Question from Forrest:

Btw, if you know anywhere I might be able to buy or try such winter squash, I’d love to know-especially Marina di Chioggia or any of the Aussie Blues!

Answer from Pat:
Thanks for your kind words. There is a catalogue for heirloom vegetables including many squashes—Baker Creek Heirloom Seeds http://rareseeds.com/ They carry Marina di Chiogga. Send for a copy of their wonderful catalogue. You will be able to find Marina di Chiogga, Australian Butter (though not blue) and dozens of other exciting heirloom varieties with extraordinary shapes and colors. The photographs are a delight. In Rancho Santa Fe a friend of mine grows the handsome and delicious Musquee de Provence but I am not sure if the weather is warm enough on Mango Drive to get a good harvest. It’s worth a try however. Bees are very important for pollination. Be sure to watch my video on that.

Winter squash grow wonderfully well in Del Mar. I have often grown them myself. But you cannot grow winter squash in the winter. Despite their name, all winter squash varieties are summer vegetables. Not simply a summer vegetable either, but a vegetable that needs to be planted when the weather has gotten somewhat warm and then it must have a long warm season with lots of sunshine in order to thrive. The variety I grew in Del Mar with great success was “Sweet Mama” I tried some other varieties but this one did the best and gave me the largest harvest of good flavorful squashes. It was an All America variety and these are pretty easy. But those old European varieties taste the best and are far more handsome and exciting to grow. Most of them need a long hot summer. Maybe where you live a bit back from the beach, and with more sunshine up on the mesa you will have greater success than I did.

The reason that winter squash bears that name is not because it grows in winter but because it keeps through the winter. People used to harvest these squashes in fall and them store them in root cellars and eat them all winter. Plant winter squash in well prepared soil in April in full sun. All summer vegetables need full sun and correct spacing. Winter squashes grow on big vines and need plenty of room. Follow package directions. Water deeply and not too frequently and you should have good success. March is the first month in which to plant summer vegetables but too early for planting winter squash.

Related posts:

1. Winter Squash
2. Heirloom Tomatoes
3. Problems Growing Squash in Containers

My question is about Agonis flexuosa. I’ve planted three of the ‘After Dark’ dark foliaged trees in full sun (Sunset 23) from 3 gallon containers. They are now about 12′ tall.

They’re becoming beautiful small trees, but so far are slim and lanky. Do they require any corrective pruning in their youth? Can I tip back for greater bushiness? So far I’ve done nothing to them but let them grow. Thank you!

Answer from Pat:
I have seen Agonis flexuosa ‘Jervis Bay After Dark’ in nursery cans and display gardens at the county fair and elsewhere. Monrovia Nursery website has a very pretty photo of one growing in a raised bed with wide foliage and looks like a skinny trunk. I have seen other photos that make it look like more of a shrub than a tree. Monrovia says you have to water deeply and often the first year to develop a large root system. After that it’s drought resistant. They also say it’s slow growing to 15 or 25 feet and 10 to 15 feet wide. I have yet to see a full grown one and I have wondered if it is mainly a screen plant or novelty item. But my guess is that only time will tell how well this tree grows in California long term. Meanwhile I would leave the lower branches on as long as possible to encourage the trunk to grow strong. Also don’t stake too tightly. Let it sway in the wind to grow a strong trunk. Also, yes I would pinch back the sides, especially the lower branches take off a foot at least to encourage strength and branching, and do not cut back the top leader or you will dwarf it and make it grow wide instead of tall. Follow the usual guidelines for developing a good branch structure in trees.

Related posts:

1. How Far to Plant Peppermint willow (Agonis) and Australian willow (Geijera parvifolia) from walls and paving
2. Colorful Very Low Shrubs And Trees For Banks
3. Newly Purchased Lime Tree

Question from Heather:

Answer from Pat: Prune lavendar as soon as the main blossom season has finished. Lavendar needs full sun. Otherwise it will grow towards the light and become uneven. Prune it after bloom by shearing the plant all over removing all the blooms and at least an inch or two of foliage. Don’t cut it back into bare wood, however. Only shear away of some of the gray green foliage and all of the blossoms. Some lavenders bloom mostly in spring, others in summer, some year round and others twice a year. The year round one’s are best sheared following spring bloom and again lightly in fall. Strive for a nice smooth rounded shape. By shearing lavender this way after bloom you can keep it more compact and help it to live longer. If growing in very poor soil, fertilize lightly after shearing with a balanced organic fertilizer and follow up with irrigation.

Related posts:

1. Pruning New Zealand Christmas tree close to a swimming pool
2. Pruning Sweetshade, Hawaiian Wedding Tree (Hymenosporum flavum)
3. Pruning of Ground Morning Glory (Convolvulus)

Question from Candace and Cyrus:

Answer from Pat:
One of the most pressing current needs of gardeners is a drought- and-wear-resistant ground cover to take the place of a lawn, especially for people who have dogs or children who love to run and play and can wear out many kinds of ground covers. My suggestions are these: First a bermudagrass lawn such as ‘Santa Ana’ or ‘Tifgreen’ is grass but it is very drought-resistant and will stay green along the coast even in winter and will take no more water than gazanias. In a drought it will pull in its horns and go brown but it will not die. It is far better to water it longer once a week than more shallowly and for less long three times a week as some cities now mistakenly legislate.

Secondly I suggest planting creeping white yarrow or woolly yarrow (Achillea tomentosa) as a lawn. Plant seeds in fall and keep the ground damp until they are germinated. It will take a little time to become established but it will eventually make a ferny green mat that is very pleasant to walk on and very durable. The flowers are a bonus and can be taken off after blooms fade with a weed-wacker.

Thirdly I suggest Lippia (Phyla nodiflora). It is a drought-resistant, low groundcover that takes foot traffic, but it does bear pink flowers in June that bring bees. You can mow them off in June with a lawn mower in order that your dog’s paws won’t get bitten. (Bees in the garden don’t bite except when you accidentally step on one or grasp one by mistake. Bees do protect and guard their hives, however, but having a lawn that attracts bees won’t cause bees to make a hive in your garden.)

Related posts:

1. Creeping Yarrow (Achillea millefolium) for Lawn
2. Drought-Resistant Gardening
3. Variegated Carmel creeper (Ceanothus griseus horizontalis ‘Diamond Heights’ as lawn substitute

Answer from Pat:
Pelargonium violareum is native to rocky hillsides in South Africa, tends to grow rangy and blooms mainly in spring.

Even if there is a flower on every tip, pinch back the tips of the plant progressively to make it branch. Otherwise the branches will become lengthy and lean on the ground and stems will be bare of foliage. This plant prefers well-drained soil with neutral pH. Water enough so water flows out the bottom of the pot. This plant does not do very well on drip system, but can be done if managed properly. (Experiment but don’t allow it to have wet feet or it will die.) Needs full sun and responds to weak solution of balanced liquid fertilizer once or twice a month. Good air circulation is beneficial.

P.S. To propagate Pelargonium violareum from cuttings, cut off a growing tip approximately 5 inches long, or of a length appropriate for your needs, remove the lower leaves, if any exist, and stick the cutting into a pot filled with well-drained potting soil. Plants take off much quicker if you root them directly into the potting soil you intend to grow them in than if you root in sand. If you wish roots to grow more rapidly, dip the cuttings into Clonex® or Rootone F® or a solution of Dip’N'Grow® (diluted according to package directions), or similar rooting concentrate prior to planting.

When using powders, such as Rootone®, after dipping the cutting into the powder always knock the excess powder off the cutting back into the package before planting the cutting. Then use a chop stick to make a hole in the potting mix before inserting the cutting, and then close up the potting mix around the cutting with your fingers. This keeps the powder from being wiped off the cutting as you plant it. In mild climates, just stick the cuttings into the ground. They root quite easily.

Related posts:

1. How to Graft a Podocarpus or Grow One from Cuttings
2. Growing Plants in Containers: Dealing with Spent Soil
3. Ivy Geraniums (Pelargonium peltatum)

Answer from Pat:
There is no such plant as “Cape Cod honeysuckle.” Perhaps you are referring to a subtropical plant called Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis.) The word “Cape” in this common name refers to the Cape of Good Hope in Africa, where this plant is native, not to Cape Cod where it would freeze and die in winter. Cape honeysuckle has orange or yellow tubelike flowers and is a rangy shrub or climber. Since you had the wrong common name, there is a chance that you are referring to a different plant altogether. Therefore, for your own protection please look up the botanical name “Tecoma capensis” on the Internet. Find a photo of Tecoma capensis, and make sure this is the plant to which you are referring.

If Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) is the plant you mean, then I can answer that Cape honeysuckle (Tecoma capensis) is not poisonous and does not harm birds nesting in it or eating it. Indeed, birds eat it in Africa and some birds there live on its nectar. In Southern California, where I live, many birds frequent Cape honeysuckle and hummingbirds are attracted to the flowers for their nectar, without any harm to the hummingbirds.

It is important to determine a plant’s correct botanical name when trying to look it up in a book or on the Internet especially when you want to find such important information such as whether it is poisonous. For example, a relative of the plant mentioned above is yellow trumpet bush (Tecoma stans.) This plant is poisonous, yet bees are attracted to it. The bees are not killed by Tecoma stans, but the honey that comes from it is poisonous. Animals can also eat yellow trumpet bush (Tecoma stans) and it does not harm them.

Related posts:

1. Potted Cape Honeysuckle Patio Tree
2. Container-grown Cape Honeysuckle with Wet Feet
3. Honeysuckle Dying

Answer from Pat:
Wow! This sounds dangerous and right before the rains. Luckily, however, the rains this year are not supposed to be so strong as last year. I don’t live anywhere near you, and thus I cannot recommend anyone to help you, but I have several suggestions regarding what to do. I would make a list of local nurseries and phone each of them to ask if they have heard of similar problems and solutions in your area and for companies doing bank stabilization and also look online. I would do the same for landscapers. Spend a day on the phone and phone a bunch of them and ask if they have handled similar problems.In Rolling Hills and Palos Verdes Estates there is an on-going problem with erosion therefore I would think that inquiring locally might be a help towards getting knowledgeable attention to detail and fast work prior to the rains. I would also ask South Coast Botanic Gardens if they have any advice. Here is a newspaper story regarding the recent landslide in Portuguese Bend: http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/ci_16074876

Beginning in spring, you could have planted something that might have held up that bank but planting should have been done much sooner than this. It is too late now. I have seen huge banks covered with plastic to get them through the rains, but the top of the plastic must be secured into the ground so that water does not course under the plastic. Additionally, covering a bank this way leads to strong water runoff at the bottom, but sometimes it’s the only solution to get a steep bank safely through the winter rains. You will need to find a local company to do this work. Sometimes builders and roofers are helpful with such a situation since they also have to deal with getting areas covered before the rains. Once you get through the rains then you would have time to plant appropriately. When you tell me that the plants all died on the bank, this gives me a clue that they were not watered enough to keep them alive during the summer months. Getting a bank of fresh plant material to take off and grow requires an appropriate drip system properly maintained and timed or else careful light watering by hand with the hose and sprinkler several times a week to make sure the irrigation sinks in and does not just run off or merely moisten the surface. Sometimes people think if native plants were used they need no water, but all need water at first to allow them to become established. You don’t mention what plants were used. If they were summer-deciduous native plants they may not be dead but simply dormant in summer when there is no rain.

A solution that might help now would be to install a concrete revetment product. This means an articulated concrete block bank stabilization system. There are many types on the market. Nurseries are one place to go and local landscapers undoubtedly are familiar with these systems. Geoweb Cellular Confinement System is one such name. I would think there must be a company in the Palos Verdes area who does this work using whatever products they find appropriate. Purchase and installation would cost thousands of dollars and also requires correct hydraulic systems analysis in advance to make sure it will work and be sure you get the right type for the slope. There is even one type of plantable concrete block available for almost vertical and vertical installations. We have several of these walls next to roads where I live. Once installed they can be planted with appropriate plant materials to additionally hold the bank. Lowes Stores and Dixieline and local concrete block companies all sell products such as Keystone Retaining Wall units that are made to hold banks and you can grow plants in the spaces provided by these blocks. Lumber yards, concrete block companies, and other such places can suggest companies to do the installations. If a slope is adequate that the blocks lean their weight onto the bank, weed fabrics installed behind the blocks can stop invasive weeds and help stabilize through winter rains. Cut X holes through when planting so roots can go through into the ground.

I have also seen whole banks sprayed with Gunite (sprayed-on concrete) such as the kind used for swimming pools. An entire bank below a house and deck and above a swimming pool was sprayed with Gunite on a steep hillside near my home. This can be an inexpensive and suitable solution, though not a beautiful one. Another spray protection for stabilization of earth is a polyurethane coating made by a company called SPI. Several companies manufacture ornamental rock walls to retain slopes. One product for this purpose is called Shotcrete. Matrix is a company that does this kind of work.

Fifty-four years ago when my late husband and I first moved into our home, I once faced a problem of similar magnitude right here on my own property. My husband’s step-father was John Lloyd Wright, the son of Frank Lloyd Wright. Like his famous father, John was also an architect, and he designed our home which was built into a hillside where there had previously been a steep bank. John ordered that the site of the foundations of our house be bulldozed out of the hillside and all the earth pushed westward towards the ocean to make a patio surrounded by an earth berm, 3 feet tall on the inside but approximately 30 feet tall on the outside with a steep grade. We stabilized the inside of this berm with large rocks. During the summer I personally planted iceplant or hotentot fig (Carpobrotus edulis) all over the exterior slope of the earth berm. I climbed up there by laying a tall ladder onto the ground and moving it along as I worked. Carprobrotus is not favored today since its seeds can invade wild lands especially near the ocean. Also, it is said to pull down steep banks. However it never pulled down my bank. I watered carefully with the hose several times a week until the roots struck into the ground and held the bank. After the rains came it held the bank perfectly. By spring it covered the bank. I never again watered it and it never was a problem.

Related posts:

1. Plant to Prevent Erosion on a Steep Hillside
2. Correcting Erosion on a Steep Bank in Encino
3. Native Plants for Erosion Control on Steep Banks

I live in zone 10, Long Beach, CA.  I have a sunny backyard that has 2 citrus trees: a lemon tree that became wonderfully productive once I did a major pruning a few years ago, and a Valencia orange that produces sweet fruit with surprisingly few seeds.  We pull fruit from both trees all the time.  We have room for 1 or 2 more trees, and would love a lime tree.  Do you recommend any particular variety?  And do lime trees have to be planted at any particular time?

Also, are there any other fruit trees that should do well where we live?  I’m hoping you are going to tell me that there is some magical new peach tree variety that thrives in zone 10!

Answer from Pat:
Glad to know that my book is helping. What a delight to have two good citrus trees. I strongly recommend Bearss Lime as the best lime tree for home gardens in California and Hawaii. It needs a frost free zone. Leave fruit on the tree until very ripe and they will be loaded with juice. You might be able to find one on a dwarfing root stock. If not a dwarf it’s quite a large tree eventually to 20 feet tall, and with much foliage in summer. In winter it drops many leaves.

Regarding peaches, why not consider peach and nectarine both? I don’t recommend either one unless people know their requirements and are committed to prune harder in winter than for other deciduous fruit trees and to treat with dormant spray at least twice in winter against peach leaf curl disease and other diseases and pests. Prune while the tree is dormant after leaves fall and then spray more than once in winter. Even organic gardeners should use dormant sprays on peach trees after leaves fall.

Now for peach varieties. Actually, there are several good, low chill varieties available for where you live—probably Zone 24 (the Sunset climate zone closest to the ocean). You mention Zone 10, but that is a USDA zone and it covers a huge area, even some parts of Zone 10 are in the desert which is pretty silly when one considers you can’t grow a fuchsia in the desert and you can’t grow tomatoes there, either, in the summer since the heat makes blossoms fall off. The Sunset Zones cover smaller areas and work much better in the West. If you are not familiar with Sunset Western Garden Book, you might consider purchasing a copy. The opening pages explain the zones including Zone 24 or possibly 23 where you live. Zone 24 is in the fog bank along the beach. Zone 23 is a bit back from that. Sunset Western Garden Book and my book are all one needs to garden here successfully. Peach and nectarine varieties are listed on pages 517 to 520 of the Sunset book. A discussion of peaches in general is on page 516.

Two of the best low-chill peach varieties are ‘Floridaprince’ and ‘Midpride’. I would like to warn you against buying ‘Bonita’. This is the low-chill variety that is most often available in nurseries since it was the first low-chill varieties developed. In my opinion it’s not worth growing, so please steel yourself and don’t let anybody talk you into buying it!

Among nectarines, I suggest ‘Panamint’ nectarine. Everyone to whom I have recommended that tree loves it. The fruit has bright red skin and yellow flesh. It is one of the best home-grown fruits I know of and fairly easy to grow. Another good nectarine for home gardens close to the coast is ‘Arctic Star’, which has white flesh. In bare root season go looking at a fine nursery for these specific varieties. Don’t take second best! Nurseries will often try to talk you into what they have on hand. Panamint nectarine is easy to find, however, and it’s a real winner! Very productive too. Don’t forget to fertilize when blossoms swell in spring, and also thin the fruit. See my other posts on this blog on the subject of peach trees and deciduous fruit trees.

Apricot trees along the coast are iffy most years. (This year, 2010 was unusual and the ‘Blenheim’ apricot tree across the street from me bore massively this year due to cold nights.) In normal conditions, however, ‘Autumn Royal’ apricot variety is the only apricot tree that will reliably bear fruit every year in Zone 24. Be sure to wait until fall to pick the fruit. (This apricot bears fruit in fall not in spring.) Prune apricots lightly in winter, and follow up with dormant spray several times in winter.  Fertilize lightly when blossoms swell.

When knowledgeable folks go out to look for the right things to grow they often find it’s difficult. I suggest internet searches—all the fruit varieties I’ve mentioned can be found on the internet. And good local nurseries are willing to order the best varieties for folks that demand the correct plants. Stick to your guns and don’t get second best.

Related posts:

1. Preventing Sap From Oozing from Peach and Nectarine Fruit
2. How the Weather Can Make a Barren Peach Tree Bear Fruit
3. Fruit Trees in Southern California

Question from Tracey:

Answer from Pat:
A few native plants can be grown in containers, such as grasses. Mexican feather grass (Nassella tennuissima), for example, native to Texas, New Mexico, and Mexico, is one of the most drought-resistant of ornamental grasses often seen mixed with other plants in containers. But in my opinion if you are looking for the most satisfying theme of drought-resistant plants for patio containers, your answer is succulents, and if you like them, also cacti. Two years ago I emptied out all my patio pots, rearranged them in attractive groups of various sizes and shapes, put broken crockery over all their drainage holes, filled them with ordinary potting soil (since it retains moisture so I would not need to water as often), and filled all these patio pots with drought-resistant succulents. I already had some of the plants growing in other parts of my garden. I purchased others at plant shows, botanical gardens, nurseries, and even at my local farmers’ market. With the help of a friend, I carefully arranged the plants to please my eye, playing the various textures and colors and shapes against each other. Then I continued to do the same thing with other potted arrangements here and there throughout my garden.

Few garden projects have given me as much pleasure as has this one or produced such delightful results. Also, once the weather cooled down in fall I stopped watering these pots altogether and told my gardener not to water them. It is now April and we still have not resumed watering. In return for no care other than picking out the occasional snail, the colors, flowers, and burgeoning growth has given us an ever-changing and totally glorious display. In summer I water once a week, if that. Though I have a gardener who comes to my garden once a week, I could go away for a week or a month at any time of year even if no one were caring for my plants, and I know these tough little performers would still be there when I got back. For ideas, see Debra Lee Baldwin’s new book “Succulent Container Gardens.”

Many of these plants can also be grown in hanging baskets. One of my long-time favorites is donkey tail (Sedum morganianum). These thrive in semi-shade, for example hanging from tree branches, as do orchid cacti (Epiphyllums). If you feed epi’s in accordance with the month-by-month instructions in my book, these flowering cacti will also reward you with a spectacular display of blooms in May of many different colors according to variety. Some have iridescent blooms, others are fragrant at night and attract sphinx moths.

Related posts:

1. Drought-Resistant Gardening
2. The Finest Patio Plants: How To Select, Grow, And Arrange
3. How Gardens Change as We Grow Older

Question from Dee:

Answer from Pat:
Most herbs are easy to grow but variegated thyme is a little less long-lived than common thyme (Thymus vulgarus.) If you live in a very hot place your herbs would appreciate light shade rather than full sun. Thyme likes deep, light, well-drained soil, it doesn’t grow well in heavy clay. If you have clay soil, amend it well with organics before planting. Thyme prefers deep watering so that it dries out between irrigations, but I find that creeping types of thyme need more water and moister soil than most people think.
Growing creeping thymes between stepping stones is one of the best ways, keeping roots cool, moist but not overwatered. Almost any type of thyme grows best next to a rock that it can nestle its roots under. In sun that bakes as long as your query suggests, a nice big, cool rock nestled into the ground next to the plant would do wonders. Clip the plant back as it grows. This will make it put out fresh growth and stay bushy. Yes, you can grow thyme in pots filled with a good quality of potting soil, but choose one large enough for roots. About one foot across should do the trick.

True French tarragon (Artemisia dracunculus) needs somewhat richer soil than thyme but prefers it to be well-drained. It can even take some fertilizer to keep it growing. Yes, this plant also can be grown with a little shade and does well in pots. I have had luck growing it in the garden and also pots. If you have the real French tarragon, it tastes good in cooking and clip it back to keep it branching and growing. Mexican tarragon (Tagetes lucida) lacks the real taste of tarragon. It doesn’t taste as good. All tarragon dies to the ground in winter. In mild zones it usually rots and doesn’t come back the following year. With as much heat as evidently your plants have had, it might have suffered from root rot. I think both your plants might have been victims of heat. Rock gardens are ideal for growing herbs.

Since you are new to gardening, please don’t become discouraged, but try to keep you spirits up. All of us have failures sometimes and some plants die no matter what. So keep on trying, experimenting, and learning by experience. New gardeners often fail to do proper soil improvement prior to planting and sometimes they either over or under water plants, and over or under fertilize them. Eventually you will get the hang of the whole subject and have success.

Related posts:

1. French Marigolds Work Against Nematodes