Get advice from local experts; see how they tackle spring tasks
Native Douglas irises -- as well as the 'Canyon Snow' cultivar irises -- are in bloom at the Fair Oaks Horticulture Center this week, which also happens to be California Native Plant Week. Kathy Morrison
Spring stirs thoughts of gardening – and lots of questions. Here’s your chance to get expert advice from Sacramento County master gardeners during a (hopefully) sunny midweek morning.
From 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday, April 17, the master gardeners will host an Open Garden event at Fair Oaks Horticulture Center in Fair Oaks Park – rain or shine. Admission and parking are free.
See the latest renovations and additions to this growing resource. Watch master gardeners as they tend to spring tasks and prepare for summer planting and rapid growth.
“For gardeners, there is no better time than spring to get inspired and tap into some practical and scientific know-how,” say the organizers. “Join Sacramento’s UC Master Gardeners to view new and established plantings and get locally relevant answers to your gardening questions.”
Master gardeners will be available to answer questions. Bring photos and samples of pests and/or problem plants, if desired (in zippered plastic bags). Got a garden mystery? These garden detectives are ready to help.
Stroll around the Hort Center and see what the master gardeners are busy doing this week. Ask questions! They love to talk gardening.
Some areas of interest:
BERRIES: Loganberries and ‘Baby Cakes’ raspberries are joining the berry garden. See how the various blueberry plants are doing.
HERBS: International culinary herb beds are making room for new annuals. Sniff the scented pelargoniums and the various lavenders. View edible flowers such as calendula and Johnny jump-ups.
VEGETABLES: Beds are being cleared of cover crops and revitalized with compost and fertilizer. As the soil warms, All-America Selections of tomatoes, flowers and vegetables will be planted.
ORCHARD: As the citrus harvest concludes, trees are being fertilized and pruned. Other sections of the orchard are being prepared for new trees including some in containers.
WATER-EFFICIENT LANDSCAPE: Subtropical varieties are being tried the Sacramento area in anticipation of climate change.
Fair Oaks Horticulture Center is located at 11549 Fair Oaks Blvd., Fair Oaks, south of the Fair Oaks Library.
Details and directions: https://sacmg.ucanr.edu.
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Food in My Back Yard (FIMBY) Series
WINTER:
Jan. 13: Tips for planting bare-root trees, shrubs and vegetables
Jan. 6: Hints for choosing tomato seeds
Dec. 30: Why winter is the perfect time to plant fruit trees
Dec. 23: Is edible gardening possible indoors?
FALL
Dec. 16: Add asparagus to your edible garden
Dec. 9: Soggy soil and what to do about it
Dec. 2: Plant artichokes now; enjoy for years to come
Nov. 25: It's late November, and your peach tree needs spraying
Nov. 18: What to do with all those fallen leaves?
Nov. 11: Prepare now for colder weather in the edible garden
Nov. 4: Plant a pea patch for you and your garden
Oct. 27: As citrus season begins, advice for backyard growers
Oct. 20: Change is in the autumn air
Oct. 13: We don't talk (enough) about beets
Oct. 6: Fava beans do double duty
Sept. 30: Seeds or transplants for cool-season veggies?
Sept. 23: How to prolong the fall tomato harvest
SUMMER
Sept. 16: Time to shut it down?
Sept. 9: How to get the most out of your pumpkin patch
Sept. 2: Summer-to-fall transition time for evaluation, planning
Aug. 26: To pick or not to pick those tomatoes?
Aug. 19: Put worms to work for you
Aug. 12: Grow food while saving water
Aug. 5: Enhance your food with edible flowers
July 29: Why won't my tomatoes turn red?
July 22: A squash plant has mosaic virus, and it's not pretty
July 15: Does this plant need water?
July 8: Tear out that sad plant or baby it? Midsummer decisions
July 1: How to grow summer salad greens
June 24: Weird stuff that's perfectly normal
SPRING
June 17: Help pollinators help your garden
June 10: Battling early-season tomato pests
June 3: Make your own compost
May 27: Where are the bees when you need them?
May 20: How to help tomatoes thrive on hot days
May 13: Your plants can tell you more than any calendar can
May 6: Maintain soil moisture with mulch for garden success
April 29: What's (already) wrong with my tomato plants?
April 22: Should you stock up on fertilizer? (Yes!)
April 15: Grow culinary herbs in containers
April 8: When to plant summer vegetables
April 1: Don't be fooled by these garden myths
March 25: Fertilizer tips: How to 'feed' your vegetables for healthy growth
WINTER
March 18: Time to give vegetable seedlings some more space
March 11: Ways to win the fight against weeds
March 4: Potatoes from the garden
Feb. 25: Plant a fruit tree now -- for later
Feb. 18: How to squeeze more food into less space
Feb. 11: When to plant? Consider staggering your transplants
Feb. 4: Starting in seed starting
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Garden checklist for week of Jan. 18
Make the most of these rain-free breaks. Your garden needs you!
* Transplant pansies, violas, calendulas, English daisies, snapdragons and fairy primroses.
* In the vegetable garden, plant fava beans, head lettuce, mustard, onion sets, radicchio and radishes.
* Plant bare-root asparagus and root divisions of rhubarb.
* Plant bare-root roses and fruit trees.
* In the bulb department, plant callas, anemones, ranunculus and gladiolus for bloom from late spring into summer.
* Browse through seed catalogs and start making plans for spring and summer.
* Prune, prune, prune. Now is the time to cut back most deciduous trees and shrubs. The exceptions are spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs.
* Now is the time to prune fruit trees, except cherry and apricot trees. Clean up leaves and debris around the trees to prevent the spread of disease.
* Prune roses, even if they’re still trying to bloom. Strip off any remaining leaves, so the bush will be able to put out new growth in early spring.
* Prune Christmas camellias (Camellia sasanqua), the early-flowering varieties, after their bloom. They don’t need much, but selective pruning can promote bushiness, upright growth and more bloom next winter. Give them an acid-type fertilizer. But don’t fertilize your Japonica camellias until after they finish blooming next month. Doing that while camellias are in bloom may cause them to drop unopened buds.
* Clean up leaves and debris around your newly pruned roses and shrubs. Put down fresh mulch or bark to keep roots cozy.
* Divide daylilies, Shasta daisies and other perennials.
* Cut back and divide chrysanthemums.
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