Pruning a prickly pear cactus for shape.
Category Archives: Cultivation
Lights, Camera, Landscape!
What do you think about reality TV landscape programs? Are those landscapes dreams come true or nightmares waiting to happen? It’s amazing how in a matter of days an overgrown, weedy wasteland can become a beautiful new landscape. It’s nothing short of incredible. A brawny guy walks up with a plan, everyone squeals with pleasure,Continue reading “Lights, Camera, Landscape!”
Time to cut back the California asters
After months of steady growth, the asters were reaching for the sky, with an average height of about 54 inches. Time to act. Last year, some of the asters were trimmed too late, almost completely eliminating their flowers. Others were done earlier, resulting at a solid floral display held below eye height. Untrimmed, the plantsContinue reading “Time to cut back the California asters”
California’s central valley isn’t a safe place for purple hopseed bushes
In the battle of Jack Frost vs Purple Hopseed bushes, Jack wins. The plants may come back from their roots, but not until the weather warms – so goodbye purple winter screen plant. If you’re in a borderline area where this happens a lot, it’s time to consider a different plant, especially if these wereContinue reading “California’s central valley isn’t a safe place for purple hopseed bushes”
Time to trim the meadow
The asters are dry and non-ornamental, the sedges will soon start their growth cycle, and the other herbaceous perennials will join them – so this was the time to cut everything back. The clippings are left in place to break down, keeping nutrients in the meadow so we don’t need to add fertilizer. The perennialsContinue reading “Time to trim the meadow”
Some new plants from Down Under
During the midst of the worst heat wave in years, a package arrived on our doorstep. Live plants. Fortunately, our doorstep is in the shade, so the “Live Plants” tag was still accurate. The plants came from Tuffy in Temecula, a supplier of plants to wholesale nurseries – our closest grower is supposedly Devil MountainContinue reading “Some new plants from Down Under”
A Sausage Vine for Sacramento
A Holboellia coriacea ‘Cathedral Gem’ vine gets tested in Sacramento. Do we have a new favorite plant? WIll it accept our climate, grow well in shade and, most critically, thrive in our typically heavy soil?
Iced cactus
Cold weather hit hard this year in Sacramento, reducing a once magnificent cactus to a frozen stump surrounded by shattered branches.
Planting Irises
Irises are inconvenient. They bloom in spring, but should be planted in fall. With bearded iris, this means ordering after strolling though fields of blooming plants, ordering, and waiting until late August to get your plants and put them in the ground. For native iris, we purchased in spring, planted the pots, then removed theContinue reading “Planting Irises”
La Guerre aux mauvaises herbes!
L’ultimatum est lancé! Je suis en train de récupérer mes zones de transition entre plantes existantes et cheminement. Adieu veaux, vaches cochons… et mauvaises herbes! Au fur et à mesure de mes arrachages effrénés je tente de creuser afin de retirer le maximum de système racinaire. Ensuite, je recouvre le petit carré de terre soigneusementContinue reading “La Guerre aux mauvaises herbes!”