GARDENING; RAIN CAME, SPRING COMING.

Byline: Joshua Siskin

Gardener-friendly rain fell this past week. The rain has been relatively light, moistening the soil enough to make it plantable without soaking it to the point where digging or stepping in it would cause undesirable compaction.

In the Valley, it is not too early to plant most of the shrubs and trees you may have been considering for a spring garden. The only plants to avoid would be tropicals, especially small-sized specimens, which could be adversely affected by a late frost. Until the middle of March, it is possible to encounter frost in the Valley, although the chances of doing so decrease as the days get longer.

In truth, the Valley spring seems to commence sometime in the middle of February. By then, ornamental peach trees are well in bloom, and the fresh, rapidly unfolding leaves of hybrid tea roses are infused with a distinctive burgundy blush.

It is not too late to prune roses or fruit trees, although this task should be undertaken without delay. After pruning roses, strip off all leaves remaining on the canes. This will allow the rose bushes to experience, however briefly, the sort of true dormancy that enhances their flowering capacity in the spring.

If you are not sure which buds on your fruit tree turn into leaves and which turn into flowers, prune with caution. You would not want to prune off all your flower buds by mistake. In deciduous fruit trees, flower buds - which, after flowering, turn into fruits - usually occur cheek by jowl with leaf buds. Often, a single flower bud will be found between two leaf buds. Also, flower buds are usually fatter than leaf buds. On some fruit trees, flower buds form mostly on the terminal ends of shoots. This year, as the buds of your fruit tree open, make a note of how and where the flower buds appear to assist you in future pruning decisions.

In the Valley, you know spring is just around the corner when the saucer magnolias (Magnolia soulangeana) are in bloom, as they have been for the last week or two. There is a uniquely fresh and clean quality associated with the flowers of this tree. There are many saucer magnolia varieties, from those with white blooms lightly tinged with pink to those with magenta or even purple petals. They are invariably planted alone, as accent trees, and are the ideal choice for front yards of corner lots.

Our recent moist weather has not only sprouted thoughts of late winter or early spring planting, but resulted in the proliferation of unplanned for, if frequently encountered, garden companions - namely mushrooms.

Mushrooms have no problem growing under overcast skies since, unlike plants, they lack chlorophyll and do not require the sun as an immediate energy source. Most mushrooms are saprophytes, which means they derive their vitality from dead or decaying organic materials.

The appearance of mushrooms can be a favorable sign. Mushrooms are proof positive that the organic matter in your garden or lawn is decomposing. Decomposition is a life-giving process, made possible by aerobic bacteria that soften the soil and break down mineral compounds into elements that can be absorbed by plant roots.

However, mushrooms may also indicate that you have a problem. Mushrooms under a tree could be a sign of armillaria root rot, commonly known as oak root fungus. Root rot may be caused by over-watering and/or the presence of a pathogenic fungus. In the Valley, the two most common fungus diseases that affect plant roots are oak root fungus, which attacks not only oaks but nearly every other species of tree, and phytophthora, a water-mold fungus. Phytophthora typically kills its host slowly: You will see individual branches die back, perhaps over many years, before the plant in question finally succumbs. Oak root fungus, on the other hand, often causes death all at once; a tree is perfectly healthy one day and completely wilted the next.

Mushrooms grow out of fresh or coarse - but still decomposing - organic matter and not from thoroughly composted materials. A lawn that produces mushrooms will be less mushroom friendly following aeration, since this procedure alleviates the sol compaction and standing water that encourage mushroom growth. Mushrooms can be removed by hand or chemically controlled with a sprinkling of lime.

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