The Greenery Nursery & Garden Shop
Aug 08
Well, if you haven’t yet heard, Ed Perry, our local UC Extension Advisor has retired. We at The Greenery are very sorry to see him go. He has been a wealth of knowledge to us and the residents of our community. Whenever we were stumped about a plant, insect or disease he was there to [...] [...more]
Well, if you haven’t yet heard, Ed Perry, our local UC Extension Advisor has retired. We at The Greenery are very sorry to see him go. He has been a wealth of knowledge to us and the residents of our community. Whenever we were stumped about a plant, insect or disease he was there to guide us (yes we do get stumped from time to time!). Unfortunately due to budget constraints there is no person or service there to fill his place. There are still online resources that we will use and you can use too. I am going to provide the links below, some of these I was not even aware of!
Integrated Pest Management - MY longtime favorite resource
http://ipm.ucdavis.edu
Stanislaus County UC Extension Gardening Publications
http://cestanislaus.ucdavis.edu/Gardening/Gardening_Publications.htm
California Gardening by The UC Extension
http://cagardenweb.ucdavis.edu/
California Backyard Orchard
http://homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources Publications
http://www.anrcatalog.ucdavis.edu/
Environmental Horticulture Research & Info Center
http://groups.ucanr.org/EHRIC/index.cfm
Since I am providing links to websites I wanted to talk a little about information found online. First, yes there is more information online than anyone could ever read. You can search Google, Yahoo or Bing (whichever search engine suits you) and find information to do just about anything, including gardening. However, please be aware of the source of your information when researching online. When it comes to gardening, information from another country or even another state can be different when it comes to gardening in the Central Valley. Anyone can publish something online (just look at all the forwarded emails and texts we typically get) and it doesn’t mean it is real. The above links are full of information specific to California and the Central Valley. If you use any of these links, let me know what you think.
So just to reaffirm my point, the staff at The Greenery is here to help you with whatever gardening question or problem you may have. We are your local experts. We have enjoyed serving you for the past 4 decades and look forward to many more.
-Adria
Aug 08
I am writing this post in response to a recent increase of this pest. The plant symptoms are stippling very much like spidermites (which also frequently affect grapes) but is much more severe to the point of bleaching the leaf almost white followed by death of part or all of the leaf. The leaves can [...] [...more]
I am writing this post in response to a recent increase of this pest. The plant symptoms are stippling very much like spidermites (which also frequently affect grapes) but is much more severe to the point of bleaching the leaf almost white followed by death of part or all of the leaf. The leaves can be sticky and will often have small dark brown dots on the lower side which are droppings from the insects.
These leafhoppers are tiny, only 1/6″-5/8″ long and are often the same color as the leaf so they can be very difficult to see. Upon a little research I found that there are many different species of leafhopper and they are pretty specific about what they eat. The typical Grape Leafhopper (Erythroneura comes) will also infest blackberry, Boston Ivy, catnip, currant, maple, plum and Virginia Creeper. This insect can transmit diseases so control is important. It is related to the Sharpshooter which made headlines a few years ago and like the Sharpshooter can devastate crops.
If you think you have this or any other pest in your yard or garden, you can bring a fresh sample into the nursery for diagnosis. Please remember the sample needs to be fresh and in a sealed plastic bag.
-Adria
May 05
This post is for all those who are wary of gardening or need a little confidence. Gardening seems like a large unknown and can be daunting for people who have had little to no experience gardening. As with anything, the fear of failure tends to keep us from trying something new. I want to share [...] [...more]
This post is for all those who are wary of gardening or need a little confidence. Gardening seems like a large unknown and can be daunting for people who have had little to no experience gardening. As with anything, the fear of failure tends to keep us from trying something new. I want to share a story of how I began gardening…
When I was about 12 I began growing vegetables and was so successful that I created a small business of providing homegrown veggies to friends and family. I didn’t grow anything other than vegetables because I didn’t have any appreciation for trees, shrubs, flowers, etc. I thought why grow a flower and only get a flower when I can grow vegetables and have something to take inside and eat? Well, when my parents built a new house and we had a whole landscape to develop from scratch, the rest of the gardening world won me over. Now you are saying, what does this have to do with failure? Well, when I started growing shrubs and flowers and tried to design the yard at the same time I did not have any schooling in Horticulture. I learned by trial and error. I did lots of reading and research but still had my own theories about growing plants and stubbornly tried things that I only laugh at now. For instance I tried growing a hydrangea in full sun. Now any semi-experienced gardener knows that hydrangeas need part to full shade in our climate. Well my theory was that if I kept it watered, it wouldn’t wilt or burn. Ha! I trickled water at the base of the plant all day long. It still wilted. Eventually it stressed out so bad that I decided it needed to be in the shade. The poor thing died shortly after. It was just too much.
The moral of the story? Gardening is partly trial and error. It is not rocket science and is not cut and dried either. If you kill a plant, consider it a learning experience. Why did it die? What can I do to ensure success next time? I can’t tell you how many plants I have killed in my gardening years. The other thing to keep in mind is that our yards are man made and plants aren’t. We are growing things that naturally don’t grow here. So yeah, we won’t always be successful. My hope is that we can share our experiences and learn from each other so we become that much more successful in our gardening endeavors. As gardening professionals, The Greenery staff has experienced many common gardening challenges but are always willing to learn, and we do learn new things everyday!
Do you have any gardening successes or failures that you would like to share? Click on comment and share your story. I look forward to hearing from you.
-Adria
Mar 18
On Saturday, March 27th at 10:00 a.m we are excited to have a very knowledgeable guest speaker on Organic Gardening. Gisele Schoniger, Organic Gardening Educator with Kelloggs Garden Products will be discussing which products to use and which products not to use to maximize the benefits of organic gardening.
If you are interested in attending, visit [...] [...more]
On Saturday, March 27th at 10:00 a.m we are excited to have a very knowledgeable guest speaker on Organic Gardening. Gisele Schoniger, Organic Gardening Educator with Kelloggs Garden Products will be discussing which products to use and which products not to use to maximize the benefits of organic gardening.
If you are interested in attending, visit our Calendar of Events page.
See you there!
-Adria
Jan 12
On February 20th, at 10 a.m., The Greenery will be offering the first ever Fruit Tree Seminar. Come see how easy it is to grow fresh fruit in your own backyard. Jay will be teaching about pruning, selecting and planting fruit trees. Sign up for this free seminar on our Calendar of Events page, or [...] [...more]
On February 20th, at 10 a.m., The Greenery will be offering the first ever Fruit Tree Seminar. Come see how easy it is to grow fresh fruit in your own backyard. Jay will be teaching about pruning, selecting and planting fruit trees. Sign up for this free seminar on our Calendar of Events page, or click here.
Feb 18
If you haven’t noticed, spring is racing toward us. The white flowering quince are in full bloom begging the bees to visit them. The pink flowering quince are starting to pop open, too. Camellias, Camellia japonica varieties are starting to show their glory. If you are looking for one of these queens of the spring, [...] [...more]
If you haven’t noticed, spring is racing toward us. The white flowering quince are in full bloom begging the bees to visit them. The pink flowering quince are starting to pop open, too. Camellias, Camellia japonica varieties are starting to show their glory. If you are looking for one of these queens of the spring, now is the time to pick them out!
Hellebores, Lenten Rose, have awoke from their sleep and are starting to show color. If you haven’t seen or grown these unique perennials before, you should. They sprout in the winter and bloom when the dark days of winter drag us down, reminding us there is still life in the garden.
Fruit trees are also starting to bloom, getting ready to produce tasty and healthy food for us later. It is almost too late to dormant spray!
Flowering Cherries are popping too. I want to note a particularly fabulous variety ‘First Lady’. In full bloom right now, they are covered in dark mauve flowers! They definitely make you think pink!
Flowering Magnolias are also breaking open. There is a huge selection of varieties and sizes here in the nursery. I recommend that you check out the Elizabeth, a creamy yellow.
A unique early spring bloomer worth noting is the Abeliophyllum, Pink Forsythia. This bush has dark pink flower buds that open to white blooms. They are cloaked in white right now!
I hope this encourages all who read to get outside and enjoy the sun when it is out. We hope to see you soon!
-Adria
Nov 23
As the foliage leaves the trees bare for their winter slumber it’s time to start thinking about dormant spray. Dormant spray is used to prevent common diseases on fruit trees like Peach leaf curl on Peaches and Shothole on Plums and Pluots. This done in a timely manner will reduce or eliminate the amount of [...] [...more]
As the foliage leaves the trees bare for their winter slumber it’s time to start thinking about dormant spray. Dormant spray is used to prevent common diseases on fruit trees like Peach leaf curl on Peaches and Shothole on Plums and Pluots. This done in a timely manner will reduce or eliminate the amount of disease on your fruit trees. The best dormant spray to use is Lilly Miller Microcop. This is the strongest form of copper sulfate available and it really does the trick. However it is a trick to spray it since it is in powdered form and has to be diluted with water.
Make sure to spray your fruit trees three times during the dormant season. Start around Thanksgiving once the leaves are off, follow up at New Years and then finish off around Valentines Day. It is easy to miss a spraying during the busy holidays but remember that one spraying is better than none; two sprayings are better than one and so on. If you miss any of these time periods, just make sure to space the sprayings 4-6 weeks apart. The last spraying is the most crucial and should be done befor the flower buds start to pop like popcorn, “the popcorn stage”. For a handy calendar, you may come in and pick up our Monthly Garden Calendar to put on the wall in your garage or shed for quick reminders all year long.
It is also important to dormant spray with a heavy horticultural oil like Lilly Miller Superior Spray oil. Using an oil during the dormant season smothers any overwintering insects on your trees so they don’t get a jump on the tender new leaves in the spring.
I hope this has helped clear up some of the confusion surrounding dormant sprays, timing and application. I look forward to any or questions if you have any.
Have a Happy Thanksgiving!!
Sincerely,
Adria