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Our Garden Guru answers the following gardening questions for September:
1. What do I grow in my container garden during the winter months?
2. Help getting gophers away from plants
3. Salt breeze tolerant plants
4. Caring for a Dracena that a neighbor left behind
5. Crepe myrtle is no longer flowering
6. How often to fertilize potted bougainvillea?
7. Need recommendation for a flowering tree that offers privacy
8. Can I grow different types of moss as a desktop plant?
9. Adding colorful shrubs to the front on an SF apartment building
QUESTION 1
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
I'm from the midwest, where the winter snow prevents people from growing year round. Now that I'm in San Francisco, I have no idea what to grow in my container garden in the winter months. Any suggestions for what do on my patio from October-March would be most helpful to this midwest gardener!
- Courtney in San Francisco
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A: Dear Courtney,
You are in for a treat because the fall/early spring gardens are fun. Annuals that are available in September are stock, pansy and viola, snapdragons, paludosum daisy, and Iceland poppy. The snapdragons and poppy will look there best in early spring but are best established in the fall. The others will give you color even in the winter months. Arriving in October are primrose, ornamental cabbage and kale, and Cyclamen.
If you want to grow some edibles, lettuces, peas, broccoli, kale, Brussels's sprouts and chard are available as starts, or you can start from seed. Best from seed are onions, carrots, beets and other root vegetables. Herbs such as parsley, thyme, sage and rosemary can be planted. Of course, our full selection of spring flowering bulbs are available in September. Bulbs over planted with violas work very nicely in pots. October is also the best time to plant sweet peas, foxglove, and California poppy. There are also fall garden mums! There's a reason this is such a popular state.
QUESTION 2
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
What plants will gophers not be so interested in? I feel as though I am living in the movie Caddyshack. Help!
- Jill in San Bruno
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A: Dear Jill,
Plants that tend to be deer resistant also have less appeal to gophers. Click HERE for a plant list. Keep in mind that nothing is Gopher "proof" and you may want to plant material in Gopher Cages or use some deterrents as well. Here is a link to some common questions regarding gophers: http://www.sloatgardens.com/gophers.htm
QUESTION 3
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
1) Which ferns are tolerant to salt breeze, and 2) Can Dendrobium Orchids withstand salt breeze ?
- Rodney in Margao, Goa, India
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A: Dear Rodney,
There are some ferns that withstand coastal conditions. Polystichum munitum (Western sword fern), Crytomium falcatum (Holly fern), Asparagus sprengerii (not a true fern), Dryopteris felix-mas (Male fern), Adiantum hispidulum (Rosy Maidenhair), and the Australian Tree fern will tolerate salt wind.
As for the Dendrobium, I am not certain if species other than Dendrobium nobile will tolerate salt breeze.
QUESTION 4
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
My neighbor moved this weekend leaving me on my porch a huge over 7 foot tall 'corn plant'. It is beautiful and perfect but way too big for my house. He knew I would take care of it somehow but I am at a loss as to how. I have a huge back yard with some sun, some shade, lots of sun in spots etc. Can it be planted outside? If so in what area?
- Lynn
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A: Dear Lynn,
Corn Plants (Dracena) are truly tropical in origin, therefore cannot take our cold winters. However, knowing that you are in San Francisco where the winters are mild, it might survive outside as long as it was protected from the wind and covered during the rare cold snap. It should be kept out of the direct sunlight, though a little early morning sun would be fine.
If you want to bring it indoors, it can be pruned by just cutting off the main stem at the height you want it to sprout at. It will be naked for quite a while but should send out two to three new shoots. As with all plants in the house or garden, feeding monthly will be appreciated by the plant. I recommend Maxsea All Purpose Fertilizer.
QUESTION 5
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
My crepe myrtle is no longer flowering. The tree is robust, healthy good structure, but a few years back the flowering tapered off, this year no flowers. Any thoughts?
- Karen in San Rafael
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A: Dear Karen,
Crepe Myrtles flower on new wood. If the tree is not pruned regularly in the dormant season (winter), new flower wood is not generated and the tree eventually stops flowering. You do not need to prune drastically; just shearing back the shoot tips is sufficient.
QUESTION 6
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
How often can I fertilize potted bougainvillea? Mine were lovely & full and started drying out, whitening, and falling off about 1 month ago (before heat spell) and new flowers are NOT coming in. This is my 8' tall one (my small potted boogie doing fine!)
- Caryn in San Rafael
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A: Dear Caryn,
Bougainvillea will blossom on new wood. Now that the first flower show has faded, a light shearing should stimulate some regrowth. After pruning, feed with an all-purpose fertilizer such as Maxsea 16-16-16 or E.B. Stone Organic All Purpose. It is on the tips of this new growth that new flowers will form.
QUESTION 7
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
We searching for a small tree recommendation. We are looking for a tree (or two) to plant between our patio and our fence that will afford some privacy from passersby on the sidewalk but is still small enough fullgrown to never interfere with overhead powerlines. Of course, the ideal tree would either flower in the spring or having pretty fall foliage, but any advice will do!
- Anna in South San Francisco
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A: Dear Anna,
If you enjoy flowers, these trees bloom in spring- flowering cherry, flowering plum, and crabapple. They also lose their leaves in the winter.
These trees are evergreen - Dodonaea, also known as Hopseed, has rich purple foliage. Purchase it as a 'standard" (trunk with a head as opposed to a shrub). Arbutus Marina has beautiful bark and pendulous white flowers in spring. Magnolia Little Gem is a small sized tree with fragrant, summer blooms.
QUESTION 8
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
I want to grow something small on top of my desk. While I was studying biology, I had a chance to visit a garden(UCB) and they had these different species of moss which looked like a mini forest!
Can I grow diff. species of moss in a pot? I have three big windows and one of them has my desk right in front of it. "the desk window" faces east and as you can imagine it's foggy most of the time. So not too much sun :(
If not moss, what would you recommend?
- Jihyun in San Francisco
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A: Dear Jihyun,
You can grow moss! They work really well in a sealed terrarium or in a glass jar with a lid, such as a jam jar or one of those glass crocks for storing dry foods with the clasp seal. At the bottom, put 1/2" to 1" planting charcoal followed by the same amount of sand then 1" to 1 1/2" of potting soil. Dampen slightly with a spray bottle. You can use a small patch of moss you can lift off a wall or walkway either dry or still green. Our store by the zoo also sells moss spores. Place the moss on the potting soil and press to get a good contact with the soil. Water by spraying until water penetrates all layers. Seal the jar. I have had moss jars such as these growing since March with only 1 or 2 additional waterings. The sealed system works just like a rain cloud. Humidity builds, fogs the glass, then "rains" and clears. Other plant options are Selaginella moss, small ferns, baby tears and dwarf mondo grass.
QUESTION 9
Q: Dear Garden Guru,
I live in a 12-unit building on Noe Street in San Francisco. We would like to add some color to the front of our building with a pair of large round planters (17" wide at the bottom, 26" wide at the top and 22" high). The building faces west and gets 5-6 hours of direct sun. One resident suggested hydrangeas. Is that a good choice? If so, do you have purple- or violet-colored ones? How much do they cost? Any other suggestions?
- Peter in San Francisco
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A: Dear Peter,
Hydrangeas could be used but they are not green year round. They are without leaves from November through March. We can order them for you in the colors you desire. To keep them purple, you will need to treat them with Hydrangea Blue or Aluminum sulphate each fall. You can detract from the "naked look by planting purple violas around them in the fall. The cost for a 5g pot is $29.99.
Other plant options are Camellia sasanqua ( 5g $44.99) with white or rose blooms in fall/winter, Tibouchina -5g $29.99 (also known as Princess flower) with velvety purple blooms summer and fall. These plants stay green year round. You might also consider a plant with more texture than flower such as Phormium (5g $39.99). You can accent any of these with a purple "spiller" such as Calibrachoa or purple lantana.
There are of course other options such as purple sage (Salvia leucantha), roses, and sun azaleas but these will require more grooming maintenance or not have a long bloom period.
NOTES: Each month we select gardening questions that will help all Bay Area gardeners. Please allow 3-7 working days for a response. If your question is the first answer chosen and the first to be listed above, you will receive a $25 gift card! IMPORTANT: Please make sure your email address is correct so that our Guru can reply to your question.
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