Nine years have passed since I put my Yucca spp. in the ground.   What a surprise to see a bloom in October. One trunk. One flower. Who knew. I started noticing other Yuccas in Vallejo and took photos of two multi-trunk, full-bodied specimens: one has several flowers, some fading; one is trimmed, healthy looking, well maintained. I'm not sure what variety I have or if it will remain a single trunk. I do know it's a slow-grower.      

Yuccas are members of the Agave family. They are desert plants that are NOT fleshy (water-retaining plants that appear swollen, i.e. Aloe) and grow over much of North America. All have tough, sword-shaped leaves. Some are stemless clumps, others have trunks that can reach tree size. The bloom stalks are massed clusters with white/waxy cream-colored, round to bell-shaped flowers. They are best in well-drained soil, most need occasional deep soakings.

Four specimens that grow well in our area include:  

Y. aloifolia (Spanish bayonet): Single or branching trunk, slow-growing to 10ft. Narrow, dark green leaves 2 feet long with sharp tips. Dramatic white flower stalk blooms in late spring/summer. Do not plant near walkways or well-travelled areas.

Y. filamentosa (Adam's Needle): From a broad base, it develops rounded sphere of bluish green leaves. Curly threadlike fibers peel off leaf margins. 'Bright Edge' (green centers with gold leaf margins), 'Color Guard' (bold center stripe of canary yellow).

Y. flaccida (weak-leaf yucca): Grows to tree size with age. Resembles Y. filamentosa, but leaves are narrower and less stiff, lower leaves become lax and curve downward. Several rosettes may form a small colony. 'Garland's Gold' and 'Gold Sword' (bear 1-2" wide leaves with golden yellow centers and dark green margins).

Y. pallida (pale yucca): Trunkless, but can eventually form a wide clump with up to 30 heads. Dramatic 18" x 18" rosettes with flexible, silvery blue leaves that arch gracefully and drape with age. Place in shade garden for textural interest or where low-growing form is needed.

A valuable resource for pests on all trees and shrubs (including Yucca) is Pests of Landscape Tree & Shrubs, an Integrated Pest Management Guide, published by the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, University of California Division of Agricultural and Natural Resources (Publication #3359). http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/IPMPROJECT/ADS/manual_landscape.html

The University of Florida IFAS Extension website has species' photos and decent information on both Agave and Yucca (requirements, placement, pests, diseases, cultural problems, propagation, toxicity, historical insight):   http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/ep419

I am not a crafty person, but when I saw an inexpensive flower press, I thought it would be a fun activity to do with my 8-year-old daughter. We decided to make a card for Grandma with pressed flowers. Although more adult assistance was needed than I anticipated, it came out pretty well!

Here are a few basic steps to pressing flowers:

The Flowers

Gather flowers that are at their freshest. The flowers must be clean, dry (no dew or water droplets), pollen-free, and free of blemishes. If you haven’t tried pressing flowers before, try gathering a variety of flowers to see what works best. Select a few types of leaves for additional interest.

The Press

Flower presses run the gamut from simple book presses to wooden presses to microwave presses with ceramic tiles. The essential elements of the flower press, however, are the same—a means to press the flowers and absorbent paper.

The simplest press is the book press. Find a heavy book such as a phone book (assuming you live in a big city with a big phone book) or an encyclopedia (no, Google won’t work for this). Place absorbent paper, such as printer paper, blotting paper, or coffee filters, between the pages of the book where the flowers will be placed. Some people suggest using parchment paper. Use a few layers of paper to avoid getting marks on the pages in case the flowers bleed through the first sheet. Other simple flower presses can be made with cardboard and rubber bands.

The Process

Prepare the flowers by flattening them. This may mean cutting off thick backs or dissecting the flowers for reassembly later. Think about how the finished pressed flower will look.

Place the flowers in the press. Close the press and, if using a book press, weight it down with other books or heavy objects. Leave the press undisturbed for at least a week. Sometimes pressing flowers may take several weeks, depending on various factors, including the thickness of the flower and humidity. (A microwave press, however, takes mere minutes.) The flowers are done when the moisture is gone and the flowers are “papery.”

Tips from our experience

Again, if flower pressing is new to you, try a variety of flowers and leaves to see what works and what doesn’t. I had thought that my purple aster would be perfect for pressing, but it had a fat back that made it difficult to lay flat. Now I know that you can cut the flower up and reassemble it after it is dried. (This assumes you are far more patient than I am.) Experiment with flattening the flowers in different ways for different profiles. And play with color. I had expected my reddish-mahogany nasturtium to retain its beautiful color and it turned out brown. The yellow flowers, such as yellow cosmos, and blue flowers, such as campanula and small-flowered sage, kept their color better. Pinks seemed to do well too. Fern fronds and serrated leaves were a nice addition. A photo of a few of the varieties we tried can be found below.

Working with kids? They will enthusiastically collect the flowers and help with placing them in the press. But gluing fragile, papery flowers to a card proved difficult for little hands. We ended up applying the glue with a paintbrush, but even so, adult help was needed. Nonetheless, it was a fun, easy activity!

Several months ago, I had the opportunity to visit the home and gardens of famed horticulturalist, Luther Burbank, located in Santa Rosa, California.

During Mr. Burbank’s five decades-long career as a plant breeder, it is estimated that he developed over 800 varieties of plants, the most famous of which include, but are not limited to, the Shasta daisy, the July Elberta peach, the Santa Rosa plum, and the Burbank potato. Many of these plants are displayed on the grounds themselves. Also featured in the gardens (which include edible landscaping beds, a medicinal herb garden, a grove of stone fruit and other fruit trees, dahlia garden, and rose garden) are plants Mr. Burbank helped develop (the paper trail of what plants he bred is not clear, as plant life was not subject to patents during his lifetime and the notes he kept were generally inscrutable, except as to him. This was intentional. Since there was no legal protection for his ideas, Mr. Burbank was concerned that others would benefit from his experimentation without first obtaining his permission or compensating him).

Although some may find this unsettling, Mr. Burbank and others close to him (both people and pets) are also found on the grounds, as they are buried in unmarked graves in a lawn adjacent to his house.

Mr. Burbank’s home is charming, complete with a carriage house, which currently serves as a gift shop and museum. There is even a small addition to the house which once served as a seed store where people would travel to buy Mr. Burbank’s seeds. Mr. Burbank’s widow who was significantly younger than him, and hence, outlived him by a great number of years, maintained the property mostly as it was during their marriage, with the addition of some period details.

Gardeners who are history buffs (or vice versa) will enjoy visiting this charming site. For more information, please see http://www.lutherburbank.org/

Here I am, writing when I could be outside either flying the dog or ripping out more weeds from the “dry” creek. That darn “dry” creek has more water in it just now since the rain yesterday than the dog’s water bowl. I wasn’t really kidding about flying the dog as LuLu weighs just over 9 pounds and has very large ears and there is a very stiff wind blowing. Bruce and I joke around that at a time like this, hitch LuLu to her leash and let her soar instead of walk to the nearby park.

Earlier this week, we got down and dirty with the chemicals in the war against Bermudagrass, various other grass varieties, and my old “buddy” – oyster salsify! Using the IPM system, we have managed to NOT hold our own against these “arch fiends” of the home and garden.

Nope, not a napalm strike exactly, but the judicious use of herbicides and pre-emergents to keep from mowing in the house itself.

Pre-emergents are very useful tools in order to contain weed seeds when used at the proper time. Use in October for the spring weed seeds and again in February for the fall and winter weed seeds. It’s very simple and quite easy. I missed out in October because there was no rain; with the product I use, I need at least ½ inch of water. With Bruce, no rain = no spray; it’s not that he’s not a believer, but water = $$$ which he is loathe to spend. With rain, he’s raring to go, so it got done!

The grass spraying is a more delicate proposition. Using an all-purpose herbicide means death to any plant getting hit. So the game plan is: select the target, find an herbicide for that particular target group and read, READ the label. Select the appropriate product and use according to the directions to the letter!

So far, the spraying of the grassy weeds in the rose beds, the backyard potion of the dry creek, and the other areas of the back and side yards has been completed. I’m holding my breath that the guaranteed shades of red and/or brown will appear showing the weed plants are on the way out and make the other grassy weeds quake on their roots.

The last few years have been the years of grassy weeds. When we first started out here, there was nothing but tumbleweeds growing in the back forty. It only took 2 years to get rid of them but now, in a way, I wish those tumbleweeds, Russian thistle (Salsola iberica) were still here. I don’t know if you’ve read in the little magazines from the newspapers that some towns have festivals with prizes for the best use of the things and the having the biggest! Wow, my crops would have taken 1^st prizes and built mansions! Alas, this information has come years too late!

Next were the years of the bristly oxtongue (Picris echioides). That stuff grows everywhere, and if you get dermatitis from it as I do – it got left alone as Bruce doesn’t do “prickle bushes” and I worked well out of town. Then came dandelions and finally the oyster salsify and the Bermudagrass. Unfortunately, for this group of weeds, I’m retired now and have all the time in world – my back allowing – for pulling up and hoeing the little darlings! The beautiful thing these days is now I’m the supervisor now at home and I’ve given myself a long lunch, starting now. See ya!!