In Your Garden

In your Garden in May

Posted on May 1, 2023 in In Your Garden

May’s weather is often unpredictable. It can bring an occasional shower, fog and extreme heat along with what is commonly known as ‘May Gray’, overcast skies. May is also one of the busiest and most satisfying months in the garden. There is still planting to be done, some pruning, continual deadheading, mowing, weeding, mulching and much more. At the end of the day when you look back at all you’ve accomplished, you’re pleased with your efforts and satisfied with a job well done.

Color: As a guideline, most annuals and perennials take 6-8 weeks to mature from a 4″ pot. Use this timeline when planning color planting for special events you’re hosting such as graduations, weddings, and family gatherings. Plant far enough ahead so that the plants are looking their best. Feed hanging baskets and plants in pots every 3 weeks to keep them looking lush. Now is the time to plant heat loving flowers such as ageratum, asters, celosia, chrysanthemum, coleus, bedding begonias, gazania, impatiens, lobelia, marigolds, nicotiana, petunias, Shasta daisies, verbena and zinnias among many more. Try something new this season and spice up your garden. Pinch back stems to encourage full plants that will produce lots of flowers.

Fruits & Vegetables: Since the weather has warmed up, it the perfect time to plant exotic fruit trees like bananas, avocados, citrus and mangos. Keep well mulched to retain moisture. Plant beans, beets, carrots, celery, eggplant, melons and tomatoes. Pesky caterpillars are starting to appear. Treat them with a nontoxic insecticide to keep them under control. When trying to locate the elusive tomato hornworm, sprinkle the plant with water and watch for movement as they shake the water off of themselves.

Roses & Flowers: This is your last chance to plant late blooming plants such as dahlia, gladiolus and tuberoses. To keep roses in full bloom, feed and water regularly and dead head any spent blooms. Watch for mildew and treat as soon as detected to keep it under control. For fragrance, also plant gardenias, jasmine and pittosporum. Remove spent flowers from spring bulbs but leave the foliage. Feed now for strong growth and flower production in the spring.

Also:

Mulch, mulch, mulch– Mulching keeps the weeds down and water in while looking esthetically pleasing.

Thin fruit off of fruit trees to promote healthy growth. Branches weighed down by heavy fruit can break and distort the shape of the tree. Twist off excess fruit so the remaining fruit is spaced every 4-6 inches on alternate sides of the branch. Suckers on your fruit trees are taking nutrients away from fruit production. Remove them to encourage stronger, larger and tastier fruit. Feed and water fruit trees regularly to keep nutrient levels up. Leaves damaged from leaf curl or other diseases should be removed and disposed of. Do not mulch or compost as this will spread the disease.

Along with everything else, the weeds are growing substantially this month also. Keep on top of weeding so that seeds don’t spread around the garden. Weeding the day after watering makes the task much simpler.

Lightly prune winter and spring flowering trees and shrubs after the blooms have expired. Heavy pruning should be done later in the year when the heat has passed but before flower buds have set.

In your Garden in April

Posted on April 1, 2023 in In Your Garden

April in Southern California is perfect for playing in your garden. The days are longer and warmer and there’s always something to do. Plant every chance you get. Local garden centers are loaded with all that new and interesting this month. Drop by discover something exciting.

Work with what you’ve got. If you would like to grow herbs and vegetables but don’t have a large space consider establishing a container garden. A variety of inexpensive pots in various shapes and sizes can be used to cultivate a ‘patio garden’. In pots or in the ground, group tomatoes, onions, peppers and cilantro together and you have a ‘salsa garden’. Be creative in the space you’re allowed.

Color: Asters, Coleus and Zinnias are showing up in the garden centers now. April is one of the months with the largest selection of flowering plants available. Be creative and make your own hanging baskets and potted patio plants using some of your favorites. Continue to dead head all flowering plants for optimum flower production.

Fruits & Vegetables: Plant Citrus, Bananas, Avocados, Guava and other frost sensitive fruit trees this month. Fertilize existing fruit trees to help promote good fruit production. Additionally, thin excess fruit from young trees before the fruit reaches the size of an almond. This will prevent undue stress being put on the tree. Peaches should be thinned to every 5″ on alternate sides of the branch with plums, nectarines and apricots spaced at every 3″. Time to put in vegetables such as beans, corn, peppers, cucumbers and tomatoes if you haven’t done so. Also plant melons, squash and gourds.

Perennials: It’s not too late to divide perennials such as Agapanthus, Moraea and Hemerocallis. Make sure they’re planted immediately after division. Divide and transplant grasses too. For bushier flowering shrubs, pinch new growth to encourage fullness at the base of the plant.

Pests: Treat aphids, spider mites and white fly with insecticidal soap or a brisk spray of water.

Roses & Flowers: Roses should be at their peak right now. Continue to dead head and feed with a high nitrogen fertilizer.

Also: Once the weather has warmed and the plants in your garden are beginning to show signs of life, prune off any cold damage that may have been inflicted during the winter. Cut just below where the dead branches begin. If you’re not sure about what is damaged or not, wait until next month and reassess the damage.

Stake taller growing plants now while they’re smaller and easier to manage.

Sheer formal hedges and prune evergreens in preparation of their spring growth spurts.

Prune and fertilize groundcovers to remove dead patches and encourage new growth.

In your Garden in January

Posted on January 2, 2017 in In Your Garden

In January, your landscape is at its most dormant stage and there’s very little to do. Aside from pruning and transplanting there’s not a lot going on. With high moisture levels in the ground, be careful not to disturb the soil too much. Overworking can result in compaction that may harm the soil structure. Do go to your local nursery or garden center. Azaleas, Camellias are blooming along with New Zealand Tea Trees (Leptospermum scoparium) and other plants. Putting these in your garden will ensure that you have flowers in your garden when most flowering plants are in their dormant stage.

Color: Fill in bare spots with cool weather annuals. Pansies, Snapdragons, Iceland poppies and Kale are great additions to the garden along with Cyclamen, Primula and Begonias. Keep leaf trash cleaned from the base of the plants. Plant summer blooming bulbs; canna, dahlia, lilies, tuberose and tuberous begonias.

Fruits & Vegetables: Plant bare-root fruit trees, grapes, berries and strawberries now. Soak roots in water overnight before planting. Continue to spray dormant fruit trees for pests, include trunk and soil around the base of the tree. Prune established fruit trees to maintain a uniform shape. Many cool weather vegetables are available. Sow beet, carrot and radish seeds.

Lawn: Mow cool weather lawns weekly. Appling a pre-emergent weed killer now will save you time and money later in the year. Give your lawnmower a tune up. Change the oil and have the blade to your lawnmower sharpened or do it yourself.

Roses & Flowers: Clean leaf litter from around the base of plants to discourage snails & slugs. Bait as necessary. Prune roses before new growth begins. Water roses thoroughly before pruning. Other flowering shrubs should be pruned after the first bloom cycle.

Irrigation: Do a test run on your irrigation system to ensure that all lines are clear and emitters are working efficiently. Watch your system carefully. If it rains, turn the system off and save the water.

Also: Natives can also be pruned lightly now in order to maintain a uniform shape. If rainfall isn’t heavy, water deeply. The moisture they store now will help them through the hot summer months.
Bulbs with higher cold requirements need to be planted in cold soil. If the weather is cool, between Christmas and New Years, plant then. Otherwise wait until the soil temperature drops being sure to plant before January 10th.

Protect tender plants from frost by covering them with a non-plastic material when frost threatens. Keeping plantings well hydrated will help frost survival also. A turgid plant will recover from frost better than a dry plant. Should a frost damage your garden, don’t be tempted to prune off the damaged parts. They’ll help protect the plant from further damage should another frost occur. Trim these parts off later in the year when all risk of frost has past.

Plant and transplant Azaleas and Camellias. Be sure to use a high acid planting mix to promote growth.

Cool temperature weather is the perfect time to prune evergreens

From the Field: Fertilizing a Tree Correctly – Benefit the Tree, Benefit the Earth

Posted on November 30, 2015 in Tips

By Donnie Dabbs, General Mgr.

Fertilizing typical and drought-tolerant trees in the landscape requires a knack for applying in the right season, proper administration and for using the best product for the tree. Fertilizer is often misunderstood and misused. Fertilizer is not really direct food for trees, but instead, a boost to your trees providing the ingredients needed for photosynthesis and growth. Fertilizer should not only be used when minerals are lacking or absent in the soil but also to maintain a good chemical balance within the soil all year long. Your top ten, typical choice of standard trees for most landscapes range from King and Queen palms to Agonis, Magnolia and Lagerstromia varieties. Drought-tolerant trees can be fertilized much in the same way. These trees should be fertilized on a regular schedule, depending on the geography and status of the tree. Trees in areas that receive a lot of rain usually have a lot of natural nutrients in the soil and only require about one to two times a year of fertilizer application. However, in more arid areas, like the Southwest, you should fertilize up to three times a year to produce more nutrients in the soil and to keep the plant healthy in each season. The best times for fertilizing is in early spring, mid-year and in the fall. The early spring is a good time because tree roots are coming out of the dormant period and require a boost to be healthy as they are starting to grow. Mid-year is also important because trees are experiencing more heat, absorbing water faster because of the heat and therefore going through nutrients quicker. To put in fertilizer during this time gives the tree a boost and replenishes those nutrients lost. During the Fall, tree roots have cooled a bit but there isn’t as much rainfall as during winter months. Avoid fertilizing trees and shrubs stressed by drought during the summer months. If water is unavailable, do not fertilize at all because plants will be unable to absorb the nutrients.

“Typical mistakes most commonly made during fertilizing is over fertilizing,” said Don Dabbs of Briggs Tree Company (a wholesale, grower-direct nursery in Southern California), “Using the wrong chemical balance for the tree is also a mistake commonly made.”

Fertilizers are divided between the chemicals nitrogen, potassium and phosphorus. Nitrogen is for greening the tree, adding more foliage and nurturing the leaves. Potassium is applied to prevent diseases and helps with producing more, healthier flowering. Phosphorus boosts the root system and also helps with flowering. A Triple 15 fertilizer has 15 parts nitrogen, 15 parts potassium and 15 parts phosphorus. This combination of chemicals are perfect for trees, as you don’t want to use too much of one of these chemicals. For instance, if you use too much nitrogen, the tree will burn. The other mistake is to over fertilize. Use the amount that is specified on the bag and don’t apply more or less than this specification. Avoid adding too much fertilizer which can harm the tree and the environment. Excessive fertilizer produces rank, weak growth that breaks easily and is susceptible to injury from cold, drought and pests. Also, fertilizer not absorbed by the plant roots may contaminate groundwater and surface water. Again- too much chemical is not good for any one tree. There are different forms of fertilizer that contain a balance of the correct chemicals. One form is fertilizer in granular form. When planting a new tree, put this fertilizer in the ground just under the root ball. For trees already planted or established, spread fertilizer on top of the plant and water generously so the fertilizer seeps into the soil. Since most of a tree’s roots can be found in the top foot of soil, broadcast the fertilizer evenly with a rotary or drop-type spreader over the root zone area to fertilize the tree. For new trees, try using new fertilizer tabs that slowly release fertilizer and penetrate into the tree over a period of time. These tabs should be used in the ground planted near the root ball and never used on top of the soil as this will waste fertilizer. Systemic liquid, spray-on fertilizers seeps into the tree leaves, limbs and bark and is absorbed into the root system. Just remember- the best practice is to use a balanced amount of chemicals.

When fertilizing trees, keep these two points in mind: (1) Fertilizer is beneficial when it is needed; but (2) Use it in the right amount, at the right time and in the right place.

For over thirty five years, Briggs Tree Company has operated as a wholesale nursery, having expanded to over 200 acres in production. Founded by Donald A. Briggs, Jr. in the early 1970’s, Briggs is still family owned and operated supplying:

  • 4-inch annual and perennial color
  • groundcover
  • shrubs
  • vines
  • palms
  • succulents
  • water-efficient plants
  • ..and a premier line of trees in various sizes

Briggs prides themselves in employing knowledgeable and experienced staff who will answer any questions regarding plant material. Briggs Tree Company, Inc. Corporate Headquarters is located at 1111 Poinsettia Avenue, Vista, CA 92081 Please call 760-727-2727, or visit us online at www.briggstree.com for more information.

How To Save On Your Water Bill

Posted on November 22, 2008 in Tips

By Donnie Dabbs, General Mgr.

Water is always a crucial issue. We never have enough. As we approach the cooler months, it’s important to take a few steps to help manage the water that your landscape receives.

Many time clocks are still set to the times and cycles that were dictated when the system was installed. Once your landscape is established, usually within a few months, the times can be cut back. They should be adjusted throughout the year as the seasons change. Take the time to familiarize yourself with your time clock. Play around with it so you can learn to adjust it quickly if needed. If you don’t have the instructions, many manufacturers have them available on line or contact your local garden center.

1) Check that all of your emitters are operating efficiently and are distributing water in the area designed.

2) Adjust the number of days that the system activates. Depending on your specific location, you may be able to reduce your watering schedule by one or two days.

3) Adjust the time the system is on. Since days are shorter and cooler, your landscape doesn’t need the same amount of water to maintain it’s healthy condition. Trying cutting the time per cycle by 1/3 to see how your garden reacts.

Remember that if a warm spell occurs, you may need to supplemental water. Additionally if it rains, make sure that you turn your sprinklers off. Mulching hillsides and planting beds will help retain moisture in your landscape along with helping to control weeds and curtail erosion.