Category: gardening

Alternatives to the Traditional Christmas Tree

Consider a living tree to decorate this holiday season — Colorado and Alberta spruce are two great traditional choices.  If you want to be daring here are some fun alternatives:

  • Citrus already decorated with fruit
  • Japanese maple with stunning branches
  • Holly plant
  • A blooming Yuletide camellia whose bright red single flowers may well be decoration enough, or
  • A fruitless or fruiting olive
  • Bay Laurel makes a beautiful container plant. They can be trained to form a small tree, cone, or remain as a bush.
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Meyer Lemons

All of these possibilities would make great landscape plants at the season’s end. If there’s no room in your garden, consider donating your plant to the garden of a local school, park or church? What a great way to green our communities.

Here are some helpful hints to keep your living Christmas tree healthy and happy.

This is a hard one – try to minimize its indoor time. A week to ten days is a good maximum to be in the house. Choose a well-lit area away from the heat of a fireplace or furnace. Protect the floor with a cork trivet topped with a large saucer to catch the watering water. In between deep waterings water your plant with ice cubes that slowly melt (helpful hint: use a turkey baster to relieve excess water from the saucer after the plant has had an hour or so to absorb it).

Decorate with small lights and light-weight ornaments.

Herb Gardening in Winter

As the temperatures drop and the desire to garden remains high, cold hardy herbs can fill a need to grow something edible.  Herb gardening can be enjoyed in a kitchen window, a container on the deck or out in the garden bed, and they are perfect for Thanksgiving Stuffing, winter stews, salads and more. 

So take a few minutes and add herbs to the vegetable or kitchen garden. You‘ll find that their magic can add a savory taste to all your cooking!

chives Chives
This spiky plant looks like a cluster of onions. In late May, it is crowned with lavender flowers. Clip and chop handfuls of it to season salads, dressings, potato & egg dishes and soups. It is one of the most versatile kitchen herbs. You can flavor white vinegar with a few stems of this herb and enjoy it splashed over garden ripened tomatoes.
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Lavender
The addition of culinary grade English or French lavender in tiny amounts can jazz up dishes as diverse as grilled pork chops, to scones, cakes, and even candy.
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Mint
The flavor of mint is refreshing, cool and sweet, especially good in iced drinks and teas, with lamb or in salad dressings. Remember to grow mint in pots as it spreads rapidly by runners and will come up in the “living room” if left unimpeded. 
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Parsley
For a clean sharp and peppery taste, add to vegetables and salads as a garnish. Include in sauces, soups, stews, and stuffing. Special tips: Parsley is high in Vitamins A, C, and B.
rosemary150 Rosemary
Wonderful flavoring for chicken or any barbeque. Evergreen, woody shrub has aromatic foliage (It’s related to mint.) The flavor of rosemary is bold and piney.  Use it in pickles, jams, preserves, and sauces, as well as meats and soups. Special tips: Use a branch of rosemary as a basting brush at your next barbeque or put some on the coals for nice aroma. Plant in full sun.
sage150 Sage
Warm, slightly bitter, this flavor is a must for turkey stuffing, as well as pork, duck and sausage seasoning — special tips: Dried sage leaves are used as a substitute for coffee or tea.

Bare Root Onions

Bare root onions have arrived.  At the moment we have red (Burger), white (Castle), yellow (Merlin), Walla Walla & red torpedo onions.

Our supplier starts the onions from seed in August and carefully nurtures them along to the bare-root stage. We bundle them in packs of 30. Bare-root is the preferred method of planting for many long-time gardeners.

Onions grow best during cool weather and are usually planted in the fall in California for late spring harvest. Plant in rows 1 to 2 feet apart in a moist seedbed, in full sun. Bare root seedlings should be planted 1 inch deep and 6″ apart.

Use our Recipe for Good Garden Soil and then get ready to plant.

Sasanqua Camellia – a Versatile Early Bloomer!

We just received a sizable shipment of Sasanqua camellias; some are beginning to bloom. Sasanqua Camellias are, “the other Camellia,” one of the stars of the winter garden. This cousin of the commonly planted Japanese Camellia is a bit more sun tolerant (until 10:30-11:00am), and depending on the variety makes an excellent gracefully branching ground cover or espaliered shrub, informal hedge as well as an excellent container plant. You might also plant a Sasanqua Camellia under trees to give color to otherwise green backdrops. Some varieties of Sasanquas begin blooming now, and other variations are colorful at Christmas.

Planting Sasanqua Camellias

You will want to follow a regular watering schedule during the first growing season to establish a deep, extensive root system.  Provide well-drained soil, rich in organic matter amended with E.B. Stone Acid Planting Mix. Keep roots cool with a thick layer of mulch.  Pruning time should be done in the spring after flowering has ceased.

Below find the top varieties that have outstanding ability to perform. Not only are they covered with hundreds of flowers during the fall and winter months, but the dark green evergreen foliage is a plus for any garden.

EARLY SEASON

  • Shishi Gashira. Semi-double to peony form, lovely soft pink blooms. Low spreader.
  • Show No Sakae. Semi-double to rose-form flowers with a lovely soft pink color.  This camellia is very versatile and does great in a large hanging basket, as a groundcover or vining up a wall.
  • Yuletide:  Brilliant, fiery red, single blooms centered with bright yellow stamens. Upright.

MIDSEASON

  • Apple Blossom is a vivid cerise red coloring edge the white petals of these large single blossoms. The crown of golden stamens adds lovely contrast. Upright growth pattern and blooms in mid-season.
  • White Doves. White semi-double to loose peony form. Spreader.

masterbloomFeed camellias through the cooler months with Master Bloom to promote flower and bud development. Suitable for all your blooming and fruiting plants, including roses, lilacs, perennials, azaleas, and citrus.

Feed Camellias monthly during spring and summer with Camellia, Azalea, Gardenia, & Rhododendron Food.

November Garden Checklist

checkbox[1] Indoor Bulbs – Start paperwhites, hyacinth, or amaryllis now for showy blooms in the weeks ahead. They bloom indoors and make an ideal housewarming gift. We have instructions along with an assortment of bulbs suitable for forcing at https://www.aldenlane.com/paperwhites.

checkbox[1] Outdoor Bulbs – Thanksgiving marks the ideal weekend in our climate for planting fall bulbs. Select bulbs, including tulips, hyacinth, Muscari, and narcissus, etc. Refrigerate Tulips & hyacinth until Thanksgiving when the weather outside has cooled. Plant your bulbs out in the landscape to the required depth and fertilize with Master Nursery Bulb Food. Your investment will reward you with timely displays of spring color.

checkbox[1] Plant onions and garlic from bulbs now.  Bare root onions arrive this month.

checkbox[1] Prevent Peach Leaf Curl! Protect fruit trees and deciduous shade trees from overwintering diseases and pests. Use Monterey Liqui-Cop, or Bonide Liquid Copper Spray now, even before leaf drop. For more details, to go Dormant Spray to Protect Your Fruit Trees Starts in Fall – Alden Lane Nursery

checkbox[1] Protect frost-tender plants before frosts arrive. Water plants ahead of a freeze and for added protection cover with “Fleece Bags” or drape plants with fabric frost blankets. String ­non-LED Christmas tree lights on your frost-tender plants. The warmth from the bulbs will provide another measure of protection.

checkbox[1] Set out winter-blooming annuals for a garden filled with color. Choose primroses, pansies, Iceland poppies, ornamental cabbage, and kale. Check with the staff.

Prevent Oxalis and Winter-Sprouting Weeds

Apply pre-emergent weed control to prevent winter and spring’s tougher weeds including oxalis – the yellow-flowered clover look-alike. Many weeds begin to sprout as the weather cools, and fall rains begin. Thousands of the microscopic seeds have dispersed themselves after the spring and summer flower season. These seeds are poised to sprout as soon as the weather cools and rains begin.

With the weather cooling and rain arriving, oxalis, annual bluegrass, and many other weeds will begin to wake up in your lawn and landscape.  

If you have or have had oxalis (small clover-like leaves with a yellow flower pictured below), your lawn or landscape bed has already been seeded for next year’s crop. Thousands of the microscopic seeds have dispersed themselves after the spring and summer flower season. These seeds are poised to sprout now as soon as the weather cools and rains begin.

Pre-emergent weed control products prevent these new seeds from sprouting if timed correctly. Applying Bonide Crabgrass and Weed Preventer in fall will prevent weed seeds that typically sprout with the first fall rains. Using now prevents oxalis and annual bluegrass and helps break the life cycle of the weed, bringing it into control.

Caution! Pre-Emergents will also prevent lawn seeds from sprouting. Postpone your weed prevention if you plan to reseed a lawn in the next couple of months.

Stews are Better with Home Grown Winter Vegetables

winterstew[1]As the days shorten and the earth cools it becomes the perfect time for planting a garden for fall and winter vegetables.

In California, vegetable gardening doesn’t stop with the fall harvest. There are many varieties of vegetables that do best in cool weather. Lettuce, cabbages, root vegetables such as carrots, radishes and beets are a few of them. It’s also an ideal time to start a winter hardy herb garden. The cooler temperatures will allow the herbs to be firmly established by the warmer days of spring. Herbs also do well in containers or planted along walkways where their fragrance is released as someone brushes against them.

Remember, a garden started now means fresh vegetables for winter stews and garden salads as well as herbal seasonings all year round.

If you haven’t planted your winter vegetables yet, this would be a good time. The vegetable starts are here now with fresh shipments arriving weekly. Use our Recipe for Good Garden Soil and then get ready to plant.

Fresh carrots, onions, cabbage will all taste great in winter stews and casseroles. Come in and choose now. We have Kale, Broccoli, Brussels Sprouts, Cauliflower, Chard, Cabbage,  Parsley, Spinach, Herbs, Lettuce and much more from seeds or starts, and we have Garlic and Onions from bulbs.

Putting Down Roots ~ “ro0T dowN”

By: Nancy McNeish

The coming chilly weather inspires us to cozy-up in our homes and “root down” indoors. It’s’ also the ideal time to get outside and establish the permanent plantings that form the framework of our landscape design. Trees, shrubs, and California natives planted now will grace your yard for years to come. Now is the ideal time for planting; the soil is still summer-warmed, the air temperatures will cool in the weeks ahead, and winter rains will eventually roll in and nurture your new landscape

Grevillea – from down under, a whole range of heat lovers bloom in shades of coral – irresistible to hummingbirds

Healthy roots growing below ground mean lush leaves, flowers, and fruits growing skyward. A tree’s roots can be 18″ to 24″ or more below ground, where they absorb water, nutrients, and oxygen. Yes, roots breathe too! Roots may spread out to the width of the tree canopy, or even well beyond. They continue to grow all winter, even after the leaves fall.

Now’s the time to dig in and prepare your planting areas to make the most of this season. Root down a few of these:

Trees

  • Maples: ‘October Glory’ and ‘Red Sunset’; possess vivid oranges, reds, and scarlet fall colors.
  • Chinese Pistache ‘Keith Davey’ shows off brilliant scarlet fall color and no berries.
  • Evergreens include Bay Laurel, Camphor Tree, and Tristania ‘Elegant.’ 
  • Spring flowers options include weeping cherry, ­magenta flowering Redbuds or crabapple.

Shrubs

  • Camellias: ‘White Doves’ is white, ‘Taylor’s Perfection’ is light pink, and ‘Yuletide’ is cheery red as well as early-to-bloom.
  • Azaleas: ‘Happy Days’ is violet purple and ‘Formosa’ are magenta.
  • Grevilleas: ‘Mt. Tamboritha’ has pink colored flowers, ‘Coastal Gem’ has red blossoms that Hummingbirds love.
  • Leucadendron ‘Yellow Top’ has yellow bracts, and ‘Red Gem’ has red bracts.

California Natives

  • Manzanitas
  • California Wild Lilac
  • Salvias
  • Toyon and Coffee Berry

Let’s start “Putting Down Roots.”

Onions and Garlic

We now have onion bulbs and garlic in stock for planting now.

Garlic or onion bulbs planted into the soil now will begin to put down roots and sprout leaves. They will be nurtured through winter with cooler temperatures and rain. They will fill in well through spring for an early to mid-summer harvest.

Onions and the related shallots and garlic all grow best during cool weather and are okay planted in the fall in California for late spring harvest. Plant in rows 1 to 2 feet apart in a moist seedbed, in full sun.

Onion sets (bulbs) should be planted 1½ inches deep and seeds ½ inch deep. Place seeds or bulb sets 1 to 2 inches apart in the row for green onions or 3 inches apart for bulb production.

We offer onions in red, yellow and white onions and an assortment of garlic.

Bundles of bare root onions are very popular as well and we hope they will arrive in November.

Use our Recipe for Good Garden Soil and then get ready to plant.

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Each 10 x 10 area add:
  • 5-8 bags (2 cubic ft. size) Bumper Crop
  • 5 lbs Iron Sulfate to acidify and add iron
  • 10 lbs Master Vegetable Food
  • 40 lbs Gypsum. (It loosens hard soils as it adds important elements: sulfur and calcium.)

Mix well with your soil to a depth of 8″ and water well.

Bumper Crop

We recommend Bumper Crop soil amendment when planting garlic or onions. Bumper Crop is a blend of various organic nutrients and 15% Chicken Manure. As a compost,  fir bark holds up well over time.  The addition of chicken manure provides a needed boost of nitrogen. Mix Bumper Crop with existing soil at a ratio of 50/50.
Bumper Crop is on sale during October. Buy 4 bags for the price of 3 bags (save $13.99).

Trees for Fall Color

Trees provide summer shade and fall color to our landscape; they cool the environment and provide habitat for birds and other wildlife. Trees also clean the air and improve the quality of our neighborhoods.

Fall is a great time to select and plant a tree. Trees are beginning to show fall color now, making selection easier. Gardeners who do plant now will find their trees establish well over the milder months of fall and emerge in spring well-rooted and ready to grow.

Here are some of our favorites

Chinese Pistache

Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis). Pistache trees are known for their show-stopping autumn foliage. The colors range from a deep purple, maroon, brilliant red, orange to yellow. Once established, they do best with infrequent deep watering.

 

Japanese Maples

Japanese Maples (Acer palmatum). This large family has some spectacular entries in the Fall color category; we have many varieties. Japanese Maples grow well in morning sun to bright shade, depending on the variety. They are an excellent choice for a large container on the patio or entryway.

 

Red Maples

These larger leaf Red Maples (Acer rubrum) can reach about 40 feet with a 25 to 30-foot spread (a great shade tree!). This popular tree has an upright branching habit and brilliant red foliage in the fall – a favorite variety appropriately named October Glory. Makes a stunning shade tree.

 

Crape Myrtle

These colorful shrubs and trees enter spring with light green foliage tinged bronze-red. In fall, the foliage turns a bright yellow, sometimes orange or rarely red. During the summer, they are crowned with colorful crepe-like flowers available in a wide variety of colors. The “Muskogee” selection has incredible, reliable sunset fall leaf colors.

We have other trees with fall color – come wander the nursery and find your favorite!