September 2013 Newsletter

Plant of the Month

Assorted Succulents

$2.00 off one gallon/ $1.00 off 4 inch and 6 packs

I thought to make our succulents the plant of the month. These plants are a good choice for the water wise garden and containers as you just need to water them enough to keep from shriveling. They need good drainage and will grow in full sun to light shade. Most of the great succulents you see in pictures of Southern Calif. Gardens are not cold hardy here. I thought I would talk about the ones that are and are not.

 

 

• Aloes– in some areas of our county at the right elevation and exposure people can grow the hardy aloes. I have to bring my pots in or put under cover to avoid winter meltdown.

• Agave– some will tolerate our winters and others will not. Check for cold tolerance on the variety you buy.
  

  Assorted Succulents

• Aeonium– These almost grow to look like little trees with the dark purple one being popular- not cold hardy-grow in pots and bring indoors.

• Crassula– Jade plants are in this family and it along with many other varieties are rated to Sunset zone 8. This means some of you in the banana belts around here could grow outside but for most of us bring indoors or protect in winter.

• Echeveria– This genus has many beautiful and fun varieties, some of which are rated to Sunset zone 8 and would work outside in our warmer regions. They often look like the cold hardy hens and chicks so check for the zone rating or hardy to degree info.

• Graptopetalum-The ghost plant I have in stock is not winter hardy for our area.

• Kalanchoe– We get the hanging basket variety in along with thaclassic fall blooming indoor pots. My favorite is the Flapjack variety also known as the Paddle Plant. These are not cold hardy and need to be indoors for winter.

• Sedum-Most stonecrops are cold hardy (but there are a few that are not like Donkey Tail). These are a good choice for Lake County. Many die back with the first frost and look like a little pile of brussels sprouts for the winter. They are often late summer bloomers too. Some of my favorites are Sedum Autumn Joy, Sedum Vera Jameson, Sedum kamtschaticum and Sedum sieboldi. There are also the ground cover types like Sedum
  

  Red Semperviven

  spurium ‘Dragon’s Blood, Voodoo and the like or the silver Cape Blanco which is a variety of the CA native Sedum spathulifolium. Sedum ‘Angelina’ with its gold coloring is popular as are the blue ‘Turquoise Tails’ and ‘Blue Spruce’.

• Semperviven– Hens and Chicks- Very cold hardy genus and a good choice for all regions of Lake County.

September Specials

• Plant of the Month – $2.00 OFF one gallon/ $1.00 OFF 4 inch and 6 packs
• 30% OFF all Roses in stock
• 20% OFF Stakes, Plant Cages and Sheppard Hooks

Ongoing Specials

• Fill a flat
• Bakers dozen
• Buy 9 one type bagged soil or bark-10th FEWW

September Coupon

September  Newsletter

Fall is in the air with massive daylight hour changes every day as we head to the autumnal equinox. I have already noticed the light quality change. With the change in season comes a different focus for the garden.

Some of you might be realizing that you have a lot of spring and summer blooming perennials and that you wish you had a few things that bloomed this time of year. It is always a good idea to plan for succession blooms in your garden. Perennials that flower this time of year you might consider are:

• Aster– available in four inch pots now-blues, purples and pinks-they also come in white.

• Chrysanthemums– traditional fall garden mums available in many colors-they bloom longer in the years to come.
• Coreopsis– Many different varieties that bloom from summer into fall-yellows, pinks and reds
• Gaura-Long blooming perennials on wispy stems in whites and pinks
• Helianthus– Swamp sunflower grows to 6 ft and is one of the last perennials to bloom
• Perovskia– Russian sages bloom blue from mid summer into fall

• Rudbeckias-The long blooming hirta types of black eyed susans
• Salvia– Most salvias look their best in fall and are available in many colors
• Solidago– Goldenrods are easy to grow and are not the hayfever producers that people think of
• Succulents- Fall and succulents go hand in hand in my mind
• Ornamental Grasses– Many produce their showy seed heads in fall or pick up orange and red color in the cool weather.

As I mentioned last month it is time to start planting our cool season vegetable garden. In addition to the brassica family (broccoli, cabbage and the like) and leafy greens (spinach, chard, kale) peas, radish, carrots, and beets I thought I would inform you of our onion -garlic -potato schedule. Garlic should be arriving the first week of September. Onions will not be here till October. I even found a source for onion transplants and will be starting out small to see the demand. Potatoes will not come till November.

Pansies and violas are becoming more plentiful. Primrose and cyclamen have still been listed as small so I have not ordered any yet. We have nice 6 packs of forget-me-nots in along with native orange poppies and hollyhocks. Snaps and stock are also available for cool season color. Iris bulbs should be arriving any day and it is only a few weeks away for daffodil and tulip bulbs!

By this time many plants need staking or even a summer trim- If you have harvested your fruit already now would be a good tome to reduce some of this years growth so your fruit buds form on wood that will not be pruned later. If your apple tree is threatening to snap from the weight you better find a way to support it. All stakes, cages and sheppard hooks are 20% OFF in September.

Feeding with our long lasting EBStone organic fertilizer in fall gives you a jump on spring. Sept and Oct are also the time to apply 0-10-10 Bloom food to your fruit trees and spring blooming shrubs. Now is a good month -although October is considered better- to overseed or establish a new lawn from seed.

So for those a little burned out on summer garden chores I hope this has inspired you with renewed focus and energy.

Happy Gardening,

Tanya

On August 31, 2013   /   Newsletter