard pruning is about ½. Your pruned rose will probably be 2 to 4 feet tall.

·      Saw off any dead wood at the base of the rose if necessary.

·      Lightly brush old peeling bark on crown with a brush to stimulate new canes,

·      Remove all foliage. Clean up all debris. Apply dormant spray to plant and soil.

·      Fertilize in March after foliage grows.

General guidelines:

Hybrid Teas: 3-5+ canes in a vase shape open in the center

Floribundas: 5-7 canes in a vase shape open in the center. Sometimes not pruned as hard as hybrid teas.

Shrub and groundcover: Usually have more “twiggy” growth habits.

Prune the same as a floribunda, leaving more lateral branches.

Climbers: need little pruning for the first few years. Prune to shape.

Leave laterals 2-3 , as this is where climbers bloom. Yes, you do need to strip all the leaves.

 

Don’t worry. Our roses will recover from any mistakes we may make.

 

D's Blog

Frost Tips

 

In the Santa Barbara area we have many microclimates. Some of these are susceptible to frost damage in cold winters. If you live in the bottom of a canyon you know how chilly it can get.

 Do not fertilize permanent landscape plants except for lawn, cool season annuals, and vegetables after October 1. This allows plants to harden off. Tender new growth is more susceptible to frost damage.

 Keep your plants well watered. Damp soil retains more heat than dry soil. Mulch to trap soil heat and protect roots.

 If frost is in the forecast, there are precautions you can take. Group tender container plants under eaves, against the house, under covered patios or large trees. They may be covered with sheets, blankets or products like row cover and insulation cloth. If you use plastic, make sure you stake it up, so it does not touch plants. You can string large bulb Christmas lights to keep plants warm.

 Many plants don’t mind cold weather. Most of our trees and shrubs will be fine. It’s the plants of tropical origins that are very unhappy.  Examples include: Hibiscus, Bougainvillea, Impatiens, Mandevilla and Ficus If you have tender plants you may cover them the same as your containers above. Make sure you uncover plants before the sun hits them the next morning.

 If you get frost damage the most important thing to remember is: Do not prune off damaged foliage until new growth appears in the spring and all danger of frost is past.  In Santa Barbara this is usually late February.  Frost damaged leaves and stems may not be attractive but they will protect the plant from subsequent frosts.

 After an occasional hard frost it’s a good idea to hose the plants off before the sun hits them.

 Most established woody plants survive Santa Barbara frosts with minor injury. If you live in an area that freezes most winters its best to avoid tropicals. Watch for clear, cloudless, winter nights with low humidity. A great place to check the forecast is: http://www.nws.noaa.gov/ or 805 9886610.

D's blog

Those of you who read this blog are most likely local La Sumida Nursery customers. We are very grateful to you. Your support makes it possible for  Independent  Garden Centers to continue in the era of the 'Big Box'  center. Can you imagine the lack of selection if we could only purchase plants at Home Depot?  

At this time when we see even chains going out of business recently  (Comp USA, Circuit City, and Linens N Things)  I have made a new commitment to support local business and shop locally. At the Nursery, La Sumida is able to support local growers and wholesalers, both large and small. This is also good for keeping freight costs down.

Two instances lately have made me rethink my shopping habits. I admit I can get pretty lazy. There have been times when virtually all my shopping has been online. I realized the error of my ways when I tried to stop by Crispin Leather downtown. OOps, they aren't there anymore. Jr./ Sr. Shoe-Town where my family bought shoes for three generations is  gone as well. Where are all the shoe stores? 

For my granddaughter's birthday I shopped locally. Luckily Chaucer's Bookstore is still going strong.  Kernohan's Toys on Calle Real had great selections as well. I'll shop locally for my Chrismas gifts as well.

Thanks to all of you for your support this year. Please remember La Sumida for the holidays. We have beautiful Noble firs, Live trees, Poinsettias, Wreaths, Garland, Table arrangements, Cyclamen, Christmas Cactus, Ornamental Peppers, Holiday Color Bowls, as well as great gift items for  gardeners and plant lovers. Gift wrapping and delivery is available. Going to a dinner party? Need a host/hostess gift? Judi makes beautiful, creative, gift baskets. 

We look forward to seeing you this month, 

Take care, D.

 

Judi's Blog

Fall Rose Care

One of the most asked questions for this time of year at the Nursery is, "what to do with the roses?" After the summer heat, fall's cool down can produce some of the years best blooms. 

 
Do you feed?  Do you prune?  Should you continue to spray for insects and disease?  

No, to all of the above: most experts let them rest. If you must, you may pick or dead head the flowers before Thanksgiving but that is about it until January.  With the cooler temperatures, the roses feel like it is spring again.  They love the cool nights and sunny days.  You can still get a last great bloom for Thanksgiving.

But do not feed!  You don't want to encourage new growth as we go into winter with shorter days and colder temperatures. The buds and flowers would be ruined by the moisture and dampness in our coastal air.  You want them to slow down and rest.  To conserve their energy for next springs big show.

By allowing the roses to "bloom out" and develop "rose hips", it sends a signal to the bush to slow down.  It will stop putting out new growth and forces it into dormancy.  It has been working all summer and needs some time off, just like us.

You can keep the bush clean from yellowing leaves if you must, but it is going to look a bit raggedy anyway.  It's just that time of year.  Very important, is to not forget the regular watering.  Even though they are slowing down, their need for water goes on thru winter.

So now, for the most part, you can take some time off from the demanding summer rose care until January.  At that time you will have to jump back into "rose maintenance", with the hard pruning and dormant spraying for insects and disease.  But that is a whole other subject.

So until then, enjoy the rose season's last and possibly, “best blooms", of the year.  And don't forget to check our website for the 2009 Bareroot rose list.  It is never too late to find a new place to squeeze in a new rose.

Judi

D's Blog

Trees for Planting in Lawns Many trees do not like to be planted in lawns. They perform best with deep infrequent water rather than the shallow frequent water we put on our lawns. We often see problems with lawn planted citrus in particular. Here is a list I've started. If you have any suggestions email me at nursery@lasumida.com. Planting a tree is a big commitment. It will probably outlive you. It's important to plant the right tree in the right place. My favorite website for choosing  trees is http://selectree.calpoly.edu They have over 6000 photos of over 1000 trees. You can also search for trees by many attributes. Some of these include: climate zone, soil type, size, utilities, root damage, growth rate, disease and pest resistance, fire danger, flower color, etc. etc. etc.  I always advise customers looking at trees to "do the research' and this website makes it easy. Take care, D Arbutus unedo                                   Strawberry Tree

Betula                                     Birch

Geijera parviflora                   Australian Willow

Gingko Biloba                         Maidenhair Tree

Hymenospermum flavum        Sweet Shade

Koelreuteria                             Chinese Flame Tree and Goldenrain Tree

Liquidambar                            Sweet Gum

Magnolia grandiflora ‘Little Gem’

Magnolia soulangeana hybrids

Maytenus boaria                        Mayten

Melaleuca quinquenervia         Paperbark Tree

Pistacia chinensis                    Chinese Pistache

Podocarpus gracilior               Fern Pine

Salix matsuda ‘Tortuosa’        Corkscrew Willow

Tipuana Tipu                           Tipu Tree

Tristaniaopsis laurina              Water Gum

Judi's Blog

With fall comes the transition of the summer garden into winter color. Hard to think about sometimes when the days are still nice and warm.  This can be a confusing timing issue.  After the warm August and September days, while most of the garden is still showing color, it can be a little tired and overgrown.  Even the garden at the front of the nursery shows the "end of summer" stress.

 So this is the time to re-look at the garden. See what needs to be cut back or taken out.  I know that it can be hard to prune back plants when they are still trying to perform, but it is better to do the trimming now, so they have time to re-grow before the cooler winter nights slow them down and they don't have time to put out new growth. You can also take this time to decide on what needs to be taken out or relocated.  We all have planted and then realized that it was the wrong choice or didn't perform the way we may have envisioned.

 My gardens are never static.  I am always learning and changing.  Plants I thought would look good and fit nicely into my landscape, end up getting to big, out of control, or just don't look like what I wanted.  So I usually dig it up, pull it out or move it and swear that I am going to simplify my garden and make my life easier next year.

 Fall is a great time to think about changing your garden.  It is still warm enough for new plantings to root in.  And there is still a good selection of perennials available at the nursery.  Also the colorful, winter annuals and cool season veggies have arrived.

http://www.lasumida.com/tips/plantinglists/edible_10.html 

http://www.lasumida.com/tips/plantinglists/coolseason.html 

Also, our Fall planted bulbs have arrived.  Plant now for Spring color.

http://www.lasumida.com/seasonal/bulblist.html#fall

Don't be afraid to make changes.  That is what keeps the garden interesting.I love to see the different combinations our customers put together. Keep on learning, Judi