gardening suggestions - Berkeley Horticultural Nursery

G ardening S uggestions
March ~ April 2011
V
ines often have a habit of growing beyond the bounds we envision at planting time. To provide privacy on a deck, ramble
over an arch, or for covering a wall without
causing damage, your best bet will be to avoid
the ever-popular but aggressive choices of
Wisteria, Passiflora or Distictis. With that in
mind, I’d like to address this issue with some
tasty, hip, and trendy suggestions for smaller
spaces…even containers.
First, be aware that variegated and golden
plant forms are often less vigorous than their
green siblings, hence easier to control. Excellent examples are the Variegated Potato Vine
(Solanum jasminoides Variegatum), Golden
Hops (Humulus lupulus Aureus), and
Variegated Bower Vine (Pandorea jasminoides Variegata). Any of these
will provide a splash of brightness
to a dark background. And on that
point, these all tolerate some shade
and produce charming foliage, but
if flowers are important, grow
them in full sun.
Next, know that some
vines produce holdfasts; tiny
suction cups that can damage wood
and painted surfaces, and will leave unsightly marks even on stone or concrete. Common examples are Creeping Fig (Ficus pumila)
and English Ivy (Hedera helix). These work great
for covering surfaces which are already ugly,
but as cute as they are in their youth, they develop into awkward woody masses later in life.
Growing vines in containers is possible
with a bit of ongoing summer pruning, especially if you choose something less rampant,
like Hardenbergia violacea which blooms during late winter. A versatile and fragrant option
is Star Jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides),
which will produce sweet scented flowers practically year-round here in the Bay Area.
For something to excite the amateur horticulturist check out the yellow flowered Clematis tangutica. Its stunning pendulous
blooms are followed by globe-shaped
tufts of feathery seed-dispersal
units resembling silky dandelion heads. Or try either Orange
Clock Vine (Thunbergia gregori)
or Black Eyed Susan Vine (T.
alata) where winter temperatures
don’t go much below freezing.
If none of these ideas thrills
you, give some thought to an
ever-so-affordable annual vine along
the lines of Nasturtium (Tropaeolum),
Morning Glory (Ipomoea), or Sweet
Peas (Lathyrus.) They’re sure to please
for the first season, then, as they decline late in the year, replace them
with something new. —Paul
New Arrivals
California Natives
in small pots
A few of our favorites are:
Achillea, Brodiaea, Ceanothus, Dudleya, Iris, Mimulus, and Sisyrinchium. Many
of these are propagated right
here in our neighborhood.
4 inch pots quart pots $5.95
$6.95
Iris ‘Pacific Coast
Hybrids’
We anticipate the arrival of these little
treasures in early March. Selected from
seedlings among the half-dozen or so native
irises, then grown on to prove their worthiness, we love them for their durability and
late-winter show. Give us a call to find out
how many varieties are “in”.
#1 size cans $12.95
Acer palmatum dissectum
‘Viridis’
Daphne odora ‘Marginata’
Nothing compares to the floral fragrance of
the winter daphne in bloom. Always somewhat tempermental, requiring porous soil
and mid-day sun protection, this variety is a
bit easier to grow. Nice tidy appearance.
#1 size cans #2 size cans Or you can just call it Green Laceleaf Maple,
and we’ll know what you mean. The combination of new leaves emerging along with
tiny red flowers makes this a real standout
in springtime. It has a strongly cascading
habit, and should be protected from hot
sun. Bright green leaves until golden fall
color. Special!
$22.95 #2 size cans $36.95 #5 size cans $59.95
$79.95
W
e are happy to introduce our newest seed vendor, Southern Exposure Seed Exchange. They are a small
seed company located in Virginia. Their
specialty is seed-saving of heirloom varieties, the majority of which are open-pollinated.
Southern Exposure says “we specialize in heirloom seeds because we believe
that people, vegetables, and the communities that encompass them will all be
healthier if we step back towards the older
system. There is a huge need for a return
to this healthy way to live today. We believe that people as a whole will be happier
and healthier if they grow their own produce or purchase their produce from small
local growers. Moreover, people deserve
that the varieties selected for this production be locally adapted and delicious. In
the world of heirloom seeds and nursery
stock, there is a huge wealth of such carefully selected varieties for every bioregion
in the world. This is not to say that wonderful open pollinated varieties are not
today being developed, but as a matter of
principal and practicality, it makes a lot of
sense to preserve all the work that has already been done.”
Try these varieties from
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange:
4
Drunken Woman Lettuce ~ Looseleaf
Gorgeous bright green leaves with
ruffled almost- fringed edges in deep
bronze. Crisp texture, very beautiful
with sweet taste. Slow to bolt.
4
Pennsylvania Butter-Flavored Popcorn
Flavor is superior to commercial popcorn. A pre-1885 heirloom popcorn
maintained by the Pennsylvania Dutch.
Reintroduced in 1988 by SESE. Produces white-kerneled ears, averaging 2
per 8’ stalk. Ears contain 26 to 28 rows
of kernels. Length ranges from 4 to 6 “,
measuring 1½ to 1¾ “ at the butt, and
tapering to 1 “ at the tip.
4
Thai Red Roselle (Hibiscus sabdariffa)
7-14 days/sun/36-60” Beautiful 3-5’
plants with red stems, leaves, and flowers. The bright red calyxes can be used to
make a “zingy” tea, sauce or jam.
4
Magenta Magic Orach
This is the deepest, darkest red of all the
orach varieties available. It has true magenta red coloration that makes it a lively addition to any salad. Picked young it
is tender.
Southern Exposure Seed Exchange will be
a great addition to our other seed vendors:
Irish Eyes Garden Seeds, Botanical Interests,
Larner Seeds, Lake Valley Seed Co., Renee’s
Garden, Franchi Seed, Kitazawa Seed Co.,
Territorial Seeds and Seed Savers Exchange.
Happy Seeding, —Jeanne
March Checklist
£ Herbs are in good supply for early planting.
Groom or divide your established plants.
£ As perennials begin growing protect the
new shoots from slugs and snails. Consider
evening escargot hunts.
£ Check your watering system for leaks. If
automatic, set at low until our weather
warms up.
£ You’ll still find an excellent selection of
Camellias at the nursery.
£ Start using your compost as surface mulch
around shrubs and perennials.
April Checklist
£ This is your first safe opportunity for
planting Tomatoes here. Our selection peaks
over the next 6 weeks.
£ Treat yourself to a new garden hat as the
sun reaches higher in the sky.
£ Prune deciduous flowering shrubs (Lilac,
Flowering Quince, Forsythia) now, during or
after bloom.
£ Acid-loving plants like Camellias, Azaleas
and Rhododendrons are in their growing
season. Switch fertilizers now.
£ The leaves of Narcissus (Daffodil) should be
allowed to die back naturally after the bloom
period. Tie them back, but don’t remove
them until completely dried.
We e k e n d
Specials
Late Winter
Viewing and
Pruning of
Japanese
Maples
March 4-6
Ranunculus
$1.99 reg. 2.95 ~ 4 in. pots
March 11-13
Fox Farm - Peace of Mind
$8.25 reg. 10.99 ~ Plant Foods 4 lb.
March 18-20
Ferns
25% OFF ~ all sizes
I
n late February or early
March the lights go on in
our Japanese Maple patch. For the
previous three months, the leafless
trees have rested, but as winter days
lengthen, they awaken from dormancy,
their unfurling bright leaves heralding
spring. We offer several different cultivars that are notable for their spring
foliage. New leaves may be a
cheerful chartreuse or golden-green (Acer shirasawanum ‘Aureum’ and A. palmatum ‘Katsura’, ‘Shidava Gold’, ‘Ueno yama’), hot
pink (A. p. ’Shindeshojo’, ‘Beni maiko’,
‘Otome zakura’) or a gorgeous variegated blend of colors (‘Kasagi yama’,
‘Ariadne’.) Stop by to see the show.
If your Japanese Maple requires
major, structural pruning, the best
time to do it is shortly before the
plant “wakes up” in late winter, usually
early to mid March in the SF Bay area.
About a week or so before the tree’s
new leaves unfold is when the maple
has the most energy to start growing
protective callus tissue around any
pruning wounds. However, pruning
March 25-27
Organic Herbs
$2.49 reg. 3.50 ~ 3½ in. pots
April 1-3
Rhododendrons
30% OFF ~ #4 size cans
April 8-10
Wisteria
25% OFF ~ all sizes
April 15-17
Cacti & Succulents
30 % OFF ~ from our courtyard
should never affect more than 25-30%
of the maple. More radical pruning,
especially of older trees, may seriously
sap their strength. Also, if at all possible, it’s best to avoid any pruning of
the larger, lower limbs of established
maples—wounds in these areas may
never completely callus over, and dieback or rot could result. —Margaret
April 22-23
Terra Cotta Pottery
25% OFF ~ all sizes
April 29-May 1
Tomato Seedlings (Organic)
$2.49 reg. 3.50
LIMITED TO STOCK ON HAND.
NO DELIVERIES ON SALE MERCHANDISE.
Dr. Chlorophyll
Advice for the horticulturally harassed
“We thank Thee for these mercies, Lord.
Sae far beyond our merits;
Noo, waiter lads, clear off the plates,
An’ fetch us in the spirits.”
—traditional Scottish toast
“A tavola nun s’invecchia mai”
(At the table, no one gets old)
—Italian proverb
4 4 4 4 4
Probably not on the Menu
at Chez Panisse
Q: “I’ve heard of a vegetable popular in the
South called polk salad. What is it, exactly,
and will it grow here?
A: It will, and some folks do love it, but
there are caveats galore for harvesting and
cooking poke salat (the preferred Cajun
spelling.) First, a reference from Billy Joe
Royal on the subject, frequently broadcast
on KEWB back in the day:
“Down in Lousiana
Where the alligators grow so mean
Lived there a girl, made my head whirl
Made the alligators look tame.
Poke Salat Annie
Gators got your granny
(chomp—chomp chomp)
Everybody said it was a shame
That your mama was a-workin’
on the chain gang.
A hard, strong- lovin’ woman.
Lord, I loved her.”
This demure demoiselle of the bayou earned
her sobriquet from dining on poke salat aka
pokeweed aka pokeberry aka Phytolacca
americana, which grows wild in damp areas
all over the South (and most of the rest of
the country, for that matter) and one could
presume that at least some of her sterling
qualities, like Popeye’s, were attributable to
her green of choice. Berkeley Hort stocks
this easily-grown herbaceous perennial for
its bright ornamental fuchsia pink stems
and long clusters of dark purple berries so
beloved by birds and flower arrangers. Volunteers readily sprout in gardens where
passing birds (or maybe flower arrangers)
“planted” it. Some Southerners wax rhapsodic about how delicious “a mess” of these
greens are (“like asparagus but more tangy”)
though some disdain the dish as cuisine pauvre. If you, like Dr. C., consider flavor more
important than pedigree, this is something
you can enjoy (garner covetous glances from
the tater tot-toting at next PTA potluck)
with a few caveats. First of all, make sure
what you’re picking a mess of is in fact poke
salat—trot a piece down to the nursery for
positive ID before you start boiling water.
Deadly nightshade also has very ornamental black berries and often shares the same
habitat as Phytolacca, but fix a mess of that
and the real mess will be you in the emergency room several hours later. Second,
only eat the first shoots that appear in very
early spring. Mature, late-season plants will
probably have accumulated too many toxins during the growing season to risk eating
Volumes
of Value
O
n your next visit to the nursery,
please take a moment and peruse the
shelves in our salesroom for garden-related
books. We offer titles on a number of subjects including growing edibles, California
native plants, aquatics, and general perennials as well as plant-specific books, books
on common pests and diseases and how
without significant gastro-intestinal upset.
Third, stir-frying is not an option. Even the
earliest shoots need to be parboiled at least
twice, discarding the cooking water after
each cooking and then thoroughly rinsing
in fresh water before tossing the greens with
butter and salt and a bit of bacon or shredded ham hocks. The very nervous can cook
poke salat three times, but the results will
be less than al dente. And portion control
should be considered. Poke salat has a welldeserved reputation for “cleaning out” the
system, hence its use as a “spring tonic” in
folk medicine, so ingesting large quantities
to best combat them, titles promoting garden wildlife and a few useful
large reference books. (Watch out for
the occasional obscure title that may
also lurk on the shelves, such as Keeping
Your Old Horse Feeling Young, a bulletin
by J. Jahiel.)
Among the classic gardening titles
we stock are ‘must have’ volumes such as
Golden Gate Gardening by Pam Peirce,
Sunset’s Western Garden Book and Hillside Landscaping, EBMUD’s Plants and
Landscapes for Summer-Dry Climates of
the San Francisco Bay Region, and a favorite of the staff, Designing California Native Gardens by Keator & Middlebrook.
Also, not to be overlooked is the selection of periodicals we offer year round. Our
monthlies include Horticulture, Fine Gardening, and Organic Gardening; bi-monthlies offered are Fruit Gardener and Bay
Nature. Finally, printed quarterly is the avid
plant enthusiast’s periodical for over three
decades, Pacific Horticulture.
is not wise. For more information online, including pictures of pokeweed, here is a link
offered by North Carolina State University:
http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/consumer/poison/Phytoam.htm
Dr. Chlorophyll knows everything
and has been known to comment on
matters horticultural.
Inquiries should be sent to:
Dr. Chlorophyll
Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
1310 McGee Ave,
Berkeley, CA 94703
© 2011 Berkeley Horticultural Nursery
www.berkeleyhort.com
510-526-4704
Closed Thursdays
1310 McGee Ave, Berkeley CA 94703