1. Select drought-resistant plants that grow well in your climate zone and microclimate (sun, shade, etc.). Try these search engines:

SelecTree: A Tree Selection Guide (calpoly.edu) Plant Search Database  

Plant Search Database - Water Use Classification of Landscape Species (WUCOLS IV) (ucanr.edu)

For inland San Bernardino County: Home - Inland Valley Garden Planner

2. ‘Hydrozone': Place plants with similar water needs (very low, low, medium, high) together and water the hydrozones on different valves (or, if hand watering, water plants requiring the most water longer but not necessarily more often than other plants).

3. Make sure your irrigation system is operating properly (pressure, spacing, no weeds around heads, no broken parts, etc.).

4. Irrigate based on species and seasonal water needs (highest in summer) and soil type (sandy loam, clay loam, etc.).

5. Irrigate slightly below the current root zone depth of your plants to encourage deep rooting into cooler soil: - 6”-8” for annuals, perennials, and turf - 8”- 1' for shrubs - 1' or deeper for trees

6. Water early in the morning when soil evaporation is minimal.

7. Control weeds. They compete with your garden plants for water.

8. Spread and maintain 2-4” of mulch around garden plants and trees (3-4” for wood chips, 2” for pebbles, decomposed gravel, etc.) keeping it a few inches away from tree trunks.

9. Avoid over-fertilizing. Too much nitrogen creates weak growth and the need for more water.

10. If you have a lawn and still want to keep it, water based on the UC ANR 'Lawn Watering Guide': http://ucanr.org/freepubs/docs/8044.pdf

Contact a trained University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) Master Gardener in San Bernardino County for more help!  mgsanbern@ucanr.edu (fastest!) or:  (909)387-2182 (leave a message for a return phone call)

o you ever wonder if plants “communicate” with each other? If so, you're not alone. The research on this important and fascinating topic has increased dramatically in the last decade. My interest in it dates back decades to my graduate school thesis that involved how phenolic acids exuded by the roots of garden pea (Pisum sativum) accessions from around the world warded off weeds that would otherwise have crowded them out. This was an early form of biological weed control for sure! The seeds we studied were 20-30 years old and had been carefully stored and preserved in USDA facilities for research such as this.

They were all non-hybrids that had unadulterated natural genetic qualities. While I am in no way suggesting that plant breeding isn't overall a positive advancement, there are instances where something is lost when something is gained, and genes are certainly no exception! Sometimes breeding for an improvement in one facet (production per acre, nutrition, etc.) results in the loss of another genetically controlled factors that may be negative or positive.

At about the same time I was pursuing my research described above at University of Minnesota, University of Washington zoologist David Rhoades demonstrated how some plants defend themselves against insect attacks by changing the nutritional and/or taste of their foliage. In turn, insects that otherwise would chow down on the tasty leaves look elsewhere for their lunch. Since then, research identifying the multiple paths that plants use to exchange information with neighboring plants (largely within their own species) and ward off herbivores (organisms feeding mostly on plants), diseases, and weeds has nearly tripled. While a lot of this chemical information exchange relates to the release of volatile organic compounds in the root zone and through the air, electrical signaling among plants also occurs.

Below are a few recent examples:

-Lima beans attacked by insects signaled nearby lima bean plants who built up defenses to avoid damage

-Lodgepole pines attacked by a beetle signaled neighboring trees who had time to prepare for attack. 

While, traditionally, research identified these chemical warnings occurring only in neighboring plants of the same species, Cornell researchers discovered that  sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata)with insect damage can release chemical signals recognized by wild tobacco (Nicotiana attenuata). In turn, the tobacco plants pump up their arsenal of chemical defenses to avoid damage. (Interestingly, the tobacco plants don't waste precious nitrogen and carbon on defense mechanisms until they are actually attacked since these elements need to be conserved as much as possible for future seed production.)

Ted Farmer's team at University of Lausanne, attached leaves of thale cress (Arabidopsis thaliana) with microelectrodes prior to infesting them with Egyptian cotton leafworms. Almost immediately, voltage changes radiated outward from the damaged leaf tissue in the damaged plant and other neighboring plants resulting in accumulation of jasmonic acid which reduced further damage. Genes responsible for transmitting the electrical signal create membrane channels inside cell walls that provide a conduit for charged ions. The genes in some ways parallel receptors that animals rely on to relay sensory signals through their bodies.

And last but certainly not least, Kudos to UC Davis ecologist/entomologist Richard “Rick” Karban, who was named a fellow of the Ecological Society of America (ESA) for “his innovative contributions to community and evolutionary ecology, especially through providing conceptual advances and rigorous experimental work on plant-insect interactions." Want to learn a log more about this topic."  Still "hungry" for more information on this topic?   You're in luck! Dr. Karban wrote a 240-page book entitled: Plant Sensing and Communication (University of Chicago Press).

Did you ever wonder the origins of why people often choose to give red flowers to their significant others  for Valentine's Day?

The language of flowers became popular in the 17th and 18th centuries. Virtually every flower, even its color, had special significance during this period. Flowers even formed secret correspondence between men and women with bouquets being chosen carefully to convey sentiment.

Traditionally: 

- red roses: love

- pink roses: complete happiness

- daffodils: regard

- daisies: loyalty

- gardenia: clandestine or secret love.  

Flowers express traits of character, as well.

Here are some additional plants aptly named for feelings often accompanying  Valentine's Day sentiments: "Bleeding Heart" (Dicentra Spectabilis),"Love in Winter" (Chimaphila umbellata), "Kiss Me Over the Garden Gate" (Persicaria orientale), and "Love Lies Bleeding" (Amaranthus caudatus). Some, such as "Cupid Dart" (Catananche caerulea) were used in potions and other concoctions, in this case by ancient Greeks. And alas, the "All American Roses" of the year for 1980 were “Love”, “Honor” and “Cherish”. 

While you're reaching out to your significant others this Valentine's Day (or any day!) make memories last longer by adding the floral preservative that comes with most arrangements or can be purchased separately.

May your love be everlasting........

Janet 

Many previously “welcomed” urban tree species have outlived their stay, becoming invasive and crowding out other plants in our Southern California landscapes. You can help by avoiding planting these trees identified by various sources (including the California Invasive Plant Council) to be too aggressive and habitat/resource-depleting for further planting.

Invasive Trees to Avoid Planting

invasive Tamarix ramosissima.jpg (do not plant this invasive tree in CA)

Athel (Tamarix aphylla)

Black Locust (Robinia pseudoacacia)

Blackwood Acacia (Acacia melanoxylon)

Brazilian Pepper (Schinus terebinthifolius)

Chinaberry (Melia azedarach)

Chinese Tallow Tree (Triadica sebifera)

English Hawthorn (Crataegus monogyna)

Peruvian Pepper Tree (Schinus molle)

Red Gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis)

Russian Olive (Elaeagnus angustifolia)

Saltcedar (Tamarix ramosissima, T. gallica, T. chinensis)

Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata)

Smallflower Tamarisk (Tamarix parviflora)

Tasmanian Bluegum (Eucalyptus globulus)

Plant These Instead

They are drought/heat resistant, low maintenance, and have no known significant pest or disease problems and are not currently overplanted). Find other suggestions here: https://www.cal-ipc.org/solutions/prevention/landscaping/dpp/?region=socal

African Fern Pine (Afrocarpus falcatus) (formerly Podocarpus elatior)

Cascolote (Caesalpinia cacalaco Smoothie®)

Desert Willow ‘Bubba' (Chilopsis linearis)

Fringe Tree (Chionanthus virginicus)

Island Oak (Quercus tomentella)

‘Maverick' Mesquite (Prosopis glandulosa)

Mulga (Acacia aneura)

Netleaf Hackberry (Celtis reticulata)

Pink Chitalpa (x Chitalpa tashkentensis 'Pink Dawn')

‘Red Push' Pistache (Pistacia x ‘Red Push')

Thornless South American Mesquite (Prosopis x Phoenix)