Things to do in March

WAIT AND SEE. I have had a lot of questions concerning the survivability of zone 7 plants in light of the sub-zero temperatures we endured in early February. My best advice is wait and see. Some woody shrubs and perennials may have had their tops killed but will come back from the ground. I know my Autumn Sage (Salvia greggii), Photinia, Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica) and Rosemary (Rosmarinus officianalis) are all looking a little iffy at this point. Herbaceous perennials, those that naturally die to the ground in winter may break dormancy later than usual. It all depends on the location in your landscape, if they were stressed from lack of water or nutrients and how much snow was insulating them when the coldest temperatures hit. So wait well into May before you decide to replace things and if you do end up replacing a lot of plants you should probably stick with zone 6 from now on.

THINK VEGETABLES. If you want your own warm season vegetables to transplant outdoors in May you will need to start them indoors now. Bigger seeds like corn, beans, squash and melons are best seeded directly into the garden whereas smaller seeds such as tomatoes, peppers and eggplant do well when planted from transplants. The quality of the seed you use is very important. We carry Lake Valley Seeds. Their germination rate is very high, all the seeds are untreated and they contain no Genetically Modified Organisms. When starting seeds indoors fill a seed tray with good potting soil like Uni-gro, that drains well. (We had a large number of people complain about the poor quality of the Miracle Gro potting soil that Walmart was selling last year. Keep in mind you really do get what you pay for.) Plant the seed according to package directions and firm the soil gently. Since warm season vegetables need warm soil to germinate, place the seed tray on a seedling heat mat, heating pad wrapped in plastic or the top of the refrigerator. Keep soil moist using a watering can with a very fine rosette or misting with a spray bottle. Once the seeds have germinated they will need lots of light. A sunny window (be sure to move them away at night if temps are cold), heated greenhouse or fluorescent grow lights work best. When seedlings develop their second set of leaves it is time to transplant them. Using your fingers or a spoon dig up individual seedlings keeping the rootball intact. Plant them in 3-4" pots filled with potting soil. Water thoroughly to settle soil and fertilize regularly with Fox Farm's liquid Grow Big or granular Tomato and Vegetable. You may want to transplant these plants again into larger containers as they outgrow their pots. One week before you plan to plant your vegetables outside (our average last frost date is May 1st) you will need to "harden them off" or get them used to direct sun, changing temperatures and wind. Set them outside for several hours every day gradually increasing their exposure to the elements. Once they are ready for the real world plant them in your garden. Tomatoes can be planted extra deeply for maximum root production. You may need to erect some sort of temporary windbreak.  If you don't want to go to all of this trouble we will have a large variety of warm season vegetables available beginning in mid-April. When we open on March 29th the nursery will already have cool season vegetables such as Cabbage, Lettuce, Spinach and Broccoli in stock that are ready to be planted and our 2011 Lake Vally Seeds are here.

PRUNE ROSES. See Silver Heights Nursery MARCH 2010.

Pruning

PRUNE DECIDUOUS TREES. This is actually a January chore but with this record breaking cold we have been preoccupied with freezing pipes, waiting for plumbers, hauling water from our "oh so sweet" neighbors, power outages and trying to keep a fire going. This high desert is nothing if not unpredictable. So it is the time of year (you are not too late) to evaluate your deciduous fruit and shade trees and see what, if any, pruning needs to be done. It is easy to see the shape of your trees when they are void of leaves. Pruning stimulates growth but this growth will be delayed until it warms in spring. Be sure that you have sharp clean pruning tools so that your cuts are precise and will callous over naturally. You will want to first remove any dead, damaged or diseased branches. Then prune off any limbs that are crossing, rubbing or heading toward the center. When removing a branch always cut it back to a place of active growth. This will be the trunk, another branch or a bud facing in a desirable direction.  Always prune slightly in front of the branch collar and these cuts will heal over. Never leave stubs as they will die back to a place of active growth inviting disease.  Removing any branches that are not heading up and/or out will allow air and sunlight to penetrate the center of your trees which increases fruit and flower production while decreasing insects and diseases. NEVER TOP A TREE!!!! A topped tree will either die because it can no longer supply itself with food or produce dangerous, ugly, weak growth. See The Mutilation of Trees in Grant County. Always plant  a tree that will not outgrow the space provided for it. Keep in mind that pruning is done to benefit the health and aesthetics of the tree. It is not something that should be done automatically every year.
PRUNE SUMMER FLOWERING SHRUBS AND VINES. In general, summer flowering shrubs and vines should be pruned this time of year. Again evaluate these plants individually to see if any pruning needs to be done. Buddleja (Butterfly Bush) does not need to be pruned until it has been in the ground at least 2 years. After that thin it by removing 1/3 of the oldest, woodiest growth all the way to the ground. This practice will encourage new growth and since Butterfly Bushes bloom on new wood this will improve flowering. Caryopteris (Blue Mist Spiraea) blooms on current season's wood as well. Cut it back to 1' and lightly prune after flowering to encourage another bloom. Cotoneasters  need little pruning just an occasional shaping. Photinia (Red Tip) can be shaped now. If you are using it as a hedge you can even it off or as an accent shrub prune any crossing, rubbing, dead branches all the way back. Hibiscus (Rose of Sharon) should have the old, weak, dead wood thinned out and to promote larger flowers cut back the previuos year's growth to 2 buds. Nandina (Heavenly Bamboo) will stay full and bushy if you cut any tall leafless canes all the way to the ground. Spiraea should have the older, woody braches thinned out. Most vines that flower in summer such as Campsis (Trumpet Vine), Polygonum (Silver Lace Vine) and Parthenocissus (Virginia Creeper) can be thinned and have the dead or weak wood removed. These are a few of the more popular summer flowering shrubs and vines. Spring flowering shrubs and vines should generally be pruned after flowering. Roses should not be pruned until the first few leaf buds begin to break in spring, usually late March. Prune the woody Salvias (Sage) after new growth starts in spring by cutting them back to active growth. If you have specific questions about pruning please leave a comment or email me at silverheightsnursery@gmail.com.

Last but not least for those of you that read last month's entry about the winter sustainability of pansies:

4 degrees ok...minus 8...not so much

Expanded Product Lines for 2011

We are very excited about the 2011 season at the nursery. Aside from fruit and shade trees, J&P and Weeks roses and a few Monrovia shrubs we have some new fertilizers and pest control products. By request we are expanding our Fox Farm fertilizer line to include Tiger Bloom liquid, their Ocean Forest Potting Soil and larger sizes of the liquid and granular blends. Another new fertilizer is Chickity Doo Doo in 25# bags. We had carried a chicken manure fertilizer at our old nursery and lots of people have been asking for it so we found this new one that we think is great. It has even been seen on Martha Stewart! Here is the link to the show... Martha Stewart Organic Lawn Care. This OMRI listed fertilizer is 100% chicken manure from layer hens and it contains no additives. It has a guaranteed analysis of 5-3-2.5 with 9% calcium. A lack of calcium is what causes blossom end rot on tomatoes and peppers so it is a good addition to our soil. There is no offensive odor associated with this product since it has been baked and sterilized. It can be used on lawns, vegetable gardens and all of your landscape plants. We will be carrying Gypsum in the 40# bags, Epsom Salts for roses and 20# Earthworm Castings. You will also find Orange Guard is back. It is an all natural broad range contact kill and residual repellant for ants, roaches, aphids and many other harmful insects and it smells great! The nursery will stock Coddling Moth Traps to keep the worms out of your apple trees, Grub Control that repels grubs with a blend of essential oils and Tomato Set. These are all in addition to the tried and true products we have always carried. So be sure to stop in starting March 29th 2011 for your gardening supplies.

For those of you who don't believe Pansies and Violas make it through the winter here are a couple of photos that prove otherwise!

January 1st, 2011 (4 degrees)

             

January 25th, 2011

I would have photos of our Kale as well but our Beagle ate it. Go figure.

New Feature

Please note that I have added a new feature to my blog. On the right you will notice "subscribe via email". Just enter your email address and hit subscribe and you will be notified whenever I post a new blog. You won't be bothered with any other emails, only when I post a new blog. So please sign up now and you will know when things are happening at the nursery!

Happy Holidays!

Happy Holidays everyone! I will remind you once again to water your landscape plants every 3-4 weeks as we are still very, very dry. If you don't water this winter you risk major root damage. Your plants may leaf out normally in the spring but once the weather turns hot they won't have enough root to support growth and they will die back maybe completely. So get out there and water!

Small Business Saturday

Please allow me to get on my soapbox for this blog (those of you who know me well would say I never get off of it). I think it is a great idea that they are pushing shopping at small, locally-owned businesses for the holidays on a national level. It is especially important when you live in a small town and really know the owners of these businesses. We have so many incredible small companies in Silver City there is no reason why everyone can't do at least 50% of their holiday shopping at them. Aunt Judy's Attic is perfect for crafters, there are several locally owned clothing stores including Morning Star and Gila Hike & Bike, cooking supplies can be found at The Curious Kumquat and Pots, Pans & More, the many art galleries and gift stores downtown have unique local goods, Tune Town for cds, gift certificates from a restaurant, coffee house, gelato store or salon, a donation in someone's name to any of our local non-profits like the Volunteer Center, Single Socks, High Desert Humane Society or the Food Pantry and the list goes on and on. So before you head to Walmart or get online please think about what you can do to improve the economy in our little neck of the woods by pledging to spend at least 50% of your holiday dollars at locally owned businesses.

I'm off my soapbox for the time being. Happy Holidays to all!

November (Dorothy)

I guess I jumped the gun on the fall color last month. I was really anticipating our Midwest trip and the friends, family and FALL COLOR we would see. We drove as far east as Bowling Green, KY to see a friend and the Corvette Museum and as far north as Green Bay, WI to bow down at Lambeau Field. The foliage turn in KY, IN and IL was pretty good, WI had peaked, IA was great and the Cottonwoods in southern CO and northern NM were electric. When we got home in late October nothing had really changed here. I was disappointed and we decided to go camping at our favorite spot in the Chiricahua Mountains, Sunny Flat, for a few days. We hiked to Maple Camp and what a sight. The maples were the best we had seen anywhere. Reds, oranges, yellows and the Sycamores were golden. We just returned from that respite and our own back yard is amazing with color. Does anybody know where I'm going with this? The Dwarf Burning Bush, Crabapples, Dwarf Plumbago, Rugosa Roses, Japanese Maple, Peaches, Apples, Spiraea, Bradford Pear is just starting and the Autumn Sage and Pineapple Sage are still in bloom. So you see Dorothy, you can travel to OZ (ok Lambeau Field) in search of something and quite often it is right in your own back yard!

Which brings me to Thanksgiving and plants that don't go dormant in the winter. I hope that all of your fall gardens are going well. Our herb garden supplies us with fresh Sage and Parsley for our Turkey Day stuffing and I can almost always find oregano and chives under the frosted tops. I have lettuce, radishes and spinach up that I planted only 2 weeks ago under floating row cover. So there is still a lot of gardening to be done this year.

As I type this it has been very dry so don't forget to water. Plants naturally do 80% of their root growth in late summer, fall and winter so it is especially important to keep them hydrated during this time. I usually give anything permanently in the ground a good soak every 3 weeks in fall and winter if conditions are dry. Plants in containers will need water much more often. Just stick your finger in and if it is dry 2 inches down it is time to water.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone.