We have been getting reports that some people are having problems getting zucchini to set. With all the jokes about being unpopular when you try to deliver the tenth load of zucchini to your neighbor you would think zucchini always set.

Apparently with the drop in the wild bee population because of bee mites, many people are not getting good pollination. The best answer is to find a male flower with ripe powdery pollen in the morning, take the petals off the flower and use the flower as a Q-tip on open female flowers.

This ensures a good fruit set.

Roses often stop performing during hot summer weather. They often quit blooming and lose color. There are several things you can do to help them cope.

Do you have yellow plants?

There are several reasons why foliage can turn yellow. Lack of regular fertilizer or over watering are two common reasons. A third reason many people don’t recognize is Iron Deficiency. This shows differently than most other yellowing. Look for the characteristic yellowing at the leaf margin and between the leaf veins. Masters Iron Plus is the very best method of combatting Iron problems.

It contains a high percentage of iron in a form that does not stain concrete. It’s combined with Humic Acid that counteracts alkali in the soil. For bad problems repeat application is often needed but we have had terrific results in the nursery and at home.

You’ll wonder where the yellow went!

As we drive around we often see lawns that just don’t look as nice as they should. Often the problem is brown spots in the lawn. There are three main reasons for this.

Watering Problems
If you see general brown spots the reason is often the lawn drying out. You can check for this by using a screwdriver in the affected areas and compare with good areas. If the brown areas are harder or dryer than the good areas you need to find out what is causing the problem.

Using pie pans to check the water coverage is the easiest way to check your sprinkler system. A 30% difference between pans in good areas and bad areas means the sprinklers system needs changing.

If it seems the dry areas are not caused by the sprinklers you need to aerate the lawn. We sell water aerators that make easy work of compaction.

Lawn Disease & Insects
If the problem is not a water issue we recommend you bring in a sample of the lawn. Pie-pan-sized and 1-2” thick samples are best for us to examine. One of our CCN’s will be glad to look it over. We also have an on site consultation service where someone comes to your house and helps solve garden problems. Only $65.00 per hour can get several garden problems solved. The Garden Crew can also help with irrigation problems.

Here's a quick list of some things that need to be done this week:

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A rock garden adds unique interest to the landscape. With the help of our Garden Crew, you can set in large rocks and boulders to create just the right background for the area. Rock gardens can be the main focal point of the yard, or they can lend beauty to a tiny side yard off the master bedroom.

Rock gardens require little space. For instance, place a low, protruding rock, and tuck in a few mounds of alyssum in the foreground, with a compact, feathery Heavenly Bamboo behind the rock as you view it. Complete the scene with potentilla, a bright green carpet-like ground cover with yellow blossoms.

To capture the effect of a natural scene, as you would expect to find in a meadow or the foothills, choose interestingly sshaped rocks. For any one grouping of stones, stick to one type of stone, so that its appearance in the garden will not seem out of place. To make the rock appear as a natural out-cropping, you might try half-burying the rock. This will give it a permanent look, as it the rock was being exposed by the natural erosion of the landscape.

Plants with unique characteristics and focal interest include (for the sun), Strawberry Tree, Miscanthus, Hibiscus, Mallow, and many types of evergreen conifers (such as bonsai junipers, dwarf pines, or spruce). Excellent choices for a shady rock garden are Japanese Maples, small-leafed azaleas (such as the Satsuki hybrids), Mahonia, or many of the different types of ferns. Cacti & Succulents are also an excellent choice for a rock garden. They can be worked in with leafy plants, or create a themed cactus-garden.

If you can get gravel in the same material as the boulders you are using, use it as a mulch instead of bark or humus, this will further accentuate the natural ambience created by the boulders.

In these summer months, we often find ourselves outside on the patio, enjoying the sunshine & warm weather. A great way to lend interest to decks and patios is with trees in containers.

For shaded patios, a favorite in our areas is the Japanese Maple (Acer palmatum). With their delivately cut leaves, graceful branching pattern, and a plethora of dwarf varieties, Japanese Maples are ideal for container gardening. There are several varieties to choose from, each diplaying different leaf shapes, branching pattern, and varied foliage and bark colors.

Tree Roses are also a favorite in containers. Pick a spot in full sun, and enjoy the flowers all summer long. You can choose from roses with long-stemmed, florist-style flowers, or showy garden roses with their smaller (but more bountiful) blooms.

Dwarf citrus are always welcome on patios and balconies - snack on oranges and savor tangy limes in refreshing summertime drinks. Genetic Dwarf Nectarines & Peaches are also excellent candidates for container gardens.

Portions of this article come by way of our friends at Master Nursery Garden Centers.

Watering habits have changed in California along with the use of this precious resource. Better watering techniques and healthier gardens are two benefits we can look forward to while employing water-saving strategies. Drip irrigation for the home landscape has come into its own. The method delivers water to each plant slowly, allowing the water to penetrate the soil around the root zone. The slow application of water reduces run-off and puts water only where it is needed.

Healthier gardens are the result of watering deeply, but infrequently. This golden rule of gardening encourages deep rooting, while avoiding a too-wet surface soil conddition. Excess moisture can contribute to weakened growth and root and crown rot diseases.

Here are some good, simple gardenin tips that will help save water:

One way to keep your roses full of blooms is to keep the fading flowers cut off. Don't wait until the flowers have fully dropped, remove fading flowers before they start to go to seed. Rose bushes can be kept healthy and full of new blooms if you take long stems whenever you remove flowers from the bush, either for bouquets or just for deadheading.

Also, don't forget to fertilize blooming roses every 4 to 6 weeks with Master Nursery Rose & Flower Food.

[Note: Sorry for the dearth of posts lately, afraid I've been MIA the last few days.]

Here's a quick list of some things that need to be done this week:

One of the more common accent plants nowadays is the Fortnight Lily (Morea iriodes). This perennial has iris-like foliage with flowers either white with purple and yellow markings or light yellow.

One of the most common methods to clean them up is cutting them to the ground when they start to look trashy. This is an easy way to force them to regrow but with one strong disadvantage. The flower spikes are persistant if you leave them uncut. What this means is that you want to clean up the old flower spikes but do not cut them down for the most bloom.

By leaving them you can increase the amount of bloom 2 to 3 times.

When they get too big or too crowded you need to either dig the entire plant up, divide and replant only a good portion or if it is still in good condition cut portions out and leave a good portion behind. This should be done during warm weather to allow new root development.

Ther are two selections that are becoming available. Unfortunately they often go by the same name, "Lemon Drop". Our favorite is a bicolor (yellow) selection that we call "Scenic Sunrise". It is a deeper yellow and is about 1/3 smaller than most bicolor morea. We have plantings of it in our front planter as well as in one of our parking lot planters. We think it is distinctly better.

The other is a white morea that has yellow markings only and has also been sold as Lemon Drop.

The BBC has a website on the Royal Horticulture Society's Chelsea Garden Show. The site includes 360 degree panoramas of many of the gardens in the show.

Have you seen yellowed leaves on your camellias, citrus, or gardenias? This often indicates iron cholorosis, which means the plants need iron. Iron chlorosis is very common in our valley soil because our soils are made up of sediments from the Sierras. When the soil washes down into the valley, the iron is heavier and stays put.

A Citrus leaf showing definite signs of chlorosis.

The best and surest way to correct chlorosis is with one of the chelating compunds which hold the iron in suspension until it is absorbed by the plant roots. You can also apply chelated iron as a foliar spray for even quicker absorbtion. Once you correct the immediate symptons, it is a good idea to add Master Nursery Iron Plus to your regular fertilizing schedule. This is a granular fertilizer which can be apply right on top of the soil.

Keeping on a regular fertilizing regimen makes it easy to keep all your plants looking lush, green, and healthy.

No, this isn't some post about allergies causing forest fires. (But that WOULD be a story!!)

About.com has two excellent articles. One on summer allergies, the other on protecting your home from wildfires.

While Spring is usually the worst season for allergies here in the valley, Summer can have it's share of misery, and there's something about 100+ degree heat that makes a stuffy nose even more unbearable.

Of course, summer is also wildfire season here in California, and we definitely get our share of wildfires in the foothills and Sierras. Now is an excellent time to look think about making those vacation homes fire-safe, and the article offers a number of simple tips you can do to help protect your investment.

Bougainvillea comes in many colors, and is growing in popularity here in California. You can choose from white, pink, rose, purple, red, and many shades in-between. Bougainvillea can give your home a tropical or Mediterranean feel. The vine is evergreen in Southern California but can go dormant in the northern half of the state because of cold weather. Bougainvillea prefer a hot spot in the garden. Use a southern or western facing wall so they will benefit from the reflected heat. Heavy watering of these vines produces lush growth, but less vivid colors. You can remedy this by watering less during the long blooming period.

Bougainvillea in full, glorious bloom.