- (Focus Area) Yard & Garden
A colorful perennial has been brightening spring gardens for many weeks. Azaleas are the easy-to-care-for stars of semi-shaded locations. The most common varieties are evergreen azaleas, which are more accurately described as having “persistent-leaves.” They grow a set of spring leaves which are dropped in the fall, and a set of summer leaves which persist through the winter.
Azaleas are long-lived and can be used as permanent plantings, so consider the following factors before planting them in your yard.
Exposure: Azaleas prefer cool, partially-shaded sites, such as under under pine, oak or maple trees.
Mulch: A two- to three- inch layer of organic mulch (leaves, pine bark, wood chips) will conserve moisture and help discourage weeds. Extend the mulch a couple of inches from the main stem to keep the bark dry.
Watering: Azaleas are shallow-rooted. If possible, use soaker hoses or drip irrigation to slowly water the base of the plants. Overhead irrigation may promote disease.
Fertilizing: If planted properly, supplemental feeding is unnecessary.
Pruning: The best time to prune is in spring, just after the plant has finished blooming.
My existing plant didn't bloom, now what? --You may already have azaleas and are disappointed that they no longer bloom. You may need to give them more sun, perhaps by opening up the branches of the overhead trees, as well as pruning the azaleas to increase next year's buds.
Reasons for stingy flowering or lack of blooms include:
- The azaleas were allowed to dry out or to have wet feet. A two- to- three-inch- deep layer of mulch can help with water retention. Check the irrigation to make sure they are not being over-watered.
- Fertilizing with too much nitrogen may interfere with blooming. Did the plants receive fertilizer while you were feeding the grass?
- If you pruned after the flower buds developed, next year's flowers were inadvertently removed. Prune shortly after this year's flowers fade.
- Less than three hours of sun per day reduces the number of buds. Prune overhead trees, or consider moving the plant and its root ball to a better location.
PLANT SALE! Mark your calendar for our plant sale onSaturday, May 18, 2024 from 9 am–noon. The sale will be held at the Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden at Patrick Ranch. The plants, which are selected to thrive in our climate, have been propagated by UC Master Gardeners of Butte County. For more information and a partial list of the plants that will available, visit our website.
UC Master Gardeners of Butte County are part of the University of California Cooperative Extension (UCCE) system. To learn more about us and our upcoming events, and for help with gardening in our area visit our website. If you have a gardening question or problem, email the Hotline at mgbutte@ucanr.edu or leave a phone message on our Hotline at 530-552-5812. To speak to a Master Gardener about a gardening issue, or to drop by the MG office during Hotline hours, see the most current information on our Ask Us section of our website.
- Author: Christine Casey
The Haven was created in 2009: we celebrate our 15th anniversary this year. I joined the garden in 2012 and was tasked with creating an outreach and education program. Tours, social media pages, classes, and this blog soon followed. This will end in June, when my position at the Haven is being eliminated.
I've enjoyed introducing so many of you to bees, providing information about gardens and bees, and answering your questions. Working with our amazing volunteers and donors has been extraordinary.
This blog is a short reflection on what I've learned from this work. Look for additional posts throughout May that will provide more bee gardening information, including resources beyond the Haven.
Some random thoughts:
- Children often arrive at the Haven afraid of bees but leave excited to learn more. If you are an adult with children in your life, take advantage of their curiosity to teach them about the natural world. Events like the UC Davis Biodiversity Museum Day are a great place to start.
- You're probably overwatering your garden. Irrigation information for California gardens is here.
- Go on as many garden tours as you can. There's always more to learn.
- There's a lot of bad gardening information on social media. Stick with reputable sources like universities, government agencies, and good independent garden centers.
- In shared public spaces, please don't litter or use a speakerphone.
- Small public gardens and museums are passionate about what we do but operate with minimal resources. Please give what you can and understand that we can't always meet every need or provide all the programs we'd like to.
- Support local nurseries and plant sales.
- Pick up after your dog and leash them in areas where it's required.
- Leave some bare soil for ground-nesting bees.
- There's always room for one more plant.
- Author: Lauren Fordyce
The multicolored Asian lady beetle, Harmonia axyridis, has a bad reputation. There is a common myth online that this lady beetle (ladybug) is invasive and aggressive, which can sometimes lead to people killing these beetles.
While this species of lady beetle was introduced to California from Asia in the 1990s to control aphid pests, it is not considered invasive. For an organism to be considered invasive it must be nonnative and cause harm to the environment, economy, or human health. Fortunately, the multicolored Asian lady beetle does not cause harm. Like many native lady beetle species, it feeds on pest insects like psyllids, scales, and especially aphids.
In the fall, multicolored Asian lady beetles can become a nuisance when they enter homes seeking shelter to overwinter. If you experience this problem, you can vacuum or sweep them up. Make sure windows, doors, and other openings to the outside are properly sealed to prevent the lady beetles and other insects from coming indoors. In the garden, adults may be attracted to ripening fruit when pest populations are low. In general, there is no need to control these lady beetles with pesticides.
Find out more about these predators and other beneficial insects in the UC IPM Natural Enemies Gallery.
- Author: Christine Casey
I've written previously about the Haven's research on bees and gardens. This work included a look at bee preferences for common California landscape plants and work to help growers and landscapers provide the healthiest plants for bees.
Studies on bee plant preferences were described in this blog post, and the first year's results (2022) of our current project developing bee sampling methods for growers and landscapers was described in this post.
The current project is an evaluation of a common insect sampling method, timed counts, with a novel method called snapshot counts. As the name suggests, the snapshot methods uses several quick counts rather than one longer timed count to assess the number of bees choosing a plant. Our goal was to see if the faster snapshot method could provide bee counts with accuracy similar to the widely used timed count method.
The speed of the snapshot method could allow it to be included with other routine insect sampling done by growers and landscapers. This would provide a way to assess the relative attractiveness of a nursery or landscape plant mix to bees, allowing for both accurate plant recommendations and targeting of bee-compatible pest management.
Trials took place at locations in San Diego County, the center of California's nursery industry.
While the average number of bees observed per plant differs between the two methods, the pattern of preference is the same for both (Fig. 2). This is confirmed by regression analysis (Fig. 3), which found a strong correlation between the two methods
Our goal was not to determine the absolute number of bees expected on a plant, as that will vary with location, season, and weather. Rather, we wanted to understand which plants are more likely to be chosen within a plant mix. Growers can then compare new plant varieties to those with known attractiveness to determine how they'll fit into a bee garden.
- Author: Alison Collin
Amsonia, a plant native to the Northeastern USA, seems to be little known in the West. They are commonly known as bluestars on account of the shape and color of their flowers. I have never found it in local nurseries, but I have always been curious to find out how it would do in the Eastern Sierra since it is said to be hardy in USDA zones 3-11.
They like well draining soil and regular water, but are somewhat drought tolerant once established. They need partial shade in the hottest areas. Rabbits and deer tend to avoid eating it unless forage is scarce.
There are several different species of Amsonia, but Amsonia hubrichtii is considered to be one of the best bluestars which has needle like but soft foliage, sky-blue flowers and a bright gold autumn foliage color.
I planted an Amsonia hybrid “Blue Ice” about three years ago in a pollinator garden with sandy soil which I amended by the addition of a little compost, and it has performed very well. It makes a neat clump of foliage about 2 feet tall, with sturdy green stems which are black near the tips. The star-shaped, sky-blue flowers erupt in mid-April. The foliage has good fall color, after which the stems die down completely for the winter. It is not at all invasive, and the single clump has gradually increased in size.
They are relatives of Nerium oleander, and they contain a milky sap which can irritate skin. They are said to be hosts to swallowtail butterfly caterpillars.
One day recently, when the plant was in full flower, I was stunned to witness a frenzy of carpenter bees working the flowers! There were at least 23 bees — some massive — on the clump at the same time, together with 3 bumble bees, two other species of native bees that I could not identify, two different butterflies, and a ladybug! I have never seen a plant with so much pollinator activity at one time. Interestingly, these bees are all natives to our area, although the plant is not, and I have never seen a domestic bee on it.
I am pleased that I tried it.
Further information can be found at:
https://www.chicagobotanic.org/sites/default/files/pdf/plantinfo/fg187_amsonia.pdf