Tuesday, October 13, 2009

“In the Garden: Fall Planting: Bulbs - Santa Maria Times” plus 3 more

“In the Garden: Fall Planting: Bulbs - Santa Maria Times” plus 3 more

In the Garden: Fall Planting: Bulbs - Santa Maria Times

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 10:27 PM PDT

It's a slim window of opportunity.

But plant certain bulbs over the next several weeks, and you'll set up a glorious display of flowers next spring.

Start by tucking your bulbs into the warm earth now. They'll begin growing below-ground over winter. Come spring, their shoots and stalks will appear, followed by flowers in pure, saturated colors. Choose bulbs that are in sync with our cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers, and your spring-time blooms should return for years.

What to Select

It's easy to get seduced by those glossy pin-ups that appear in bulb catalogs, online and posted over bins of rough, tissue-papery bulbs neatly set out in bins in local garden centers.

Unfortunately, many of the most familiar bulbs - the luscious tulips, the plump hyacinths and the dainty crocus - are ill suited to our climate.

In bone-chilling regions, they go quite dormant over winter, then bloom beautifully while temperatures are still crisp in late winter and early spring.

But our weather on the Central Coast is just too mild. Even if you refrigerate those cold-loving bulbs for the recommended 6 to 8 weeks before planting, you still risk them surging forth in the midst of a warm spell in spring. The flowers may bloom for little more than a day before they crumple, and you've lost all that time, effort and space in the garden.

If you must have those traditional Dutch bulbs, relegate them to a pot, where you can move them in close for their brief stint in the limelight, then whisk them away when they're done.

But for the ground, push those freeze-lovers out of your mind.

Instead, look for bold bloomers that appreciate our climate. Tops on the list are familiar daffodils or narcissus, along with crocosmia, freesia and many other interesting, beautiful natives from California, the Mediterranean and South Africa.

These bulbs will bloom for at least several weeks. Planted in the right place, they should naturalize, returning year after year to bloom in ever-widening circles.

Where to Plant

Fall-planted, spring-blooming bulbs are at their best with good drainage and little to no summer water.

As such, they fit right into drought-tolerant gardens because they're happy with natural rainfall or regular irrigation from now until they bloom next spring. Then they like to dry out while their flowers fade and their foliage shrivels. And they prefer dry soil all summer, when they're dormant.

On the other hand, plant your bulbs in flower beds or next to lawns that are watered year-round, and they may bloom nicely next spring, then vanish into a rotted mass, never to appear again.

Good locations are beneath deciduous trees or along paths. Or spot your bulbs around the edges of drought-tolerant, perennial plants that you know you'll be cutting back in winter, such as ornamental grasses or sages. Your bulbs should be up and blooming while the perennials are still small. Later on, the perennials will bounce back to size and hide the bulbs' withering foliage after the bulbs have bloomed.

Avoid deep shade or beneath evergreens. Most spring-blooming bulbs need 6 to 8 hours of sun a day during active growth. In shady spots, their stems may be weak and collapse beneath the weight of their sure-to-be prodigious blooms.

Planting Time

Dig holes that are three times as deep as the particular bulbs. Once they're in the ground, their tops should be twice as deep as the soil line.

I often toss in a little bone meal first, although I'm not sure it's necessary, since at least for the first year, the bulbs already have their nutrients stored within their tidy packages. I dig the holes slightly deeper, throw in the fertilizer, then sprinkle some soil on top before planting, so there's no direct contact between the fertilizer and the bulbs. You can also use superphosphate or any other fertilizer low in nitrogen and high in phosphorous and potassium.

Set your bulbs in the ground with their pointed ends up. Their flat bottoms may already have fresh roots emerging, or the remnants of last year's roots still attached. Don't worry if you can't tell which ends go up. Once the bulbs start growing, they will right themselves.

Water the area thoroughly, then let the rain take over. If mother nature doesn't cooperate, keep watering every couple of weeks.

Pick any weeds that sprout. But make sure that whatever you pull is actually a weed. Some new bulb foliage has a way of looking like weedy grass. If you do inadvertently pluck a bulb, pop it back into the ground, water it well and it should be fine.

When your bulbs start blooming next spring, stand back and enjoy.

Go ahead and trim the flowers as they fade. But do not cut off any yellow or withering leaves. The bulbs need those leaves until they have dried to dust. Bulbs store their nutrients within, from one year to the next. As long as the leaves have even the most tenuous hold on life, they will keep manufacturing food and sending it down into the bulb.

You may have to put up with those shriveling leaves for 6 to 8 weeks. But that's a small price to pay for ensuring next year's round of beauty.

You might also sprinkle a low-nitrogen fertilizer around each plant as the flowers disappear. The timing may seem odd. But the boost will help the bulbs stow reserves for the following year.

Over time, even the best clumps of naturalized bulbs may rise out of the ground or die back at their centers.

Once the leaves have withered, use a shovel or pitchfork to lift out the entire clump. Pull apart the individual bulbs, discard any that are squishy or seem pitiful, and brush off the dirt. Store the bulbs in a single layer, preferably on a flat or screen, in a cool, dark, well-ventilated place. Replant the bulbs in the fall, back to their original depth of two times as deep as their height, to renew the cycle.

Bulbs to Plant Now

Ornamental onion (Allium species)

Windflower (Anemone coronaria)

Baboon flower (Babiana)

Brodiaea

Mariposa lily (Calochortus

venustus)

Montbretia (Crocosmia)

Daffodil

Dichelostemma

Freesia

Spring star flower (Ipheion

uniflorum)

African corn lily (Ixia)

Jonquil

White snowflake (Leucojum)

Grape hyacinth (Muscari)

Narcissus

Star of Bethlehem (Ornithogalum arabicum)

Ranunculus

Harlequin flower (Sparaxis)

Mexican shell flower (Tigridia

pavonia)

Triteleia

Flame freesia (Tritonia crocata)

Watsonia

- JSB

Seeds of Wisdom

Dig individual holes if you are planting only a handful of bulbs. But if you are broadcasting dozens, excavate the entire bed, scatter the bulbs, then spread the soil back on top.

- JSB

Naturalizing Daffodils

Among the most dependable fall bulbs for naturalizing on the Central Coast are the many daffodils, narcissus and jonquils. Narcissus is the species name for all three, but the ones with the showiest trumpet flowers tend to be called "daffodils," while "narcissus" and "jonquil" are saved for the smaller bloomers.

All narcissus do well in bare soil beneath deciduous trees, where they bear their cheery faces in springtime sunshine, before the trees have had time to leaf out and shade the area.

Narcissus also grow surprisingly well beneath the outer edges of citrus trees. Conventional wisdom says not to plant anything under citrus because the trees' shallow roots don't like to compete for water and nutrients.

But perhaps because the bulbs are relatively self-contained, they can indeed peacefully coexist.

However, the watering regimen may be an issue. My citrus trees get a deep soak from a ring of drip irrigation emitters for several hours every few weeks. If you sprinkle your citrus more frequently, your narcissus may rot out over summer.

- Joan S. Bolton

Joan S. Bolton is a local free-lance writer and garden designer. Her In the Garden column appears biweekly. Contact her at www.santabarbaragardens.com.

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Garden City plan incentives for housing developers - Hutchinson News

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 08:32 PM PDT

Published online 10/13/2009 10:31 PM

Garden City plan incentives for housing developers

Special to The News
GARDEN CITY - Garden City officials are hoping to ease a housing shortage by offering incentives for developers to build new homes.

City commissioners agreed to offer developers building permit waivers and $3,000 in cash for each single-family home they build within city limits. The City Commission approved the program at last Tuesday's commission meeting.

The city budgeted $60,000 for the program.

"In this last year, you could count the number of new houses on one of two hands," said Garden City Mayor Nancy Harness. "The reason we're doing this is not only to encourage development within the city but home ownership, as well."

To qualify, a single-family home be at least 1,250 square feet and include a two-car garage. And the cash incentives are limited to the first 20 builders who apply beginning Jan. 1, 2010.

Kaleb Kentner, director of Planning and Community Development, said less than a dozen new homes a year are being built in Garden City, with only 40 to 50 homes for sale.

The occupancy rate for rental housing is near 99 percent. The need for more rental properties could be simultaneously addressed if there were more homes available on the market, he said. Commissioners hope with new single-family homes available, more people will buy them and free up rental properties.

Demand for housing extends not only across Garden City, but also in Holcomb and the surrounding areas in Finney County, Kenter said.

The program will be evaluated at the end of next year to decide whether to continue budgeting it.

Commissioners rejected financial incentives for developers of multi-family units such as apartments or duplexes.

"I think there was a general consensus that government money is something we'd use to encourage family-type living situations," City Commissioner John Doll aid.

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Spider season: They come crawling at your home - Seattle Post Intelligencer

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 04:22 PM PDT

WICHITA, Kan. — These are the lazy, hazy spider days of autumn.

Walk through the garden at night or early morning, and their webs cling to your face and clothes. Some creep into our houses and garages.

"With the change of season, people are seeing them come in and tend to think of them as worse than before but really, we are not seeing a huge influx this year," said Denise Dias, a Kansas county extension agent who specializes in home environments.

It's time for the orb weavers, the big yellow-and-black spiders who weave webs in open fields and flower gardens.

And it's time for wolf spiders, tarantulas, brown recluses and black widows.

You normally don't see spiders during the day. They come out at night to feed and seek warmth.

"With cooler evenings and dew and mist, their webs are easier to see," said Schanee Anderson, curator of education at the Sedgwick County Zoo in Wichita.

Most are harmless, but the brown recluse and black widow are poisonous.

Black widows, which are found throughout the nation, tend to stay outdoors in wooded areas or the dark, cluttered corners of your garage. The brown recluse, found mainly in the southcentral U.S. and parts of the Midwest, will leave you alone.

But if you have an infestation, some may crawl up the legs of your beds and into your comforters, nestling near soft body parts. When you flinch, they flinch. When a spider bites, it uses fangs to pierce the skin and deliver venom.

The bites of the black widow and brown recluse can injure blood vessels and stop blood flow to an area.

"If I find brown recluses in my home, I will kill them," said Jim Mason naturalist at the Great Plains Nature Center. "I respect them for what they are. But they have a very venomous bite that can cause serious skin lesions and permanent scarring. If you are around stuff that hasn't been moved for a while, you need to be watching for them. Use caution. Don't stick your hand into places you can't see."

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Tarantulas also are on the move as the fall mating season progresses. They can sometimes be seen crossing isolated country roads at night.

Mason said the best advice for keeping spiders out of house and yard is to eliminate clutter.

Spiders look for places to hide. Outdoors they lurk in wood piles, leaves and garages. Indoors, they look for clothing, shoes and basements.

"Don't leave clothes on your floor," Mason said. "Eliminate clutter."

Look for glue traps, sticky tape that's flat and can be placed along edges of rooms and other places where spiders can hide.

"Spiders will get stuck in them and you can dispose of them," Mason said. "You do not have to introduce toxins into your home."

And remember, spiders can be beneficial.

Wolf and grass spiders eat brown recluses — so it's good to have them in your yard. Without spiders, we would have more mosquitoes, flies, cockroaches and crickets.

"They are our first line of control when it comes to other insects on the planet," Mason said. "They are the most numerous type of predatory animal on Earth. Without them, we would be neck deep in insects."

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Weeds with purpose - Minneapolis Star Tribune

Posted: 13 Oct 2009 10:13 PM PDT

Q I've read that monarch butterflies need milkweed to feed on. What kind of milkweed? Where can I plant it?

A Milkweed plants -- members of the genus Asclepias -- are necessary for monarch butterfly larvae. Adults monarchs lay their eggs on milkweeds. Once those eggs hatch, the larvae feed on the leaves until it's time to develop into pupae. When butterflies emerge from the pupae, they feed on nectar from milkweed flowers. They also suck nectar from many other flowers, including Mexican sunflowers, zinnias and other plants with daisy-like blossoms.

Common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) and swamp milkweed (Asclepias incarnata) are both excellent plants for attracting and feeding monarchs. They can be started easily from seeds indoors or sown directly into the garden. All milkweeds thrive in full sunlight. Swamp milkweed grows best in relatively moist, fertile, well-drained soil. It grows about 3 feet tall and produces clusters of tiny, fragrant flowers ranging in color from white to pink or light purple.

Common milkweed can grow in poorer soil. Plants usually grow 2 to 3 feet tall, though occasionally they can reach as high as 5 or 6 feet. Because common milkweed is aggressive (it spreads through vigorous underground rhizomes as well as seeds), it's best planted where there is lots of space. However, you can reduce their spread to some degree by removing seed pods before they burst and disperse their seeds.

The native flowering perennial called butterfly weed (Asclepias tuberosa) also is a favorite of monarchs. It can be grown in a sunny, well-drained garden. It's more compact that other Asclepias and produces vivid orange or golden-colored flowers.

Deb Brown is a garden writer and former extension horticulturist with the University of Minnesota. To ask her a gardening question, call 612-673-7793 and leave a message. She will answer questions in this column only.

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