Wordless Wednesday - Color in Santa Clarita, Ca.

Daffodils behind Sedge


Kumquats after a rain


Berries of a Heavenly Bamboo

For more information see my website www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net

How to Plant and Care for A Fruiting Banana

I am in love with edibles, I especially love subtropical fruits, and I have been very lucky to find an amazing resource almost right in my own backyard! As a matter of fact this nursery actually is someone’s backyard.

I have been trying (in vain) to grow a fruiting banana but the weather here in the Santa Clarita Valley has been conspiring against me. I’ve killed two already (yes, I have a kill list where they are prominently displayed) and I will try again because given the right circumstances I will grow my own bananas! In the meantime after negotiating with my friend Alex (who you will meet below) I was allowed to buy a somewhat rare (and not at all cold tolerant) banana called a Misi Luki. Which I promised to plant at my best friend’s house down in Huntington Beach, I am very proud to say that it has fruit on it!

So… in honor of that fruit I am posting information from Alex Silber of Papaya Tree Nursery who is a wealth of information on the world of sub tropical plants. Please be sure to visit his website to see all the great plants that he has, and if you want to see them in person just make sure to call ahead… they are by appointment only. Please tell him, “Julie sent me.”




Banana Planting & Care
Papaya Tree Nursery (Alexander Silber)

You can grow top quality bananas at home in most of Southern California (Sunset Magazine zones 18 – 24). It’s a matter of selecting the correct variety, providing the banana’s special fertilizer needs and performing a few thinning operations. Your reward will be beautiful, tropical foliage and annually about 40 lbs per bunch of unusual, vine ripened fruit.

Banana Facts:
· Most banana plants fruit 18 months from first planting and every year thereafter. They are self-fruitful.
· Dwarf types average 7’tall, midsize 12’, tall types 24’
· Dwarf types, which can be container grown indoors are:
Raja Puri, Cavendish, Dwarf Orinoco and Dwarf Jamaican Red.
· Cold tolerant types include: Manzano, Cardaba, Raja Puri, Dwarf Orinoco, Monthan, Hua moa and Dwarf Brazilian
· Cold sensitive types include: Cavendish, Williams, Iholena, Lacatan, Dwarf Jamaican Red, Mysore, and Enano gigante.
· Bananas are free of pest and disease problems in California.

Growing Tips:
· Bananas are decorative and distinctive; they require only 4 square meters of growing area and thrive when planted next to south facing buildings (their roots are noninvasive).
· Locate in full sun; choose a wind-protected site.
· Incorporate an abundance of planting mix or compost.
· Water weekly; they are shallow rooted and benefit from a deep (3”-6”) layer of organic mulch.

Fertilize Abundantly:
· Use chicken manure plus a source of potash such as Sul-Po-Mag (K-Mag) or sulfate of potash. Or apply 6 lbs. Per year of (10-5-40 or similar) using three split applications.
· During the first season cut out all “pups”. Thereafter, each year leave the first two pups appearing in spring; and remove all others.
· Cover the fruit with a large light blue plastic bag open at the bottom.
· Cut off the flower bud when emerging fruit stop hanging on while leaving approximately a 6” long stub at the base.
· After the harvest, cut the stalk off at ground level. A machete works well for this. You can also use a spade to cut the base at ground level. Remember to peel away any dry tissue to facilitate the use of the spade.
· Prop the heavy bunches with two poles, or tie it to an adjacent building.
www.papayatreenursery.com



For More Information see my website: Thegrassisalwaysgreener.net

It's Time To Prune Your Roses

Super Bowl Sunday is a great day to prune your roses in Southern California. It’s easy to remember and if you’re not a football fan give you something to do. If you are a fan, there is always Saturday or the morning of the game. Pruning too early in the year (like when the mow, blow “gardeners” prune) is not good for your plants. They will be sending up new growth when it’s too cool out and there is more chance of damage and disease. Tell your mow blow guy to stick to the mowing and take control of pruning your roses! The information below is a guide to pruning hybrid tea and grandiflora roses. Shrub roses (including icebergs) don’t really need the same drastic treatment and climbers and miniatures need to be handled differently.




The first step is to remove dead or damaged canes. Select the old and diseased branches and cut them away.
Prune away all cross branches – any cane that is growing across the plant should be removed – you want to keep canes that grow away from the base not into it.
After that is completed it is time to prune away the sucker growth. Any canes that arise from below the bud union ( which is the swollen area on the lower trunk) should be cut back as closely as possible to the main stem.
The healthiest canes should be pruned next. These are the ones that are bright green and fairly thick (depending on the age of your rose. All of the other canes should then be removed. Select canes that are spaced evenly around the plant. You want to leave plenty of room in the center for circulation of air. On young plants select 3 or 5 canes for your base and remove the rest, older plants you can leave more canes. If you find old canes that are thick and unproductive, remove them completely. They are just an eyesore and will not produce blooms. Your rose will now look like a vase or if you hold your hand out in front of you and cup it upward… that is the look you are going for.



Now that you have your good canes selected cut them back to between 12 and 24 inches. Yes, that sounds drastic… it works! You want to trim each can at an outward facing bud – so that the cane will produce growth growing out and not in to the rose plant itself. Remove any remaining leaves on your rose. This will help your rose go dormant, which will reduce pests next year. In Southern California this can be a problem… since we have such a great long growing season.



Next you want to throw away all your debris, clear away all the leaves and stems and dispose of them properly. The cleaner you keep the area under the roses the more likely you are to prevent diseases on your roses next year. To further protect your plants, apply a dormant spray next.
Dormant spray is a combination of copper and horticultural oil – take a trip to a nursery (not a big box store) and get a recommendation. Don’t wait to do this, if you do and spray after tender new growth has begun it could be damaged.
You can fertilize with a high nitrogen organic fertilizer when you see some new growth in a couple of weeks. Yes, it’s a tad early to fertilize but in Southern California the soil stays relatively warm.




Visit me at my website: www.thegrassisalwaysgreener.net