Plants are the lens Jessie views the world through because they’re all-sustaining. (“They feed, clothe, house and heal us. They produce the air we breathe and even make us smell pretty.”) She’s a garden writer and photographer with degrees in both horticulture and plant biology from Purdue and Michigan State Universities. Her degrees were bolstered by internships at Longwood Gardens and the American Horticultural Society. She has since worked for many horticultural institutions and companies and now manages communications for Sun Gro Horticulture, the parent company of Black Gold. Her joy is sharing all things green and lovely with her two daughters.
“What do you do with strawberry plants in the winter?” Question from Jacklyn or Portland, Oregon
Answer: In mild areas like yours, strawberries (Fragaria spp., USDA Zones 4-9) are very hardy, so no special overwintering measures need to be taken. You can, however, clean them up and thin clumps that are over 3 years of age to encourage strong fruiting. Central plants that are three or more years old start to produce less and less fruit. If you replace the main plants with one of the plant’s newer offshoots, you will get more strawberries the following year.
Start by weeding around your strawberry plants. You can also protect them with light straw or leaf mulch around the base of the plants. If you have older strawberries that need to be thinned and replaced, remove the central plant, and plant in its place one of the larger offshoots that have rooted. Fertilize your new strawberry plants with an all-purpose slow-release fertilizer to encourage good rooting and growth through fall and again late winter. Feed once more in early to mid-spring.
From there, I encourage you to watch our video about everything that you need to know about growing strawberries.
“What is the best way to remove ground mealybug or should I dispose of the whole plant?”Question from Erin of Conover, North Carolina
Answer: Mealybugs can be overcome. It just takes a little time and patience. The main reason is that one has to eradicate both the adults as well as the juvenile crawlers, which are almost invisible to the eye. Outdoors, ladybugs and other natural predators keep populations down, but inside the house mealybugs can take over a plant really quickly.
Mealybugs are soft, white, and feed on the juices of plant leaves and stems, particularly in the crevices between leaves and stems. Mealybug infestations are hard to manage because these pests travel and spread as crawlers. Crawlers are the nearly invisible nymphs that hatch from the pest’s white, cottony egg masses and “crawl” several feet to quickly infest other plants. You can’t always see these crawlers, so to manage them, you have to clean plants, containers, and surrounding surfaces when you see an infestation. They produce copious crawlers, so the sooner you notice mealybugs, the better.
At high populations, mealybugs produce lots of cottony egg masses, adult bugs, and nearly microscopic crawlers. All must be completely removed if the plant is to be saved. (Image by Alexlutor)
To remove mealybugs, start by cleaning your plant, its pot, and all surfaces surrounding the plant. Remove the top two inches of potting soil and replace it with fresh. Finally, spray the plants. One of the best mealybug sprays is a 10-25% solution of isopropyl alcohol. Fill a spray bottle with 1/4 cup of isopropyl alcohol and 2/4 cup water and shake to combine. When treating plants with this solution, keep them out of direct sunlight because it can cause leaf burn in the bright sun. You can also treat plants with insecticidal soap or Neem oil. Repeat spray treatments until plants are mealybug-free.
Another method to stop crawlers is to surround infected areas with double-sided tape traps. As the crawlers hatch and begin crawling, they will get stuck on the tape and die. You can also surround plant bases and pot edges with double-sided tape to keep crawlers from moving beyond an infected plant.
“Are raised beds easy to grow in and maintain? I live in North Carolina. During the winter can I put a tarp-type Greenhouse over them to help protect vegetables from the cold.” Question from Karen of Rougemont, North Carolina
Answer: There are many benefits to growing in raised beds and very few downsides. Here are the pros and cons of raised bed gardening, followed up by methods to help maintain your garden through winter.
Easier Weeding: Raised beds have looser soil, are higher, and often cover a smaller area, making them easier to weed. It’s also easier to harvest after rain and stay clean when beds are surrounded by pebble, straw, or cut grass.
Easier Harvest: Because they are raised, the beds are easier to harvest and replant.
Initial High Cost: Raised beds are not inexpensive to install if you start out right.
Less Space for Big Crops: Unless your beds are large and you have trellising, you have less space for large crops like vining pumpkins, squash, and melons or multiple rows of corn.
Need Replacement: Eventually your beds will need to be replaced. Metal and plastic options last longer. Cedar raised beds are also long-lasting. Never use treated wood to create raised beds because the wood contains heavy metals that can leach into the soil and be taken up by crops.
Raised Bed Covers
Floating hoop covers are the easiest and best insulating covers to extend growing in raised beds. You also may consider adding a cold frame to your raised bed plan. They make it easiest to continue growing herbs and greens through winter. (Click here to learn more about cold-frame gardening.)
Why Does My Amended Container Soil Become Compacted?
“Why does the soil in my container garden compact super tight? I use garden soil mixed with potting mix and perlite.” Question from Nell of Salem, Indiana
Answer: It sounds like your soil ratios are off, and your in-ground soil is high in clay. If you have not added the right amount of Black Gold amendment or potting soil to clay-rich ground soil, then compaction can be a problem. This is because clay-rich soil has very small particles and becomes compacted very easily. When you add organic matter, such as the peat moss and aged bark found in our potting soil, it lifts the soil, making it more porous and aerated, while allowing it to hold water better. Mineral ingredients, like perlite, also increase aeration and drainage.
“How do you harvest and grow peony seeds?” Question from Mark of Barrie, Ontario, Canada
Answer: If your peonies successfully cross-pollinated and produced viable seeds that can be induced to sprout, then the plants will develop seed pods that should contain fully mature seeds in late summer or early fall. The round, tough seeds should be harvested as soon as the pods open and begin to turn brown. The seeds will be dark brown to black.
Getting Peony Seeds to Sprout
It takes time and patience to get peony seeds to sprout. Some seeds will produce seedlings in a year and others can take up to three years. Fresh seed will yield the best results. The seeds require a process called stratification, which involves a chilling period of a few months before one can try to induce the seeds to grow. In the case of peony seeds, they need a warm period, chilling period, and warm period. Stratification can be done indoors or outdoors.
Outdoor Stratification
The outdoor method is a little less precise and may take longer, but it often yields the best results. As soon as you harvest your seeds, soak them for three to four days in water. Change the water each day. Unhealthy seeds will float, sink, and become soft. Healthy seeds will swell, and remain round and firm.
Collect the healthy seeds, plant them 1.5 inches down, and 3 inches apart in a flat of Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix. It contains peat as well as composted bark–a combination favored by peony seedlings. Count the seeds and note their placement to keep track of their progress. Also, be sure to label the flat with the planting date, name, and any other essential information. Place the flat in a safe location in partial shade. Keep it moist through the warm days of fall, then cover the top of the flat with plastic wrap in late fall, and let it remain over the winter. Remove the plastic in early spring, and keep the flat moist through spring. The seeds should begin to sprout by mid to late spring. When they emerge, feed them lightly with a water-soluble, all-purpose fertilizer as soon as their second (true) leaves emerge. Once they reach a few inches, you can transplant them to pots or a location in the garden with good soil. You will need to baby them as they grow. It may be wise to protect them with chicken wire or plastic collars. Placing diatomaceous earth around them should also keep snails and slugs away.
Some seeds may not sprout in the first year. If this is the case, keep the flat in place, maintain moisture through summer, and repeat the stratification process in fall and winter.
Indoor Stratification
Take your healthy peony seeds indoors, place a few in a 4-inch pot filled with Black Gold Seedling Mix. Moisten the pot, and place it under grow lights for a month and a half. Keep the pot moist and make sure the indoor temperature is between 70 and 80 degrees F. After a month, place the pot in an air-filled plastic bag in the refrigerator. The best temperature for stratification is 40 degrees F. Moisten the pot every couple of weeks while it is in the refrigerator–don’t let it get dry. After three months, remove and place it under grow lights. Keep the pots lightly moist, maintain a temperature between 70 and 80 degrees F, and the peony seeds should sprout in a month or two. A heat mat set to warm can help. (Please click here for more detailed information about how to start seeds indoors.)
How Do You Grow Paw Paws? (Image thanks to Stark Bro’s)
“I have heard that it is almost impossible to grow a pawpaw tree. Is it possible for someone that is not a master gardener to grow this tree? I would love to have a few.” Question from Cheryl or Harrison, Arkansas
Answer: You are in luck! Pawpaws (Asimina triloba, USDA Hardiness Zone 5-9), also called custard apples, are easy to grow. Some varieties are self-fruiting, but most require cross-pollination, so you will need more than one tree for fruit development. Pawpaws are also growing in popularity, so there are more and more varieties with great tasting fruit from which to choose.
Pawpaws are native across eastern North America and look great as small specimen trees (15 to 30 feet) in sunny locations. In spring, the tidy, attractive trees produce unique, three-petaled purplish-maroon flowers, and in fall the large leaves turn shades of golden yellow. Pawpaw fruits are oval, greenish-yellow on the outside, and custardy, sweet and yellow on the inside with large black seeds. The fruits are ready to harvest by late summer or fall, depending on the variety. Wild fruits are sweet and taste somewhat like a ripe banana when mature, but new varieties have been selected for their improved flavor.
Five Great Paw Paw Varieties
‘Mango‘: The late-to-ripen fruits have extra flavorful, orange flesh.
These trees look very nice when planted in open, sunny lawns as specimen trees. They grow best in fertile soil with average drainage and a slightly acid to slightly alkaline pH of 5.5 to 7.5. At planting time, amend the soil with a little Black Gold Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss. (Click here for more details about how to plant trees.) Keep the trees well irrigated in the late spring and summer of the first year, especially during hot spells. Fertilize with a granular fertilizer at planting time. Space the trees at least 20 feet apart in anticipation of their mature size.
“I live in northern California where we had a lot of fires and smoke. The sky was thick with smoke for quite a few days. How will this impact my flowers?” Question from Jenna of Magalia, California
Answer: What a crazy season it has been! I have watched several of my western gardening friends struggle through the impacts of wildfires. Thankfully, many have been spared the damage caused by fire, but none are spared the ill effects of ash and smoke, which does impact plants in several ways.
Wildfire Smoke and Ash Impacts on Gardens
Ash Effects: Ash can be very destructive, but it also has the potential to benefit plants. On the downside, hot ash will burn foliage. If fine and dense, it can cover foliage and keep plants from photosynthesizing as well. Rinsing it off will stop this problem. On the flipside, ash can raise soil pH, add extra minerals to the soil, and increase microbial activity and plant growth. So, it’s not all bad.
Smoke Effects on Air Quality: Smoke increases carbon dioxide levels, which actually benefits plants. Plants use CO2 to convert sun to energy and release oxygen.
Smoke Effects on Light Quality: Smoke lowers light levels, which can be harmful to plants growing under severe smoky conditions for extended periods of time. There is really nothing gardens can do but wait until the smoke passes.
Smoke is also drying, so be sure to irrigate your plants during these times, if you can.
I wish you the best and hope the fires stop soon. A moist, cool winter would certainly be a blessing.
“How can I grow basil in South Florida? Every time I try the sun either burns it or I get it in too much shade.” Question from Deborah of Moore Haven, Florida
Answer: If you find that traditional Italian large-leaf basil (Ocimum basilicum) burns and blooms quickly in your Florida heat, there are other basils available that are better adapted to high heat. Here are my top four selections.
Basils Tolerant of High Heat
African Blue Basil (Ocimum ‘African Blue’): Expect a slightly stronger flavor from this darker-leaved, heavy-flowering basil. It’s beautiful, bees love it, it tolerates heat, and tastes good.
Pesto Perpetuo Basil (Ocimum × africanum ‘Pesto Perpetuo’): Here’s another beautiful, flavorful basil that will never disappoint. It has pretty variegated leaves that taste great, and the heat-tolerant plant grows upright and never flowers. It looks good in a flower bed or herb garden.
Lemon Basil (Ocimum basilicum ‘Mrs. Burns’ Lemon’): The lemony basil leaves taste so good in salads, and the plants take heat.
Siam Queen Thai Basil (Ocimum ‘Siam Queen’): The award-winning ‘Siam Queen’ has delicious, licorice-flavored leaves that complement East Asian dishes. The plants are low-growing and beautiful.
I encourage you to watch the video below for more basil-growing tips.
Here in the Pacific Northwest, we often get some wonderfully warm and sunny days in late September and early October. This year is no exception. Now that most of the smoke from the forest fires has cleared from much of the Willamette Valley, our air is clean once again, and we can see blue sky. We are happy, and so are our plants and gardens.
Enjoy the Last Blooms of the Season
My pots of Salvia Rockin’® Fuchsia are still looking beautiful. (Image by Mike Darcy)
When we have sunny days in October, it forces me to make some decisions regarding my garden and some of these decisions are difficult to make. Many of my containers of blooming annuals are still bursting with color. The fuchsias have not looked better and the flowers on the Salvia just keep going. I am well aware that these blooms will not last much longer but I want to enjoy them as long as I can. Some, like fuchsias, can be brought indoors and tended as house plants through winter (click here to learn how to clean plants before bringing them inside). But, I usually let the frost take them and simply replant in spring, but sometimes I bring a special tender perennial or two inside.
Potting up some chrysanthemums, pansies, and flowering kale can also lighten the impact of losing garden flowers. Add a few decorative gourds and pumpkins and the display will be complete. (Click here for more fall container gardening tips.)
Clean Up
Clean up your lawn, edge beds, and plant tidy fall pansies. (Don’t be afraid to leave a few leaves in beds.)
In preparation for winter, now is a good time to begin some light pruning and general fall cleanup. As perennials and this year’s annuals die back, prune them or pull them. Leave up any ornamental grasses and perennial plants with attractive seedheads, but it generally looks best to take everything else back. You can leave some leaves in beds to support overwintering native bees and butterflies. Once your beds are clean, it always looks nice to edge for tidy and attractive gardens all winter. (Click here to watch a how-to video about edging.)
Compost
Chopped leaves and grass clippings make some of the finest compost to add to your other essential garden amendments, like peat moss.
Deciduous trees will soon be losing their leaves, and if you are not composting some of this potentially rich source of organic matter, this is a good time to start. Compost kits and bins are readily available at local garden centers, and they do not need to be fancy. I prefer those with no enclosed bottom. You will learn by experience which plant material breaks down quickly and which does not. I have found that large maple leaves, of which we have an abundance of, break down relatively quickly. Pre-chopping the leaves also helps. Adding grass clippings, that have not been treated with a weed and feed, are a good addition to get the pile heated up to begin the breakdown process. Keep the pile moist, turn it every month or two and add a little granular nitrogen fertilizer to hasten the composting process, if it is moving slowly. I stay away from conifer needles, like fir, spruce, and pines, as well as rhododendron leaves and the leaves from the evergreen magnolia because the decomposition process is too lengthy.
Plant Bulbs
Plant layered bulb pots now for a big spring show.
This is the time to plant fall bulbs, and the earlier they are purchased, the better the selection. Many of these bulbs, such as tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, and crocus, can be planted in more than the garden. They also make excellent container plants for spring color on a deck or patio. I like to layer them in pots for maximum effect. (Click here to learn how to make layered bulb pots.) Most bulbs like a soil environment that has an ample supply of compost, so I like to add Black Gold Garden Compost Blend and mix it into the existing soil. When I am planting bulbs in pots, I use Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Mix in addition to adding a fertilizer formulated for bulbs.
Plant Garlic
Garlic is an easy crop that must be planted in fall for summer harvest. One clove will quickly develop into a full head.
October is also an ideal month to plant garlic. It needs winter cold to bulb up, so if planted now, it will be ready to harvest next summer. Most garden centers have several different varieties, from more tender softneck types to hardy longneck types, and all are easy to grow. Plant garlic in a sunny location with well-drained, fertile soil. (Click here to learn everything that you need to know to grow garlic.)
Plant Hardy Shrubs
Fall is an excellent time to plant hardy shrubs in the landscape.
It is a good time to plant hardy shrubs while the soil is still warm. Planting them now will help them settle and set roots in their new location through winter. This will give them a head start on growing in the spring. Dig in Black Gold Garden Compost Blend around the root zone. If the root ball of the shrub is tightly matted with entangled roots, gently break it apart to encourage the roots to grow into their new environment. It also helps to apply a starter/transplant fertilizer.
Dig and Store Dahlias, Cannas, Gladiolus, and other Tender Bulbs
Trimmed and forked up dahlia clumps dry on the porch before being cleaned and stored for winter.
If you are in an area that has hard freezes in the winter, it would be wise to dig dahlias, cannas, gladiolus, and other tender bulbs, and store them in a protected location through winter. Dig dahlias after their tops wilt following the first light frost. Cut the tops back, dig the bulbs, and store them in an aerated plastic bin filled with peat moss. A cool, dark place is best for storage. (Editor’s Note: When digging tubers, keep then intact and be careful not to damage their necks as this is where next year’s buds will appear. Gently clean and dry the tubers before storing them. Pack in a dry peat/vermiculite mix and store in a cool, dry basement, garage or root cellar no colder than 40 degrees Fahrenheit.)
In many areas of the Willamette Valley, where I live, we do not have to dig them up. Our winters are generally mild enough; thick mulch is often sufficient. However, if you have a particular favorite dahlia or canna, be on the safe side and dig it.
Plant a Cover Crop
Seedlings of winter rye can be tilled under once the snow has passed.
Planting a cover crop over a summer vegetable garden can provide nutrients and organic matter for the next spring season. Cover crop mixes are now available and the sooner they are planted the better. Some, like alfalfa, naturally add nitrogen to the soil and have deep roots that help break up clay soils. Winter wheat, rye and, other grain covers protect your beds from winter weeds. All naturally add organic matter to the soil when tilled under in spring.
Usually, our weather is such that on most days we can continue to enjoy our garden, as we should. Enjoy your fall!
California fuchsia is a good, low, flowering perennial for your area.
“I’ve looked into a lot of options and have decided that Aubrieta / Rockcress is best for our needs. I have not finalized a choice as far as variety. I found it difficult to buy potted plants (even for ones on sale for 2021). I’m going to go ahead and get seeds. *BUT* … as I’ve been reading I’ve run into 2 or 3 sites that say – they will bloom in their second season in the year after planting them (and then every year after that). Is that true? I’ve done my very best to search for an answer…and I’ve come up with nothing more than when I started… I was hoping someone could let me know what the deal is? And/or If there is a way to jumpstart the progress – so I wouldn’t have to wait a year for them to bloom? I forget what number zone I’m in – but if it makes any difference at all… I live in West LA (zip = 90064). I’m also wondering if I can mix some type of Phlox seed with whatever variety of Aubrieta / Rockcress I choose? Is that doable? Or would I need to carefully separate which area I put 1 variety of seed and keep it separate (being careful not to mix) the phlox seed in? I so appreciate your time in this and would very much be thankful for some guidance.” Thank you! Jess of Los Angeles, California
Answer: Sadly, your 10b USDA Hardiness Zone is too warm for rockcress (Aubrieta spp.). The alpine plant requires survives in Zones 4-9, which means that it needs more winter cold to survive from year to year. With that said, there are many other evergreen, flowering, low-growing, rock garden plants that will perform well in your Los Angeles garden. I’ve opted for native options that are as tough as nails. Here are five from which to choose.
Flowering Perennial Groundcovers for Southern California
Sierra Penstemon (Penstemon heterodoxus): Expect this drought-tolerant California alpine to remain evergreen through the hottest weather. Its purple flowers attract hummingbirds and bees.
“How do you harvest and grow peony seeds?” Question from Mark of Barrie, Ontario, Canada
