News from LAGUNA HILLS NURSERY

Laguna Hills Nursery

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Greetings!

Concerned gardeners often ask me if it's too hot to apply pesticides. With today's products leaf scorch from chemicals is a much smaller concern. Less than 20 years ago when the most common pesticides were mixed with water the solution hitting the foliage was about 0.5% to about 0.1% active ingredient. Certain chemicals would burn the foliage even when the weather was mild. Most of today's ingredients are applied at a rate of 0.05% or less, not much different than just applying pure water.

Do not apply chemicals to wilting foliage or plants that are otherwise too dry. Irrigate several hours before spraying if required. Dry plants may absorb too much of the active ingredient. I avoid spraying when temperatures are much above 90 degrees F. unless the sun is setting or the plants are in a shaded location.

When using horticultural oils it is much better for the weather to be warm than too cool. Temperatures below 60 degrees inhibit evaporation and cause more foliage damage. Neem oil has a greater tendency to burn foliage than other oils because of its uniquely high sulfur content. It also works better to control mildew for the same reason. I've used Neem oil to control mildew on roses for well over a decade and have observed that leaves on the cultivars 'Double Delight' and the closely related 'Paradise' always show some damage when sprayed. This damage, some browning of leaf edges, is acceptable unless you are exhibiting your roses.

Now that it is truly warm my neighbors are struggling to keep their lawns green. They will leaves their sprinklers on for 20-30 minutes at a time and our streets turn into rivers because of the heavy runoff. The current weather dictates that the lawn requires about 40-50 minutes of watering per week to remain lush. The problem is that our local soil will only absorb about 4 minutes of water per hour. This means that you should be watering your lawn 10-13 times during the week. Short, but frequent watering periods will allow the water to soak in. Running your sprinklers for 4 minutes is as effective as running them for 1 hour with a huge savings of water. Do not listen to the "experts" who promote deep, infrequent irrigation. We don't have the type of soil where this works.

Some of the inland valleys have a highly permeable soil that will absorb all the water you can apply. When I lived in Pasadena my neighbor would sprinkle his lawn for an hour with no puddles forming. A friend in Chino has the same type of soil.

Stuff I Use That You Can Too

Pressure Sprayer 48oz. capacity $14 (includes tax)

When I need to apply Spinosad to the new growth of Citrus trees I use this sprayer. A smaller hand pump applicator makes your hand start to cramp up after a minute or so of use. My larger 4-gallon tank sprayer is a hassle to load, haul around, and clean. This is the perfect size and it won't make your forearm muscles tired.

Corona Long Reach Cut N' Hold Pruner $40 (includes tax)

This is the easiest way for me to trim some branches or pick fruit hanging 8-12 feet above the ground or otherwise just out of reach. The cut-and-hold feature and the 36" shaft allows me to pick a ripe fruit and release it into my other hand. Some cut n' hold pruners are too long to make the transfer easily. This is very useful when harvesting avocados, pears, grapes, figs, apples and others. This week I was using it to trim back the top growth on my fruit trees.

Tree Trunk White Paint 1 quart $8 (includes tax)

The tender bark of certain garden trees will burn from sun exposure when temperatures exceed 100 degrees F. A patch of sun burned bark will inhibit growth beyond it, crack, invite attack by bark insects, and sometimes causes a young branch to break off. Avocado, Citrus, Mango, and Apple are among the trees that can benefit. This is especially important for immature trees that have yet to develop a protective shady canopy. Tree trunk paint is applied with a paint brush to all areas of the trunk, branches and stems that are exposed to the sun. It is not applied to the leaves. A single application generally lasts more than 6 months. Last September the 110+ degree heat did some major damage. Heat waves in winter often cause damage because foliage cover is sparse or absent and the sun is hitting at a lower angle.

Purple Allamanda Cryptostegia grandiflora 1 gallon $60

Warning. I only have one plant this year and I'm pricing it high. If it doesn't sell this weeks, I'll lower the price every week. This beautiful plant is the most difficult plant that I try to propagate from cuttings. Less than 5% of my cuttings are successful. The literature agrees that success with cuttings is quite poor for this plant. The seeds are easy to grow, but seedlings have to be 3-4 years old before blooming and the color is often very pale.

Purple Allamanda is a tropical member of the Milkweed family native to Madagascar. It is a beautiful, but invasive, weed in Hawaii and Australia, but will have difficulty naturalizing in our dry, cool climate.

Locally this plant blooms June-December. I'm sure it wants to bloom all year but winter shuts down flower production and it eventually drops all its leaves and looks dead. The plant wakes up by mid spring and recovers quickly. I have my specimen in a fairly well-drained area in the center of my backyard. It is a woody vine that I easily maintain as a bush 5 feet tall and 6 feet wide. It does well in containers which can be moved for protection during winter.

The one plant I have is the only cutting that successfully rooted last year. It is a single stem plant that branches at about 30" with a lot of buds opening. Maybe I should auction it off.

pineapple

Pineapple plants 1 gallon $10, 2 gallon $15

Grow some pineapples next to your sugarcane and it's easy to imagine that you are on a tropical island. Pineapple plants can succeed and fruit locally without a greenhouse, but beware of moderate frosts, which can kill the plant. They are best grown in black plastic containers which keeps them mobile and generates needed heat for the roots. The soil has to have perfect drainage and provide good insulation in winter. Our TROPICAL POTTING SOIL (60% pumice, 30% peat moss, 10% sand) is perfect. We have grown fruit ranging in size from a tennis ball all the way up to what is typical at markets. Production starts within 2 years and well developed plants produce a crop every year. No pollinator is required. Plants grow 2-3 feet tall and form clumps that spread slowly. Of course, you can start your own plant from the top of a pineapple fruit. You will be about 6 months behind. You can even start pineapple plants from the tiny black seeds in the flesh of the fruit. I have one plant at my home from a seed.

Please visit us at our farmer's market locations. We always have a supply of our TROPICAL POTTING SOIL and ACID MIX POTTING SOIL. Come early or contact us (reply to this e-mail) if you want to reserve some for pick-up.

EVERY SATURDAY 9am-2pm

SoCo Farmer's Market

Parking lot of the South Coast Collections Retail Center
3314 Hyland Ave., Costa Mesa

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

EVERY SUNDAY 10am-2pm

The Great Park Farmer's Market

Exit 5 at Sand Canyon, follow the signs on Marine Way (parallels the 5 freeway)

26285 Verona Place
Mission Viejo, California 92692