UC Master Gardeners • Napa County

Heirloom, Open Pollinated or Hybrid Tomato

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Tomatoes: Heirloom, Open Pollinated or Hybrid?

February 23rd, 2025

Heirloom plants, by definition, have some history behind them. Some say an heirloom variety must be at least fifty years old, some say even older. Heirloom seed is described as being from a plant variety that has been passed on through generations.

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Manzanita, versatile California native.

February 22nd, 2025

By Cindy Kerson, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Native to North America, manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp.) comes in many shapes and sizes. It can be a tree, a shrub or a ground cover. A manzanita tree can reach 20 feet in height, while the ground cover may only be two inches tall.

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Anytime Bob's in the garden is a good time to chat about roses.

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March is Rose Madness Time

February 17th, 2025

Roses have been around quite a while, first debuting in fossil records dating back 60-70 million years. Even Confucius loved and wrote about roses. Of more historical inerest, Alexander the Great is credited with introducing cultivated roses to the rest of Europe.

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Amaryllis

February 15th, 2025

by Penny Pawl, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Last year at holiday time I was given a most unusual gift: an amaryllis bulb encased in wax. I had no idea such a thing existed, so I immediately looked online for how to care for it.

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Creating a Beautiful Shade Garden

February 8th, 2025

Shady areas in a garden tend to cause a lot of head scratching. These spots often confound gardeners who haven't yet learnedthat many attractive plants thrive in dry shade. Some shade-loving plants have colorful foliage that provides as much delightas a bright flower patch in full sun.

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Using Our Website and the Plant Problem Tool!

January 31st, 2025

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Most of us UC Master Gardeners are accustomed to being approached by people who think we know everything about horticulture. While flattering, that is not the truth. Our training has taught us how to find the answers, however.

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Cabbage Field Trial!

January 25th, 2025

by Pat Hitchcock, UC Master Gardener of Napa County I trained to become a Napa County Master Gardener in 2004. That same year, a few members of our group decided we could learn something by growing the same vegetable varieties in our diverse home gardens and then comparing notes.

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Compost Is Good for the Environment!

January 18th, 2025

When I joined the University of California Master Gardeners of Napa County in 2016, I had planned to check out the MG committees and decide which one was best suited to my nascent talents. Jill Pahl had another idea: Cindy, we could use you on the compost committee, right now. I was taken aback.

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Cymbidium orchids (commons.wikimedia.org)

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Repotting Orchids

January 11th, 2025

Orchids (Phalaenopsis) are readily available this time of year in nurseries and even grocery stores. They are popular hostess gifts. I find them quite beautiful and I am always tempted to add another one to my collection.

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Mini Greenhouses for the Eager Gardener

January 11th, 2025

Has the weather been teasing you into thinking you might be able to plant seedlings early? What do you do when you have seedlings that are ready for transplanting into larger containers or into the ground but the last frost is still a month away?

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Starting Plants from Seeds

January 4th, 2025

By Yvonne Rasmussen, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Growing plants from seeds rather than from nursery starts has many advantages and can be an awe-inspiring experience. By using seeds, you have more options than nurseries offer.

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Pick a Peck of Peppers

December 28th, 2024

My mother adored pepperblack, red, green, hot, sweet, any kind. She used so much cracked pepper in our meals that most of them looked as if they were dug out of a gravel pit. I used to sulkily scrape it off while she told me I didn't know what was good. Times and tastes have changed, though.

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Christmas Amaryllis.

December 21st, 2024

By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Amaryllis is a popular Christmas gift and decoration. I have received many over the years, and they are long lasting and beautiful. However, they are not true amaryllis.

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Sustaining Wildlife with Native Plants

December 13th, 2024

Bringing Nature Home: How You Can Sustain Wildlife with Native Plants was first published in 2007 and set off an enthusiasm for native plant gardening. This practice is now known as rewilding in horticulture circles. Author Doug Tallamy is an entomology professor at the University of Delaware.

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Dahlia December

December 13th, 2024

D is for Delightful Dahlias and for December. That should help you remember that if you are a dahlia devotee, the growing cycle of the dahlia is from December to December. What we do with our dahlias in December directly determines the direction dahlias will develop.

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Photo 1, Rose hips, beginninng (Niklewicz)

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Pruning Your Roses

December 7th, 2024

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.

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Ailanthus altissima, leaves. (Tom Hixson)

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Tree of Heaven???

November 30th, 2024

by Tom Hixson, UC Master Gardener of Napa County Most Napa Valley residents recognize the plant known as tree of heaven when they see it sprouting wild in fields, taking over their gardens or defiantly establishing itself in sidewalk cracks.

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Going Batty for Good

November 4th, 2024

Did you know that 17 different types of bats live in Northern California? Some are pollinators; others are insect eaters. Both are important to our environment. Much has been written over the last few years about the loss of pollinators. Bats are an important pollinator.

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I’m not Cheap, I’m Frugal

October 27th, 2024

Okay, maybe I am cheap, but I hate to waste stuff. Even when I can buy something for a specific purpose, I try to make it first, just to see if it works--sort of like a Rube Goldberg machine. I come from a family of immigrants, which is true of almost everyone in the U.S.

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Preparing the Winter and Spring Gardens

October 19th, 2024

As nighttime temperatures cool and we pick the last of our summer crops, it is time to prepare the garden for winter and next spring. Many activities done now can make your late winter and spring gardening easier and your garden more beautiful and productive.

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The Master Gardener program is a volunteer organization associated with the University of California Cooperative Extension. Our mission is to extend research based knowledge on home horticulture, pest management, and sustainable landscape practices to the residents of California and to be guided by our core values and strategic initiatives.

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Upcoming Events

Apr 3 2025

Companion Planting: Using Plant Partners to Boost Benefits - Library …

Join the UC Master Gardeners of Napa County to learn how companion planting can maximize your space, boost garden productivity, protect against pests, suppress weeds, and more! Register by clicking…

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Apr 5 2025

Free Backyard Composting Workshop for In Person 2025

Enrich your soil health by turning your food waste into a nutritional amendment your plants will love. Join Master Gardeners to learn several composting methods you can do in your own backyard. This…

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Apr 6 2025

April Fuller Park Tree Walk

Historic Fuller Park is an arboretum of many exotic and native trees that have been planted over the last 120 years. Please join a UC Master Gardener on a 1 1/2 hour guided walk through the park to…

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May 1 2025

Olive Trees For the Home Gardener - Library Talk - Zoom

A perfect fit with Napas Mediterranean climate, olives are drought-tolerant, low-maintenance, and equally adaptable to containers and sprawling estates. Their year-round silvery green foliage makes…

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