Morning and late afternoon events showcase blooming Horticulture Center
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See what's blooming at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center this Saturday morning
or on the afternoon of Wednesday, May 18. (Photo: Kathy Morrison)
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Weather swings notwithstanding, May is gorgeous at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center. Over the next seven days, the Sacramento County master gardeners offer two opportunities to view the demonstration garden at its spring best.
This Saturday, May 14, the Open Garden will be at the usual time: 9 a.m. to noon. Then on Wednesday, May 18, for the first time FOHC will be open from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m., for visitors coming home from work or school, or folks interested in a pleasant stroll before dinner. At both events, all areas of the one-acre Horticulture Center will be staffed, with master gardeners ready to answer all types of gardening questions.
Expect to see plenty of pollinators in the Water Efficient Landscape area. Master gardeners there are creating a model wildlife habitat garden for a home landscape with plantings, bee and bird houses. In the Orchard, crop thinning will be taking place. Ask about fighting pests such as codling moth!
The Vegetable Garden will have the burgeoning summer crops on view. The Compost Area team will offer tips for success, as well as answer questions on California's new composting law. (That goes into effect in July.) The Berry Area, Herb Garden and Vineyard also will be busy -- it's that time of year!
Water use is of course a big topic for gardeners. Throughout the Horticulture Center, visitors will see ways to use water more wisely with mulch, irrigation techniques and water-efficient landscaping.
The Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, south of Fair Oaks Park and Madison Avenue.
For more information or directions to the Open Garden days, go to https://sacmg.ucanr.edu/ .
-- Kathy Morrison
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Garden Checklist for week of May 12
Get your gardening chores and irrigation done early in the day before temperatures rise.
* Plant, plant, plant! It’s prime planting season in the Sacramento area. Time to set out those tomato transplants along with peppers and eggplants. Pinch off any flowers on new transplants to make them concentrate on establishing roots instead of setting premature fruit.
* Direct-seed melons, cucumbers, summer squash, corn, radishes, pumpkins and annual herbs such as basil.
* Harvest cabbage, lettuce, peas and green onions. This heat will cause leafy greens and onions to flower; pick them before they bolt.
* In the flower garden, direct-seed sunflowers, cosmos, salvia, zinnias, marigolds, celosia and asters.
* Plant dahlia tubers. Other perennials to set out include verbena, coreopsis, coneflower and astilbe.
* Transplant petunias, marigolds and perennial flowers such as astilbe, columbine, coneflowers, coreopsis, dahlias, rudbeckia and verbena.
* Keep an eye out for slugs, snails, earwigs and aphids that want to dine on tender new growth.
* Feed summer bloomers with a balanced fertilizer.
* For continued bloom, cut off spent flowers on roses as well as other flowering plants.
* Got fruit trees? If you haven't already done so, thin orchard fruit such as apples, peaches, pears, pluots and plums before they grow too heavy, breaking branches or even splitting the tree. Leave the largest fruit on the branch, culling the smaller ones, and allow for 5 to 6 inches (or a hand's worth) between each fruit.
* Thin grape bunches, again leaving about 6 inches between them. For the remaining bunches, prune off the "tail" end, about the bottom third of the bunch, so that the plant's energy is concentrated in the fruit closest to the branch.
* As spring-flowering shrubs finish blooming, give them a little pruning to shape them, removing old and dead wood. Lightly trim azaleas, fuchsias and marguerites for bushier plants.
* Add mulch to the garden to help keep that precious water from evaporating. Mulch also cuts down on weeds. But don’t let it mound around the stems or trunks of trees or shrubs. Leave about a 6-inch to 1-foot circle to avoid crown rot or other problems.
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