Sacramento Digs Gardening: Feeling lucky? Try this charmer

The St. Patrick's Day rose blooms yellow but has a green tint to
its bud (still apparent in bottom rose). Photo: Debbie Arrington

St. Patrick's Day thoughts for gardeners

How do you keep Irish eyes smiling? Or any eyes for that matter?

During this very weird St. Patrick’s Day, it’s been difficult to focus, little alone grin. Traditions – such as St. Patrick’s Day – help keep us centered, positive and moving forward. So does gardening.

So, as most of us hunker down in some form of self-quarantine, here are some upbeat thoughts for St. Patrick’s Day:

Rose with a green streak

Start with the St. Patrick’s Day rose. Mine is not yet in bloom, but the buds are forming and the flowers will be open soon. A hybrid tea, this unusual rose looks green in bud form (hence its Irish name). During the hottest days of summer, the greener the buds. They open into big butter-yellow blooms.

Introduced in 1996 by Weeks Roses, St. Patrick’s Day won the All-America Rose Selection award. It’s a cross of two very good yellow roses: Brandy and Gold Medal.

(Fun fact: Marilyn Monroe, a buff-colored hybrid tea, was developed by crossing St. Patrick’s Day with the orange blend Sunset Celebration. Like St. Patrick’s Day, Marilyn Monroe sometimes has a green tint.)

An almost shamrock

Those aren’t weeds; they’re (almost) shamrocks! Blooming all over Sacramento (and beyond) this St. Patrick’s Day is a familiar yellow flower with leaves that look like shamrocks. It’s the Bermuda Buttercup, an oxalis native to South Africa. Also known as wood sorrel or sourgrass, this may rank as Sacramento’s most charming invasive plant.

Feeling lucky?

Four-leaf clovers are a natural mutation of common three-leaf clovers. The rule of thumb is that one four-leaf clover occurs for every 10,000 three-leafed clovers. But researchers found that four-leaf clovers are actually twice as common. Researchers looked at 5 million clover leaves and found about 1,000 four-leafed examples, meaning that the rate is closer to 5,000 to 1. Still a long shot, but finding a four-leaf clover is twice as “easy” as believed.

GENERAL GARDENING

An article about gardening.

Keywords:

holiday traditions hybrids St. Patrick's Day gardening Sacramento buds holiday plants roses four-leaf clovers oxalis

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Flowers in My Back Yard Series

April 28: Majestic Matilija poppy is worth a look

April 21: Celebrate roses, America's favorite flower

April 14: Small flowers with outsized impact

April 7: Calendulas do double duty

April 3: Make Easter lilies last for years to come

March 31: In praise of a pollinator magnet (small-leaf salvias)

March 24: Azaleas brighten shady spots

March 17: The perfect flower for beginners? Try zonal geraniums

March 10: Keep camellias happy for years to come

March 3: Fruit tree blossoms are a fleeting joy

Feb. 27: Are your roses looking rusty?

Feb. 24: Treasure spring daffodils now and for years to come

Feb. 17: How and why to grow wildflowers

Feb. 10: Let's talk Valentine's Day roses

Feb. 3: Why grow flowers?

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Garden checklist for week of April 19

After this midweek storm, start getting serious about spring gardening. Flowers are blooming about three weeks ahead of schedule. That includes weeds!

* Get ready to swing into action in the vegetable garden – if you haven’t already. As nights warm up over 50 degrees, set out tomato, pepper and eggplant transplants.

* From seed, plant beans, beets, cantaloupes, carrots, corn, cucumbers, melons, radishes and squash; wait on pumpkins until May. 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. Late April is about the last chance to plant summer bulbs, such as gladiolus and tuberous begonias.

* Transplant lettuce and cabbage seedlings.

* 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? Give citrus trees a low dose of balanced fertilizer (such as 10-10-10) during bloom to help set fruit. Keep an eye out for ants. If leaves look yellow, your tree may need an iron boost -- apply some chelated iron fertilizer.

* 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 needs nutrition. Give shrubs and trees a slow-release fertilizer. Mulch with a 1-inch layer of compost, which helps the soil, but keep it a few inches away from trunks and stems.

* 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.

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