Get advice from local experts; see how they tackle spring tasks
Native Douglas irises -- as well as the 'Canyon Snow' cultivar irises -- are in bloom at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center this week, which also happens to be California Native Plant Week. Kathy Morrison
Spring stirs thoughts of gardening – and lots of questions. Here’s your chance to get expert advice from Sacramento County master gardeners during a (hopefully) sunny midweek morning.
From 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 17, the master gardeners will host an Open Garden event at Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park – rain or shine. Admission and parking are free.
See the latest renovations and additions to this growing resource. Watch master gardeners as they tend to spring tasks and prepare for summer planting and rapid growth.
“For gardeners, there is no better time than spring to get inspired and tap into some practical and scientific know-how,” say the organizers. “Join Sacramento’s UC Master Gardeners to view new and established plantings and get locally relevant answers to your gardening questions.”
Master gardeners will be available to answer questions. Bring photos and samples of pests and/or problem plants, if desired (in zippered plastic bags). Got a garden mystery? These garden detectives are ready to help.
Stroll around the Hort Center and see what the master gardeners are busy doing this week. Ask questions! They love to talk gardening.
Some areas of interest:
BERRIES: Loganberries and ‘Baby Cakes’ raspberries are joining the berry garden. See how the various blueberry plants are doing.
HERBS: International culinary herb beds are making room for new annuals. Sniff the scented pelargoniums and the various lavenders. View edible flowers such as calendula and Johnny jump-ups.
VEGETABLES: Beds are being cleared of cover crops and revitalized with compost and fertilizer. As the soil warms, All-America Selections of tomatoes, flowers and vegetables will be planted.
ORCHARD: As the citrus harvest concludes, trees are being fertilized and pruned. Other sections of the orchard are being prepared for new trees including some in containers.
WATER-EFFICIENT LANDSCAPE: Subtropical varieties are being tried the Sacramento area in anticipation of climate change.
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, south of the Fair Oaks Library.
Details and directions: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu.
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Garden Checklist for week of Nov. 3
November still offers good weather for fall planting:
* If you haven't already, it's time to clean up the remains of summer. Pull faded annuals and vegetables. Prune dead or broken branches from trees.
* Now is the best time to plant most trees and shrubs. This gives them plenty of time for root development before spring growth. They also benefit from fall and winter rains.
* Set out cool-weather annuals such as pansies and snapdragons.
* Lettuce, cabbage and broccoli also can be planted now.
* Plant garlic and onions.
* Keep planting bulbs to spread out your spring bloom. Some possible suggestions: daffodils, crocuses, hyacinths, tulips, anemones and scillas.
* This is also a good time to seed wildflowers and plant such spring bloomers as sweet pea, sweet alyssum and bachelor buttons.
* Rake and compost leaves, but dispose of any diseased plant material. For example, if peach and nectarine trees showed signs of leaf curl this year, clean up under trees and dispose of those leaves instead of composting.
* Save dry stalks and seedpods from poppies and coneflowers for fall bouquets and holiday decorating.
* For holiday blooms indoors, plant paperwhite narcissus bulbs now. Fill a shallow bowl or dish with 2 inches of rocks or pebbles. Place bulbs in the dish with the root end nestled in the rocks. Add water until it just touches the bottom of the bulbs. Place the dish in a sunny window. Add water as needed.
* Give your azaleas, gardenias and camellias a boost with chelated iron.
* For larger blooms, pinch off some camellia buds.
* Prune non-flowering trees and shrubs while dormant.
* To help prevent leaf curl, apply a copper fungicide spray to peach and nectarine trees after they lose their leaves this month. Leaf curl, which shows up in the spring, is caused by a fungus that winters as spores on the limbs and around the tree in fallen leaves. Sprays are most effective now.
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