Category: Tropical Style

Basalt is occasionally utilized in driveways in the form of crushed rock or pavers. Its dark, durable and dense, rich shade provides a attractive driveway — but it also means that dinosaurs stand out sharply against the dark rock. You may prefer methods — particularly if the compounds run off down the drive and into a yard or plants although weeds will be killed by chemical controls. Hand-pulling can be powerful, but it can be time-consuming if you’ve got lot of weeds. When the weeds are prevalent, try something you might already have in your kitchen cupboard: vinegar or salt. Salt ruins the dirt for any plants. It is a fantastic method to use on driveways, but make sure you don’t receive any of the salty or salt water on neighboring plants. Vinegar will not ruin dirt, but plants will be killed by it use the very same precautions when spraying vinegar — a still day with no wind is best so the spray doesn’t drift.

Salt for Weeds

Pour into a bowl.

Scoop out the salt using a spoon, and then sprinkle it directly.

The plants that are succulent using some water. The weeds will dry out , killing them.

Pull up the weeds that are dead and eliminate them, or sweep them away.

Hot Salty Water

Bring 2 cups of water to a boil.

Add 1 cup of salt.

Pour the boiling water on the weeds, taking care to protect your hands, and skin. Salt and the hot water both will work to kill the weeds.

Eliminate by sweeping them off or pulling up them of the driveway.

Vinegar for Weeds

White or apple cider vinegar into a spray bottle. Do this if there isn’t any rain forecast for 48 hours.

Spray the vinegar onto the middle of each pot, or onto the blossom if it has not yet produced seeds.

Spray the foundation of each pot using the vinegar.

Pull up or sweep away the weed when it is dead.

See related

Brighten up the darkened corners of your backyard with all the shade of purple. Many purple flowers flourish in the shade and bloom. Some are small and are perfect for containers onto a porch. Operate and others spread nicely as ground covers under a shade tree. Others are shrubs — perfect for filling up that cool, dark spot in your yard.

Perennials

Trilliums (Trillium spp.) Are native wildflowers that grow well in the shade. Attempt”Trillium Purple,” that will bloom from spring through the summer. All these perennials, which grow best in U.S. Department of Agriculture plant hardiness zones 3-8, are desirable for their distinctive, three-petaled purple blooms. They grow to a maximum height and width of 12 inches, and will fill a container well. Violets or pansies (Viola x wittrockiana) are a popular with home gardeners for their delicate faces. They can also be used as cut flowers. They grow best in USDA zones 8 to 11. Because they don’t like warmth, they are perfect for shade gardens in those zones. The purple shamrock (Oxalis triangularis) is a perennial notable for its own purple foliage. The triangular-shaped leaves also add interesting texture to a shade garden. Easy to grow, this plant thrives in USDA zones 6 to 10 and prefers shade.

Shrubs

Rhododendrons (Rhododendron spp.) Are a choice with home gardeners who need a big shrub that will bloom even in shady conditions. They come in many colors, but try Rhododendron catawbiense if you need one with authentic blooms. This plant grows best in USDA zones 4 to 8. Hydrangeas (Hydrangea spp.) , such as rhododendrons, have big clusters of flowers. Also they grow best in shade, as stated by the Clemson Cooperative Extension site. Try out Hydrangea macrophylla”Royal Purple” for a splash of lavender. This plant grows best in USDA zones 6 to 9.

Annuals

Impatiens (Impatiens wallerana) are hardy annuals that thrive in shady areas. Because they are annuals, they can be grown in most USDA zones. Frequently used as border or container crops, they spread and will blossom long in cool conditions. Attempt”Celebration Light Lavender” should you desire a light purple that almost glows. Wax begonias (Begonia semperflorens) also grow well in the shade. “Party Pink Bronze Leaf” includes purplish-pink flowers and leaves that are green on top and dark purple beneath. Wax begonias, in most USDA zones, will grow such as impatiens.

Other Plants

The Purple Dragon lamium (Lamium spp.) Is a tough shade-loving floor cover which includes flowers that are vivid and leaves. The plant grows in USDA zones 2 to 9 and will reach a height of about 8 inches. The grape hyacinth (Muscari armeniacum) is an early spring-blooming shade bulb notable for its clusters of purple, bell-shaped flowers. This plant thrives in USDA zones 3 to 9, as stated by the University of Wisconsin Extension site. Bugleweed (Ajuga reptans) is a hardy ground cover grown primarily for its foliage. The cultivar”Atropurpurea” has bronze-purple leaves and grows well in the shade, according to the Missouri Botanical Garden site. This plant grows best in USDA zones 3 to 9.

See related

Chipotle chilies are earthy peppers that pack a strong, smoky punch when added to a dish. These chilies are out of a common jalapeno plant (capsicum annum). When they’re chosen, they may be dried and smoked, creating a chile flavor — chipotle — that fuels the spice level in many Southwestern and Mexican cuisines. If you are sensitive to temperature and light conditions chipotle chilies is as easy as growing tomatoes.

Pull to protect your hands and spread about 1/8 into 1/4 cup of 12-12-12 fertilizer onto a area. Peppers absorb the fertilizer and nitrogen is nitrogen- and phosphorous-rich. Should you would like to use compost spread about two lbs of compost in the exact same place.

Work the fertilizer into the ground with a shovel. When it’s thoroughly incorporated, dig a hole that is double the width and thickness of this plant’s pot or root ball.

Fill enough of those dirt that is removed back into the hole so the top of the root ball is level with the ground. Place the plant into the hole and fill using the soil that is displaced, creating a mound of earth covering the origins that rounds this plant’s stem up to hold it in position. Set them about 12 inches apart to allow ample room for expansion, In case you have more than one jalapeno pepper plant.

Water each plant generously to about 3 feet deep, ensuring that the roots are well-fed.

Cover the plants using a cap or bell jar if the nights stay cool. You won’t have to use the cap once the plant evolves or if the nighttime don’t become overly cold.

Water every four to five times once the top 1 to 1 1/2 inches of soil is dry. Overwatering destroy the plant and can rust tender roots. Water weekly from the lack of ample rainfall, If the peppers grow to about 10 inches high.

The pepper plants with two teaspoons of liquid seaweed added to 1 gallon of water every two weeks. After about 60 to 70 days, you are able to cease fertilizing.

Put bet or a tomato cage the plant once it reaches about 12 to 18 inches tall to make sure it grows upright and heavy branches are not weighed into the ground with the growing fruit.

Harvest the jalapeno peppers when they turn red, about 150 days after planting. Chipotles are dried and smoked by the jalapeno chilies. To make certain you do move the heat from the peppers into your mouth or eyes, use gloves while harvesting.

See related

If you want to enjoy create, think about planting a house vegetable garden. Many leafy greens flourish in the Bay Area, and red-stem spinach (spinacia oleracea) is a sweet-tasting, cool-weather vegetable full of iron, calcium and vitamin A. This assortment of spinach is appropriate for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s zone 9, including sun-scarce San Francisco.

Soak seeds in a cup of compost tea for 20 to 30 minutes. Germination is hastened by soaking the seeds.

Pour of soil that is humus-enriched or compost throughout your garden bed’s topsoil. Before the humus is completely incorporated, to the upper 6 to 8 inches of dirt, work the humus Having a garden spade. From the Bay Area, plant spinach seeds outside in February. Spinach requires at least six months of cool weather to flourish and is cold-hardy.

Add a chopstick or an unsharpened pencil about 1/2-inch deep to the tilled soil. Create more holes approximately 1 inch apart until you have enough holes.

Put one seed and cover the holes with displaced dirt.

Saturate the floor with a mister so you moisten the floor but do not disturb the seeds.

Water the plants every few days depending on rain. Spinach grows when it will even withstand bolting and remains wet.

Thin the seedlings to approximately 6 inches apart when they are 2 inches high. Spread mulch around the seedlings to keep moisture.

When the plants begin to grow at about 35 to 50 days harvest the leaves. The plant will continue to grow, providing you with leafy greens for several weeks. Harvest the poultry plant by cutting it below the leaf, when the weather warms.

See related

As garden designers we have to show ourselves on each new job. When constructing new walls, terraces and lighting systems realtors and homeowners invest a lot. And there is a lot necessary to keep these things, especially if they are poorly built or if inferior materials are selected. When it comes to plants, I have discovered that not all are created equal.

In his publication The Exuberant Garden and the Controlling Hand, landscape designer William H. Frederick, Jr., refers to select plants as aristocrats, for their refined character that amuses itself without much intervention. Others might call them thugs for their competitive, carefree nature.

Whatever you call them, these plants allow for gardens to thrive on a grand scale without a lot of maintenance. See which of those below could work for your landscape.

A backyard of the scale, in this place, could not be built with finicky plants commonly found in garden centers. This backyard borders a stream that feeds the Brandywine River in Philadelphia, and it is littered with undesirable weed seeds continuously trying to find a house. Aggressive, carefree plants make this project sustainable and manageable.

Caution: As with any self-seeders, check with a local native plant society before planting to make certain your choices are noninvasive in your area.

Golden ragwort (Packera aurea or Senecio aureus, USDA zones 3 to 8) is a very competitive seeder. You can cover a massive area in a couple of years by starting with just a small number of plants. In my own garden, I have been experimenting with underplanting hot- and – cool-season blossoms with perennials such as this to suppress early cool-season weeds with great success.

Name notice: Now this plant is called Packera aurea, but I have loved it as Senecio aureas, and thus the name stands for me.

Benjamin Vogt / Monarch Gardens

Raydon’s favorite (Aster oblongifolius ‘October Skies’, zones 3 to 8) was described by a friend as bulletproof. This plant seeds and spreads out to the backyard readily in a variety of lands and explodes from the autumn with vibrant purple, as most other plants are beginning to take in their mellow fall colors.

Barbara Pintozzi

Yes, another aster for you to consider. I can’t say enough about these plants. Tartarian aster (Aster tartaricus ‘Jindai’, zones 4 to 8) has become more available recently. Launched by Rick Darke and Skip March in Japan from the Jin Dai Botanic Garden, it could grow taller. It also spreads via rhizomes, making it a worthy foe to most weeds.

Ginkgo Leaf Studio

Gooseneck loosestrife (Lysmachia cletheroides, zones 3 to 2) is misunderstood — or, dare I say, loathed — by many gardeners who want to keep eclectic gardens. This plant is a tremendous ground cover and will have to be planted amongst other strong plants to help keep it in check. If you want to transform a large area to a backyard, this is an amazing plant to utilize.

Donald Pell – Gardens

Fleece flower (Persicaria amplexicaulis ‘Firetail’, zones 4 to 7) doesn’t seed outside, but it does manage to stand strong in the landscape. This plant could become fairly broad in moist soils, but I have also used it over shallow bedrock with success. It grows in full sun and more shade than you may think. Its sexy pink blossoms appear red in the shade and will bloom from July on, until the frost knocks the plant down.

Layout Farm Group

Lily turf (Liriope muscari ‘Big Blue’, zones 5 to 10) has stuffed the racks of several retail outlets. However, the species I find truly successful is Liriope spicata (zones 4 to 10). This plant gradually spreads across the ground plane and creates masses so thick, I have found myself laying in its relaxation with my little ones. Go ahead and try it ; the plant won’t mind in the least! Summer flowers are a bonus for this unique plant.

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

I have yet to understand gardens in bright places without grasses, also I feel the same about woodlands and ferns. Ferns are older, simple and graceful plants which can be particularly effective when sited nicely.

Ostrich fern (Matteuccia struthiopteris, zones 3 to 7) could be one of the most competitive spreaders. It’ll live forever in dry soil but tends to look ratty when it dries out, therefore site it into a moist, rich soil where it could take over. For dry woodlands try hay-scented fern (Dennstaedtia punctilobula, zones 3 to 2).

The Carter Rohrer Co..

Chinese astilbe (Astilbe chinesis, zones 4 to 8) is a great addition to the backyard. As a summer bloomer, it grows thick, glossy foliage in typical garden soil, so long as the soil does not get too dry.

‘Purple Candles’ is one of my favorites, but try ‘Visions’ or ‘Pumila’ for quite a low ground cover.

CYAN Horticulture

Bear’s breeches (Acanthus mollis, zones 7 to 10) grows in huge clumps on rhizomes, making for very simple branch. It has grand purple blossoms and dark, leathery foliage. These plants create bold ground covers when set in drifts and will keep the most tenacious weeds at bay. Acanthus hungaricus (zones 5 to 10) is a near cousin and equally as striking.

Van Zelst Inc

Bee balm (Monarda didyma, zones 4 to 9) has come to be a favorite operational perennial of mine. I have used this plant to battle latent bud seed spikes of Canada thistle (Cirsium arvense, zones 3 to 7) with little maintenance.

Though this plant is susceptible to powdery mildew, it actually looks bad to me en masse. If it’s a bother to you, cut it into the ground and see it push out new, clean foliage the same calendar year.

Matthew Cunningham Landscape Design LLC

Windflower (Anemone x hybrida spp) cultivars distribute aggressively. These plants are very effective in shade and sun, as long as they do not get overly dry. Windflowers bloom in the late summer and have what might be one of my favorite blooms. They are downright mesmerizing.

Exteriorscapes llc

Dead nettle (Lamium purpureum, sets 3 to 2) can disperse in dry shade, in rugged outcroppings, under pines, in dense woods as well as in some shade. It can be effective at handling erosion, even as it spreads from rooting stems. I have seen this minimal spreader find its way through wood a lot and also hold its own against stilt grass (Microstegium vimineum).

Donald Pell – Gardens

Hard to find but worth the hunt, drooping sedge (Carex pendula, zones 5 to 9) is a monster among the sedges. This plant has been semievergreen, based on vulnerability, and can consume turf grass — like in this picture, where it was planted in my yard since an experiment. Within two decades most of the grass had expired, buried under the color of the big leaves with minimal weeding.

With so many great plants out there to consider, I invite you to look for and adopt aggression in your garden. Plants such as barrenwort (Epimedium ‘Frohnleiten’), comfrey (Symphytum), houttuynia (Houttuynia cordata), plume poppy (Macleaya cordata), blue wild indigo (Baptisia australis) and Joe Pye Weed (Eupatorium ‘Gateway’) have places in the backyard.

The most important lesson I hope I can impart is that gardening does not have to be pricey. If you are mulching or weeding, stop and query your methodology and planting selections. The perfect plant in its appropriate place is the right solution!

More: Why mass plantings work much better in the landscape

See related

As someone who’s smelled more than one Titan Arum within her lifetime, Joan Leonard gets the odor nailed: “Roadkill with a little sauerkraut and dead fish blended” Leonard, program manager at Ohio State University’s Biological Sciences Greenhouse, observed the wonders of one Titan Arum blossom on May 14, 2013, and will experience another blossom this week, called on May 24.

The plant — many commonly called the corpse flower — is most renowned for its distinct and incredibly pungent odor. However, the remainder of its unbelievable lifestyle is not as well understood: Over decades what starts as an almond-size seed grows into a huge leafy plant or even an 8-foot flowering construction which can heat itself up to 100 degrees and develop more than 3 inches in 1 day. Not both — just one or the other. And you never know which way it goes. And, of course, there’s its startling shape. “Surely, the Latin name is very descriptive, since it is literally translated to mean ‘giant deformed phallus,'” says Leonard.

Woody — yes, that is this particular specimen’s moniker; it is named after Ohio State University’s beloved football coach, Woody Hayes — is a 12-year-old Titan Arum that bloomed last week. After a seed the size of an almond, Woody is now a 49-pound tuber that is 12 feet tall when in leaf stage. Woody has had one blossom. The most blossom, pictured here, reached higher.

Most people will smell the flower long until they visit it. The blossom often opens at night and provides a strong odor for approximately 12 hours afterwards. Blooms tend to begin wilting after 48 hours.

For Woody’s most recent blossom, nearly 1,500 people came to the greenhouse to experience the foul odor. “Someone compared the smell to the liquid slop at the bottom of the Dumpster,” says Leonard. “Another person told me they thought it smelled like a mouse which was regurgitated by a snake after a couple of days.”

Although corpse flower blooms are rare, they have become much more prevalent due to the germination of seeds from private collectors and institutions. The University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley, as an example, currently sells seedlings for $50 to $100.

The seedlings (one is pictured here) do little to signify what’s ahead. The corpse flower goes via various dormancy and leaf cycles throughout its lifetime, wilting down to its root each time. After each period of dormancy and regeneration, the leaf and underground potato-like tuber grow considerably. Sometimes (and seldom) the plant will undergo a gorgeous bloom cycle.

Here, Maudine — Ohio State’s next slated Titan Arum blossom — displays the plant’s appearing bud stage. Although Titan Arum is often known as the largest flower in the world, it is really a group of flowers, called an inflorescence.

The stalk in the middle of the flower, called the spadix, has thousands of female and male flowers at its base. After the plant opens, the female flowers open. They die, and pollen opens and create. This procedure helps prevent self-pollination.

Note:Maudine is named after Ohio State’s 1926 homecoming queen that was a cow.

The spadix component of this plant is what generates the oh-so-distinct odor. In fact, the plant itself really heats up — generally to around 98 degrees Fahrenheit — to help dissipate the odor. Combined with the blossom’s unusual color (“It looks a lot like rotten liver,” states Paul Licht, director of the University of California Botanical Garden at Berkeley. “It is very flesh-like.”) , the corpse flower really imitates its namesake.

But why?

Based on Licht, wild corpse flower plants have been found only in Sumatra, an island in western Indonesia. Not only do they blossom seldom, but they have to be at least 10 years old until they do. Sumatra’s tropical climate doesn’t have seasons, so the flower can bloom at any time of year. The likelihood of it being near another blooming corpse flower is slender, so the plant uses smell and colour to attract carrion insects to pollinate it.

After it flowers the flower quickly collapses and rots. When it’s been brilliant red fruits — pictured here begin to grow at the peak of the stalk. Finally the plant goes back into dormancy, growing back after a few months with an even larger leaf or flower structure.

“Ninety-nine percentage of this moment, the flower isn’t blooming,” says Licht. “It is really a gorgeous, leafy plant.” After each dormancy, a single leaf emerges from the floor. At first it is impossible to tell if it’ll go into a bloom or leaf state. When it’s the latter, then the only leaf grows into a very long stalk that branches out into leaflets — shown here. The plant itself grows very quickly as much as 3 inches every day in some cases.

Despite the crazy life cycle, the smell remains the most memorable thing about this plant that is curious. “We did have a visit from someone who works at the morgue, and she confirmed that corpse flower was an apt moniker,” says Leonard.

Ready to sniff the corpse flower yourself? If you hurry you can take a whiff at the Ohio State University Biological Sciences Greenhouse. Maudine will blossom for 2 days beginning May 24, 2013.

Have a survey! Tell us exactly what stage of the corpse flower you like best.

See related

Pink roses are so enchanting and endearing, softening any garden with their pale hues. Pink roses signify thankfulness, joy, admiration and joy, making them treasured tokens for parties such as birthdays, weddings and showers. This rose color is possibly the most gentle and innocent of all the improved shades, as well as all these varieties and forms to select from, it is easy to find one to fit your garden.

Stefan Laport Landscape Architect IFLA

Pink roses have a wide selection of hues, from sweet pastels to shocking brights, and your garden will have a very different feel depending on the colour you choose. An all-pink garden looks very feminine, as does a pink rose garden with other white blossoms. If you want to eliminate just a little sweetness and amp up the play, put pink roses with other flowers in shades of blue or purple. A Pink and red combo is much more monochromatic, while pink and yellow is a cheerful combination to brighten up any garden.

1. Best climber. ‘New Dawn’ was a favourite climber for years. It appears to be outstanding in just about any way a rose could be judged — it’s vigorous growth and abundant pink blossoms that fade to blush; it’s disease resistant and a repeat bloomer. It grows from 15 to 20 feet tall, can endure a bit of colour and grows well in USDA zones 5 to 9 (find your zone). And did I tell you it’s fragrant, too?

Photo by Flickr consumer paterson.ra

The New York Botanical Garden

Other pink climbers include ‘Weeping China Doll’ (syn. ‘Climbing China Doll’), ‘ ‘James Galway’, ‘Leander’ and ‘Eglantyne’.

Revealed: ‘Weeping China Doll’ (syn. ‘Climbing China Doll’)

J. Peterson Garden Design

2. Best cut flower. ‘Chicago Peace’ is a hybrid tea rose that grows up to 6 feet tall in zones 5 to 9. Its classic bloom form is striking, with petals tinged a blend of pink, orange and yellow on long stems, which makes it perfect for cutting and bringing inside. It begins blooming in late spring and will continue to blossom on and off, until late summer or even collapse.

More pink roses for cutting edge comprise ‘Betty Boop’ and ‘Nearly Wild’.

The New York Botanical Garden

3. Easy-care favorite. ‘Blushing Knock Out’ defies all the rumors about roses being fussy. This one takes the warmth, is drought tolerant once established, resists pests and diseases, and does not require deadheading. It features single light pink blossoms and is perfect as a small shrub rose in a perennial garden or container garden, growing to about 3 to 4 ft tall for gardeners in zones 5 to 11.

The New York Botanical Garden

More easy-care pink roses comprise ‘Carefree Delight’, ‘Rainbow Knock Out’ and ‘All the Rage’.

Revealed: ‘Carefree Delight’

The New York Botanical Garden

4. Best scent. ‘Memorial Day’ is just another all-around great improved, but it’s particularly notable because of its strong damask rose fragrance. It’s a bigger shrub rose, growing up to 6 feet tall in zones 7 to 10, and it’s remarkable warmth tolerance. The blossoms are fully petaled in tones of pinkish lavender and bloom freely throughout the entire year.

Additional pink blossom roses comprise ‘Gertrude Jekyll’, ‘The Alnwick Rose’ and ‘Mortimer Sackler’.

The New York Botanical Garden

5. Best color variant. ‘Scentimental’ is extremely fragrant, since you can tell by its title, besides sporting unusual dark pink stripes and spots on white petals. ‘Scentimental’ is a shrub rose, growing up to 4 feet tall and wide with double blossoms, and has excellent disease resistance for gardeners in zones 6 to 9.

The New York Botanical Garden

Other interesting color variants are found on ‘Portrait’, ‘Carrousel’, and ‘Latin Lady’.

Revealed: ‘Portrait’

See related

The American Southwest is a vast area, covering all of Arizona and New Mexico and Elements of California, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The areas of the Southwest are diverse and include non deserts, high deserts and mountainous areas, covering USDA zones 5 though 9.

It’s difficult to believe that winter is almost through and spring is just around the corner. Soon gardens will be awash in varying shades of green with brightly colored blossoms. In the desert areas, it is time to start pruning and dress up the landscape by adding some fresh flowering shrubs and vines. Gardeners in high elevations can get an early start on vegetable gardening by planting seeds indoors.

Desert gardeners should check their irrigation system for any leaks, broken sprinkler heads or drip emitters. With warmer temperatures on their way, plants will require reliable watering to grow their very best. Don’t wait until you start seeing dead plants in your landscape to realize you have a problem. Check your irrigation today. Grass will soon turn green, so it is time to ensure that your sprinklers are functioning. Replace any damaged heads and fix any leaks. Turn on the drip irrigation and then walk around, checking each emitter. If there isn’t any water coming out, or when there is too small, it is time to cut the old emitter away and add a new one.

More regional backyard guides

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Low Deserts (up to 3,000 Trainers)

Spend some time evaluating your landscape. Is it looking colorless and boring? March is a good time to add color and attention by planting summer-flowering shrubs and vines.

Flowering vines are a great way to dress up an entryway or to add color to a weapon. Consider developing these pink-blooming vines: Queen’s Wreath (Antigonon leptopus), shown here;pink bower vine (Pandorea jasminoides) or pink trumpet vine (Podranea ricasoliana).

Red bird-of-paradise (Caesalpinia pulcherrima), Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica), Texas sage (Leucophyllum frutescens), chaparral blossom (Salvia clevelandii) andArizona yellow bells (Tecoma stans stans) are big summer-flowering shrubs that add great color to the landscape.

Large footprints, 5 ft and higher, should be planted toward the back of the landscape. Shrubs are a great way to conceal a boring wall or fence. They are also effective at hiding air-conditioning components and pool gear from view. Plant lower-growing shrubs and perennials in the front of taller shrubs.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Do you love citrus? March is the best time of year to add a fresh citrus tree to the backyard. Any pruning your citrus needs must also be done this month. Citrus trees do not need much pruning. Focus on eliminating dead or crossing branches.

Whilst eliminating lower branches of citrus therefore they have a much more traditional tree shape is popular, try to avoid the temptation. Lower branches of citrus trees bear the sweetest fruit, and also the most of it. The branches also help to protect the trunk of this tree out of sunburn.

Revealed: Grapefruit

How to Maintain Your Citrus Trees Well Fed and Healthy

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Prune frost-damaged growth. Make sure to wait to prune before the danger of frost has passed. Not certain when your last frost date is? Check out your town’s average frost dates.

Frost-tender plants, like lantana (Lantana spp), look their best when pruned severely back to 6 inches. This sort of pruning rejuvenates the plant by stimulating new expansion, which will produce more leaves and blossoms than the old branches.

Revealed: Pruned ‘Radiation’ Lantana (Lantana camara ‘Radiation’)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

When you’re pruning frost-damaged trees and shrubs, it can be difficult to tell which parts are dead and which parts are still living. Often when plants are frost ruined, they lose most of their leaves. But although a branch might be leafless, it doesn’t signify that the entire division is dead.

The hint to knowing which parts are living is to look closely at the branches, which will inform you where to make your pruning cut. The region of the branch that’s still living will start to leaf out, while the parts that are dead won’t. Make your pruning cut 1/4 inch above the point where the new growth occurs.

Wait until new growth appears prior to pruning.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Mid- to High Deserts (3,000 to 6,000 Feet)

Would you enjoy the notion of having new fruit growing in your backyard? How about growing apples, apricots, peaches or plums? This is a superb time to purchase bare-root or container fruit trees and plant them in your garden.

For many fruit trees (apples, apricots and plums), you will get the very best fruit production should you purchase at least two distinct varieties of each type of tree. This is due to the fact that fruit trees cannot pollinate themselves; they rely on pollen from the same type of tree but another selection.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Woody, overgrown shrubs will benefit from pruning. Focus on eliminating nonproductive old branches by pruning them off near the bottom of the tree — loppers or a pruning saw work nicely for this type of pruning. Since the temperatures warm, fresh growth will appear.

Revealed: New growth emerging from a severely pruned woody shrub.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Upper Elevations (Over 6,000 Trainers)

Before you know it, it is going to be time to go outside and start planting your vegetable garden. To acquire a jump-start, grow vegetables and flower seeds indoors approximately eight weeks before the final frost date in your area. By that time, you will have eight-week-old seedlings ready to plant in the backyard.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Prune deciduous trees. Pruning ought to be done before the leaf buds begin to swell. The exclusion is walnut and birch trees and shrubs that flower in spring. Don’t prune them today; wait until they have finished flowering.

decordemon

Get your soil ready for planting in later spring by working 2 to 3 inches of compost into the top 6 inches of soil. The advantages of compost in the garden are many. Two major ones are that compost adds nutrients to the soil and enhances the feel of both sandy and clay soils.

Don’t worry if you do not make your own compost. You can purchase some at your local nursery.

Prepare for April. Warm spring temperatures are a great time to include succulents to your garden.

Tell us : How are you preparing your Southwest garden for spring?

See related

March is an exciting time in the backyard. The birds sing, the borders become more colorful daily as shrubs and trees break bud, spring bulbs available up in the gentle sunshine along with the greenhouse extends into full production. Ultimately we believe we can start really gardening again. Sharpen your pruners, discover your hoe and prepare for some fresh air!

More regional backyard guides

Putney Design

Plan for apple pie with proper pruning. I am not certain if I love the apple blossoms or the actual apples more, but I do know that without proper pruning, the trees will not be as vigorous nor create as much fruit as they could.

Corona Tools

1-Inch Bypass Pruner – $31.57

This is the last month to prune fruit trees, so sharpen those pruners. Entire books are written on how to prune apple trees, but here are the fundamentals of pruning a mature tree.
Remove, dead, diseased or dying branches.Remove branches that are growing toward the trunk, straight up or straight down. Remove branches that are rubbing against each other. Thin out the canopy enough to allow light to filter even when it’s leafed out.

Putney Design

You will notice two different kinds of bud:
Sharp, pointed ones, which eventually become leaves and branchesFatter, darker buds, which form fruitIs your mouth watering yet?

Jocelyn H. Chilvers

Watch out for more weeds. It’s a sad fact that weeds appear to be the fastest-growing plants in the garden this time of year. Make sure you spend some time each week removing them before they set seed.

Le jardinet

Plan for next year’s daffodils. After weeks of watching the stems get taller as well as the buds get fatter, we can finally see golden daffodils fill the backyard. If the flowers have faded, cut off the dead blooms but leave the foliage to die down naturally, so the bulbs will be even bigger and better next year.

Missouri Botanical Garden

Sow your seeds. This is the main month for beginning vegetables, herbs and summer annuals from seed. Milder places probably got a jump-start in February, but experience has told me I have to be patient till March arrives.

Renee’s Garden

Check the seed sticks. Read on the seed packets to see what the ideal temperatures would be for germination. I’ll often use heat mats to provide a gentle increase, but many times a sunny windowsill will do. Start basil, parsley, lettuce, brassicas and hardy annuals such as cosmos (shown) and marigolds this way.

Niki Jabbour

Add security for tender crops. Salad leaves and lettuces may also be grown outside in a cold frame or directly sown in the garden with protection against a floating row cover (shown), based on your climate.

Should you pay the soil with black plastic for a week or two prior to planting, it will be several degrees warmer and receive off your seeds to an even faster start.

Laara Copley-Smith Garden & Landscape Design

Sow root plants out. Root plants don’t like disturbance and have to be sown directly into the ground. Carrots, parsnips and early beetroot have become this way. Radishes are fast and simple too and will be ready to harvest in just a few weeks.

Le jardinet

Harvest rhubarb. We’ve got a serious overabundance of rhubarb — or so my family tells me. Since deer and rabbits leave it alone, I comprise many clumps of it in the backyard border for its ornamental value alone.

For the most part I harvest and then freeze the stems from the end of this month through midsummer, but I like to let just one plant to go into seed. Who can resist this play?

Fight the slugs. It’s time to undertake these slimy backyard visitors.

A well-meaning friend once suggested I just select off the slugs and feed them to the birds. Sounds fair enough, doesn’t it? Except she had a very small pocket garden and I have 5 acres.

Niki Jabbour

My birds are well fed — trust me — but I get tired of playing hopscotch as I navigate my way from the rear door into the vegetable garden trying to not step on all the slugs. I am also interested in feeding my family than the overstuffed robins, so I resort to organic slug control.

Amazon

Sluggo Plus Molluscicide – $25

My favorite method of slug control for ornamentals, edibles and containers would be Sluggo Plus. It’s safe around kids and pets but kills slugs, snails, earwigs, pill bugs and other molluscs.

Sprinkling diatomaceous earth on the ground and setting beer traps are popular methods for controlling slugs.

Le jardinet

Housekeeping for the birds. We love to encourage birds to see our backyard, particularly swallows, which help keep the mosquito population in check. March is the time to wash out their nesting boxes, to get them ready for the new brood.

Are you ready for spring? Watch more regional backyard guides

See related

The American Southwest is a vast area, covering all of Arizona and New Mexico and parts of California, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The regions of the Southwest are diverse and include non deserts, high deserts and mountainous regions, covering USDA zones 5 though 9.

Temperatures at February can swing from below freezing on cold days up into the 70s on the others, based on what area you live in. In most regions of the Southwest, we’re blessed to be able to garden through the winter. This month enjoy the fruit from your citrus trees (and share some with your neighbors). Plant some fresh roses; include beautiful, cold-hardy flowering plants; and get your vegetable garden ready for spring.

More regional backyard guides

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Low deserts (around 3,000 ft). Plant cold-hardy flowering natives, including firecracker penstemon (Penstemon eatonii), chaparral sage (Salvia clevelandii), globe mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua) and Mexican honeysuckle (Justicia spicigera), that will add amazing color to a backyard.

Temperatures can still fall below freezing in February. Make sure you protect frost-sensitive plants, for example lantana (Lantana spp)and bougainvillea (Bougainvillea spp)with freeze cloth. Old towels or sheets will even work in a pinch.

Towards the end of winter, sow seeds for basil, peas, tomatoes and peppers on your vegetable garden.

Revealed: Globe Mallow (Sphaeralcea ambigua ‘Louis Hamilton’)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Fertilize trees. February is the time to apply the very first dose of fertilizer into citrus trees (that need to be fertilized three times every year). An easy way to remember when to fertilize is by holiday: Valentine’s Day (February), Memorial Day (May) and Labor Day (September).

Citrus fertilizer must contain nitrogen, alongside the micronutrients iron, manganese and zinc, which are crucial for citrus wellbeing. Follow the instructions on the fertilizer bag carefully; they will tell you just how much to apply. Water the trees well after application.

Liquidscapes

Mid- to high slopes (3,000 to 6,000 ft). Gradually prune evergreen shrubs, such as boxwood (Buxus spp) and dwarf yaupon (Ilex vomitoria); it will stimulate attractive new expansion for spring.

Deciduous shade trees must be pruned in February too. Remove any diseased, dead or crossing branches.

Get a head start on spring by planting vegetable and flower seeds inside eight months before the last average frost date. Beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and peppers do well when started inside. Check a vegetable planting calendar for information on when to plant on your own zone.

Revealed: Boxwood (Buxus microphylla)

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Upper elevations (over 6,000 ft). It is time to get started browsing your seed catalogs and choose what you will plant on your vegetable garden later in spring. Don’t have one yet? This is a good time to start planning to include edibles to your backyard. Select an area that receives at least half an hour or more of sunshine every day.

Deep water your lawn, trees and shrubs. Even though it is winter, they need water. This should be done on a day warmer than 40 degrees Fahrenheit so that the water doesn’t freeze. Water trees to a depth of 3 ft, shrubs into 2 ft deep and a lawn to 6 inches deep. Use a soil probe or a piece of rebar to help determine how profoundly you are watering.

See how to build a raised garden bed

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Start seeds in biodegradable containers. Did you know that lots of household items make great containers to start seeds inside? Consider using toilet paper rolls cut in half, cardboard coffee sleeves or perhaps eggshells.

After the danger of frost has passed, simply plant your seedlings, biodegradable container and all, at the floor. Both the cardboard and eggshells will decompose rapidly in the dirt.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Wait to prune frost-damaged growth. While it may be tempting to prune away nasty, frost-damaged expansion from your trees, shrubs or perennials — stop. Pruning too early in the summer stimulates new growth which makes your frost-tender plant more vulnerable to damage from the threat of prospective frosts. Wait till the threat of freezing temperatures has passed until you dust off your pruning tools.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Have fun with containers. Get creative when choosing containers for your cool-season flowering annuals. A metal bucket, an old watering can, a wheelbarrow or even an old pair of boots may add a touch of whimsy into the garden when stuffed with annual flowers. Just make sure you make holes in the bottom for drainage.

Try pairing violas using alyssum, petunias with snapdragons, or geraniums with Lobelias for amazing color combinations.

Fertilize annuals using a liquid fertilizer at least once a month to encourage continuous flowering.

Noelle Johnson Landscape Consulting

Plant bare-root roses. Winter is the time to plant bare-root roses in the desert regions of the Southwest.
Select grade-1 roses, that have at least three big canes (branches). Dig a hole two feet broad and amend the soil with compost and bonemeal prior to planting. Cover the top of your freshly implanted bare-root rose with a mound of compost or wood shavings to keep the canes from drying out. Eliminate the compost as soon as you see new growth appear. Don’t fertilize fresh roses till they’ve flowered for the first time in spring. Revealed: Hybrid tea rose ‘Double Happiness’

Get ready for March. Spring is on its way. Sharpen your pruning tools and get ready to check your irrigation system.

More regional backyard guides

See related