News from LAGUNA HILLS NURSERY

Laguna Hills Nursery

Will Spring Arrive Before Summer?

Greetings!

We seem to be set on a winter storm pattern with low pressure systems that usually ride to our north dipping down low enough to give us showers. I was expecting a warmer spring, but we're only getting a few 80 degree days here and there. This can cause early ripening fruit to be quite bland. The flavor and sweetness of many types of fruit is directly related to the temperature and sunlight received by the plant within one week of harvest. I have noticed that many of the strawberries that have ripened this spring don't come close to the flavor of the ones I picked last summer and fall.

A few weeks ago I had gotten a report from one of our customers concerned with their onion crop bolting (putting up a flower bud). At that time I didn't see any bolting on my crop, but just this week I noticed that about 10% of the plants are sending up buds. Bolting ruins the storage quality of the bulb, but tastes fine if eaten soon. The main cause of bolting is plants that are too mature. I have read in the past that if the stem of the onion is thicker than a pencil on January 1st, then the plant will bloom. If it is thinner than a pencil, the plant will create a bulb. The onion seedlings I received from our supplier varied in thickness and some were quite thick and perhaps too mature. The literature also mentions that stress from cold snaps or drought can also promote flowering. If you are experiencing bolting reply to this email. If quite prevalent I will certainly let our onion seedling supplier know.

Roses, for one, really seem to like our cool spring. The flower color and size are enhanced by cool, sunny conditions and the flowers also last a long time. Powdery mildew, usually showing up in late April, has finally made its appearance on rose buds and new growth. If you catch it early, it won't get too bad. Spray the affected areas with Neem oil, an organic product. Mildew season is usually from late April to early July. Keep an eye on your squash plants. They are usually treated for mildew in summer. This mildew can be controlled with Neem also.

Tomato plants that were installed early may be showing affects of the weather. You may see numerous small spots on your leaves that are charcoal colored and surrounded with a yellow halo. These are bacterial infections that occur when foliage stays continuously wet for a day. Pick off the bad leaves, but don't work on your plant when the foliage is wet. If infection occurs on the main stem, you may lose the entire stem. There are chemical sprays that can help but it is much cheaper just to plant additional tomato plants when the rains are over...whenever that is.

Availability of Fruiting Plants

Apple $35

Anna apple trees are still available.

A few Granny Smith trees will be ready soon.

Gold Kist Apricot $45 (7-gallon)

Tree ripened apricots are incredibly good. So good that I'll salvage over ripe ones that have fallen off. I'll even trim off bad parts that slugs and pillbugs have gotten to. Apricots are not 100% reliable yearly producers unless you live near a river bed (cooler in winter). I've had 3 good crops in the last 6 years on my hilltop location. Gold Kist is the cultivar with the lowest chill requirement listed. Fortunately when it is not producing fruit it is still a beautiful small shade tree. We have a limited number of trees available.

Avocado $60

Carmen-Hass, Gem, Stewart and Bacon are still available.

Banana $40

Dwarf Brazilian is the best cultivar to grow locally and a very handsome plant. The plant is quite tolerant of wind and light frost (down to just below 28 degrees). The fruiting stalk does not require support. The richly flavored, smooth flesh will remain firm at least twice as long as the common commercial varieties (Cavendish). It is not grown much commercially (although used in breeding programs) because it only produces about 50 pound clusters of fruit. Most Cavendish types will produce clusters of 100+ pounds under ideal (tropical) conditions. In Hawaii the Dwarf Brazilian is known as the Hawaiian Apple banana.

Blueberries $25 (2-gallon) $12 (1-gallon)

We've now have a few plants that have grown enough new foliage that you won't mind the hail damage on the older leaves. Jewel, Jubilee, Misty and Sunshine Blue are available.

Citrus $25

Lisbon lemon, Bearss lime (1 left), Keifer lime, Gold Nugget mandarin, Satsuma mandarin and Minneola tangelo are available.

The Satsuma mandarin is the seedless, mildly sweet fruit with extremely easy-to-peel skin that ripens around the holidays. It is also the easiest citrus tree to grow and extremely heavy bearing.

Grapes $11

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and Zinfandel wine grapes are available.

grape venus

Venus Grape

Venus is my favorite grape to grow and eat. It is a seedless, hybrid variety that appears to be immune to mildew. It does not require much heat or full sun to mature. Venus is a very heavy producer that ripens in July-August. It has a flavor similar to, or better than Concord but without the tough skin or seeds. It is sweet enough to make into wine. I'll keep several clusters in the freezer because they taste like grape popsicles when they are frozen. One U-pick farm claims that it is their customers' favorite. We have several plants ready now and quite a few that will be available shortly.

Flame grapes ($20 2-gal) are available.

Peach $35

Red Baron is still available.

Plum $35

A few Burgundy plum trees are still available.

COMING SOON

Fuyu Persimmon, Pomegranates, Guavas, Cherimoya

Bedding Plant Availability

Dianthus Cinnamon Red Hots $4

I put this image of our supplier's sign because other photo's of this plant show the wrong color. Even this photo is not quite accurate as it is more of a darker cardinal red. This award winning cultivar blooms from spring to winter and does not require dead heading. All Dianthus like good drainage.

gaillardia bi color gaillardia mesa yellow

Gaillardia varieties $4

These are some of our favorite semi-native perennials, being hybrids of species native to the central and western U.S. Besides the Dark Bicolor variety shown at top we also have two styles of pure yellow Gaillardias including the All America Selections Winner Mesa Yellow. These love heat, tolerate short periods of drought (in the ground, not in containers) and bloom from now through fall with a few flowers in winter.

Lisianthus (Eustoma) $4

Originally a wildflower of the high plains, this plant was taken to Japan and developed into a highly popular, long-lasting florist's flower. In your garden this plant will bloom summer-fall with flowers that resemble blue, pink or yellow roses. Lisianthus performs best with good drainage and lots of heat. This plant often survives winter to bloom a second year. This plant has many common names which no one seems to use.

salvia greggii red

Salvia gregii NAVAJO BRIGHT RED AUTUMN SAGE $4

This evergreen shrub grows about 2' tall and wide with small green leaves and brilliant red flowers. Blooms summer-fall. Drought tolerant, but prefers regular water. Native to Texas and Mexico.

shasta aglaya

Aglaya Shasta Daisy $4

This easy-to-grow perennial is an old favorite. Expect the plants to grow 2-3 feet tall topped with 4" wide double flowers. This is a long-lived, slowly spreading perennial that spends winter as a mound of green leaves.

tecoma mayan gold

Tecoma Mayan Gold $4

Here's a compact form of one of my favorite shrubs. Mayan Gold Yellow Bells blooms constantly and brilliantly from mid spring to fall with large clusters of flowers. It should reach 2-3' tall and wide by late summer. Good in containers. Foliage gets thin in winter. With patience can probably be trained into a small tree.

lemon grass

Lemon Grass $3

This grass looks like a weed but there's no mistaking the strong lemon scent. It is easy to grow and forms a clump that will reach 3' tall and wide. This species is native to southeastern Asia and is quite popular in Asian cooking. Some species of lemon grass are the source of citronella and the plant has many other important uses.

Other Veggies $3

Our two suppliers suddenly seemed to have sold out of many items but we were able to restock Dark Green Zucchini Squash and Black Beauty Eggplant. We still have over 10 varieties of good looking tomato plants and some hot peppers.

Please visit us at our farmer's market locations where you can always pick up a sack of our top selling pottings soils:

Laguna Hills Nursery

TROPICAL POTTING SOIL

Laguna Hills Nursery

ACID MIX POTTING SOIL

Our soils perform well for years while other brands may or may not work for up to 5 months. Grow our plants in our soil and take the mystery out of your gardening.

EVERY FRIDAY 1pm-6pm

Rancho Santa Margarita Farmer's Market

Lowe's parking lot at Santa Margarita and Avenida de las Flores in front of Big Lots

EVERY SUNDAY 10am-2pm

The Great Park Farmer's Market

The Great Park Balloon parking lot on Marine Way just of the 5 at Sand Canyon

26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692