Fresno Gardening Green

Enjoy the last flush of blooming roses along with the bounty of the fall harvest. Tasks: Adjust watering systems as weather cools. Remove and dispose of any fruit and nuts that cling to the tree. Spray hedges and shrubs with water to clean and keep them free of dust to discourage spider mites.

One of the most maddening gardening tasks is pest control. Discovering roses covered in aphids, Swiss chard with more holes than Swiss cheese, or grotesquely distorted citrus leaves may have gardeners feeling all bugs are bad.

Native to Texas and the Southeast, Turk's cap (Malvaviscus arboreus var. drummondii) gets its common name from the tightly twisted flowers that never fully open and resemble a Turkish turban or fez.

Preparations for severe weather and damage control in home gardens and orchards have become a major focus for Master Gardeners during the last 10 years.

UC Master Gardener Richard Gillispie has two words of advice for Fresno County gardeners: plant lavender. That's what he did in a big way when the COVID-19 pandemic thwarted plans to travel in his brand new fifth-wheel RV during retirement.