Laguna Hills Nursery

Choice Tropical Plants

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Greetings!

 

Can you believe that fabulous gardening weather we've had lately.  A high of 80 degrees and a low of 60 degrees is just about perfect.  I can transplant, divide, make cuttings, start seeds...just about everything works.  Don't believe the marketing agents that tell you that fall is the best time to plant.  In Orange County the summer weather is mild and plants grow very fast.  You just need to water regularly.  Fall is less predictable.  Heat and/or dry winds are a young plants worst nightmare.  Remember last year's 110+ degrees in late September.  The damaging, dry Santa Ana winds are usually a fall phenomenon.   

 

This week we have a number of fun Tropical plants to sell.

sugar cane dark stem green leaf   
Sugarcane (dark stem/green leaf)
  1 gallon $10

Sugarcane is currently grown in over 100 countries around the World, mainly from the tropics to the milder temperate climate zones.  In these countries, nearly everyone remembers chewing on the juicy, sweet canes when they were children. 

I remember my great uncle's sugar cane patch in his backyard in Compton.  He grew up in Hawaii and brought a bit of the islands to the mainland with him. 

The sugarcane harvest represents about 20% of all of the World's agricultural crops grown with Brazil and India growing about half of that total.  The commercial varieties are complex hybrids of about 6 species in the genus Saccharum. 

Locally sugarcane can grow a bit over 10' tall and can be harvested the second year with canes about 1-1/2" thick.  (In warmer climates sugarcane approaches 20' tall and 2" thick.)  Sugarcane plants are clumping grasses that spread several inches outwards every year.  There are 3 main color variations:  green leaf/yellow cane, green leaf/red cane, and green leaf/purple cane.  Our plants start the year with greenish-yellow canes but change to nearly purple during hot weather.  During our cool season the leaves get frayed by dry winds and frost sometimes blackens the tops, but the plants recover by mid-spring. 

Sugarcane will grow in sun or shade, developing thicker canes in sunny locations.  It accepts average conditions and moderate irrigation.  A good choice for large containers. 


sugar cane pele's foliagesugarcane pele's smoke cane

Pele's Smoke Sugarcane  1 gallon  $15, 5 gallon  $35

This rare cultivar is easily the most striking form of sugarcane.  Although still a sweet and juicy treat, Pele's Smoke doesn't grow as tall or with canes as thick as commercial cultivars.  Expect just under 10' tall with canes up to 1" thick.  The foliage emerges a light purple bronze and matures to bronze green.  Feed with a good palm fertilizer for best foliage color.  The purple-burgundy canes nearly glow.  A good substitute for Black Bamboo and easier to control.  Enjoy!

 

 

costas foliagecostas flower

Costas barbatus (C. cosmosus) Spiral Ginger  1 gallon $12

This is one of the easier species of ginger to grow with deep green leaves that spiral up the 4-8' tall canes that are topped with a 6-8" tall red bract with yellow flowers.  Will grow in full sun to full shade (best bloom with more sun).  The plants recover well from moderate frost but need a mild winter to bloom.  This perennial forms a clump that spreads slowly.  Native to Tropical America.  Our young plants can bloom in 1-2 years. 

 

 

russelia

Russelia equisetiformis Coral Fountain  1 gallon  $10, 2 gallon  $15

This multi-use plant has finely branching, nearly leafless, slender green stems that produce a profusion of tubular, red flowers during warm weather.  This plant is quite content spilling over a hanging basket or tall pot but will grow 3-5' tall if planted in the ground.  A striking hedge is easily created if several plants are supported with a simple horizontal railing.  Tolerant of extreme heat to nearly total shade and ample water to just moderate irrigation.  Native to Mexico.  Our plants are just beginning to bloom. 

 

 

More Fruit Trees

Fukumoto Navel orange  1 gallon  $20

This is a popular variant of the Washington navel that makes prettier (smoother, deeper orange skin) fruit that ripens slightly earlier on a smaller tree.   

 

Page mandarin  1 gallon $20

The official designation for Page is unclear.  This is a hybrid between Clementine (Cuties) mandarin and Minneola tangelo, so genetically it is an orange, but it resembles a mandarin.  It is better than Clementine in all respects.  It is easier to grow, earlier to ripen, holds well on the tree and is considered by many to be the best flavor of all citrus.  Like Clementine, it is easy to peel and it is seedless if no seedy citrus is nearby to pollinate.   

 

fig panache

Panache (Tiger) Fig  2 gallon  $25

This is a relatively slow growing, small fig tree that makes a unique, striped fruit with crimson flesh.  It is very rich with a distinct berry (cherry) flavor.  This open-eyed fig need some heat to ripen properly.  Fruit quality along the coast is variable from year to year.  We have a few trees to sell this weekend, a few more for next, etc.   

Please visit us at our farmer's market locations.

EVERY SATURDAY 9am-2pm

SOCO Farmer's Market

South Coast Collections Retail Center

3315 Hyland Avenue, Costa Mesa

Exit 405 going north on Harbor, turn left on South Coast Drive, right onto Hyland

 

EVERY SUNDAY 10am-2pm

The Great Park Farmer's Market

Exit 5 at Sand Canyon.  Follow the signs on Marine way which parallels the 5 on the east side. 

 

If you would like to purchase a large number of bags of our popular potting soils reply to this e-mail and tell us how many and at which market.  We will have them waiting for you. 
26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692