The Digging Fork
A Davis Garden Newsletter
November – December 2006
November
Planting Shrubs and trees
Perennials
see
Cool season annuals:
Plant notes
Iceland poppies, stock,
pansies, primroses,
annual chrysanthemum,
cyclamen, snapdragons
Spring blooming bulbs:
Darwin hybrid tulips,
Dutch iris, daffodils,
hyacinth, brodiaea and
others. Too late to
plant anemone and
ranunculus.
Vegetables: bulbing onions,
garlic, broccoli, cabbage,
cauliflower, lettuce
Vegetables: peas, fava,
Seeding
see
lettuce, green onions,
arugula, cilantro,
Plant notes
spinach, Swiss chard,
turnips, carrots, beets
Flowers: larkspur, sweetpea,
breadseed and Shirley
poppies, nasturtiums,
forget-me-nots
Fertilize
Pest & Spray nectarines and
peaches at Thanksgiving
Disease for peach leaf curl.
Control Watch for slugs, snails,
Caterpillars. Control as
needed.
Cleanup, pick up leaves
Tasks and compost them
Cut back perennials (don’t
cut back frost tender
perennials until spring)
Divide and plant perennials
Dig and mulch
Mark plants that die back
completely
Remove unwanted
seedlings --or transplant
After frost, pull out all
summer annual flowers
and vegetables
Water Water as necessary, newly
seeded areas especially.
Turn off automatic
sprinklers after first good
rain.
Dahlia photos taken by Patricia
December
Purchase bare-root plants:
ornamental and fruit
trees, shrubs, berries,
grapes and roses
Go early for best
selection. Many
nurseries will hold
purchases until you are
ready to plant.
Bare-root vegetables: Dahlias
artichokes, asparagus, In October, dahlias are a spectacular sight. The
rhubarb, strawberries
Spring blooming bulbs: show continues into November or until we get a frost.
same as for Nov. These tuberous roots from Mexico and Guatemala are
easy to grow if you know a few tips. Plant them in
Vegetables: fava, spinach, March or April when they can be found in nurseries.
Swiss chard, cilantro Dahlias come in many types (formal, cactus, pompom,
Seed inside now for
singles, doubles, etc.) and the flowers range in size
transplanting into the from about 2” in diameter to about 10” or more! They
garden in February – like full sun, lots of organic matter and are planted with
cabbage, broccoli, lettuce
and cauliflower the top of the root 2” deep.
When the leaves first emerge from the soil, they are
usually attacked by snails, slugs and earwigs. If you
When pruning look for don’t control these pests, the plant will keep trying to
borer damage and cut off
infected limbs
grow, but continue to get eaten. Once the leaves are
4-6 inches high the plant can usually outgrow the pest
damage, but it is a good idea to continue to monitor
Finish November tasks and control as needed.
The plants will start to flop over in the summer. If
Prune deciduous trees this is a concern for you, try putting a tomato cage over
Can start pruning roses the plant when small to keep the stems upright as they
toward the end of the grow. Blooming starts some time in the late spring to
month.
fall, depending on the variety. Snails and slugs like to
eat the flower petals too. To bring inside, cut blooms
when they are almost mature. If they are wilting, try
(Have a nice holiday!!)
searing the cut with a flame or plunging newly cut
stems into very hot water and letting them stand
overnight. The back petals, near the calyx often look
Water under large eaves
bad and can just be pulled off.
There is no need to dig up the roots each fall. After
a frost, cut the stems to about 6” above the ground to
help mark the plant location. Adding a plant label will
help, too. In the early spring, make sure no other
plants are covering the planted area. If you don’t see
the plants emerge you won’t be able to monitor pest
problems. They also emerge faster with the sun
warming the ground.
If you see an especially wonderful dahlia in your
neighbor’s yard, ask for a division in the fall or early
spring. When you dig the root, the new growth buds
are on the base of the old stem, where it joins the root.
Roots can be divided by cutting off a section of root
with a new bud attached and planted right away.
 Peach Leaf Curl
Every spring gardeners venture into their garden
eagerly waiting to see how their fruit trees are
developing, hoping that this year they will be able to
collect some fruit. However, it is all too common for
many home gardeners to be disappointed when they
see the leaves of their beloved trees turning red and
puckered. Red, thickened new leaves are the first signs
of the fungal disease Taphrina deformans, commonly
known as peach leaf curl. Nectarines and peaches are
susceptible to this disease. Sadly, once these symptoms
are discovered on the tree it is too late to begin
treatment for this season’s fruit development. The tree
will most likely shed its red, puckered, distorted leaves
and put on a healthier set, but fruit production will be
greatly reduced. The tree, if left untreated, will
develop symptoms next year and continue to decline.
However, there are ways to control the fungus.
Bordeaux mixtures (lime and sulfur), calcium
polysulfide sprays, and fixed copper sprays used
correctly will prevent symptoms of the disease from
forming and allow fruit production the following year.
The sprays must be applied at the correct time. The
first time being after the leaves drop (usually late
November) and the second time in the spring before
the buds break. A third spray can be added around
New Year’s. To be effective the copper spray must
contain at least 50% copper.
The important thing to know is once a tree has the
fungus it usually has it for life. The spores survive our
hot, dry summer and cover the whole tree until wet
spring weather cause the spores to spread and develop
on all parts of the tree. Spraying every year is
necessary to control the disease. Pruning every fall
also helps to control the disease along with picking up
discarded leaves from under the tree.
Peach leaf curl can be a problematic frustrating
disease but remembering these two or three
important spray dates of Thanksgiving, New
Years, and Valentine’s Day can allow you to have
the bumper crop you have always wanted.
Future Garden workshops
The two fall workshops on Vegetables for Cool Season and
Fall Garden Cleanup and Planting have already happened
but more workshops are planned for the next year.
Workshops are held in Patricia’s 1 acre country garden.
There is time to explore and ask lots of questions.
Pruning & bare-root planting (roses, fruit trees, etc.)
Sunday, January 7 12:30-4:00 pm
Back up date due to rain – Sunday, January 14
Vegetables for Warm Season
Saturday, March 10 11-2:30 pm
Back up date due to rain – Saturday, March 17
Spring Garden Cleanup and Planting
May –date TBA
Plant notes!
Here is more information about plants mentioned in this newsletter.
Abutilon or flowering maple Abutilon hybridum Semi-
evergreen shrub. Attracts hummingbirds.
Annual Chrysanthemum Chrysanthemum paludosum
Breadseed or opium poppy Papaver somniferum
Annual that reseeds. Edible seeds.
Brodiaea Brodiaea California native bulb that doesn’t
like summer water. ‘Queen Fabiola’ cultivar is the
most garden friendly and will take summer water.
Cyclamen Cyclamen hederifolium, hardy type and
C. persicum, florist type. Bulb that blooms in winter,
useful under deciduous trees. Summer deciduous.
Dalhia see featured article
Fava or broad bean Vivia faba Annual vegetable that
fixes nitrogen in soil with the help of rhizobia.
Forget-me-not Myosotis sylvatica Annual that reseeds.
Iceland poppy Papaver nudicaule Grown as annual.
Larkspur Consolida ambigua Annual that reseeds and is
much easier to grow than delphinium. All parts of plant
are poisonous!!
Nasturtiums Tropaeolum majus Annual with edible
flowers. Dwarf and climbing varieties.
Onions, bulbing Allium cepa Bareroot plants can be
found in some nurseries in Nov. Also look for 6-paks in
Oct. Varieties that do well in Davis: ‘Stockton red,
white and yellow’; ‘Walla Walla’ and ‘Red Torpedo’
Pansies Viola x wittrockiana Annual with edible flowers.
Peas Pisum sativum Soak seeds overnight before planting.
Two varieties to try ‘Sugar Snap’ and ‘Alderman’ (also
called ‘Tall Telephone’)
Primrose Primula polyantha Perennial that is often
treated as annual. It does well under deciduous trees as
they need summer shade. .
Shirley or Flanders poppy Papaver rhoeas Annual that
reseeds
Snapdragon Antirrhinum majus Perennial that usually
dies in a few years due to rust infestation.
Stock Matthiola incana Perennial that gets woody and
eventually declines. Wonderful fragrance!!
Sweet pea Lathyrus odoratus Annual. Soak seeds
overnight before planting.
 The Sticky Truth About Scale
Often friends will ask if their plant is sick because it
is dripping ‘stuff’. Most likely their plant has a
sucking insect that is taking the sugars out of the tree
and what is dripping is the sugary excrement of the
insect. Asked if there are insects present, they will
insist that there are only ants on the tree. When asked
if it looks like their plant stems have little bumps on it
they say yes, but that they thought they were part of the
plant. In fact these insects, known as scale, are
excreting the sugar substance also called honeydew.
Scale is a tough insect to get rid of. In its juvenile
form the scale are mobile and easier to treat. When
they reach maturity they lay down a protective shell
Scale on citrus stems
and secure themselves to the plant. If a plant develops
a large infestation of scale it could be harmed when the
honeydew coats the leaves and prevents More gardening tips!
photosynthesis. Sooty mold, a black slightly fuzzy Buy chrysanthemums now when they are in bloom.
growth, can then form on the honeydew further halting Enjoy them in a pot for fall decoration then plant in the
photosynthesis. The plant will then turn yellow and garden in a sunny spot to get flowers again next fall.
start dropping leaves.
If scale are present, chances are that ants are right This time of year we can’t think of being without a fan
there with them. The ants, who love the sugary rake for getting leaves out of flower beds without
honeydew, protect the scale and actually farm it. Scale damaging the plants. Two sources: Lee Valley Tools
can be treated, but it is tough. An IPM (Integrated Pest www.leevalley.com 1-800-871-8158 or Peaceful
Management) approach is best. Pruning off of heavily Valley Farm Supply www.groworganic.com 1-888-
infested limbs is recommended along with simply 784-1722.
wiping the scale off if numbers are small. To control
A favorite web site for pest and disease information:
the ants that are protecting the scale from predators,
www.ipm.ucdavis.edu
apply a substance called ‘Tanglefoot’ around the trunk
of the tree they are in. Make sure to apply 2” wide Plant labels help mark plants that die back to the
masking tape around the tree before applying the ground, like dahlias and bulbs.
‘Tanglefoot’. This makes it easier to remove once it is
no longer sticky and effective. ‘Tanglefoot’ will only Tall, fall blooming perennials like perennial
work if all modes of access to the tree are protected. sunflowers (Helianthus maximilianii) aster (Aster ssp.),
Another way of controlling ants is placing ant stakes at boltonia (Boltonia asteroids), and chrysanthemum,
the base of plants. Some ant stakes contain arsenic or tend to flop when they are ready to bloom. If you cut
boric acid (which is safer than arsenic). the stems of these plants to about a foot tall around the
If these methods are not working, spray the plant 4th of July they will bloom with shorter and more
with horticultural oil to kill the immature scale and upright stems. Sometimes bloom is delayed a bit,
over wintering eggs. This spraying should be done in however.
the dormant season, preferably after a rain. For citrus,
abutilon (a particular favorite of scale) or evergreen
plants spray in cool times of the year. Be careful not to
spray if scale predators are present, such as ladybugs or
ladybug larvae.

Newsletter created by:

Marlene Simon -- UCD graduate in Horticulture
Patricia Carpenter -- Garden Design and Education.
30 years of Davis gardening experience.

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TheDiggingFork@gmail.com updated 12-20-06
Perennial sunflower