Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Help Desk Client: I've just bought a home in the County. It has an extensive garden with many different plants. I moved from Southern California where I didn't have to worry about frosts. I have Oleander, Escallonia, Breath of Heaven (Colonema pulchellum), Myrtle (Myrtus communis),
Response from the MGCC's Help Desk:
Thank you for contacting the UC MGCC's Help Desk with you question on frost protection for your landscape plants.
- Oleander can survive in temperatures down to 15-20 degrees, but even a light frost may damage developing buds and leaves which might affect flowering next season.
- Escallonia will suffer damage at 10-15 degrees, but will recover quickly.
- Breath of Heaven will do OK in light frosts, but will need protection from a hard freeze.Pittosporum can withstand brief forays down to 25 degrees.
- Myrtle is good down to 5-15 degrees.
- Lorapetalum should withstand frost, but needs protection from a hard freeze.
I think all of your plants mentioned above should tolerate frosty weather just fine, but newly planted shrubs will be at more of a risk because their root systems have not yet become established.
Some of the tools to protect your tender plants include frost cloth, sheets, blankets, lights and stakes or framework to hold covers off foliage. Frost cloth has the advantage that, because it allows light and air to penetrate, it can lay directly on foliage and can stay on the plants for a few days at a time. You can find frost cloth at a local nurseries, most home/hardware stores or online. Plastic is not usually recommended to cover your plants; plastic is not a good insulator and can cause more damage, especially if it touches the foliage. However, use of plastic over a frame could work; Ruth Bancroft Gardens in Walnut Creek uses such frames to protect their vulnerable plants.
When frosts or freezes are forecast, make sure your plants are well watered (not a worry if we've had rain recently). Cover plants before sunset to capture any heat radiating from the ground. If you use sheets or blankets instead of frost cloth, remove them the next day when the temperature gets above freezing.
Historically, Central County (Walnut Creek) averages a low of 39 degrees, but has gotten down much below that for extended periods in some years. West County usually stays warmer while East County can be similar. However, there are many microclimates throughout the County depending upon elevation, exposure, etc. so you must check out your particular situation. For example, in Walnut Creek in November 1985 it was 25 degrees; December 1990, 19 degrees; and Jan 2007 it dropped to 20 degrees. As you can see, the possibility for real cold exists, but is not likely in any one year.
Here is a link to a publication from the UC Sacramento Master Gardeners about frost protection where you will find even more information and photos of how to cover plants: http://sacmg.ucanr.edu/Frost_Protection/ , Pictures are from SacMG document.
Please let us know if you have any more questions. Stay warm!
Note: MGCC's Help Desk closed Dec 19th, 2016 through Jan 2, 2017. However, the UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is usually available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Home Garden Advice From the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
MGCC's Help Desk Response: Thank you for your request to our Help Desk.
It appears that your pest is a mealybug. Mealybugs (Pseudococcus longispinus) are small, pale insects, related to scales. They are about ⅛ to ¼ inch long and move very sluggishly. The adult females cover themselves and their eggs with a white, waxy material, making them look cottony. Mealybugs are most commonly found on the lower surfaces of leaves and in leaf axils (where the leaf attaches to the stem). They suck plant sap, causing stunted and distorted growth and sometimes plant death.
You will want to immediately separate the affected plants from all your other plants and carefully examine your those plants in case they are also infested to make sure you get rid of the problem!. In some instances, because of the time and effort to rid your plant(s) of mealybugs, you might want to consider destroying and/or disposing of your replaceable plants so that they don't become continuing source of mealybugs.
Here is a link to more information and treatment recommendations for mealybugs:
http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74174.html
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/GARDEN/PLANTS/INVERT/mealybugs.html
Please let us know if you have any additional questions!
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SLH)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Home Gardening Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardeners of Contra Costa Clunty
Client's Request: I've got quite a few ornamental grasses and several Japanese Maples. I know I'm supposed to prune them sometime this winter, but I'm getting confusing recommendations on when and how to do it. Would you please provide some guidance and/or references I could use to properly prune them this winter.
HGCC's Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting UC Master Gardeners with you question and request.
You asked about pruning your grasses and Japanese maples. Our UC information indicates that February is a good time to prune both of these plants.
epending upon whether your grasses are evergreen or winter dormant, you may want to wait until they have brown foliage before pruning. For evergreen grasses, you can rake out the dead stuff and thatch build-up. If these get too big, you can cut them back every couple of years.
Here are two UC Master Gardener websites with good information about ornamental grasses and pruning:
http://sacmg.ucanr.edu/files/117290.pdf
http://sonomamg.ucanr.edu/2010_Feature_Articles/Pruning_Ornamental_Grasses/
I hope this is helpful, and good luck with your gardening! Please do not hesitate to contact us again.
Help Desk of the UC Master Garden Program of Contra Costa County (SMW)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Advice for the Home Gardener from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County
Client's Request: As we discussed on the phone this morning, I have recently installed extensive drought-resistant landscaping. I have also added wood chip mulch to prevent weeds. However, I'm concerned about how to maintain it weed-free as well as other areas in my garden. Our phone discussion covered many of the usual techniques to prevent weeds in this situation. You said that you would do some further review and possibly provide me with some more options.
UC MGCC Help Desk Response: Thank you for contacting the UC Master Gardener Program Help Desk with your questions about weed control in your new landscape.
The first option is to put down a weed fabric (not plastic) on the edges of your landscaping to control the small, sneaky weeds that appear where the wood mulch tends to be thin. Once the fabric is installed, you can cover it back up with your wood mulch. This will stop the weeds from coming up on the edges of your pathways.
Another option we didn't discuss is using a weed flamer. Flamers require no chemicals, and don't result in groundwater contamination or chemical residues on garden. One plus for weed flamers is that they are usually considered an organic gardening method. For effective weed control, you can use flamers in spring and early summer as annual and perennial weeds emerge. Killing larger, mature plants requires more heat, so save time and fuel by flaming weeds when they're still young and tender. This is a good option for larger areas that need treatment.
You can Google ‘weed flamer' for local and online suppliers as well as additional safety guidance. The idea of weed flamers isn't to burn the plants, but to quickly pass over to apply the right amount of heat to cause the water in the weed cells to boil, causing the plant to atrophy and die. Torch remaining weeds once every two to three weeks in ongoing applications or as needed until the next frost. Flaming kills annual weeds completely but does not completely eradicate the roots of perennial weeds.
If you do decide to use a flamer, be sure to keep a water supply handy, and do not get the flame near anything flammable, especially your dry wood mulch back, for safety purposes. To be safe, you may need to pull the mulch back before using the flamer or drench the mulch first with water.
Here is a link to more (and extensive) information on weed control in your garden:
http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7441.html
Please don't hesitate to give us a call if you have additional questions!
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SLH)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).
Home Gardening Advice from the Help Desk of the
UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa Cunty
Client's Request: I have 2 different berry bushes in my backyard. One berry bush is a thornless blackberry and the other an olallieberry, and they are 2 years old. I am quite confused as to how to prune them. Can you explain the fruiting canes, the old canes, the canes for next crop of berries, etc. None of the informative videos I've reviewed make anything any clearer.
Pruning berry canes yearly encourages more fruit production and makes cultivation easier. Both of your berry bushes are considered to be grown and pruned as “blackberries”. We agree that pruning blackberries can be a bit overwhelming at first, but once you understand how they grow and get the plants trellised and trained, the task will become much easier for you!
There are two names for a blackberry cane, depending on whether the cane is in its first or second year of growth:
Primocanes: First year of growth: most types produce no fruit on these canes.
Floricanes: Second year of growth; these canes produce flowers and fruit and then die.
When to Prune With blackberries, primocanes create new stems, while floricanes produce flowers and after pollination, blackberries. It's important to know the difference because each type of cane is pruned at a different time of year and at a different point in the plant's growth cycle.
How to tell the difference? Just look carefully at the canes. Primocanes don't produce flowers or fruit and may have a flush of new growth at the tip, they may also tend to grow on the ground. Floricanes produce blossoms in the spring and berries in early to midsummer. Prune primocanes or stems without fruit and berries in June and July, but wait to prune the floricanes until after berries are picked. Another helpful hint for identifying the type of cane is that the floricanes will have remnants of bloom/berry clusters.
How Much to Prune When pruning blackberries, cut the primocanes down to about 48 inches, measuring from the ground up to the tip of the cane. Shoots develop off the main stem. These are called lateral shoots. They jut out to the sides. You can prune these back to around 18 inches towards the end of the summer. Floricanes are pruned differently. After all the fruit is harvested, wait until the end of the summer or into the early fall. Prune branches that bore fruit down to the ground, or at least as far down as you can reach comfortably.
Here is an excellent video on blackberry care and pruning from Peaceful Valley Farm & Garden Supply:
http://www.groworganic.com/blackberryolallieeach.html
Here are additional helpful links from UC sources about blackberry care:
http://cesonoma.ucanr.edu/files/27140.pdf
http://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/Berries/Blackberries/
Good luck with your pruning project! Please let us know if you have any additional questions.
... and apologies for the blog title... I just couldn't help myself... editor
Help Desk of the UC Master Gardener Program of Contra Costa County (SLH)
Note: The UC Master Gardeners Program of Contra Costa's Help Desk is available year-round to answer your gardening questions. Except for a few holidays, we're open every week, Monday through Thursday for walk-ins from 9:00 am to Noon at 75 Santa Barbara Road, 2d Floor, Pleasant Hill, CA 94523. We can also be reached via telephone: (925) 646-6586, email: ccmg@ucanr.edu, or on the web at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/Ask_Us/ MGCC Blogs can be found at http://ccmg.ucanr.edu/HortCoCo/ You can also subscribe to the Blog (http://ucanr.edu/blogs/CCMGBlog/).