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TELCS
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July in the California garden
Just when we think we can spend all our free time at the beach, the summer garden is still thriving and changing on a daily basis. Here's what to do. Please click on the image for more information.
Deadheading
Keep up with spent flowers of the many summer bloomers. This helps to promote new blooms before the season ends. For commercial landscapes with flowers, I advocate an 80% rule for landscapers. When most of the blooms are finished, remove them in their entirety despite perhaps cutting off a few new buds. For many perennials and shrubs, like Erigeron and carpet roses, this wholesale removal encourages new growth and fresh blooms before the end of the season.
Homeowners and residential gardeners, on the other hand, may wish to selectively prune out dead flowers to preserve emerging flower buds.
Whether a public landscape or a private garden, be sure to remove flower stem stubs. Otherwise, they can look unhealthy or even ugly, and they will not produce new growth.
Don't forget, spent flowers contribute to great composts, so make sure you either add them to your green recycling bin, or consider creating a compost program onsite.
Homeowners and residential gardeners, on the other hand, may wish to selectively prune out dead flowers to preserve emerging flower buds.
Whether a public landscape or a private garden, be sure to remove flower stem stubs. Otherwise, they can look unhealthy or even ugly, and they will not produce new growth.
Don't forget, spent flowers contribute to great composts, so make sure you either add them to your green recycling bin, or consider creating a compost program onsite.
Fresh Cut Flowers
Why wait for flowers to die in the garden when they can be enjoyed indoors on a bedside or dining room table? This is the truest reward of gardening, when you can do your dishes while admiring something you grew sitting in the smallest of vases on the windowsill.
No flowers in bloom? Consider bringing in an interesting stem of beautiful leaves. Or maybe it is time to think about adding color to the garden.
Have a gardener? Firstly, learn your plants better than the gardener. You might already have some fabulous bloomers in your garden but the gardener has learned to hedge the shrubs into perfect little balls and boxes. This type of hedging, while easy for maintenance, misses an opportunity to enjoy more blooms. Some plants that are commonly hedged and shouldn't be are Abelia, Azalea, and Hibiscus.
No flowers in bloom? Consider bringing in an interesting stem of beautiful leaves. Or maybe it is time to think about adding color to the garden.
Have a gardener? Firstly, learn your plants better than the gardener. You might already have some fabulous bloomers in your garden but the gardener has learned to hedge the shrubs into perfect little balls and boxes. This type of hedging, while easy for maintenance, misses an opportunity to enjoy more blooms. Some plants that are commonly hedged and shouldn't be are Abelia, Azalea, and Hibiscus.
I'm Leaking!
Go through every valve station and test their function. Drip irrigation will often make a hissing sound when there's a leak, easy to find and fix.
Spray heads are damaged by lawnmowers or even lose their alignment causing gushes or pavement overspray respectively.
There are numerous reasons why irrigation should be tested throughout the summer months. The top three are:
1) Californians are in a drought that will likely not be going away in any significant time frame. For property owners, landscapes can lead water consumption over any indoor use, so why waste it on leaks and breaks?
2) Over the summer months, wildlife can munch on exposed drip lines, simply because they're thirsty. If this is a routine problem, then make sure the drip lines are covered by soil and/or mulch, and consider adding a small water source for critters.
3) Leaks and breaks mean plants are not receiving their optimal water when they need it the most. Repairs support healthy growth and sustainability at this critical time.
If you are a commercial property manager, reach out to your landscape company and verify they test your company's systems. Professional landscape services will often provide testing, auditing, and reporting on irrigation systems, but you might have to demand it on a regular basis. Usually quarterly or monthly reports are sufficient.
Finally, if your garden or landscape has a rain garden or other green stormwater infrastructure, know that maintaining the irrigation is critical over the summer months when the soil can be especially dry. Plants will dry out within days of a broken irrigation line or valve malfunction.
Spray heads are damaged by lawnmowers or even lose their alignment causing gushes or pavement overspray respectively.
There are numerous reasons why irrigation should be tested throughout the summer months. The top three are:
1) Californians are in a drought that will likely not be going away in any significant time frame. For property owners, landscapes can lead water consumption over any indoor use, so why waste it on leaks and breaks?
2) Over the summer months, wildlife can munch on exposed drip lines, simply because they're thirsty. If this is a routine problem, then make sure the drip lines are covered by soil and/or mulch, and consider adding a small water source for critters.
3) Leaks and breaks mean plants are not receiving their optimal water when they need it the most. Repairs support healthy growth and sustainability at this critical time.
If you are a commercial property manager, reach out to your landscape company and verify they test your company's systems. Professional landscape services will often provide testing, auditing, and reporting on irrigation systems, but you might have to demand it on a regular basis. Usually quarterly or monthly reports are sufficient.
Finally, if your garden or landscape has a rain garden or other green stormwater infrastructure, know that maintaining the irrigation is critical over the summer months when the soil can be especially dry. Plants will dry out within days of a broken irrigation line or valve malfunction.
Hot Cobble Mulch
There are too few reasons to use cobble as mulch, so if your landscape has some stone piles or cobbles under trees and plants, reconsider their value. Cobble will heat up during most times of the year making the underlying soil uninhabitable by beneficial insects, invertebrates, and even plant root systems. If you are at all concerned about the environment, rock mulch is not contributing to your efforts.
Instead, use either well-composted mulch or wood mulch (try to avoid mulches made from construction materials that might have questionable chemicals).
During these hot summer months, a good organic mulch provides a buffer to heat as well has help soil retain moisture. This is the time to replenish where soils are exposed. Over the wetter months, mulch will decompose and return nutrients back to the soil in support of positive plant growth.
Instead, use either well-composted mulch or wood mulch (try to avoid mulches made from construction materials that might have questionable chemicals).
During these hot summer months, a good organic mulch provides a buffer to heat as well has help soil retain moisture. This is the time to replenish where soils are exposed. Over the wetter months, mulch will decompose and return nutrients back to the soil in support of positive plant growth.
Spray Misty for Me
Spray irrigation has its benefits for broadcasting even moisture over larger surfaces like lawns or other ground covers, but it has its challenges. To keep it operating at its peak during this time of year, test the system. Lawnmowers and even pedestrians can break spray heads, so when the irrigation is running, water might be gushing at a time when you are not seeing it operate. If you wait to notice, water was already lost. Conversely, spray heads can easily become clogged and operate poorly. For lawns, this could mean dry areas that will eventually turn brown, another too late to the game time for noticing a needed repair.
For homeowners, it might mean you or your gardener will need to run the irrigation clock and observe the spray patterns to see if there are any problems. For commercial properties, check if your landscape maintenance company performs routine irrigation checks. Ideally, their contract services requires monthly or quarterly system tests and repairs, but sometimes commercial property managers might bring in water auditors to test the system's efficiency. Ideally, this level of service would happen before its needed, so make sure and check irrigation operations now. This is something that should occur annually in the spring.
For homeowners, it might mean you or your gardener will need to run the irrigation clock and observe the spray patterns to see if there are any problems. For commercial properties, check if your landscape maintenance company performs routine irrigation checks. Ideally, their contract services requires monthly or quarterly system tests and repairs, but sometimes commercial property managers might bring in water auditors to test the system's efficiency. Ideally, this level of service would happen before its needed, so make sure and check irrigation operations now. This is something that should occur annually in the spring.
Disease: Small Pot
A former neighbor who had a wonderous amount of potted plants said they were all suffering from the same disease: Small Pot. It's a common affliction, where cute little nursery plants rarely find their way into larger pots. As they become pot bound or root bound, they need more and more water until one day they just give up. Some plants are more tolerant of years and years in the same pot without root pruning or soil refreshing, but those plants are not common.
Summer is the time to first and foremost water potted plants deeply and thoroughly, to the point where water runs out of the bottom drain hole. If your outdoor pots do not have drain holes, well, that's another problem.
As mentioned, small pots mean more frequent watering, and summer is the time to replant into larger pots...maybe even combining plants in larger pots. The larger the pot the less frequency of watering. Of course, plant selection has a lot to do with this. Herbaceous perennials may need copious amounts of water, whereas cacti and succulents will need much less.
To clarify, cacti and succulents still need water when potted! They are not in their natural habitat, so watering is a necessity. How much they're watered is the critical question that depends on expectations, pot size, sun exposure, plant size, and plant species. It takes practice, but all potted plants can be a joy with the right care and watering schedule.
Summer is the time to first and foremost water potted plants deeply and thoroughly, to the point where water runs out of the bottom drain hole. If your outdoor pots do not have drain holes, well, that's another problem.
As mentioned, small pots mean more frequent watering, and summer is the time to replant into larger pots...maybe even combining plants in larger pots. The larger the pot the less frequency of watering. Of course, plant selection has a lot to do with this. Herbaceous perennials may need copious amounts of water, whereas cacti and succulents will need much less.
To clarify, cacti and succulents still need water when potted! They are not in their natural habitat, so watering is a necessity. How much they're watered is the critical question that depends on expectations, pot size, sun exposure, plant size, and plant species. It takes practice, but all potted plants can be a joy with the right care and watering schedule.
It Burns!
Wood mulch is beneficial to plants during this time of year. It helps to retain moisture, a critical issue during drought. But there are viable concerns for people living within the suburban/rural transitional zones. Mulch can burn.
The short answer is to use composted mulch close to the home. Composted mulch might smoke and cause a fire, but less likely to create outright flames like other wood chips or rubber mulches. Further, if the mulch has overhead spray irrigation or is regularly turned over into the soil, its likelihood of igniting is even less so.
There are other design practices that will reduce fire hazards, such as decomposed granite and avoiding plants within 5' of the house. Pavement helps, too, but I'm not much for advocating concrete surrounding a house. There are better options. So think about what is important to you from safety and aesthetic points of view, and decide if you need additional help from a designer, contractor, or even a fire department that can understand the risk. In the meantime, make sure your plants are well hydrated and mulched during the summer season.
The short answer is to use composted mulch close to the home. Composted mulch might smoke and cause a fire, but less likely to create outright flames like other wood chips or rubber mulches. Further, if the mulch has overhead spray irrigation or is regularly turned over into the soil, its likelihood of igniting is even less so.
There are other design practices that will reduce fire hazards, such as decomposed granite and avoiding plants within 5' of the house. Pavement helps, too, but I'm not much for advocating concrete surrounding a house. There are better options. So think about what is important to you from safety and aesthetic points of view, and decide if you need additional help from a designer, contractor, or even a fire department that can understand the risk. In the meantime, make sure your plants are well hydrated and mulched during the summer season.
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