Hey, everybody, it is deadhead time at the Rose Corral. No, I am not talking about a gathering of slow-thinking people. Nor am I talking about followers of a famous rock group, or about delivery trucks that travel without any cargo. I am talking roses—specifically, roses that are getting tired and trying to go to seed.
By December most of our rose bushes are fading. They are producing fewer blossoms and dropping yellow, brown or black leaves. It is time to clean up the garden as we close it down for the winter.
As brief as winter may be in Napa Valley, we still need to prune back the roses. For most of the year, we are merely deadheading, which means removing the spent blossoms to keep the bushes flowering. But now we need to prune the canes and stems much harder to prepare them for winter.
Napa Valley is in USDA Hardiness Zones 9a and 9b. That means we seldom have hard freezes. That is nice for us, but our rose bushes think they should keep on blooming. Although they can do that and look pretty good if we leave them alone, the bushes will not store enough energy in their roots for spring growth.
By pruning the bushes back to two to three feet, we can encourage the behavior we want. Pruning allows the bush to store energy in its roots rather than spending it on new blooms.
Even gardeners don't always fully appreciate that all living things go through a life cycle. If roses aren't deadheaded, the spent blossoms grow seed pods known as rose hips (photo 1). If the hips are pollinated and drop to the ground, they can potentially produce a copy of the parent bush, a process that happens in the wild. Photo 2 shows two swollen hips split open, revealing seeds. Alternatively, the seeds might get eaten by birds before they have a chance to drop and sprout.
In controlled environments like our Napa Valley gardens (I use the term “controlled” loosely), we generally like to keep rose blooms on the bush. To keep the blooms coming, we deliberately stop the life cycle by removing the tired blooms—deadheading—before the seed pod develops. We use small hand shears to do the job.
In cold parts of the country, rose bushes go dormant in winter. But given our mild winters, we need to help matters along. The Master Gardeners who manage the rose garden in Napa's Fuller Park follow an aggressive pruning protocol in January, reducing bushes by as much as two-thirds. For most of the bushes, that means a final pruned height of two to three feet.
In essence, we are forcing winter dormancy with this hard pruning. The good news is that our tough approach leads to plentiful blooms by May.
For winter pruning you need either a hand saw or sharp loppers that can cut cleanly through canes that may be an inch or more in diameter (photo 3). The pruning process also involves removing any remaining leaves on the canes and stems by hand.
If you would like more guidance on winter rose care, plan now to attend the online course offered by Napa County Master Gardeners on January 11. The online course will be followed by a hands-on class at Fuller Park the following week. See registration details below.
Remember to toss rose leaves and pruning debris into your city compost bin and not your own compost pile. The municipal compost reaches temperatures high enough to destroy any bacteria or fungal spores; a backyard pile typically won't get that hot.
Napa County Master Gardeners are usually working in the Fuller Park rose garden on the first Sunday and third Thursday of each month between 10:00 a.m. and noon, weather permitting, February through November. We hope to see you there.
Library Talk: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a Napa Library talk on “Growing Peppers” on Thursday, January 2, from 7 pm to 8 pm via Zoom. Let's parlez peppers—hot, sweet and mild. Learn the basics of starting peppers from seed, plus growing tips and usage ideas for your eventual harvest. Click here to register!
Rose Pruning Workshop: Join UC Master Gardeners of Napa County for a workshop on “Winter Rose Care” on Saturday, January 11, from 10 a.m. to noon, via Zoom. Learn pruning techniques for all types of roses along with everything you need to know to make your roses a success in 2025. Attendees will be invited to a hands-on pruning workshop at Fuller Park Rose Garden on January 18 to practice what they learned. Register here.
Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am until 1 pm at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa. Or send your questions to mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description
My ‘Meyer' lemon tree was a casualty. I was stumped as to why it didn't survive as I had faithfully covered it every night. I have since found out that covering your plant is not the total answer to frost protection.
To minimize frost damage, try to choose plants that are not frost sensitive. If you simply must have a plant that is frost tender, at least put it in a location that gives it a fighting chance in cold weather. Identify your garden's warmest sites, perhaps an area with western or southern exposure or a spot against a western-facing wall. The wall stores the sun's heat during the day and releases it at night.
Fertilization and pruning also play a role in frost tolerance. Discontinue fertilizers and refrain from pruning after late August. The nitrogen in fertilizers promotes growth, as does pruning, and this tender new growth is sensitive to low temperatures. Citrus trees are an exception. Consult resources like Sunset's Western Garden Book to understand your plant's fertilizer requirements going into the cold months.
I was not aware of how important it is to keep plants watered during weather extremes. A thirsty plant is already stressed. Add a frost and you have a deadly combination. If nature gives us rain in winter, your plants are hydrated and less stressed. No rain? Get out there and water your landscape.
Succulents are an exception and should be somewhat dry going into a frost. I had turned off my sprinkler system and was thoughtless as to my garden's condition. When cold weather arrived, my water-deprived and stressed garden was hit hard.
Keep the soil clear under your plantings. Mulch or debris under the plant prevents the soil from absorbing daytime heat, so it remains cold. Keeping soil cleared also helps to prevent disease and discourage pests. Cleared soil warms up faster and can release that warmth back into the air. Replace mulch in the late spring or early summer to help keep the shallow roots cool and reduce water loss in hot weather.
Frost injures plants by causing ice crystals to form in plant cells. This makes water unavailable to plant tissues and disrupts the movement of fluids. Frost-damaged leaves appear burned and shriveled and turn dark brown or black.
So how does one prepare for cold weather? Many plants can survive short periods of below-freezing temperatures. You may see some blackened branch ends and dieback but nothing life threatening.
Prolonged low temperatures cause most of the problems. If frost is forecast and it hasn't rained recently, water your landscape. Citrus and other frost-sensitive plants require further protection. Cover these plants with a lightweight, breathable fabric like floating row cover. Other commonly used materials include old sheets or bed covers. Build a structure to keep the cover from touching and burning the plant.
Tomato frames can provide support for frost cloth. Remove the cover during the day so plants can enjoy the sunshine and air. Recover at dusk. Lighting under the covers will supply heat, but make sure to use only lights and extension cords rated for outdoor use.
If you didn't heed the frost warnings, you may now have damaged plants. Resist pruning the dead or damaged foliage as it will protect the plant from further damage. Force yourself to leave the plant alone until it sends out green shoots. You have been forewarned. The frost months are fast approaching so make preparations now.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will host a workshop on “Saving and Sowing Seeds to Sustain School Gardens” on Wednesday, January 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. This workshop will introduce basics of seed-saving with children, along with simple activities for seed exploration and observation. We will demonstrate the best seed sowing methods. Participants will start late spring/early summer crops, which Master Gardeners will tend until they are ready to leave the greenhouse for school gardens. Location: Connolly Ranch Education Center Greenhouse, 3141 Browns Valley Road, Napa. This workshop is free but registration is encouraged. Click here to register: http://ucanr.edu/2015schoolgardens
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
Mushrooms are the visible fruiting structure of some types of fungi. They come in many shapes and sizes, but their purpose is to house and distribute the spores of the mushroom. Most fungi are beneficial. They help to decompose plant material, thus releasing nutrients and making them available for plant growth.
Mushrooms produce spores that are borne on the wind until they reach a favorable place to grow. They then settle in, sending out fine filaments called hyphae. Hyphae perform different functions in the garden. Some decompose organic matter; others are symbiotic; and still others are parasitic and cause disease.
When enough hyphae grow together, they form a group called a mycelium. These mycelia can develop in the soil for years and only form the fruiting heads, or mushrooms, when conditions are favorable—after prolonged wet weather, for example.
Many mushrooms seem to appear overnight and grow exponentially. I firmly believe that those clumps in my yard are growing as I watch. In reality, it takes a few days for the fruiting bodies to form. They expand quickly by absorbing moisture. This rapid growth is the source of some common phrases, such as “to mushroom” or “to pop up like a mushroom.”
Mushrooms do not live long. The ones in my garden flourish for about two weeks then turn into a mushy black pile. Mycelia, on the other hand, can live for years. There is a mycelium structure of an Armillariasolidipes in the Malheur National Forest in Oregon that is estimated to be more than 2,400 years old.
Mushrooms have been used for many purposes over the centuries. We are all aware of the yummy edible varieties in the grocery store. Throughout history, mushrooms have been thought to have medicinal value, and they are still used in traditional Chinese medicine. Since the 1960s,American researchers have studied the possible medical benefits of mushroom extracts.
Unless you are well acquainted with the different species, do not eat wild mushrooms or other fungal fruiting bodies. Many species are poisonous and hard to distinguish from edible varieties. Keep small children and pets away from areas of your yard where you have seen mushrooms growing. Remove all mushrooms from the area before allowing a child or a pet to play there.
How do you remove these grotesque garden additions once and for all? I say “grotesque” because they give me the shivers. Pulling off the visible mushroom doesn't do much other than maybe stop that particular crop of spores from spreading. The mycelia are still underground, waiting for the next session of wet weather to send up more mushrooms to release more spores. For more information on poisonous mushrooms in California, visit the Bay Area Mycological Society web site (www.bayareamushrooms.org).
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Rose Pruning and Maintenance” on Saturday, January 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. This workshop will feature demonstrations on rose bushes to show and explain proper pruning techniques. Master Gardeners will discuss various types of roses, common rose diseases and routine maintenance including watering and fertilizing. Online registration (credit card only) Mail-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
The orchid family is the largest in the plant world. Orchid breeders have produced some wonderful color combinations. Shortly after World War II, the orchid industry took off in Santa Barbara, a repository for orchids from around the world. Today we find beautiful and affordable orchids in hardware stores, groceries stores, flower shops and nurseries. Unlike most consumer goods, orchids have actually dropped in price.
Most retailers tend to carry tropical orchids, which need more water than many other types. In summer, I put my orchids outside and water them almost daily. Indoor orchids may need watering only once a week.
When selecting a plant, look at the flowering stem first. Don't buy an orchid whose buds are all open; you want the flowers to open slowly when you get the plant home.
Orchids need a lot of light. If you plan to keep them indoors, put them near a window where they will receive a lot of natural light but not so much that they might burn.
In the wild, orchids grow on trees with their roots exposed. They grow from trunks and branches. And they survive untended on the light, air and rain water. Once my husband and I were hiking in Bothe State Park in Calistoga, and we found an orchid in a fairy ring, the site where a mother tree has died and “babies” have come up around it. We did not disturb it.
Years ago, when the orchid nurseryman Rod McClellan was still alive, he would have an annual spring showing of cymbidium at his nursery in South San Francisco. He was an engaging person and wore highland plaids for this event.
Cymbidiums usually bloom in the spring. They need winter's chill to set flowering spikes. At that time, the McClellan nursery was reproducing orchids via meristem propagation, removing a growing tip and placing it in agar. This technique produced many small plants quickly. McClellan was also breeding orchids to produce different colors and also introduced hanging cymbidiums, with a spike that hung over the side of the pot. I got my first mini-cymbidium from this nursery. Last year, one of mine had 11 hanging spikes. It is hard to resist these wonderful plants.
I have since acquired many orchids that need different care than cymbidiums. Most are tropical, and I keep them in my screened house during the summer so they get plenty of water, light and air flow. In winter I move them to my passive-solar hothouse and watch them daily.
All orchids need occasional repotting. Nurseries sell potting mix for orchids, but I have been making my own for years. It is a well-draining mix of equal parts orchid bark and red lava rock. I plant the orchids in pots with mesh sides so that they will get good air circulation. These mesh pots need support so I put them inside another pot to keep them upright. If you are repotting a large orchid, put white plastic peanuts in the bottom of the pot to improve drainage.
In the spring and summer, I feed my orchids with an organic mixture of bone meal, blood meal, cottonseed meal and fish pellets. In the fall, I give them 0-10-10 to bring out the blooms and help them overwinter.
Napa Valley has an orchid society that meets monthly at the Napa Valley Senior Center in Napa. The society has an annual sale in the spring, where you can meet avid collectors and get your orchid-growing questions answered.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Rose Pruning and Maintenance” on Saturday, January 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. This workshop will feature demonstrations on rose bushes to show and explain proper pruning techniques. Master Gardeners will discuss various types of roses, common rose diseases and routine maintenance including watering and fertilizing. Online registration (credit card only) Mail-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
In my vegetable patch, kale planted in August is producing plenty of leaves for salad and cooked greens. We've already harvested the first heads of broccoli (transplanted in September) and are now enjoying the secondary side shoots. Lettuce, Asian greens, kohlrabi, beets and carrots sowed in September are also ready to eat. The garlic and shallots that I planted in November have sprouted. I planted some cloves of garlic in a separate patch to use as green garlic while I wait for the rest to form bulbs in the spring. So I'm anticipating harvesting garlic greens much like green onions in the next few weeks.
Because I have a large space for vegetables, I often don't get around to clearing out the summer veggies until winter. Procrastination has its rewards. In early December, with no frost in sight, I picked a sweet pepper and some zucchini from the fading plants. This late harvest is unusual but not unprecedented. Our first frost date historically has varied from mid-November to later in December.
Winter is citrus season, and I'm pleased to see a lot of bright fruit on the ‘Robertson' navel orange tree growing against a south-facing wall of the garage. In the front yard, the ‘Meyer' lemon tree is bearing dozens of small pale-yellow fruit, just in time for holiday host gifts. We also are enjoying kumquats and Rangpur limes (not real limes but a sour mandarin whose zest has a lovely lime aroma). I'm watching for frost, though, as these trees are sensitive to the cold. I've strung inexpensive twinkle lights on them and will cover them when frost is predicted.
Due to the drought, I did not water a lot of my yard this summer and fall. Oregano planted next to a rosemary bush has disappeared, but the rosemary persists and with the recent rains is looking quite healthy. Sprouting up around it is white-blooming alyssum, a volunteer from a previous planting that went to seed. It looks intentional and quite pretty. Elsewhere calendulas are thriving, too. They spread readily in the vegetable patch and look their best in winter. I let them spread, as I rather like their scent when I'm working in the garden, and the petals are a colorful addition to winter salads.
Flowers are not the only thing sprouting. All sorts of annual weeds (those that grow from seed) are emerging now, such as wild oats and other grasses, mustards and wild turnip. Every patch of formerly bare earth seems coated with green, a welcome sight after the dry summer and fall. The weeds in the garden beds are mostly small and easy to pull. Elsewhere, we'll mow the weeds down on some dry day in January, hopefully before they flower and set seeds.
On the north side of the house is an old camellia bush, already mature when we moved in over 30 years ago. It's now taller than the first story of the house and has some nice, fat flower buds. I'm thinking of pruning it down a bit but will wait until after it blooms.
We have a lot of cotoneaster shrubs scattered in the hedges that separate us from neighbors and the road. Just as the Sunset Western Garden Book says, they thrive with little or no maintenance and produce more berries when grown in poor soil. Right now their arching branches are covered with striking, bright-red berries. Some branches find their way into the house for holiday decorations, but most of the berries become bird food. Robins seem to be fond of them, but I hope they leave some for the migrating cedar waxwings when they arrive after the first of the year.
Can you tell that my winter garden is a mix of careful planning and selective neglect? Perhaps yours is, too. The shortest day of the year is a good day to appreciate both approaches to gardening.
Workshop: Napa County Master Gardeners will conduct a workshop on “Rose Pruning and Maintenance” on Saturday, January 17, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at University of California Cooperative Extension, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Napa. This workshop will feature demonstrations on rose bushes to show and explain proper pruning techniques. Master Gardeners will discuss various types of roses, common rose diseases and routine maintenance including watering and fertilizing. Online registration (credit card only) Mail-in registration (cash or check only).
Master Gardeners are volunteers who help the University of California reach the gardening public with home gardening information. Napa County Master Gardeners ( http://ucanr.org/ucmgnapa/) are available to answer gardening questions in person or by phone, Monday, Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m. to Noon, at the U. C. Cooperative Extension office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa, 707-253-4143, or from outside City of Napa toll-free at 877-279-3065. Or e-mail your garden questions by following the guidelines on our web site. Click on Napa, then on Have Garden Questions? Find us on Facebook under UC Master Gardeners of Napa County.
