​With our blissfully pleasant temperatures in the 70s and 80s for months on end, we can easily fall victim to assuming these ideal conditions will continue and our garden plants will be just as happy as we gardeners are.  But, given that we’re moving toward the end of May, our summer’s heat will shortly be upon us.  Unless we change our activities to match the plants’ upcoming needs, now-happy plants will become stressed-out plants. And we gardeners will be disappointed in not getting the vegetables and flowers that we'd planned on.
     The critical elements to accomplish now for summer success include planting, fertilizing, watering, and mulching.
 
Planting
     Make your choices and get them into the ground or containers by the end of this month.  They’ll need several weeks to get acclimated to their new homes and environment as they begin to make new roots to establish themselves, so hopefully blasts of summer heat will wait until the later part of June. 
      Three planting tricks will help plants get established more quickly:

1. Dig planting holes at least a foot wider and deeper than the plant containers, and massage the rootballs to loosen the existing roots and incorporate some of the planting mix into the soil.
2. Create a berm around the edge of the dug-up soil as a watering basin to direct water down to the roots.
3. Place a piece of cardboard or plastic on the south side of the plant to shade the plant from mid- to late-afternoon direct sun for at least a week, until the plant stays perky throughout the day.  

 
Fertilizing
     For tomatoes and other vegetable and berry plants that are starting to bloom,  water in a timed-release fertilizer to provide nutrition for the extra-hard work the plant will have to accomplish over the next several months of blossoming and setting and maturing fruits.  
     Ornamental plants appreciate the extra nutrition as well.
 
Watering
     Water deeply and less frequently to assure that the water sinks down to below the plants’ rootzones to keep them well-hydrated during our blasts of summer heat.  A stick or shovel inserted the day after watering will alert you to how deeply the water actually went – so you can adjust the length of time you water to make sure it goes deeply enough each time you water. 
     Depth guidelines depend on the genetics of the vegetable you’re growing.  For summer vegetables, these are:

• 1 foot deep = celery, chard, lettuce
• 2 feet deep = bean, carrot, cucumber, eggplant, pepper, squash
• 3 feet deep = melon, pumpkin, tomato

     Frequency guidelines depend on your soil, the amount of foliage, and the air temperature.

• Soil - Start with once a week for loam soil, twice a week for sandy soil, and once every two weeks for clay soil
• Foliage - More frequently for tomato plants that are 5’ tall with lots of foliage
• Temperature – More frequently when temperatures are above 95 degrees; even more when above 100 degrees.

     The problem with watering too frequently is that the water stays within the top several inches of the soil, so plant roots stay there as well.  Then, when we get our several-days-long blasts of summer heat, those top several inches of soil are too hot for the roots, and there are no roots further down in the cooler soil, so the plants stress out or actually die.
 
Mulching
     Organic mulch provides five benefits to the garden by providing shade:

1. Conserves soil moisture – irrigation water doesn’t evaporate as quickly, so roots stay hydrated.
2. Moderates soil temperature – soil doesn’t suffer swings in heat and cold and wind, so seeds and seedlings and plants can grow without these stresses.
3. Keeps weeds from germinating; any that do are easy to pull – Weed seeds that require light to germinate are foiled.  Any that do germinate grow very spindly stems up through the mulch to reach the light, so are easily removed.
4. Lessens erosion – The force of the drops of rain and irrigation is broken by hitting the mulch, and water seeps gently into the soil, so downbursts can’t sweep away bare soil.  
5. Enrichens soil nutrition and texture as the mulch decomposes and feeds beneficial microorganisms – At the junction of the mulch and the soil surface, the mulch gradually breaks down, becoming perpetually slow-release fertilizer that dissolves further into the soil.

 
For more tasks and opportunities, see May Monthly Tips

In these COVID-19 times, with Stay-At-Home mandates, lots of folks are considering gardening as a keep-from-going-crazy-with-all-this-free-time activity.  As “novel” as this activity is for them, it can be a delightful adventure for adults and kids alike, literally discovering where our food comes from and how to grow something as simple as lettuce.  And, growing it yourself makes it infinitely more exciting to eat it!  It can be as small-scale as one container on a windowsill indoors or patio outdoors, or extending to several raised beds in the yard.  So, how to get started?  

1. Where is the best soil and sun exposure? 
You can't just dig a hole, plop a plant in, and expect to get lots of flowers and fruit. If you plan to grow foliage-only plants like lettuce, cilantro, parsley, you’ll need a location that receives at least 6 hours of direct sun.  For plants that will flower and ripen fruit like tomatoes and squash, the location must receive at least 8 hours of direct sun every day since it's doing all that extra work to blossom and set and mature the fruit.

2. Soil is basic. 
Soil is the beginning, middle, and end of successful gardening. It doesn't just prop up the plants! Clay soil can be dense and full of nutrients but not well draining.  Sandy soil drains well but doesn’t have much nutrition.  Loam soil is a combination of both.  All soils can be improved by adding organic matter -- in clay soil, it provides more air pores; and in sandy soil it provides more absorption.  Dig in manure and compost to a depth of at least 12 inches.  If you have access to coffee grounds (Starbucks and Peet's, etc., may provide for free!), add them too since they offer across-the-board nutrition.

3. Grow only plants proven to do well in your micro-climate.
Whether your garden space is along the coast, inland, or in the mountains or desert, check with local nurseries and neighbors to choose varieties that will do best there. If the plant description indicates that plants should have full sun, this means different things along the coast or inland.  Along the coast, the moisture in the "marine layer" cools things down and it may frequently be foggy. Inland, plants may need some protection from the late afternoon sun beating down. 

4. Choose the healthiest plants you can find. 
Make sure that you choose types of plants according to the upcoming season – in late Spring, choose plants that want summer’s heat; in Fall, choose plants that thrive in Winter's coolness.  

5. Transplant properly.  
Ruffle the rootball slightly to loosen up the outer roots, and rough up the sides of the planting hole so roots don't meet a "brick wall." Plant most plants at the same depth that they were in their containers.  Tomatoes are the only plants that also develop "adventitious" roots all along the portion of the stem that is underground, so plant them deeply, up to the top set of leaves, to encourage an extensive root system and consequently more vigorous plant producing more food. 

6. Wait until the soil has warmed sufficiently in Spring. 
While you may want to have the first ripe tomato on the block, don't transplant summer vegetable seedlings into the ground until the soil has warmed above 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Peppers, especially, will "pout" and never really thrive when transplanted too early.  

7. Grow plants up trellises.
Trellises enable the greatest use of the soil, fertilizer, and water in your garden beds since you can grow plants more closely, with the foliage growing up instead of shading more growing space. And harvesting is much easier.  Tomatoes come in "determinant" (they grow only to a determined height, bear all their fruit and then die) or "indeterminate" (they keep growing and bearing fruit until killed by frost), so give them support as soon as you plant them, rather than waiting until they get too big and flop over. 

8.  Fertilize when planting and when blossoming.
Before transplanting, incorporate a complete slow-release fertilizer (like 5-5-5) into the root area along with manure and compost. As plants grow, use a good organic fertilizer, like fish emulsion (yes, it will be stinky for a day or two, but some new versions  don't smell so strongly). When fruiting plants like tomatoes start blooming, give them another feeding to encourage lots of blossoms and fruit. 

9. Water properly.
Watering frequency changes according to the weather.  Always water deeply to "teach" the roots to grow deeply. Then the plants will thrive during hot spells instead of dying because their roots were so close to the surface from shallow watering.  Also, plants like to have their leaves (including the undersides) rinsed every once in a while during hot weather. But, fungi and other diseases can get a good start within only six hours of wet-and-warm conditions, so make sure that foliage dries off by sunset. Soaker hoses and other "dribblers" help release water slowly so it's absorbed into the soil to keep root systems hydrated. 

10. Mulch, mulch, mulch
Keep replenishing a two-to-four-inch thick layer of organic matter on top of the soil throughout the gardening year to moderate soil temperature, hold in moisture, lessen evaporation, prevent weeds from sprouting, and ultimately break down into the soil. Smaller mulch pieces offer more protection and break down more quickly. But, for moist organic mulch like fresh grass clippings, lay down a thin layer so it doesn’t dry into an impervious layer. 

For specific month-to-month task possibilities for you and your garden, see Monthly Tips.

     Like our last couple of years, we continue to have a stretched-out Spring, with cool temperatures that give us an extended length of time to plant cool-weather-loving vegetables and flowers and vines and trees. 
     Unlike past years, this year’s COVID-19 directives are for staying safe at home and avoiding travel to nonessential destinations. 
     Although many plant nurseries remain open as essential, their online-ordering and curb-pick-up procedures preclude the recreational shopping value that I always look forward to – traveling far and wide to nurseries throughout Southern California, wandering through the nurseries seeing what’s available (especially those items I wouldn’t ordinarily have thought of), choosing the exact plants that I want, and visiting with the staff and other customers. 
     Ah, how our lives change in unforeseen ways!
 
Here are some of my favorite nurseries and botanic gardens that are still open to some degree. Be sure to check their websites before venturing out, however, in case another last-minute change has been made.
 
Nurseries Open With Limited Hours

• Bellefontaine Nursery, Pasadena -- www.bellefontainenursery.com/
• Lincoln Avenue Nursery, Pasadena --http://www.lincolnavenuenursery.com/
• San Gabriel Nursery, San Gabriel -- http://sgnurserynews.com/

              
Nurseries Open for Online Ordering and Curb Pickup

• Armstrong Nurseries -- Anaheim, Claremont, Costa Mesa, Del Mar, Encinitas, Glendora, Huntington Beach, Irvine, La Canada-Flintridge, La Crescenta, Laguna Niguel, La Habra, Long Beach, Mission Valley, Monrovia, Morena, Newport Beach, Pasadena, Rancho Penasquitos, San Juan Capistrano, Santa Monica, Sherman Oaks, Temecula, Thousand Oaks, Torrance, Tustin, Westchester -- www.ArmstrongGarden.com/
• Artemisia Nursery, Northeast Los Angeles by Cal State LA -- https://www.artemisianursery.com/
• California Botanic Garden, Claremont -– www.calbg.org/
• Fig Nursery, Northeast Los Angeles by Highland Park -– www.figearthsupply.com/
• Two Dog Nursery, Central Los Angeles by Larchmont -– www.twodognursery.com  
• Sunset Boulevard Nursery, Echo Park -–  www.sunsetblvdnursery.com/
• Theodore Payne Foundation, Sun Valley -– www.theodorepayne.org
• Tomatomania plants
  • Otto & Sons, Fillmore -- www.shopottoandsons.com
  • Underwood Family Farms, Moorpark -- https://underwoodfamilyfarms.com/moorpark/
  • Somis Farmers Market  -- https://underwoodfamilyfarms.com/somis-farm-market/

 
Botanic Garden Open for Walking Only (no other services)

• Arlington Garden, Pasadena -– www.arlingtongardenpasadena.com/
• Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, Arcadia -– www.arboretum.org/

 
Sharing Your Seedlings, Cuttings and Other Plants
     If you started a batch of seeds before we knew about this COVID-19 business, and now you have billions of seedlings ready for transplanting but can’t drive around sharing them at your garden meetings, here’s a thought:  Put them on your curb so passersby can take them. 
     I suggest that you add a “FREE” sign, label each plant, and provide your name and email address or phone number so takers unfamiliar with gardening or those particular plants can contact you to discuss how to grow them. 
     Might I also suggest that you recommend my www.GardeningInLA.net website so they can become more familiar with gardening in general.   
     This way, we’ll “grow” our neighborhoods one plant at a time!

For more garden tasks, see April.

     March has certainly turned out to be magnificent in the amount of rain we’ve received, making our gardens stand up tall and perky.  Wonderful harvests of bok choy, chard, cilantro, kale, assorted greens, lettuce, parsley, first peas, and spinach make for fantastic salads, soups, stews, stir-fries and whatever other methods of preparation we can imagine!  And, more rain is promised for next week along with continuing cool temperatures. 
     The timings between rains have been especially effective – slight droplets, heavy downpour, light again, and then several days of no rain – enabling the soil to fully absorb the moisture as a marvelous resource for later this summer.
     My Meiwa kumquat even had too much rain, splitting its skin because the cells of the interior flesh expanded more quickly than the cells of the skin.  This is the tell-tale sign of too much water, whether now because of rain or later if we irrigate using too much water after a dry spell.  While it’s generally better to water less frequently and deeply, the splitting is the result of too much of a good thing (water), so adjust your watering pattern to a bit more frequently.
 
Transplanting Tomato Technique
     I’ve developed a technique for transplanting tomato seedlings that may appear to be drastic, but I assure you that it results in healthier root development of the plant and consequently more color and food.  Instead of digging a hole barely larger than the size of the rootball and then setting the rootball into the hole and watering it in, my technique is much more extensive and fosters lots of new root growth and access to more soil nutrition and water.
Here are the steps:

1. Dig a hole one foot wide and about 9 inches deep, preferably in soil that you’ve already incorporated manure, compost, and perhaps some coffee grounds.
2. Water the tomato seedling in its pot so the soil mix is thoroughly moist.
3. Upturn the container, bracing the tomato stem with your fingers, so it gently falls out of the pot into your hand.
4. Turn the plant upright, and gently massage the potting soil out of the rootball, letting it fall into the hole you dug.
5. Shake the plant in the hole to remove any more of the potting soil than has naturally fallen off.
6. If there’s a plentiful amount of roots hanging down about three inches, rip off any excess below that and toss it into the hole.  You want the plant to have only that nice clump of roots that will easily reach out into the soil.  Any stragglers hanging down further will crumple when you transplant it and have a hard time untangling before they can reach out into the soil.
7. Mix the loose potting soil mix from the rootball and the soil from the hole so it combines together to be a “half-way” mixture of what the plant roots originally grew in and the new soil that you want them to grow into.
8. Scoop out about half of the “half-way” mixture to the sides of the hole.
9. With one hand, let the tomato plant hang into the hole with the roots barely touching the bottom of the hole.
10. With the other hand, scoop the “half-way” mix around the rootball and up a couple of nodes (the joints where some leaves emerge) until the plant almost stands upright by itself.
11. With finger tips and thumb only (not your whole palm or hand), puncture the soil mix around the plant to stablilize it.  Don’t mash the woil in the hole, or you’ll compress it too much.
12. Rearrange remaining “half-way” soil mix into a berm about 6 inches away from the plant stem.  This will be the watering hole for the plant.
13. Water three times:  Fill the hole once, again when it sinks in, and a third time (it’ll sink more slowly this last time).  This makes sure that the entire rootball and surrounding soil is thoroughly moist so roots are in direct contact with the bits of soil and tiny air pores.
14. Repeat this 3-times watering the next day.
15. Place your trellis or cage over the plant and stabilize it with a pole.
16. In a week or so of dry weather, fill the berm with water again.
17. Then, water as dictated by the weather.  A moisture meter  probe (about $9 at Home Depot) will help you determine how frequently to water.

 
When Should I Let Blossoms Set?

1. As the plant grows, remove any blossoms that set.  You want all the plant’s energy to go into developing its new root system, not side-tracking it into developing fruit.
2. When the plant foliage reaches the second rung of the tomato trellis or cage – about 2 feet tall – then you can let blossoms set.  By this time, the plant has established its extensive root system so you can afford to let some of the hormones shift to blossoming and fruiting.
3. When the plant foliage reaches about 3 feet tall, toss a handful of fertilizer (I prefer EB Stone or Whitney Farms) into the watering hole of each plant, and water it in.  You want to provide this additional fertilizer at this time because the blossoming-and-ripening fruit stages take a lot of additional energy.

 
For more garden tips, see March and April.
​

     We are coming to our twice-yearly transition time -- March is from cool-season to warm-season, and September is from warm-season to cool-season.  So, in these two months, it's time to plant something of everything because we don't know what the weather will really do (although, of course, we know that from now on it'll get hotter, but don't know truly when).  It's worth gambling that we'll have enough time for more cool-season stuff to harvest.

If you’re just now finally thinking about getting your garden growing, here are some things to consider.  

Veggies
     Sow beets, carrots, chives, peas, peanuts, radishes, and turnips where they’ll mature.
     Transplant artichoke, asparagus, broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, cilantro, jerusalem artichokes, kale, kohlrabi, lavender, leeks, lettuces, marjoram, green onions, bulb onions, oregano, parsley, potatoes, rhubarb, rosemary, sage, shallots, spinaches, strawberries, thyme and turnips.  
     Our evenings are still too cool to take a chance on transplanting basil, cucumber, eggplant, melons, peppers, or squashes.  Even if transplants survive, their growth will be stunted and never really thrive.  Instead, wait at least another month, and the little plants will vigorously make up for lost time.
     Plant mint and tarragon in their own containers, as their roots are very vigorous and will take over garden space.
    For an attractive array of lettuce flavors, textures, and colors, choose varieties from as many as you can find--dark greens, light greens, reds, bronzes; butterhead, looseleaf, romaine, and crisphead.  Replant every three weeks for continuous harvests of young, sweet succulent leaves and heads. Choose varieties that are heat-resistant, bolt-resistant, and less likely to turn bitter when they mature during hot weather.
     Soaking seeds prior to planting--or planting seeds in soil that is too wet--may do more harm than good. When seeds take up water too quickly, their outer coverings cracks. This allows nutrients to leak out, and disease organisms to enter. Beans are especially prone to this problem.
     Be gentle with all seedlings.  Handle the little plants by their root clumps or leaves rather than stems, and never squeeze them tightly. They will grow new leaves and roots, but can't develop new stems.
  Pluck off strawberry blooms through May--or whenever the warm weather has settled in for good--to concentrate the plant's first real burst of fruiting energy into large sweet berries rather than small tart ones. Unless, of course, you're desperately waiting for that very first berry, even if it is tart.

Droughty Landscaping
     Consider landscaping with plants that thrive under conditions of drought and neglect. Flowering annuals include alyssum, cosmos, gazania, geranium, helichrysum, marigold, morning glory, phlox, portulaca, thunbergia, verbena, vinca, and zinnia. Shrubs include Australian fuchsias, ceanothus, coffee berries, cotoneasters, pineapple guavas, manzanitas, and rockroses, and verbenas (an especially good ground cover). 
   Many beautiful flowering shrubs are naturally drought- resistant and can help birds and small animals survive next winter by providing food and habitat. Dwarf pomegranate, pyracantha, and barberry are excellent choices for fall and winter color.
    Perennials with great tolerance for drought include achillea, anaphalis, artemisia, asclepias, coreopsis, daylily, dianthus, echinopsis, eryngium, gaillardia, lavandula, potentilla, salvia, santolina, sedum sempervivum, stachys, thyme, and veronica.

Spreading The Wealth
     Divide and replant perennials that are crowded or that had sparse bloom last season. These include agapanthus, Japanese anemone, aster, coral bells, Michaelmas and Shasta daisies, daylily, fountain grass, iceplant, ivy, lantana, phlox, verbena, and yarrow. 
     Water the area the day before to ease digging up the entire root systems. When you separate the clumps, make sure each has a good portion of root system.
    Root cuttings of dianthus, dusty miller, euryops, felicia, fuchsias, geraniums, iceplant, lavenders, marguerites, mums, saxifrages, sedums, and succulents. Bury three or four nodes in soil amended with humus.

Bulbs
     Plant summer-blooming bulbs, corms, and tubers--including acidanthera, agapanthus, tuberous begonias, caladiums, calla lilies, canna lilies, dahlias, gladiolus, hemerocallis, tuberous iris, ixias, tigridias, tuberoses, and watsonias. Repeat plantings through May for continuous bloom through the summer. 
     If you still have some unplanted spring-blooming bulbs that are still firm and solid, plant them immediately in rich soil. They'll probably not bloom this year, but they'll send up foliage to develop further and then bloom next year. If not planted now, they'll shrivel away to nothing.

Watering
    Teach your plants to grow deeply for moisture. In spring, for average soils, water deeply only every two to three weeks. By the time that summer's heat arrives, plant feeder roots will be growing deeply for moisture, and the plants won't need watering more frequently than once a week during very hot spells.
  One inch of irrigated water will soak down to different depths, depending on how heavy your soil is: 12 inches deep in sandy soil, nine inches deep in loamy soil, but only three inches deep in clay soil. Plant root zones generally reach from 2 to 12 inches down. 
     Clay soil, because it is so compact, can be watered a little each day for two or three days to allow absorption down that far, rather than a lot of runoff by watering once for a long time. Clay soil will retain this moisture for a much longer period than sandy soil, which is very porous. Soil with a lot of organic matter in it is the best--it holds lots of water like a wrung-out sponge that allows air in for best plant root growth.

More Monthly Tips
For more gardening tips, see March .

     The flowering pear trees on my route to the post office started blooming three weeks ago and are now losing their last petals.  Usually – if any timing can be considered usual in the gardening world – these trees begin blooming in mid- to late-February.  So, there’re a good month ahead of themselves.  Since January and February are typically – again, that usualness – our rainiest months, perhaps we’ve be blessed with as much as we’re going to get this winter.  Either way, we may have begun our march on to warmer and dryer weather.  Consequently, our Spring garden tasks need to move into a higher gear.  Here’re some ways to proceed.
   
Harvesting
     I’m giving up the idea of transplanting the batch of cool-season bok choy and other “oriental” greens that I’d scattered and that came up months ago, in favor of harvesting them in place.   The patch looks jumbled and unruly, but of course this has no effect on the greens’ flavors.   I snip off the top several nodes’ worth of foliage, leaving the bottommost ones to develop new shoots from each of the remaining nodes. 
     Luckily, these greens continue to be sweet and tender even as they develop their flowers and put up their seed stalks – called “bolting” – so I can harvest as long as there are leaves to pick.
     The lettuces and spinaches continue growing nicely.  Hopefully the warm days but cool evenings will keep them putting out just leaves so I can continue harvesting sweetly-tasting greens for much longer.  When nighttime temperatures rise much more, they too will put up their seed stalks and turn the leaves bitter.
 
Cool-Season Seeding and Transplanting
     I’ve always found it wise to plant more of these greens, either by seeds or transplants, as my Fall-sown and -planted plants begin to bolt.   The older plants have gone through the “cold” of winter and so are bolting now.  But the newer plants will continue growing their tender leaves until the weather gets too hot and then they’ll bolt.  So, with this new group I can continue harvesting for perhaps another month or two beyond the first batch.
     But, because we don’t know what the weather will do – that part is definitely a certainty – putting in another batch of seeds and plants is a guess and hope that we’ll get enough of the new food value to have made the effort worth it.
 
Hold Off On Warm-Season Seeding and Transplanting
     Tomatoes are the ONLY – emphasis ONLY – warm-season plants that will thrive if planted now. Every other warm-season vegetable – including bean, cucumber, eggplant, melon, pumpkin and squash -- has been “forced” in warm greenhouses in the hopes of enticing eager gardeners to purchase.  Until nighttime temperatures are closer to 55 or 60 degrees, they’ll just “pout” in the soil and never really recuperate once the soil has warmed.  Better to wait a month to purchase and plant them.
 
Fruit Trees Are Blooming
     The sap has begun to move in fruit trees, pushing the buds to sprout leaves and blossoms.  Cut only branches that you really must for walking space or other reasons.
     Fig trees may have baby figs – called “bebra” crop – as well as new leaves emerging.  These are developing on last-year’s brown branch growth and will ripen in a couple of months but be a smallish crop.  The main crop will set in a couple of months on this year’s green branch growth and ripen in July and August. 
     I’d felt bad a couple of weeks ago when I trimmed a lot of long branches off of my mulberry tree, since I could already see some of the blossoms and was worried that I’d reduce my ultimate crop.  No fear, now that I see how very many ripening fruits are on the tree.  Whew!
     The same thing may occur to you as you see all the blossoms and then tiny fruits on your fruit trees.  So, don’t remove any of the blossoms – even on the clusters on apple trees – in favor of waiting until the tiny fruits are the size of a dime before you thin them.  That’s when you’ll see how many fruits you do indeed have to contend with, and how much space you need to allow each fruit to develop into full size.
 
February Garden Tasks
     For more garden tasks to consider this month, go to February Monthly Tasks.
 

With daytime temperatures in the mid-70s, nighttime temperatures in the low-50’s, sunny but low-intensity sunlight, and soil that’s thoroughly moistened but well drained from those glorious rainstorms, this is the perfect environment for planting our new gardens for spring and summer.  Seeds, seedlings, perennial vegetables, deciduous bareroot fruit trees and roses, rooting cuttings and separating divisions are all methods that are ideal to start now because the mild weather will enable them to thrive.
 
Seeds
     So many greens and other cool-season crops include broccoli, bok choy, cabbage, cauliflower, chard, chives, cilantro/coriander, kale, leeks, leaf and heading lettuces, mustards, green and bulb onions, parsley, peas, radishes, and savoy spinaches.
     Flowers to sow include alyssum, bachelor's button (cornflower), calendulas, candytuft, celosia (cockscomb), coreopsis, dianthus, four-o-clocks, hollyhocks, larkspur, lunaria (honesty, money plant, silver dollar plant), pansies, California and Iceland and Shirley poppies, salvias, snapdragons, stocks, sweet peas, sweet William, and native wildflowers.
 
Seedlings
     I always purchase whatever seedlings are in the nurseries for a 6-week jump start of the same seeds I’ll sow.  Then I’m guaranteed something to eat as early as possible from planting the purchased seedlings (usually of pretty basic varieties), and then lots more from the plants I’ve seeded (of more specialized varieties).
 
Perennial Vegetables and Fruits
     The big three perennials to establish in their own beds are artichoke, asparagus, and rhubarb.  They’re all heavy feeders, so need lots of manure and compost every year at this time.
     Other perennials to get into the ground include grapes, berry vines, and strawberries.
     Pruning cane berries gets rid of dead canes that bore last summer and then died, and energizes new canes that’ll produce on second-year wood.
     Pruning grapes limits new growth to fruiting wood, and cuttings can be rooted for plants to giveaway.
 
Deciduous Bareroot Fruit Trees and Roses
     Like seeds, planting bareroot fruit trees and roses adapt more quickly and healthfully when planted now in cool weather, catching up to and surpassing already-leafed-out plants.  So, if you have the choice of the specific varieties you want, go for the bareroot ones. 
     Pruning existing fruit trees now before they blossom out keeps their spring growth within reaching harvest height and limits the amount of fruit that’ll set to what you can manage to use, stressing the tree less so it’ll remain healthy.
     Pruning roses gets rid of twiggy branches and redirects new growth outward for a healthier plant.
 
Rooting Cuttings
     Grapes and mini-roses that are grown on their own roots are good bets for rooting to create more plants for your own garden or for friends.
 
Separating Divisions
     Dividing crowded plant root systems are another excellent way to take advantage of multiplying strong plants.  These include agapanthus, amaryllis, asters, chrysanthemums, coreopsis, daylilies, dianthus, gaillardias, gazanias, rudbeckia, statice and violets.
 
More Detailed Monthly Garden Tips
     For more info on all these topics, see January and February tips.

     Our wonderful rains weeks ago germinated lots of seeds, including wildflowers and veggies but also weeds.  Pleasant daytime temperatures in the low 70 degrees get everything moving ahead, while under-50-degree nighttime temperatures keep growth rate slow to moderate.  Together with the rain-moistened soil, our new gardening year is off to a great start. 
     So take advantage of this great garden timing to get your fingernails dirty!
 
Plant Bare-Root Roses

1. Dig a hole about 18 inches across and 9 inches deep.
2. Fill with water and wait until it is completely absorbed (ok to do the day before planting).
3. Soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting.
4. orm a cone of loose soil in the center.
5. Snip too-long roots to fit over the cone without bending.
6. Place plant onto cone so center of cone is no higher than outer edges of hole.
7. Refill hole with native soil.
8. Form a berm at least 2 feet wide with excess soil to serve as a watering hole.
9. Fill hole with water three times to ensure that the entire rootzone is moistened and soil is “melted” around roots.
10. Add a 2-inch layer of organic mulch (including the wood shavings that came with the bare-root rose) within the berm area.

 
Plant Bare-Root Trees

If purchased in a 5-gallon container

1. Water the container thoroughly to make sure roots are moistened (ok to do the day before planting).
2. Dig a hole 2 feet across and only as deep as the container.
3. Upturn container so tree and rootball will easily come out of the container without disturbing rootball too much.
4. Gently massage the rootball to loosen the soil mix a good 2 inches on the outer edges and bottom.
5. Mix this loosened mix with the soil in the hole. This will provide a mixture of soil that the tree grew in with the native soil to encourage roots to reach out beyond the mixture into native soil.
6. Place the rootball into the hole so the top surface where the trunk emerges is even with surrounding soil.  
7. Pull in remaining native soil and gently prod fingers into the soil to anchor the tree.
8. ​Form a berm at least 2 feet wide with excess soil to serve as a watering hole.
9. Fill hole with water three times to ensure that the entire rootzone is moistened and soil is “melted” around roots.
10. Add a 2-inch layer of organic mulch within the berm area.

If purchased bare-root

1. Soak the roots in a bucket of water for a couple of hours before planting.
2. Dig a hole 2 feet across and only as deep as the roots.
3. Hold tree by its trunk so the section of the trunk that’s just above where the roots splay outward is at the level of the soil.
4. Pull in the native soil and gently prod fingers into the soil to anchor the tree.
5. Form a berm at least 2 feet wide with excess soil to serve as a watering hole.
6. Fill hole with water three times to ensure that the entire rootzone is moistened and soil is “melted” around roots.
7. Add a 2-inch layer of organic mulch within the berm area.

 Spray Fruit Trees

1. If your fruit trees were troubled with pests last year – whether diseases or insects or other critters – spray soon and again in early February with dormant sprays for the specific pest issues.
2. Consult with your local knowledgeable nurseryperson, and follow directions.  Time sprays within 48 hours of rain so the spray dries on the tree surfaces and crevices.

Separate Clumps of Perennials and Bulbs

1. Dig, split, and replant clumps of perennials and bulbs that have become crowded and bloomed less than usual last year.
2. Water the newly planted sections well to ensure good contact of roots to soil.

Sow Vegetable and Flower Seeds
In containers
     Sow 3 or 4 seeds per container, in either 6-packs or 4” containers, to assure you have at least one that’ll survive to transplanting with an extensive root system.
 
In garden soil where they’ll mature

1. Sow large seeds and root-crop seeds barely closer than the plants will mature to assure that you get sufficient germination but don’t have to thin seedlings too much.
2. Sow small seeds an inch or so apart to assure good germination and allow for thinning for either eating or transplanting.
3. Cover with bird tree netting to keep critters from digging the beds in search of the sluggy and grubby treats they prefer.

 
Plant Vegetable and Flower Seedlings
     Six-pack size are best, since they’re the least expensive, will catch up to larger sizes within a month or two, and will thrive better after that because they matured in place instead of having to spend time reacclimating to their new homes.

More January Tasks
           See January Monthly Tips.

​     If you plan to decorate a live holiday tree indoors and then move or plant it outdoors afterwards, choose a smaller size of tree, as it'll adapt better to conditions indoors and then again outdoors than a more mature one.
     After you bring the tree home, water it well and store it in an unheated garage or outbuilding for two or three days as a "half way spot" transition area before you move it indoors.
       Keep the rootball moist and the boughs misted. 
     Once you bring the tree indoors, give these living plants bright indirect light, keep them cool and out of drafts, and water them just enough to keep the potting mix barely moist.  Place it away from heating vents or fireplaces.  Water it either directly into its potting mix or by scattering ice cubes around the soil surface but away from the tree trunk every couple of days to slowly seep down into the entire root ball.
      Limit its time indoors to a maximum of seven days; fewer if the house is very warm.
     After removing its decorations, move the tree outside again to the garage, shed, or protected spot for at least two weeks to allow it to readjust to the cool outdoors.  The longer you enjoy the tree in the warm house, the longer it will need to reacclimate to outdoor conditions.
 
More Decorating Ideas From The Garden

• Small Norfolk Island pines can become mini-Christmas trees, with their own tiny lights and ornaments.
• Provide each room in the house with its own individually decorated tree--like cookie cutters hung with red ribbon bows for the kitchen.
• Other living plants for indoor color include African violets, azaleas, begonias, Christmas cactus, Christmas (Jerusalem) cherry, cyclamen, and kalanchoe, as well as the ever-dependable chrysanthemum and poinsettia.
• Cacti and succulents are also good choices, but they need direct sunlight and very little water.
• Pyracantha berries alternated with popcorn make attractive garlands.
• Oranges, lemons or apples sprinkled with cinnamon or cardamom and stuck with whole cloves are delightfully fragrant pomander balls.
• Rose hips add bright red and orange colors to green wreaths.
• Vines from grapes, honeysuckle, wisteria, willow, or ivy will bend into many usable shapes as the basis for more decoration.
• Eucalyptus pods, pine cones, acorns, and magnolia leaf clusters provide many shades of brown.
• Bufford's Holly, which grows better here than the traditional variety, gives us stickery-leafed green with red berries.
• Prunings from conifers and broad-leafed evergreens such as incense cedar, fir, laurel, magnolia, oleander, pine, pittosporum, podocarpus, and viburnum.
• The red berries from cotoneaster, nandina, and pyracantha always serve as a bright accent.
• Herbs, too, can trim yule logs, flavor jelly, give fragrance to clusters of twigs or wreaths and perfume the air in stovetop potpourris.
• And, of course, the mistletoe.

     Now that we’ve passed Thanksgiving, which is the average first frost date for us here in Pasadena and other foothill locales, and we have snow on the San Gabriel mountains down to about 3000 feet, we gardeners start paying much closer attention to nighttime temperature forecasts and their threat of frost. 
     Even with another cold and wet storm promised for later this week, our gardens do have one big advantage this year – the soil is already thoroughly saturated from the 1.5 inches of rain we’ve had from last week’s storm.  This means that plant and tree roots and foliage are fully hydrated and therefore able to withstand at least minimal freezing-temperature chill. 
     A nice relief after so many years of drought! 
     Of course, our Southern California drought will never really end since we live where we do, but at least our plants are going into the chill of this winter with their cells full of protective water!
     Here are some other protective techniques to employ in our gardens, should the weather warrant it on dry, windless, clear nights:

• Protect citrus and other subtropicals from cold damage by wrapping the tree trunks in newspaper.
• Cover tender plant and tree foliage like bougainvilleas, fuchsias, hibiscus and citrus with plastic sheeting.
• Bubble wrap offers even more protection than plastic sheeting because of its bubbles filled with air.
• Because cold “falls” straight down when there’s no breeze, prop up sheeting directly over the tree or plant.  
• However, prop it away from touching the foliage, or it will easily conduct the freezing temperatures directly to the foliage.
• Provide mini-greenhouses made from clear plastic milk or water jugs with their caps removed and their bottoms cut off. Place the jugs over seedlings, pressing the jugs about one-half inch deep into the soil to prevent the entry of pests such as cutworms at the soil level.  Push 18-inch-long stakes through the top hole down into the soil to lessen the chance of the jug being blown away during windy gusts.
• Use tomato cage forms to cover with spun-bonded fabric (usually used as row covers to keep out insects) to allow light and moisture in but keep frost out.
• Move dish cacti and succulents and potted trees under cover for protection from cold and rain.
• Appropriate to the season, if you still have any of the incandescent holiday lights, entwine plants so their slight heat will keep frost away.  Be sure to keep the light away from flammable materials, and fully insulate the connections from moisture.

 
For other garden tasks and opportunities this month, see Monthly Tips.