TIME TO ADD COLOR FOR WINTER PLANTS.Byline: JANE GATES Gardening SANTA CLARITA - Most flowers unfurl in the spring, but there are several groups of plants you can count on to add color as the winter comes to an end. These plants need your attention now. Deciduous fruit trees are extremely decorative as well as productive. Most of them bloom in the late winter and early springtime. You can buy diminutive dwarves dwarves n. A plural of dwarf. (from 3 7/8 to 10 feet tall,) semidwarves (up to 15 feet tall) and standards to fit virtually any space. Now is the time to buy them bare-root at the best prices with the best selection. If you have fruit trees already growing, this is the time to prune and to use dormant oil sprays when the wind is not blowing. If you care for your trees properly, you will be rewarded with a blizzard of pink or white flowers in the spring. Azaleas, camellias and gardenias are favorites for the shade. Azaleas in particular put on a dazzling show at the end of winter. These plants need special attention, though. They are acid lovers and we do not have acid soil. That means if you want to have success with them in this area, they need lots of peat and organic material dug into the soil. Since our water is so filled with calcium and other minerals, every time you water azaleas you will be neutralizing the acid in the soil. So it's wise to feed them with an acid food and top-dress them with a mulch dressing made especially for them or with peat. Dappled sun is OK, but don't expect success with these plants in full sun. Other plants in this same category are the hydrangea hydrangea (hīdrān`jə): see saxifrage. hydrangea Any of approximately 23 species of erect or climbing woody shrubs that make up the genus Hydrangea (family Hydrangeaceae). , astilbe, hellebore hellebore (hĕl`əbôr), name usually for plants of the genus Helleborus of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family), Eurasian perennials with attractive palmately divided leaves and flowers of various colors. and Japanese anemone anemone (ənĕm`ənē) or windflower, any of the perennial herbs, wild or cultivated, of the genus Anemone of the family Ranunculaceae (buttercup family). . California natives will put on their short but impressive display starting at the end of the winter. Some of the showy buckwheats (eriogonum), nightshades (solanum Solanum a widespread plant genus of the family Solanaceae which contains a number of valuable crop plants but also some poisonous ones. Poisoning may be due to (1) the presence in the plant of toxic glycoalkaloids which cause diarrhea, (2) alkamines, e.g. ) and many salvias like salvia salvia: see sage. salvia Any of about 700 species of herbaceous and woody plants that make up the genus Salvia, in the mint family. Some members (e.g., sage) are important as sources of flavouring. clevelandii or apiana will also be flowering soon. California poppies and clarkias, nemophila (5-spot or baby blue eyes The Baby blue eyes, Nemophila menziesii, is a common wild flower of California, whose range extends into Oregon and Baja California. It is a spring-flowering annual that gets its name from the bright blue flowers of two of the three varieties that are recognised. ) and phacelia Noun 1. phacelia - any plant of the genus Phacelia scorpion weed, scorpionweed flower - a plant cultivated for its blooms or blossoms genus Phacelia - American herbs with usually pinnatifid leaves and blue or purple or white flowers in scorpioid are some of the annuals that will blaze into color shortly, too. All of this will happen if we get some more rain soon. Some plants from the Mediterranean and Australia live in areas very much like ours and these imports can add easy care color in the early spring. If you don't have them in your garden, this is a good time to plant rosemaries, lavenders, hesperaloes and grevillias. Protect new plants and transplants from frosts by mulching or tossing a piece of burlap over them if the temperature is likely to drop at night. And if this dry period continues, keep them watered. After they are established, these plants will require little care. With a little extra effort at this time of year, your garden can be in full bloom in just a couple of months. |
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