by Julie Pramuk
The UC Master Gardeners of Napa County recently had an opportunity to hear a program on backyard orchard culture, “The Fruit Bush Method” by Stanislaus County Master Gardener Ed Lavio. I was interested in this subject because the house we recently moved into has 2 full-size orange trees that flank our front porch. The trees are beautifully healthy but have grown too much, crowding the porch and not looking like it was the best space for them. I thought they should be removed, but knew it had taken quite a few years for the trees to grow this big. They have sufficient sunlight and I love the idea that we could have some oranges in the not-too-distant future. We haven't had any fruit yet due to severe pruning a year or so ago.
Many of us have a garden with limited space in our backyard settings, making it a priority to allocate space. Growing fruit trees includes the task of keeping trees at a shorter height to make room for more plants and make tree maintenance easier. Take advantage of successive ripening of different varieties of fruit. This gives the homeowner a broad range of fruit availability during the year. Think stone fruit during the summer, followed by pome varieties and citrus.
Size control has many advantages including checking for pests, thinning interior branches for air and enabling light to penetrate, ease of pruning and seasonal spraying. Fewer pest problems would also be the result of good spacing between the fruit as well as bigger fruit size. Limb breakage is less of an issue if fruit is adequately thinned.
Another question was posed about how tall do semi-dwarf trees grow? As there is no standard for the term “semi-dwarf,” it is often misinterpreted to mean low maintenance, making the home gardener think there won't be much work to do. It was recommended to stand up and raise your hands like you are under arrest — that's how high your tree should be, about 7 to 8 feet. Finally, the most important thing we can do for our trees is to add compost to our soil and mulch to retain moisture, always good advice.
For further guidance on how to prune your fruit trees for easier care and enjoyment listen to this seminar on the Youtube Channel at http://ucanr.edu/youtube/ucmgstanislaus
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: BenMcInerney CC BY-SA 4.0
Info links: UC ANR https://ucanr.edu/sites/mgslo/files/264588.pdf
https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8057.pdf
The recently installed Succulent/dry Garden is one of three new areas at the Las Flores Learning Garden, a partnership between UC Master Gardeners of Napa County and the City of Napa.
Climate change and water shortages have become a reality in our lives and these conditions are predicted to become more pronounced in the future. Research has shown that California's water year from October 2020 to September 2021 was the driest in nearly a century. How can gardens be created that not only survive these changes and help to slow down this process and still be pleasing to the eye?
Our succulent/dry garden currently contains 23 varieties of plants, succulents, drought tolerant plants and grasses that require little or no water. We excluded cacti because of thorns, not wanting to worry about sharp points when doing upkeep in the garden.
What is the difference between a cactus and a succulent? All cacti are succulents but not all succulents are cacti. A wide variety of non-cactus succulents are native to different regions across the world. By contrast, almost all kinds of cacti are native only to the Americas. Cactus plants generally have few or no leaves.
How to have a successful succulent/dry garden
• Amend soil with sand and pumice to add drainage.
• Clear the area by first removing all old foliage and add a sand mixture to the soil to promote drainage. Drainage is the key to success in the creation of a succulent garden. As a rule, most succulents do not like wet feet and will rot if the surrounding soil is too moist.
• Add landscape design elements to create interest and cause rainwater to flow away from plants, but keep an area contained.
• Consider color, shape, height, and texture in your design and mix in drought-tolerant plants to add variation. Group plants with similar needs.
• Add a swale to contain water runoff and capture rain. A swale serves to drain water away from plants but keep it contained. Runoff on adjacent walkways and other hardscapes is wasteful. Containing the rainwater and allowing it to percolate into the immediate aquifer is the better option.
• Finish the garden with a top dressing of small rock to help retain soil and water.
We arranged 23 different types of plants in a pleasing design. Not all succulents can survive in Napa County's lowest temperatures, so these plants were chosen for not only their low water needs but their compatibility with temperatures and sun/shade ratio.
We now have a wonderful succulent/dry garden to use as an example of a low-water landscape that is interesting and beautiful. We hope you agree with the with the reasons and the advantages for planting a succulent/dry garden of your own.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Octopus Agave https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Agave_vilmoriniana_(Scott_Zona)_001.jpg
Coral Aloe https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Coral_Aloe_(Aloe_striata)_(31710241744).jpg
Black Rose Aeonium https://www.flickr.com/photos/aliarda/20711408255
Rock purslane https://www.publicdomainpictures.net/en/view-image.php?image=281365&picture=pink-purslane-flowers-close-up
Information links:
UC Master Gardener Napa County-Adapting your garden to climate change https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=38783
San Mateo/San Francisco Counties-putting in a succulent garden https://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.edu/Elkus/Planting_a_succulent_garden/
Santa Clara County-Succulents https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/succulents-care/
San Mateo/San Francisco Counties-putting in a succulent garden https://smsf-mastergardeners.ucanr.edu/Elkus/Planting_a_succulent_garden/
Santa Clara County-Succulents https://mgsantaclara.ucanr.edu/garden-help/succulents-care/
The recently installed Pollinator Garden is one of three new areas at the Las Flores Learning Garden, a partnership between UC Master Gardeners of Napa County and the City of Napa. The Pollinator Garden transformed a weed-filled area into a pollinator-friendly home to nurture these necessary insects and other pollinating animals.
Fall is the best time to get your new ornamental plants settled in your landscape. However, due to various delays, the garden at Las Flores was planted in the heat of summer in June of 2022. Not the optimum time to install any new landscape plants, we chose to look at the experience as a perfect teaching opportunity. This flourishing garden is the result of careful monitoring and shows that, though it's not optimum, planting can be done in the summer. It just takes a much more hands-on effort to achieve.
• About 35% of the world's food crops and ¾ of the world's flowering plants need pollinators to reproduce.
• More than 3,500 native bee species increase crop yields pollinating as they gather food from flitting from flower to flower.
• Many scientists believe that one out of every three bites of food we consume is there because of animal pollinators.
• These are all pretty compelling reasons to encourage bees, butterflies and moths, birds and bats, and beetles and other insect pollinators in any landscape!
Here are some ideas:
Plant a continuous food supply. When choosing plants for a pollinator garden look at what plants attract which pollinator and the bloom times of those plants. Include plants that bloom at different times. This way there will always be something for pollinators to eat. Make sure to include early and late bloomers to feed the pollinators late in the year and early in the spring. If you plant each plant in multiple groupings you'll get more “bang for your buck.”
Include a diversity of plants. Mix it up and include plants with different flowers, sizes, shapes and colors as well as alternating bloom times. These differences will support multiple types of pollinators
Leave those pesky dandelions alone in the spring because these are often the first food source for bees emerging in the spring. The leaves make great salads for humans, too.
Avoid pesticide use. Pesticides are often non-specific killers of insects, killing even the good guys.
The Pollinator Garden at Las Flores has over fifty-four varieties of pollinator encouraging plants. Each plant was chosen because they attracted pollinators, either specialized or multiple varieties, and most have low water requirements. With bees buzzing, hummingbirds flitting about and several monarch butterfly sightings the question of why we need these gardens has been answered.
Fall Maintenance
Weeds– An ongoing upkeep chore, an application of 1-2 inches of mulch and hand removal of weeds were suggested control methods. Make sure the mulch is at least 2 inches from the base of each plant to prevent root rot.
Pruning– Different plants have individual requirements for pruning needs. Research the cultural needs of your plants.
Deadheading– Removal of dead flowers rewards the effort with more blooms. Leaving spent blooms on the plants for the birds is also an option for some of these plants.
Soil health– Leaving the roots in the ground of the cut down annuals will contribute to soil health. Allow fallen leaves to remain on the ground when possible except in fire prone areas.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Laurie Budash
Information links:
Las Flores Learning Garden Pollinator Plants list https://napamg.ucanr.edu/DemoGarden/g4/
UC ANR Best time to plant https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgplacer/files/171559.pdf
Encouraging Native Bees https://cagardenweb.ucanr.edu/General/Encouraging_Native_Bees_-_Other_Pollinators/
Make a Pollinator Garden https://ucanr.edu/sites/PollenNation/How_to_Join/Make_a_Pollinator_Garden/
How to attract and maintain pollinators in your garden https://anrcatalog.ucanr.edu/pdf/8498.pdf
UCMG statewide blog: Creating a Pollinator garden https://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=18074
USDA The Importance of Pollinators https://www.usda.gov/peoples-garden/pollinators#:~:text=Pollinators%20by%20Numbers,bees%20help%20increase%20crop%20yields.
by Melody Kendall
Why plant California Natives in your landscape? The reasons are many:
- To encourage native insect populations that are on the decline. We need these native insects to perform duties such as pollination, decomposing plant materials and supporting the food chain. Studies have generally shown that these native insects are probably attracted to native plants because they have evolved together. When native insect populations stay in an area they multiply and continue to benefit the overall welfare of the garden and environment.
- Native plants provide habitats. Birds, butterflies and other pollinators need places to live and raise their young. Native plants provide compatible places for them.
- Conserving water. Most, but not all, native plants are, once established, drought-tolerant and/or have very low water requirements. With the current drought here in California native plants become more relevant in considering all aspects of landscape management.
- Fewer pest problems. For the most part, native plants have fewer pest problems than nonnatives, and can be stronger and healthier because of their evolved adaptation to our climate.
- The California Native Plant Society (CNPS) has a wonderful tool to help you in your search. See CNPS plant search tool With this tool you can narrow down your options. You can even type in your address to get a list of suggested plants for your exact area.
- The UC Berkeley Urban Bee Lab has a list of best bee plants for California See best bee plants for California
- The UC Master Gardeners of Santa Clara County have created a list of native plants that attract pest-eating insects
In a future post we will look at the Las Flores Learning Garden Pollinator Garden and the benefits of creating one of your own.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Joan Harris
by Melody Kendall
Currently there are four demonstration gardens for the community to observe and enjoy at Las Flores community center: the Low-water/low-maintenance Garden, a California Native Garden, a Pollinator Garden and a Succulent/dry Garden.
There are three trees in this garden. The Raywood Ash and the four Crape Myrtle trees were on the site when the garden was developed. Saving these trees shows that, when redoing or developing a landscape, it's possible to save some established trees. The three arbutus trees are new additions.
Fall cleanup of the trees:
The Raywood Ash
Requires little fall cleanup other than the raking up of the fallen leaves.
Leaving or removing the leaves is up to the gardener. The leaves provide natural fertilizer and mulch but can be unsightly and blow into walkways etc.
After leaves have fallen we will check the tree for any dead or broken branches and remove those
Prone to suckering at the base of the tree, so fall cleanup includes the removal of those suckers.
Crape Myrtles drop their leaves later in the winter thatl need either removal or dispersal into the soil. Once the branches are revealed shaping the trees can be done.
Arbutus unedo
The bark of these trees exfoliates and some fallen fruit at this time of year should be cleaned up, but basically these trees require little fall cleanup.
Being evergreen, these trees will have constant leaf drop, but never excessively.
Other plants were also included in the fall cleanup.
Little Ollie olive- No fall cleanup, just general shaping in the spring to keep the desired size.
Pink Muhly grass- No fall cleanup. The flower plumes are a fall feature and as they dry into the winter food for the birds. In late spring we will need to cut back the plants to 4 inches in a mounded shape.
Yellow twig dogwood- Deciduous, so will require some leaf debris removal and, once the leaves all fall and the branches are visible, shaping will be done to keep the plant's height and width.
Kaleidoscope Abelia- This plant has a globular growth habit but will send out tall upward and long sideways branches that will need to be removed in the fall and infrequently throughout the year to maintain the globular shape.
Carpet Rose- The carpet roses are still leafed out and in some cases blooming, so pruning will wait until later in winter.
Red Loropetalum- No fall cleanup, only infrequent general shaping to keep the desired size.
Meyeri Fern- Removal of dead branches is all that is required as fall cleanup for this plant. This plant requires little or no maintenance otherwise.
This selection of plants provide excellent examples of low-maintenance plants. The goal for the overall look aims toward a more natural look rather than a formal look. When pruning, reaching into the plants to remove the shoots closer to the interior and the base of the plant so the plant doesn't look "barbered." The Muhly grass is the only exception as it requires a full hair cut in the spring.
The next installment will look at the LFLG California Native Garden, the benefits of creating such a garden and talk about choosing plants for creating a California native garden of your very own.
Napa Master Gardeners are available to answer garden questions by email: mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. or phone at 707-253-4143. Volunteers will get back to you after they research answers to your questions.
Visit our website: napamg.ucanr.edu to find answers to all of your horticultural questions.
Photo credits: Melody Kendall
Information links:
UCMG Napa County-LFLG webpage
Low-water/low-maintenance garden plants
https://napamg.ucanr.edu/demogarden/g2/
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