Written By Jim Borland, Master Gardener

Have you ever wondered about the life process of your plants?  Plants
are living organisms that, unlike animals, produce their own food (via
photosynthesis) and also regenerate certain lost organs and tissues.
Here is a brief look at the various parts of a plant's structure.

Roots - have the primary function to take up water and nutrients from
the soil, store excess food materials, and anchor the plant.

Stems and Shoots - the above ground portion of the plant.  A shoot is the tissue made up of developing stems, leaves and flowers.  Shoots contain
buds and nodes.

Buds - composed of compressed, immature leafy shoots, flowers, or both.

Nodes - enlarged portions of a stem from which leaves or buds grow.

Meristems - a region of actively dividing cells where new cells are
formed, usually at the tip of a stem or root, causing it to increase in
length.  In many grasses the meristem responsible for shoot growth is
near the base of the plant so it is not injured when you mow your lawn.

Leaves - provide the surface area needed for the plant to collect
sunlight and conduct photosynthesis.

Flowers - contain the male or female (or both) sexual structure of
plants and are the organs where sexual reproduction occurs.

Seeds - in most plants the seed is the product of sexual reproduction.
It contains an embryonic plant in dormant state along with a food
reserve to sustain it through germination.

Fruit - is the plant part that contains the mature, swollen ovary and
seed.  Some fruits are commonly called vegetables because we eat them as vegetables at meals.  Examples of fruits erroneously called vegetables
are squashes, green beans, cucumbers, tomatoes and eggplant.

Hopefully this brief article will whet your appetite to learn more about
the amazing lives of plants, how they feed themselves, reproduce, and
the extraordinary ends to which plants go in order to survive.

July Advice to Grow By
By Ann Dozier


Are you tired of climbing ladders to reach the crop on your fruit trees? How can you keep backyard fruit trees at an easy to care for height? How should you shape young trees?

Summer pruning is an easy and convenient method of controlling the growth of backyard fruit trees.  Some advocates of this kind of pruning recommend keeping fruit trees at a height of around 12 feet which allows for ease of care and harvesting.  Pruning of rampant spring growth also allows light and air to reach lower branches.  This improved air circulation may reduce disease, and additional light can help promote lower growing fruit.

In comparison to traditional winter pruning, pruning when there is fruit on the tree serves to thin an overabundant crop. It also makes apparent on what age wood the tree sets fruit (one, two or three year old wood, e.g.) Keeping trees at a smaller size makes available nutrients more likely to be used for fruit production rather than foliage.

This coming Saturday, July 16, you can attend a free presentation on summer pruning given by Master Gardeners at their Seven Sisters demonstration garden, 2156 Sierra Way, San Luis Obispo, from 10 AM until noon. Demonstrations of pruning the garden’s young trees (which have been planted with two or three varieties in one hole) will take place. Master Gardeners will also talk about more traditional winter pruning and give pointers for reducing size of older trees. Come prepared with sunscreen, water and hats and bring a folding chair if possible.

For more information on summer pruning, check out the website of Dave Wilson Nursery, http://www.davewilson.com/homegrown/BOC_explained.html.  Basic information on pruning and on shaping of neglected fruit trees can be found on:
http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/The_Big_Picture/Pruning_&_Training/

Got a Gardening Question?
Contact the University of California Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners: at 781-5939 from 1 to 5 p.m. on Monday and Thursday; at 473-7190 from 10 a.m. to noon in Arroyo Grande; and at 434-4105 from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesday in Templeton. Visit the UCCE Master Gardeners Web site at groups.ucanr.org/slomg/ or e-mail mgsanluisobispo@ucdavis.edu

Brad Lancaster, author of Rainwater Harvesting for Drylands and Beyond, was our keynote speaker at the Sustainable Landscaping Symposium on April 9th.  Our day focused on changing how we use and waste valuable drinking water, ways to use greywater safely, how to conserve and save the rainwater because it's free and we are losing it down the gutter!  We also focused on conserving energy by planting shade trees and trees and shrubs as windbreaks in the right location and using California Native Plants.  All of these practices are not only essential in saving valuable resources, but also in saving your money!

Before you go to great lengths to install a greywater system, we recommend  reading the San Luis Obispo County information and the San Luis Obispo Graywater Manual (pdf).  The manual is very easy to read, incorporates many of Brad's ideas and is approved by the County of San Luis Obispo.

Please click on underlined words in this text for more information on any of the topics.

For those of you who attended the April Advice to Grow By Workshop about Rodents.. Click on the underlined titles below to find more information about:

Gophers
Ground Squirrels
Voles/Meadow Mouse
Moles

Clivia Photo by Lee Oliphant

April Gardens Poised to Take Off
By Lee Oliphant

Q. I’ve been cleaning and weeding my garden. What are some other essential tasks to be performed in gardens in April? Linda Dunn, Cambria

A. April is prime planting month around the county. It’s not too late to plant cool season vegetables such as lettuce, carrots, snow peas, radishes and spinach and begin planting summer vegetables such as beans, corn, and summer squash. In warmer areas you can plant pumpkins and melons; seeds that need warmth to germinate.

Think color and plant perennials like: agapanthus, Japanese anemone, daylilies, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, dusty miller, Gaillardia, gazania, gerbera daisy, verbena and yarrow. Choose a pretty clematis while they are in bloom and a vibrant clivia for a shady corner.

In shady areas, plant annuals such as bedding begonias, caladium, coleus, and impatiens. For “fun in the sun” annuals, put out marigolds, petunias, phlox, verbena and zinnias.

Sub-tropicals such as Bougainvillea, gardenia, hibiscus, citrus, and avocadoes can be planted in light-frost areas. Potted roses are blooming now. Choose and plant a favorite.

Planting is fun but other chores should be done now to keep your garden looking sharp. Deadhead bulbs that have completed their bloom cycle and feed with a complete fertilizer. Leave foliage until brown. Divide cymbidiums. Feed bearded irises with high phosphorus and potassium food to encourage blooms. Citrus may be looking a little yellow. Feed them with a high nitrogen food to green them up. If citrus and ornamentals have yellowing leaves with green veins, feed with chelated iron.

Your garden is ready to “turn up the volume” this month. Be sure the growing plants have the nourishment they need. Read labels and talk with experienced gardeners on the best fertilizer to use. A well-fed garden is a happy one!