NURSERIES
| SUPPLIES | CLUBS
& SOCIETIES | GARDENS & ARBORETA
| PESTS
& DISEASES | EXPERTS
| TREES | ANGELA'S
PICKS
LAWN
MAINTENANCE: Feed
your lawn with a high-nitrogen lawn food. Aerate and overseed thin patches,
if necessary. Get out the mower...
UC GUIDE TO HEALTHY LAWNS: Want
to know what type of lawn you have and how to maintain
it? Want to put in a new lawn or renovate
an old one? Need lawn pest info? The new UC
Guide to Healthy Lawns is an excellent resource. So is the
UC "Lawn
Watering Guide for California".
SHADE
TREES:
Having any tree concerns? Call a certified
arborist for help.
BACKYARD ORCHARD TREES, SHRUBS & VINES: The following links to the University of California Backyard Orchard care sheets will keep you on track and on your way to a tasty harvest:
| |
Apple | Avocado | Berries | |
| Cherry | Chestnut | Citrus
|
Fig | Filbert (Hazelnut) |
| Grape (table) | Kiwifruit | Loquat | Nectarine | Olive |
| Peach | Pear | Pecan | Persimmon | Pistachio |
| Plum & Prune | Pomegranate | Quince | Walnut |
Citrus
are heavy nitrogen-feeders. An application of nitrogen in late
winter/early spring will provide adequate nutrients for flower
and fruit set.
RECOMMENDED FERTILIZER APPLICATION RATES:
NITROGEN (N): regular application
required
1 to 2 year old tree: 2 tablespoons nitrogen fertilizer 3 to
4 times per year or 1/10 lb. nitrogen fertilizer per year
3-year-old tree: 1/4 lb. nitrogen
applied to dripline
before watering
4+
year old tree:
1 lb. actual
nitrogen per tree per year. So, if your nitrogen fertilizer contains 33%
actual nitrogen (33-0-0), you will need to apply 3 lbs. Some references
recommend dividing applications into thirds, totaling 3 applications per
year (early spring, summer and fall). If you follow that recommendation,
make sure you avoid feeding oranges and grapefruit during summer
to avoid thick rinds, lower juice content and re-greening of
Valencia oranges.
PHOSPHORUS
(P): 1 lb. phosphate per tree every 3
to 4 years per mature tree
POTASSIUM (K): as needed
(deficiency: general leaf pattern begins as a yellowing
of the tips and margins, which then gets broader. Necrotic
areas and spotting can develop on the leaves) 2.5 to 5 lbs. potassium
per mature tree per year for 2 years if deficiency is noted.
MAGNESIUM (Mg): as needed
(deficiency noted by yellowing between veins of older
leaves followed by dropping.)
ZINC: as needed
(deficiency symptom is "mottle-leaf", exhibited by "small
terminal leaves with mottling between
large leaf veins". Apply late-winter or early spring foliar
spray (carefully follow label directions)
IRON: as needed
(deficiency symptom is yellowing between large
leaf veins... i.e. interveinal chlorosis)
foliar spray
(follow label directions)
MANGANESE (Mn):
as needed
(deficiency: young leaves turn light green between veins,
often more noticeable on tree's north side).
Combination "micronutrient sprays" are available
at your local nursery if you suspect multiple deficiencies.
A specialized
citrus fertilizer or "citrus food" likely contains
all necessary macro- and micro-nutrients.
References: California Master Gardener Handbook and the following books:
This guy literally wrote the book on citrus!
IRRIGATION:
It's
probably time to start watering again. Adjust your irrigation controller
for a spring watering schedule.
Now is a good time to check your drip system for problems. If you're like
me, you've managed to chop many of those long tubes into penne pasta-sized
bits... It's also a good time to flush out sediment, earwigs, etc.
ANNUALS:
Continue
deadheading cool-season annuals (pansies, primroses, etc.), but don't
buy any new ones. It's time to shift into "summer color" gear.
PERENNIALS:
Feed
established perennials to get them off to a good spring start. Feed newly-planted
perennials with starter fertilizer (lower N, higher P) or controlled-release
fertilizer like Osmocote.
Now's a good time to root cuttings from your mums, carnations, geraniums and succulents like orchid cactus.
ROSES:
Feed
roses with a complete fertilizer this month. Watch for aphids. When you
see 'em, blast 'em off with a hose. Prune non-repeat bloomers after blooms
fade.
WEEDS:
What's
the saying? Weed now, or forever hold your weeds (or something like that)...
See the UC
Weed Gallery for proper identification and the UC
IPM Pest Notes for how to manage them.
PESTS:
Slugs,
snails and aphids, oh my!.Visit
the fabulous UC
IPM website for control measures. Here are a few timely links
to pest pages:
Slugs & Snails: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7427.html
Aphids: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html
Mosquitoes:
Eliminate
bodies of stagnant water where possible and use mosquito
dunks where not. http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7451.html
Ants: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7411.html
Earwigs: http://www.ipm.ucdavis.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn74102.html
Want to see what the
GOOD
GUYS look like?