Sanhedrin Nursery – Garden Blog

• Attract hummingbirds to your patio this summer with hummingbird feeders, so you can enjoy their iridescent beauty and charm. The new Big Gulp™ holds 40 oz. and is easy to fill.

• Azaleas, camellias and rhododendrons can be pruned now without sacrificing next years bloom. Ask at your nursery if you need help.

• Paint trunks of young fruit trees with Tree Trunk White. This will keep the soft bark from sun-burning which leaves cracks for borer insects, the most common cause of death of young apple trees.

• Earwigs are out and about and hungry. Control them with the new “Sluggo Plus”, which has the natural, bacteria-based spinosad added to the original iron phosphate formula.

• Stake or cage tomato plants before they get any larger.

Bright and Sunny Marigolds

Marigolds have a long and rambling history traveling from their native Mexico, where they were used and admired by the Aztecs, across the ocean to Europe and African and finally back to America. Through their meandering journey, some varieties became known as African marigolds and others as French marigolds.

Since the 1920s marigold breeding has developed hundreds of new varieties. The glorious marigold flowers come in all the colors of the sun – brilliant yellow, bold orange, rich gold and russet tones, and bright white. Their diversity of flower types and drought tolerance make them a very valuable bedding plant for summer gardens.

African marigolds are both the largest marigold plants and the largest flowers. Standing up to 3 feet tall, their large, fully double flower heads can be 3-5 inches across. They come in yellow, gold, orange and primrose (light yellow) and make fine cut flowers.

The largest of these are the Crackerjack marigolds. This is a fine, open-pollinated heirloom variety that will bloom all summer with hardly any attention. The Lady and Perfection series offer plants that grow 18-24 inches tall with blooms that measure 3-4 inches across. The Inca and Antigua marigolds are a little shorter, at around 14-16 inches tall with sturdy stems and flowers up to 3 inches across.

French marigolds are a different species of marigold and offer more variety of flower shape and color. They are bushy and compact with small flowers, up to 2 inches across, and a neat overall appearance. The plants usually grow 8-12 inches tall, and the flowers vary from single to semi-double to fully double. They come in both solid and bi-colored types in yellow, orange and mahogany-red.

You’ll find regular French marigolds with names like Yellow Boy or Janie Orange. The semi-double types are often bi-colored with red and yellow flowers and names like Durango Bee or Safari Red. The ruffled petals give them a very showy appearance.

A third type of marigold has flattened petals in a single layer with a central tuft. They are called Signet marigolds and Disco is a popular mix. They bloom early and abundantly on compact plants with delicate, lacy foliage, and are excellent for edging beds and in window boxes.

Triploid marigolds are a cross between African types and French types. Since they set no seed as they mature, the plants will produce flowers continuously over a long season. Zenith and Nugget marigolds are triploids.

All types of marigolds prefer full sun and grow in almost any soil with dry to moderate moisture. While the marigolds are an attractive addition to the garden, research studies have concluded that they aren’t effective in reducing insect damage on vegetable crops.

Enjoy this versatile flower in your flower beds and borders.

• Fertilize container plants every 10 to 14 days with a liquid fertilizer. Pinch off faded blossoms and they will keep blooming all summer for you.

• There’s still time to plant summer vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and corn will bear for you if you plant them now.

• It’s time to set out Brussels sprouts for fall harvest.

• Attract birds to your garden with a concrete bird bath. They come in many attractive styles and make good gifts.

• Earwigs are out and about and hungry. Control them with the new “Sluggo Plus”, which has the natural, bacteria-based spinosad added to the original iron phosphate formula.

Gold in the Garden

To brighten up your flower beds and containers this summer, look to Marigolds, Coreopsis, yarrow and Gazanias to add some splashes of gold to your garden.

Coreopsis are a favorite flower with many gardeners because of their bright, sunny colors and long blooming season. Their drifts of daisy-like flowers light up the garden with bright splashes of gold, rust and soft yellow.

Most coreopsis are perennials with long blooming seasons. Their golden yellow daisy flowers rise on strong stems above their rich green foliage. The variety ‘Early Sunrise’ has double, 2-inch flowers on 2-foot tall plants. They bloom the first year from early summer to fall, attracting butterflies and birds to your garden. Bright and cheery, they make great cut flowers.

Threadleaf, coreopsis ‘Moonbeam’ has dainty, finely-cut foliage and a spreading habit. It is a strong perennial, living for many years with minimal care. It’s pale yellow flowers combine nicely with blue and purple flowers, like Echinacea or Campanula, in the garden or with warm colors. It can also be used along garden walls where it will tumble over the edge. It is the most drought tolerant of the family.

Coreopsis ‘Baby Sun’ is excellent in the flower border, making a thick covering about 16 inches high. The fringed yellow flowers have a striking red eye, and they bloom over a long season, living for many years with little care.

The dwarf coreopsis, ‘Nana’, makes a nice, long-blooming ground cover. It has single, golden yellow flowers and forms a carpet of brilliant yellow from spring through summer. It prefers morning sun and makes an excellent addition to the rock garden.

Marigolds are sunny annuals with yellow, orange or red flowers. There four types of marigolds: French marigolds, triploids hybrids, and single-flowered types with dainty flowers, and African marigolds with large, fluffy flowers. No annual is more cheerful or easier to grow than marigolds. You can use marigolds as border or edging accents or grow entire beds of them. Marigolds also make good potted plants and cut flowers. Plant them in full sun or partial shade.

There are many different types of yarrow, but two are outstanding for their big, yellow flowers. ‘Coronation Gold’ is a hardy perennial that sends up flower stalks to 4 feet tall with golden yellow flower heads. ‘Moonshine’ is a smaller variety, growing to 2 feet tall with buttery yellow flowers. All kinds attract butterflies and insect pollinators.

Gazanias are bright daisy flowers that bloom all summer. They grow as ground covers and flowers come in many colors, but yellows and oranges are predominant. Use them for a bright spot of color or as a ground covering, though they seldom live through the winter in our climate.

Plant some gold in your garden to brighten summer days.

• There’s still time to plant summer vegetables: tomatoes, peppers, zucchini, cucumbers and corn will bear for you if you plant them now.

• It’s time to set out Brussels sprouts for fall harvest.

• Stake or cage tomato plants before they get any larger.

• Feed rhododendrons, azaleas and camellias with an acid plant food to encourage lush growth. Pinch or prune to promote full, dense growth.

• Fertilize container plants every 10 to 14 days with a liquid fertilizer. Pinch off faded blossoms and they will keep blooming all summer for you.

Secrets of Companion Planting

The practice of mixing flowers and herbs into the vegetable garden or around certain shrubs to attract beneficial insects and repel harmful ones is known as companion planting. Hundreds of examples of plant companions are recorded in garden folklore, and scientific studies have supported many of these.

There are many varieties of herbs, flowers and vegetables that can be used for companion plants. Certain plants act as “trap crops” that draw pest insects away from other plants. Nasturtiums are used this way to attract aphids which seem to prefer them to other crops. Planting a ring of them around apple trees limits woolly aphid damage to the trees (although the nasturtiums won’t look too great).

“Nurse plants” provide breeding grounds for beneficial insects. Herbs such as fennel, dill, anise and coriander are members of the carrot family that produce broad, flat clusters of small flowers that attract beneficials. Grow these plants near your vegetables to keep parasitic wasps nearby. Sunflowers, zinnias and asters also attract helpful insects.

Cucumber beetles, which look like green lady bugs, are a common pest in the vegetable garden. You can lure them away from other plants by planting radishes or nasturtiums nearby. Nasturtiums also deter whiteflies and squash bugs.

Radishes will lure leafminers away from spinach. The damage the leafminers do to radish leaves does not stop the radish roots from growing and being edible, a win-win situation.

Flea beetles are tiny black insects that riddle eggplant leaves with holes. Catnip nearby will deter these creatures. It will also reduce aphids on pepper plants. Keep the catnip in a pot, though, because it can grow out of control in the garden.

Sweet basil is known to repel aphids, mosquitoes and flies. Planted near tomatoes, it is said to help them overcome both insects and diseases and also improves their growth and flavor.

Garlic grown in a circle around fruit trees is good protection against borers. It also deters aphids, weevils and spider mites. It is beneficial when planted around rose bushes for these reasons. Plant near cabbage to repel the cabbage moth and resultant caterpillar damage.

Rosemary deters cabbage moth, bean beetles and carrot flies, so plant some around your vegetable garden.

Marigolds are known for their ability to suppress nematodes. However, we do not have soil nematodes in this area of California. French marigolds help to deter whiteflies when planted around tomatoes and can be useful in the greenhouse for the same purpose. Marigolds may help repel flea beetles from eggplants. For best results plant marigolds that are tall and strongly scented, with the eggplants.

There are many other interesting possibilities. So fill your garden with flowers and herbs and reap their protective benefits as well as their beauty and fragrance.