The Flower Fields® at Carlsbad Ranch. This ranch has over 50 acres devoted
to raising the ranunculus bulb crop. The dramatic fields of color attract more
than 200,000 visitors each year, many come back again and again. The
ranunculus flower is a member of the Buttercup family. The Tecolote Giant
Ranunculus is the type of ranunculus grown here.

To this day the Flower Fields is the only Ranunculus grower in the world that
allows visitors to walk the fields and experience the bands of color up close.
During the bloom season you can take a wagon ride around the perimeter of
the Flower Fields to get a better look from all sides.

The next time you are in Southern CA between early March to early May drop
by to visit a sea of color at The Flower Fields® at Carlsbad Ranch.

Happy Gardening

For More Information go to: Best Lawn Mowers Reviews

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As you can see they come in multiple colors-purple, pink, scarlet and
white. Sit back and enjoy the crepe myrtles.

For more information go to: Drought Tolerant Crepe Myrtle Trees Around Modesto CA

Happy Gardening

Phil The Gardener’s Reply:
Agapanthus do very well year round in zones 7-11 and are generally disease
free as long as they have good drainage and are not over watered.

For your container plants, make sure you use a well drained potting mix, add
in a granular fertilizer. The soil should drain readily and not retain excess water.
The plant can suffer from root and rhizome rot in heavy poorly drained soil.

Remove the plant from the container and replace the soil with a good draining
potting soil replant. Check with your local garden supply for a good fungicide
to treat the affected plants and soil.

Happy Gardening

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Phil The Gardener’s reply:
I generally cut the stem down as close as I can into the greenery so no dead stem is showing.

If you want to save the seeds you should let them mature on the plant, this way you have healthy mature seeds.

Seriously the best way to propogate your aggies is to kill 2 birds with one stone. Dividing them is healthy for the plant, it gives it room to grow and it gives you more plants to place in other beds.

Happy Gardening

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Phil The Gardeners reply:
You don’t say where you are located but in most areas of the country you can keep your ilex hedge in formal shape by keeping it pruned. I wouldn’t prune if the days are too hot you may stress the plant.
Another thing to keep in mind is if it is overgrown you really should bring it back into shape in stages allowing some new growth in between. If you prune it completely back to where it was or should be you may have some bare areas or woody areas. They should fill in it may look ugly in the meantime.

Happy Gardening

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1. Before you even take the tree in the house, dig a hole for the tree where you expect to plant it after the holidays. Put the soil in a wheelbarrow and park it in the garage. You’ll need loose soil to backfill the hole, and the ground might be frozen after the holidays.

2. Keep your live tree in the house for as short a time as is possible.

3. Keep the ball plenty moist while in the house, but not in a tub full of water. You don’t want the ball to dry out completely, but by the same token it shouldn’t be soggy all the time either. Just moist. You can wet it thoroughly, but then don’t water again until the water is almost gone.

4. After Christmas move the tree outdoors as soon as possible and plant it immediately. If you were not able to dig the hole earlier, the ground is frozen, and the tree cannot be planted, leave it outside and pack bags of leaves or bales of straw around the ball. Find a way to heel it in in such a way that the amount of sun and wind the root ball receives is minimal.

5. Try and plant the tree immediately if you can. You do not want to store the tree on top of the ground during the winter if you can avoid it. Putting it in your garage is not a good idea either, it is likely to dry out in there. The absolute best place for the ball is in the ground, even if the ground has frozen after you dug the hole.  Just set the tree in the hole and backfill with loose soil. Make sure there are no air pockets around the ball. Backfill only with small particles of soil. If this cannot be done because the soil is frozen, just set the tree in the hole and backfill as soon as the weather permits.

6. Check the ball for nylon string. Cut and remove any nylon string. Sometimes the diggers wrap the string around the stem of the tree. If the string is a cotton type, like sisal twine, you can leave it on the ball but remove it from the stem. If the burlap is nylon it should be cut in many places or removed. If the ball is wrapped with a wire basket I recommend leaving it on. It will help to secure the tree and keep it from rocking back and forth with the wind. The roots will find their way through the wire and the burlap. Just cut the burlap where you can.

7. Do not plant the tree too deep. This is the number one reason for plants that do not survive. They should not be planted any deeper than they were in the nursery. The top of the ball should be one to two inches above the ground level. If you have heavy, wet, clay soil, you should plant it even higher and build a bed up around the ball. When you plant them too deep the plants literally suffocate.

8. Do not fertilize the tree at the time of planting. You can fertilize it in the spring, but only with an organic fertilizer. If you have compost available, mix some in while planting. Fertilizer can do more harm than it can good. I always recommend organic fertilizers. It’s hard to make a mistake with organics. It’s always a good idea to stake trees when you plant them. If the wind is constantly rocking them back and forth they will have a difficult time establishing new roots in their new home.

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It is great to have your flowers bloom indoors when it is in the cold dark days of winter. Beautiful flowering plants can brighten your house and lift your spirits on a cold winter’s day. Some bulbs have a great smelling bloom like hyacinths this can be wonderful to freshen your house as long as you’re not allergic to the smell.

Most spring flowering bulbs can be forced to bloom out of season as long as you follow the correct timing procedures. Some of the more common ones are crocus, daffodils, grape hyacinth, hyacinth, and tulips. Visit BloomingBulb.com for #1 quality Holland flower bulbs… at wholesale prices!

For more information on the process on how to force spring bulbs for Christmas come back for the next episode of forcing bulbs.

In case you missed the last episode Prevent Lawn Damage – Control Grubs in Lawn.

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The problem is as they’re looking for food they’re doing a lot of damage with their digging. Sure the short term fix is to dispose of the pest but another will come and take its place, so you need to implement some long term solutions.

Here are some of those solutions;

Reduce the amount of water you apply to your lawn.
Apply beneficial nematodes to attack the grubs in your lawn.

If the problem is a real bad case of pest digging.
One thing that will help to discourage the pests from digging is to install chicken wire over the grass.
Your lawn will grow through the chicken wire, and and be protected from diggers.
The chicken wire needs to be stapled down with jute net staples.
Raise the mower up a half-inch so if there are any uneven areas in your lawn the blades will not come in contact with the chicken wire.

In case you missed the last episode Planting Bulbs in the Fall For Spring Color.

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The tools and materials you will need are a bulb planter or garden trowel, a shovel, fertilizer, and the bulbs you intend to plant. You should make sure you draw a diagram of what variety you planted in each area so you can plan you colors and bloom times.

Plant the bulbs that grow the tallest in the back with the shortest flowers in the front. Don’t plant in rows, but rather in random groupings. You will have bursts of color all summer long with some careful planning.

In case you missed the last episode Aerating Your Lawn Part 2.

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