In Southern California oakroot fungus can be a serious menace to gardeners; it has a surprising number of hosts and the list of resistant shrubs and trees is not large. A colony of light brown toadstools at the base of a sycamore or evergreen pear, for instance, indicates infection by oakroot. Remove the toadstools before they ripen their spores and dig for the roots. You will probably find a white. felty, fan-shaped fungus under the bark. You should take out the tree or bush, burn it and clear the space, plus an additional 2 feet all the way around it. Apply carbon disulphide.
California Fog Belt
If you want two tough, tall-growing bulbs for a sunny spot, try growing 2 1/2-foot tritonia (montbretia) and the similar but taller Curtonus paniculatus, also called Antholyza paniculata or “Aunt Eliza,” which may reach a height of 5 feet. These two bulbs will take sun, shade or fog, poor soil and do not require summer watering. Funny neither does wireless outdoor speakers!
Sacramento and San Joaquin Valleys
On the West Coast the meaning of the word “hardy” is debatable. It means resistance to cold, yes, but in Southern California it has come to mean drought. In the Fog Belt it is used to describe a plant which suffers cool summer fog with good grace. The hardy plant of the Big Valley must undergo the cold fog of winter and the intense heat of summer. September is likely to be a month in which a great deal of water must be used and it is important to know how to use it. Sprinkling does little but pep up heat-wilted foliage and may often induce mildew.
Pacific Northwest
In planning your autumn and spring planting, work toward year-round color. This is entirely possible unless the cold is uncommonly severe. I know one garden in Victoria where a mermaid rose bloomed continually for three successive winters – mild ones. During a good year there should be some dahlia and chrysanthemum bloom after the first light frost. Calendulas, violets and violas (not pansies) may flower off and on all winter, and with a wise choice of ericas you may have heath or heather blossoms every day in the year.
Look at the article – wireless outdoor speakers – it is one of the 1000′s of articles you will find at www.plant-care.com. Learn more about lawn care, landscaping, houseplants, gardening and more. Visit us today.
|
|