Notice: Closed Easter Sunday
I am going to say spring is here because the neighbor’s Western Redbud is in full bloom across the parking lot. If you have never noticed, it is by far the best native redbud in the county. If you want one of your own, we had to pot up our bare-root ones, but we have them. Just realized they are not rooted yet. The same goes for all our newly potted fruit and shade trees. We put them in fiber pots, so you do not have to pull them out. Just plant the pot and all. It is recommended to cut away any of the pot sticking out of the ground to prevent moisture wicking. Due to the bad weather, we still have a good selection of fruit trees, especially peaches. I guess because I am such a peach fan, I go overboard on them. Lots of plums are available, too. We are getting down on apples and pears.
Speaking of peaches and nectarines, wet springs usually mean the conditions are ripe for fungus, especially peach leaf curl. Curl is a bacterial fungus that causes curling and discoloration of the leaves. I just checked my trees today, and they have it. I admit I only dormant sprayed once, but even if you were faithful with the full round of 3 spray applications, it can still happen. You can spray again with copper at growing season (not dormant season) strength. Expect all the deformed leaves to fall off. Make sure you get rid of them and make sure your tree gets fed, as it is going to have to put out a second set of leaves. I am going to treat mine with the bio-funggicides from Ferti-Lome. Biofungicides work by strengthening the plants ability to fight disease. Even if you do not have anything visible, it is a great preventative for your roses and other disease-prone plants, like the rust fungus that attacks snaps and hollyhocks.
We have people asking about when we will have summer vegetables. We have a few peppers and tomato starts now, but we do not get into full swing till the end of the month. We are covering them with frostcloth every night. If you are chomping at the bit, there is still plenty to plant. Favorites like peas, carrots, lettuce, spinach, and beets are good choices. Hardy herbs (no, not basil) can be planted out now. Basil, cucumbers and melons are the last things you will want to put in the ground. Night time temps have to be in the 40s (not 30s), and the soil has to warm up too. Nothing will kill a baby cucumber plant faster than cold, wet soil. Be patient, and you will only have to plant once. Remember, Lake County is notorious for late frosts.
We did not get very cold this winter, evidenced by the many bordered plant beetles running around the ‘lower 40’ here. Feels like insects could be bad this year. It is time to start looking out for aphids and caterpillars, to name a few, and to stock up on yellow sticky traps if you have had problems with those little shiny green beetles destroying your daylilies and phlox. Get those traps out as soon as you see them. Spray for coddling moths when your apples are a dime, nickel, and quarter size. Hanging two coddling moth traps per tree is a good option if you do not want to spray. If you have not wrapped or painted your new trees, you better do so soon. Also, we have beneficial nematodes in stock to attack pupating borers in the ground around your fruit trees. This is a good organic preventative, as I have lost several fruit trees to borers over the years.
Plants put on their fastest annual growth in spring, so it is time to feed your roses, shrubs, perennials, fruit trees, and more this month. This is the most critical feeding of the year and the one you should not skip. Top dressing with manure, worm castings, or Firmulch is one way. Adding EBS Organic All Purpose granular fertilizer is another. Others use Triple 16 in the spring (not organic, but we have it). These fertilizers are slower to break down and last longer than liquids. Some of you prefer liquids. We do not sell Miracle Grow for a variety of reasons, but we do have fish emulsion and other organic liquids you dilute with water, and we sell the granular Maxsea (not organic but a fantastic product) that you dilute in water just like Miracle Grow. When asked what the best fertilizer is, my answer is always ‘the one you will use. ‘ The best fertilizer in the world does no good if it sits on your shelf.
We have one more shipment of plugs to grow in coming next week. These are the lantanas, scaveolas, and sweet potato vines that are the most sensitive to cold. (We have no heat in our greenhouse.) Our hanging baskets are assembled, and we just have to wait for them to grow and flower now. Some of our callies and petunias are blooming but we are waiting for the roots to grow in more before we start putting them out. Lobelias are starting to look nice and full, but we just planted the bacopa. We do have some of these summer favorites brought in from Sonoma County that are out for sale now. Also available now are some long-blooming perennials like gauras, catmints, yarrows, coreopsis, dianthus, and upright tall verbena.
Spring is when many shrubs and trees bloom. We have Quince, Spireas, Viburnum, Forsythia, Camellias, Azaleas, Rhodies, and several varieties of lilacs for you to choose from. Spring-blooming ornamental trees include Plums, Crabapples, Peaches, Tulip Magnolias, Cherries, Dogwood, and Eastern Redbuds.
So what is new? Parking area redo, new pottery, new fairy garden figures, new statuary, new metal birds, new roses, dragon rockers for Year of the Dragon, summer bulbs, and some different seeds like small roses. What’s the same? Huge plant selection in a great setting with knowledgeable staff. What’s old? Tor, the dog, is really having trouble getting around. Just step over him.
Save the date: Sharp Event: Sunday, April 28th.
Ron will be here from 10 to 2, sharpening knives and tools. More details to follow.
April Specials
GreenAll Organic 2 cf Potting Soil – Buy 3, 4th Free
20% Off
- All Lilacs
- Cool-season vegetable starts
- 2-gallon Berries
- Liner pots grapes and figs
