Basics and more in Placer County master gardeners' online workshop
So pretty in spring, but they should be planted now.
Learn how to get maximum effect from bulbs. (Photo: Kathy Morrison) |
It's bulb-planting season!
It's also time for gardeners to project themselves into the future -- specifically next spring. Anyone who wants clutches of tulips, clumps of hyacinths or dozens of daffodils in the 2022 garden must plan and plant now.
Where to start? The UC Master Gardeners of Placer County have that answer and more in their free Zoom workshop, "The Magic of Bulbs," this Saturday, Oct. 23, at 10:30 a.m.
The hourlong session will cover bulbs of all kinds, from buying and planting to caring and naturalizing. Learn how deep to plant daffodils, for example, or why tulip bulbs might need to be refrigerated before planting.
The Zoom link is: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84105448029? and the passcode is: garden.
Incidentally, the Placer master gardeners' previous recorded workshops are listed and linked here: https://ucanr.edu/sites/ucmgplacer/files/354097.pdf Plenty of good information there, including composting and mulching, container gardening and growing citrus. Great viewing for a rainy day!
The Placer County master gardeners' website home page, with links to even more gardening information, is https://pcmg.ucanr.org/
-- Kathy Morrison
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Garden Checklist for week of April 21
This week there’s plenty to keep gardeners busy. With no rain in the immediate forecast, remember to irrigate any new transplants.
* Weed, weed, weed! Get them before they flower and go to seed.
* April is the last chance to plant citrus trees such as dwarf orange, lemon and kumquat. These trees also look good in landscaping and provide fresh fruit in winter.
* Smell orange blossoms? Feed citrus trees with a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants.
* Apply slow-release fertilizer to the lawn.
* Thoroughly clean debris from the bottom of outdoor ponds or fountains.
* Spring brings a flush of rapid growth, and that means your garden is really hungry. Feed shrubs and trees with a slow-release fertilizer. Or mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost.
* Azaleas and camellias looking a little yellow? If leaves are turning yellow between the veins, give them a boost with chelated iron.
* Trim dead flowers but not leaves from spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Those leaves gather energy to create next year's flowers. Also, give the bulbs a fertilizer boost after bloom.
* Pinch chrysanthemums back to 12 inches for fall flowers. Cut old stems to the ground.
* Mulch around plants to conserve moisture and control weeds.
* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash.
* Plant onion sets.
* In the flower garden, plant seeds for asters, cosmos, celosia, marigolds, salvia, sunflowers and zinnias.
* Transplant petunias, zinnias, geraniums and other summer bloomers.
* Plant perennials and dahlia tubers for summer bloom.
* Mid to late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.
* Transplant lettuce seedlings. Choose varieties that mature quickly such as loose leaf.