To help you in this quest, I suggest two recently published books: “Dandelion Medicine” by Brigitte Mars, and “The Lavender Companion” by Terry Berlin Vesci. In Southern California, dandelions grow all year and with a judicious selection of lavender species (numbering around 50) and varieties (of which there are at least 450), you can have lavender flowers blooming in every season.

Regarding dandelions, author Mars informs us that “Popeye may have gotten strength from spinach, but dandelion has twice the vitamin B1 of that vegetable.” In addition, dandelion “contains 40 percent more vitamin C than tomatoes, 20 percent more beta-carotene than carrots, and more calcium than milk.” The author adds, “Dandelions are so good for you that you would be wise to dry and powder them and place the powder in a saltshaker to be sprinkled on all your food as a nutritional supplement.” 

Keep in mind that dandelion greens are tastiest when young. New leaves at the center of a plant growing in the shade are the most flavorful of all. Soak older greens in salted water or cook them to remove bitterness. After a frost, this bitterness dissipates and older leaves are then more palatable. All parts of the dandelion, including flowers, are edible and roots are the most nutritious part which, according to Mars, contain 29 salubrious constituents. 

The healing properties of dandelion are revealed in its botanical name. The genus name of dandelion is Taraxacum, derived from taraxis, meaning inflammation, and akeomai, meaning curative. The species name of dandelion is officinale, common to many herbs, and it refers to the storage area or closet of a monastery where herbal medicines were kept. The word dandelion itself comes from the French dent de lion, or lion’s tooth, and refers to the jagged edges seen on the plant’s leaf margins.

When deciding what to grow on a newly purchased ranch in Arizona, Terry Berlin Vesci needed to find a plant that was elk resistant because of the wild herd of this magnificent antlered ruminant that roamed her property. In this search, she came upon lavender. Not only is lavender ignored by elk, but it is native to high-altitude alpine regions and therefore compatible with the 5,400 foot elevation of her ranch. 

In fact, the most commonly planted lavenders are native to the lower French Alps and are hardy to 15 degrees Fahrenheit. Like other cold-climate plants, their flowering is enhanced by chilling temperatures. Lavender in full bloom is a more glorious spectacle in San Francisco than in Los Angeles because of the colder winters up north.

Lavender’s needs are minimal: plenty of light and fast-draining soil. In hot inland locations in Southern California, lavender grows best when given some protection from the afternoon sun. In even the hottest weather, though, lavender should never need to be watered more than once a week, so long as it is soaked with a hose and not watered with overhead sprinklers. Like most herbs, however, it requires fertilization only when grown in a container. 

Vesci gives two reasons why not to lay mulch around lavender. First, lavender demands soil with an alkaline pH and commercial mulch tends to be acidic. Second, mulch derived from bark or wood chips retains moisture, which is antithetical to lavender’s cultural requirements. Lavender cannot bear any moisture around the crown (where roots meet stems) and may suddenly die if this area does not stay dry. Gravel would be a non-living mulch option since, even while preserving soil moisture, it encourages water to drain through. I once noticed lavender seedlings popping up in a gravel-covered bed where lavender was planted. Where seeds of any plant germinate, you know that the conditions for growth are optimal.

There are at least seven types of lavender available locally: English lavender (Lavandula angustifolia); spike lavender (Lavandula latifolia); Lavandin (Lavandula x intermedia var. Grosso), which is a hybrid between English and spike lavender; dwarf English lavender; French lavender (Lavandula dentata); Spanish lavender (Lavandula stoechas); and California lavender (Lavandula pinnata). 

The first three types in the preceding list are the lavender of commerce — robust species whose flowers have the most intense fragrances. The other lavenders have more ornamental value – the dwarf English (Hidcote and Munstead cultivars), with distinctive silver-gray foliage, the California with finely cut leaves, the French with serrated leaves and large woolly flowers, and the Spanish with dark purple winged bracts all along its flower spikes. These names are often mixed up since English lavender is native to France, French lavender is native to Spain, California lavender originates in the Canary Islands, and Spanish lavender grows in the Atlas Mountains of Morocco. 

One of the favorite uses of lavender is as a low, informal hedge with heights ranging from 2-4 feet, depending on the species. Such a hedge is cut back only when it finishes flowering. In the larger types, the plants may be cut back by half with no ill effects; with the dwarfs, shear off faded flower spikes but prune foliage sparingly and never closer than three inches to the wood on any stem.

Under the best of circumstances, lavender will probably live for no more than five or six years. This should not be a matter of concern, however, since it is easily propagated by shoot-tip cuttings. When the plant finishes flowering, take four 6-inch cuttings and root them in a mix that’s half sand and half peat moss. You can also divide mature plants into several individuals for propagation purposes. Lavender makes a wonderful tapestry hedge with plants of similar stature and cultural requirements but contrasting foliage. iIt makes a vivid display in combination with green santolina or dwarf red-leaf barberry.

Once, in a suburb of Jerusalem, I encountered the largest lavender plant — five feet tall by seven feet wide, that I had ever seen. I learned that it never received any water other than that supplied by winter rain, despite the fact that summer heat was often in the 90-degree range. This specimen proved that once lavender (or any plant, for that matter) is established with foliage that goes all the way down to the ground, a living mulch will be provided that strictly limits evaporative water loss from the soil below. The fact that this lavender grew as a volunteer seedling may also explain its toughness since such seedlings will only grow where the conditions for it to thrive are present. 

Today and tomorrow, from 10:30 a.m. until 4 p.m. each day, there will be a bromeliad show at Sherman Library and Gardens at 2647 E. Coast Hwy, Corona Del Mar.

Bromeliads have evolved in some of nature’s most challenging conditions, from desert to rainforest to cloud forest. Air plants, Spanish moss and pineapple are some of the most familiar Bromeliads, but there are many more to discover. Members of the Saddleback Valley Bromeliad Society will be exhibiting some fabulous specimens as well as offering many plants for sale. For more information, phone (949) 673-2261 or visit www.thesherman.org             

California native of the week: Velvety false lupine or California goldenbanner (Thermopsis california/macrophylla var. semota) is a lupine look-alike except for its brilliant yellow instead of blue or purple flowers. Still, it’s a legume, which means it makes its own nitrogen like real lupines. It has a long flowering period from April to October and forms a stunning two-foot-tall thicket with silvery foliage to compliment its golden blooms. It produces rhizomes and will thus expand in the garden bed. In the manner of lupines, reliable germination of its seeds is achieved when they are dunked in hot water. Frustratingly, neither plants nor seeds of this species appear to be available, although the seeds of other Thermopsis species are readily accessible through Internet vendors and their beauty, akin to that of the California native species, would justify planting them in our gardens too. 

You are invited to write to Joshua@perfectplants.com with any gardening tips or gardening problems that you would like to share.

One of the most common causes of sudden death in trees is root rot usually caused by poor drainage. This doesn’t seem to be the cause in this case since your trees are planted on a berm (a very effective way to deal with soil that doesn’t drain well). Citrus trees have a relatively shallow, but dense, root system. This can make them sensitive to irregular watering. If they are on drip irrigation, it’s possible that there was a drip failure for just the one tree. 

Citrus trees don’t do very well when planted in a lawn, since grass roots will out-compete tree roots for water and nutrients. As if that wasn’t enough, I’ve seen cases where a tree has been girdled by repeated strikes from weed trimmers. This is not likely in your case, but worth mentioning since it happens to many homeowners.

Yellowing and leaf drop is common in citrus trees that are deficient in nitrogen and/or iron. Our native alkaline soil tends to bind iron, making it unavailable for tree roots. If you see leaf yellowing (chlorosis), apply nitrogen (all-purpose or citrus) fertilizer and iron. In your case, only one tree exhibited chlorosis before leaf drop, but there may have been a localized nutrient deficiency in your soil.

All commercially available citrus trees are grafted onto a hardy rootstock, either sour orange or flying dragon. Sometimes the graft will fail, and the top half of the tree will die but the rootstock will survive. If there’s growth below the graft, this is probably what happened. If the rootstock is allowed to sucker and grow, it will produce incredibly bad-tasting fruit. Graft failure is usually a random occurrence, especially in commercially produced trees. Since one tree remained healthy while the other perished, this would be my best guess as to what happened.

If you wish to replace the lost tree, I advise not planting it in the exact spot that the dearly departed tree occupied, but it should be okay in the same general area.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

1. Cherimoyas, mangoes, and papayas are the only commonly available fruit whose seeds grow into trees with fruit that is, as we say, true to type. However, whereas you will need to wait 5-8 years from planting a mango seed to see fruit and wait 3-4 years for a cherimoya to do the same, a papaya seed will shoot up into a tree that will bear fruit only 6-12 months after planting. Papaya trees will die in a frost but they may be grown successfully from Granada Hills to San Bernardino and everywhere south of the line between those two points.

After removing the aril (fluid bubble) around the seed, allow it to dry out, and then immediately plant it barely beneath the soil surface. You can also order papaya seeds from online vendors Native to the tropics of Mexico and Central America, a papaya tree may be male, female, or bisexual. (Note: the vast majority of plants are bisexual, having both male and female flower parts.) However, commercial papaya orchards are invariably planted to bisexual trees and it is their fruit that you see in the market. The seeds from this fruit will grow into either bisexual or female trees but you will not know which you have until flowers develop.

It is thus a common practice to germinate a group of seeds in containers and to select the self-fertile, bisexual seedlings once their flowers bloom, for planting out in the garden. Pollination of papaya trees, incidentally, is both by wind and insects, with hawkmoths – the adults of tomato hornworms – assisting in the process.

2. If you want your fig tree to produce heavy crops year after year, cut back almost all of last year’s new growth if you have not done so already. The results of doing this will give you a tree of a manageable size where no ladders are needed to harvest the fruit, even while the quantity of your harvest will be significant. 

3. Mock orange (Philadelphus coronarius) may be the most fragrant of all flowering plants. It requires half-day sun and, once established, is rather drought-tolerant. Every year at this time, thousands of blossoms open, each lasting for a few days. The total period of bloom is not long, barely lasting a month, but the experience is as memorable as it is brief. You seldom see mock orange in nurseries or garden centers.  Perhaps its deciduous nature, its relatively brief bloom period, or the fact that, in our climate, it is more sun sensitive than most plants. Meanwhile, you can find it in the nursery trade here and there and it is available through Internet vendors.

4. I planted a single African corn flag (Chasmanthe floribunda) plant a few years ago and it is now flowering throughout my garden. Native to South Africa, it reproduces by corms and seeds. Its desire to grow is powerful as its seeds found their way into my parkway and shot up right through two feet of lantana thatch. Orange-red in color, the African cornflag now makes a fitting complement to the yellow and orange lantana varieties that cover the parkway. Its flower wands consist of 20-40 paired and curving blooms that hold up in a vase for up to two weeks. This plant has naturalized in the San Francisco area, meaning it has jumped the garden fence and escaped into the wild, although I have not seen it in any of our local wilderness areas. It will remind you of Montbretia (Crocosmia), a fall bloomer and close relative of African flag. Plant its seeds together with larkspur and hollyhock seeds for a triumvirate of self-sowing, naturalizing beauties that soar up to five feet or more into the air.

5. For a bright addition to the shade garden, plant variegated Hawaiian elf (Schefflera arboricola ‘Variegata’). The gold splotches in the foliage illuminate dark corners. To add texture to your shady retreat, plant Philodendron Xanadu. Its scalloped leaf margins provide a touch of whimsy that is a pleasant departure from the funereal formality often associated with shade-loving species. Keep in mind that shade plants require at least three hours of good ambient light to grow. Sometimes, a planter is so shady that nothing will grow in it and you are better off filling the space with ornamental stones or a small fountain.

You are invited to write to Joshua@perfectplants.com with any gardening tips or gardening problems that you would like to share.

Spring is a customary season to organize around the house, but it’s also a great time to think about resetting your grocery spending and eating habits. If you are looking to save money, feel more prepared and organize your kitchen, start your spring cleaning in the pantry with these tips.

Mason jars make versatile storage

When it comes to storing items in your pantry, mason jars, also known as canning jars, are cost-effective and ideal for both long-term and short-term storage. Made of glass, mason jars are BPA-free and dishwasher safe so they can be used again and again. Investing in mason jars during your spring cleaning routine can provide a versatile storage solution for generations.

Laura Sampson of the Little Frugal Homestead, an experienced home canner, notes, “My pantry is full of home-canned foods, and all of them are in mason jars. I’ve got jars my mom and grandmother used to use in their pantries as well. As long as they’re intact and you use fresh lids, you can reuse them again and again.”

Mason jars can also help prolong the shelf life of any foods you want to store. Ball, a leading maker of mason jars, manufactures airtight lids for their jars which will keep foods fresh longer. They also make a variety of sizes for every storage need.

Foods you can store in mason jars

Mason jars are essential for home food preservation. Preserving your own fruits, vegetables, jams and sauces in mason jars is a great way to keep healthy and delicious canned goods in your pantry, especially if you grow your own produce in your garden. Learn how to quick pickle to save money by reducing waste.

But mason jars can store far more than canned goods. They work particularly well for:

Homemade salad dressings: Shake all of your ingredients together in a mason jar and store until ready to use. A homemade salad dressing can be as simple as mixing olive oil and vinegar, but you can also get more adventurous with various vinegars and seasonings.

Drinks: Serving iced tea, lemonade, beer, cocktails or water with fruit in a mason jar is a fun way to enjoy your favorite drinks. You can prepare several jars at once and store them in the fridge, then drink them right from the jar.

Fermentation: Mason jars are the perfect container for fermenting kimchi, sauerkraut, lemons, carrots and more. A mason jar also works well for sourdough starter or kombucha.

Dried goods: Mason jars offer storage for beans, rice, lentils, oats and other dried foods. With airtight lids, a mason jar can keep dried goods fresh and nutritious for well over a year.

Spice mixes and seasonings: Mix up a batch of homemade taco seasoning or your other favorite spice blend and store it in a mason jar. This makes it easy to customize your seasonings to your family’s taste and keep your most-used mixes on hand.

Creative uses for canned beans

Stocking your pantry with canned beans is an affordable way to make flavorful and filling meals. Beans are packed with protein and other nutrients. A cup of canned beans has an average of 15 grams of protein per cup, according to My Food Data, as well as fiber, iron, potassium and magnesium.

Canned beans are also convenient. They are available at most grocery stores and, unlike dried beans, canned beans do not require soaking. This makes them an easy option to streamline your meal prep process.

Beans are versatile in terms of flavor and will work well in a variety of cuisines. Try a bean and chicken soup for a tasty meal on a colder spring day, or mix beans into your other favorite salads. With a variety of beans to choose from – such as kidney beans, white beans, black beans and chickpeas – you can experiment with textures and flavors in soups, pasta dishes, salads and more.

Cost-effective ways to use dried goods

As you organize your pantry this spring, stock up on dried goods. Pantry staples like beans, lentils and rice are must-haves for those looking for budget-friendly meals.

Dried goods are among the most affordable groceries you can buy. They also have a long shelf life when stored in a cool and dry place, such as in mason jars. Dried beans will last at least a year, according to the US Dry Bean Council. Rice and lentils will last for years as well. This makes it convenient to buy dried goods in bulk during spring cleaning and cook filling, healthy meals for the rest of the year.

Learn how to cook lentils, rice and dried beans this year and make them the base for your meal prep. Dried goods can make a great base for soups, stews, salads, casseroles and even pasta dishes.

Dried beans, rice and lentils generally have mild flavors, so it’s easy to adjust them to your tastes by adding your favorite spices, vegetables and other ingredients. Make simple, comforting meals or explore dishes from other cultures.

Organize your pantry for a budget-friendly and delicious meal prep

Spring cleaning is the perfect time to get rid of the things you don’t need and reorganize your home. After you clean out any old and expired food, invest in storage solutions like mason jars and affordable, shelf-stable foods. Making this part of your annual cleaning routine can set your family up for a healthy and affordable year.

Sharon Rhodes is the creative force behind the food blogThe Honour System. With a passion for all things homemade, Sharon is a seasoned recipe curator focused on making healthier cooking and baking accessible to all.

This is a leaf-footed bug (Leptoglossus zonatus). They tend to show up on tomato plants and pomegranate trees. The adults are dark brown, about an inch long, with a narrow body and a light zig-zag stripe across the back. The back legs are noticeable in that they have an odd structure that looks like it has leaves attached (thus, the name). They have a long, pointy mouthpart that enables them to pierce leaves, stems, or fruit and suck the plant’s juices. Most of the time, the damage is minimal, but they can kill young seedlings and ruin immature fruit. Damage to medium-sized or mature fruit is usually limited to minor surface blemishes.

It likes to deposit its eggs either on stems or along the central leaf vein. The eggs are cylindrical, medium brown, and are arranged in a line so that they look like a string of tiny beads.

Most years, the population of these bugs is small enough to not be a problem. Mild winters, the presence of weeds (particularly weed seeds), and the availability of cover (such as wood piles) can cause the population to increase. To keep the population down, control weeds and move wood piles to a site away from the garden. Use row covers and hand-picking to decrease the damage. Insecticides are not very effective, so prevention is your best bet. 

Q. About 40 years ago, I planted an ash tree (5 gallon) in my backyard. It grew into a beautiful tree and is now about 25 feet tall. Every winter it sheds its leaves. Last year I had some major plumbing done and they had to cut a couple of roots.  This year it is barely shedding any leaves.  Should I be concerned about the health of this wonderful tree?

When a tree experiences root damage, either from a mechanical injury or gopher predation, it will sometimes show its displeasure by sending up multiple root suckers. If the damage is severe, the tree may drop leaves and look generally unhappy (wilting leaves, halted growth, lots of suckers).

Since you know for sure that some of the roots were cut, your tree may just be pouting. Keep an eye out for more severe symptoms and take care to make sure it doesn’t experience any water stress this summer. Remove any suckers that may appear. If the tree is otherwise healthy it should grow back those roots in no time.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

Through conventional plant breeding methods — with no GMO (genetically modified organism) concerns — Supree, a food-tech company in Israel, has developed a tomato that dries on the vine. Until now, sun-dried tomatoes have literally been dried in the sun, but this is done after they have been picked. The new tomato is described as semi-dry because its moisture content is 18%, as opposed to conventional sun-dried tomatoes which can be as low as 10% moisture. The higher moisture content preserves tomato quality even after freezing for twelve months.

Sun-dried tomatoes are typically treated with sulfur dioxide and salt to preserve lycopene, a powerful anti-oxidant, from decomposition. Lycopene is also the carotenoid pigment that makes tomatoes red and so sulfur dioxide is useful in preserving the color of sun-dried tomatoes. Incidentally, cherry and Roma tomatoes have the highest lycopene content of the various tomato types. Some people, however, are allergic to sulfur dioxide so their consumption of conventionally treated sun-dried tomatoes is problematic.

Semi-dried tomatoes are not chemically treated in any way, yet they have four times the lycopene content of sun-dried tomatoes. Semi-dried tomatoes are also vibrant red whereas sun-dried tomatoes are brownish-orange. Finally, due to their higher moisture content, semi-dried tomatoes are juicier than sun-dried tomatoes, which are chewy. Lastly, semi-dried tomatoes are sweeter, making them suitable not only for salads, pasta and fish dishes, and sandwiches but as cake and ice cream ingredients as well.

Semi-dried tomatoes can dry on the vine due to microscopic cracks in their skin. Yana Voldman, Supree vice president for strategy and growth, told me “Tomato breeders do not favor fruit with micro-cracks but we breed for this characteristic and our tomatoes have a hundred such cracks per fruit.” Through breeding for this quality, a strain was developed that ripens a hundred days after planting; five days later, enough moisture has escaped through the cracks that the fruit is ready for harvest. Conveniently, the semi-dried tomatoes are of a determinate variety, meaning that all the fruit ripen at once, as opposed to tomatoes in general — and cherry tomatoes in particular – that are usually indeterminate, meaning they ripen over weeks or even months. All that remains in semi-dried tomato technology is the development of mechanized harvesting. Such harvesting would make sense since, when the plants are mechanically shaken, all of the fruit, which are uniformly ripe and dried, will drop simultaneously.

“The Cut Flower Handbook” (Quarto, 2024), by Lisa Mason Ziegler, is an amazing tour de force and I cannot recommend it strongly enough. Whether you are a novice or an experienced gardener, you will find a wealth of wisdom here that will ensure you grow flowers successfully from seed.

Ziegler has real-world success to back up all of her horticultural recommendations. Indeed, reading the story of her success in the cut flower business is highly enjoyable in and of itself. The story begins when Ziegler went to visit her mother in a nursing home. While sitting in the waiting room, she happened to read a magazine article that “lit me on fire and changed my life. It said you could grow cut flowers in a backyard and even sell them as a business.” She was dating her husband-to-be at this time and, upon marrying and moving into his home, found herself taking care of his garden while “slowly, I began inching cut flowers into the vegetable patch.” Although she had read that vast acreage was needed to make a serious living from growing cut flowers, she learned how to produce premium quality blooms intensively on a half acre and was soon supplying high-end florists with cut flowers. She would eventually acquire a neighboring property and, on one-and-a-half acres of land would grow a quarter million flower stems per season. She also learned that she loved to teach people how to grow cut flowers successfully, whether on a commercial or backyard scale, and made imparting her horticultural wisdom online into a business as well.

Her style of writing is down to earth and her advice carries the authority of someone who has been growing cut flowers for more than two decades with enormous success. For example: “When the directions suggest that a seed can be started indoors or outdoors, I always choose indoors,” she writes. “Planting seeds outdoors requires intense care doing tasks like thinning, watering, and weed control. Starting indoors requires daily watering” but “with no thinning or weeding.” She adds that working outdoors means exposure to the elements and doing work on your hands and knees while working indoors is more comfortable and thus starting seeds indoors is simply less work.

Her technique for getting her flower stems to grow straight involves the use of plastic mesh flower support netting. This is netting that is divided into six-inch by six-inch squares. It can be placed on the ground when planting for symmetrical seed sowing. After planting, put the netting aside until the stems are halfway to their mature size. At this height, attach the netting to stakes so the stems grow ramrod straight. 

I learned that maintaining cut flowers at maximum freshness involves keeping them in a number of different solutions, depending on when they will be put in their final vase. The first solution consists of a chlorine tablet dissolved in water, to be used if the flowers will be placed in an arrangement within 48 hours. Chlorine kills bacteria that grow on fluids leaked from the flower stem’s cut end as it enters the water. If the stem will sit longer than 48 hours before placement, a different holding solution is used. Of course, there is also flower food dissolved in water that provides mineral nutrition, assists water absorption, and kills bacteria too. Finally, if flowers should droop, there is a hydrating solution that assists in water absorption, straightening out bent blooms.

I have read lots of gardening books over the years but cannot think of any that are more useful or inspiring than this one. I should mention that the only flowers Ziegler grows are annuals — zinnia, Iceland poppy, strawflower, lisianthus, black-eyed Susan, sunflower, cosmos, stock, and snapdragon, to name a few.

California native of the week: Parry’s jujube (Zizyphus parryi) is a thorny shrub that grows up to 15 feet tall. It is a cousin of the eminently edible Chinese date (Zizyphus jujube). Although the fruit of this native species is bitter, it has been made into jams and jellies. Golden yellow in color, the fruit also wafts a memorable perfumed fragrance when it adorns the plant in August. Chartreuse flowers bloom in winter and spring. Foliage — absent most of the year — turns an attractive silver gray when it leafs out and branches zigzag intriguingly in every direction. Altogether, this is a highly ornamental plant that makes a fine landscape specimen. Its bark and roots have been used medicinally and investigations have been conducted into possible pharmaceutical applications. It is a member of the buckthorn family (Rhamnaceae), denoting kinship with the California lilac (Ceanothus).

Please send your experiences growing cut flowers to Joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions, comments, as well as gardening problems and gardening tips are always welcome.

1. I am always pleasantly surprised by my daffodils at this time of year. You see, I do absolutely nothing to them from one year to the next, but they always bloom at this time, even as their clumps gradually expand. Although generally planted in the fall, you can find pre-chilled daffodils on the Internet readily enough so that if you plant them now, you may still see blooms this spring. Daffodils are differentiated from other flowers that grow from bulbs by their toxicity. Deer and rabbits leave them alone. The alkaloid toxins in daffodils, seeping out of their stems, are so strong that they will cause other flowers to wilt when placed together in a vase. Next time you visit a florist, note that daffodils are isolated from other flowers in a bucket of their own. They must be soaked for six hours until toxins are fully removed at which point they can be placed in vase arrangements without causing the early demise of other blooms.

2. If you are looking for an off-the-beaten-path ground cover or fence adornment, consider snail vine (Vigna caracalla). It grows up to 25 feet tall but will also trail along the ground. This is a vine that grows rapidly and its highly fragrant, snail-shaped mauve-colored blooms are produced from March until October. It is not at all thirsty and is hardy down to 20 degrees Fahrenheit. Moreover, since snail vine is a legume, it does not require fertilization.

3. The method for sprouting an avocado pit in a glass or jar of water is not a secret. Remove the brown papery skin that covers the pit. Then stick three toothpicks, evenly spaced, into the fat, lower end of the pit. Your pit-with-toothpicks creation will resemble a three-pronged satellite. Fill a glass almost to the top with water so that the bottom of the pit is submerged when it is balanced by the toothpicks on the rim of the glass. Keep the water level up and roots should begin to grow within two weeks. There are now specially designed avocado seed-starter vases where you simply fit your pit into a cradle at the top of the vase so no toothpicks are needed to sprout roots. Keep in mind that an avocado tree grown from a seed may produce fruit of interior quality although there is always the chance that it will grow fruit that is superior to anything yet grown. Fruit on trees grown from seed are like children; you never know what you might get. Be prepared to wait up to ten years for your seed-grown tree to bear fruit.

4. Petunias are classic spring and fall annuals but they succumb to too much water and fertilization. Hot summer sun, moreover, in our part of the world, is really not to their liking. Pansies, petunias and annual vinca are all susceptible to the same fungus diseases so avoid planting them in succession in the same flower bed. When planting petunias, provide them with a well-composted soil into which slow-release fertilizer has been mixed. If you are planting the classic hybrid petunias with the big flowers, space them 18 inches apart. This will allow them to grow to full size without impeding each other’s growth. Trailing petunias, with smaller flowers, can be separated by two feet or more and still cover the ground in a flower bed within three weeks. Even with good spacing, petunias may grow into each other. When this happens, trim them back by one-third and they will reflower soon enough.

5. If you have a cycad, of which the sago palm (Cycas revoluta) is the most widely grown species, now is the time to fertilize it. This is because spring and summer are the seasons when cycads put out their annual flush of growth. Repeat fertilizer applications are recommended in June and August. Make sure your product contains sulfur and humid acid to lower the soil pH, as well as iron and micronutrients. Cycads should not need watering more than once a week, even in summer and, once established, can subsist on hardly any water at all. In Southern California, they grow best in half-day sun. If you are looking for a safe investment for building a college fund for a newborn baby, procure a quantity of cycad seedlings. Because of their rarity, certain types of cycads will be worth thousands of dollars when they reach 15-plus years of age, so if you had a hundred of them, this would pay for a substantial portion of an entering freshman’s four years of college.

Please send your questions, comments and more to Joshua@perfectplants.com.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the Asian citrus psyllid, its role in spreading citrus greening disease (HLB), and what we, as home gardeners, can do to help. Now there is an additional quarantine that is targeted at the oriental fruit fly (Bactrocera dorsalis). Many people (including some master gardeners) have questions about the two different quarantines and what they mean.

The Asian citrus psyllid does not cause direct harm to citrus except that some psyllids carry the HLB disease. I would compare it to the role of mosquitoes and malaria. Not all mosquitoes can give you malaria, but it’s important to keep their population under control so we don’t have a malaria outbreak.

The oriental fruit fly, however, directly damages over 400 different types of fruit. It is an invasive pest that originated in Southeast Asia and first appeared in Florida in 2002. It’s slightly bigger than the average housefly – a little less than ½ inch long. It’s yellow with a black “T” on its abdomen. It has clear wings and the females have a prominent ovipositor (a pointy structure that allows it to deposit egg inside fruit).

Once the eggs hatch, many larvae emerge and feast on the fruit’s flesh. They are slightly less than ½ inch long and pale yellow/white. Of course, this makes the fruit disgusting and inedible. If you thought finding a coddling moth larva in your apple was bad, try finding hundreds of “disco rice” in your fruit!

Since the oriental fruit fly can infest almost any type of fruit, it can potentially cost billions of dollars in lost crops. Fortunately, it doesn’t appear to have spread too far – yet.

I think we can all agree that we don’t want to find a party in our produce, so here are some recommendations for helping to stop the spread of this particularly odious pest.

Don’t move produce or plants that have not been inspected. Bringing produce home from the grocery store is okay because that has been inspected. Unfortunately, bringing your neighbor or coworkers a bag of fruit from your own tree is not OK. If you have more citrus than you can consume, you can juice it or make limoncello to share. Making marmalade, jelly, jam, curd, or candied citrus peel to share is also okay. Just don’t move unprocessed and/or uninspected produce from your property because you may end up sharing more than just fruit.

Please allow workers from the Department of Agriculture to do their work. They may have to inspect your trees, spray, or set traps. If they inspect and find the pest, they will strip the tree of its fruit and dispose of it safely. They may spray pesticide but will always notify before doing so and will make every effort to minimize exposure to bees and other beneficial insects. The traps contain small amounts of insecticide and a pheromone to attract male flies.

For more information and current maps of the quarantine areas, see www.cdfa.ca.gov.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

Prior to October 7th, workers from Gaza and Thailand had been employed in these communities but since then, except for a few remaining Thais, the harvesting is now largely being done by volunteers who have come from all over the world to pick clementines, oranges, grapefruits, pomelos, and pomelitos. In one of the communities where I worked, there was a pomelito orchard. The pulp of a pomelito — which is a cross between a pomelo and a grapefruit — is juicier than that of a pomelo and intermediate in taste between a pomelo and a grapefruit — sweeter than the former and less acidic than the latter.

The parent pomelo (Citrus maxima) is the largest of all citrus fruits. It looks like a giant grapefruit, grows up to one foot in size and weighs up to seven pounds. It is one of the four tropical, Southeast Asian, ancestral citrus species, together with the citron (ancestor of the lemon), mandarin (ancestor of the orange and every other citrus fruit that’s orange in color), and pepeda (ancestor of the lime). Every citrus fruit traces its origin to the hybridization of these parental types. The common sweet orange (Citrus sinensis), for example, is approximately 58% mandarin and 42% pomelo.

The botanical name for a grapefruit tree is Citrus x paradisii. The x which separates the genus (Citrus) and species (paradisii) in any botanical name means that the plant in question is a hybrid. A grapefruit, so-called because its fruits hang in clusters like grapes, is a hybrid between the pomelo and the sweet orange (Citrus sinensis).

The grapefruit was created in the Caribbean although its parents both came from the other side of the globe. Orange seeds from China and pomelo seeds from Indonesia were brought to the island of Barbados, the most southeastern island in the Caribbean, not far from South America’s shores. The trees that sprouted from these seeds cross-pollinated, and the fruits that developed on one of the trees were grapefruits. In 1750, “forbidden fruit” was the name that was first given to it. George Washington, who visited Barbados in that same year, recorded in his journal that “the forbidden fruit” was offered to him one evening when he was dining out.

There is both contradiction and irony in grapefruit being named forbidden fruit. First of all, since it was a hybrid created with the help of human efforts, the grapefruit tree could hardly have been the tree upon which forbidden fruit grew in the Garden of Eden, which Adam and Eve occupied for less than one day. Yet, as modern pharmacology has demonstrated, grapefruit is a forbidden fruit for many people on account of its toxic interaction with a wide variety of medications. Grapefruit contains chemicals that block the enzyme that metabolizes many drugs so that these drugs quickly build up in a concentrated and toxic form. Many psychotropic drugs, including certain tranquilizers and anti-depressants, as well as some blood pressure stabilizers and sleeping pills, and certain HIV and ADHD medications, should not be taken with grapefruit juice and it is recommended that your physician be consulted regarding grapefruit interaction before taking any medication for the first time. Even a wake-me-up cup of coffee will have a stronger impact when drunk after imbibing a glass of grapefruit juice since the biochemicals in the juice prevent caffeine from breaking down so that it maintains its punch.

Getting back to the pomelito, the American version is known as Oro Blanco, typically referred to as a grapefruit — since it resembles one in size and color — despite its hybrid status as a cross between pomelo and grapefruit. The hybridization that created Oro Blanco was made in 1958 at the University of California, Riverside, and the fruit was released commercially in 1980. Although it is rare to see Oro Blancos at the grocery store, you can find sources for the trees here and there. Garden View Nursery (garden-view.com) in Irwindale grows Oro Blanco trees and if anyone knows of other sources, please advise.

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When working in the garden, putting stress on your back is all too common. Yet by adhering to one cardinal rule, garden back strain can be avoided: Keep your back straight, and remember not to bend at the waist. Plant seeds, ground covers and annual flowers, as well as vegetable and strawberry harvesting and weed pulling, should be done on your knees. Knee pads are part of every serious gardener’s wardrobe.

Hoeing, raking and shoveling should also be done with a straight back. What this means is that whatever is being hoed, raked or shoveled should be close to the trunk of your body. When you stretch out to rake leaves or put your shovel into a pile of mulch that is more than a few inches away from your center of gravity, you are putting stress on your back. When you put your shovel into the ground to dig a hole, you should be in an uncompromisingly vertical position; your foot should go straight down on the back of the shovel blade.

Always lift with a straight back. If the object to be moved is heavy, ask for assistance. Before lifting, bring the object as close as possible to your body and tighten your stomach muscles without holding your breath. Lift with your legs.

When putting objects or shoveling into a wheelbarrow, avoid bending down. Squat and bend your knees but not your back. Put the wheelbarrow as close as possible to whatever is being lifted or shoveled into it. Distribute loads evenly in the wheelbarrow bed. When pushing a wheelbarrow or lawn mower, do so with a straight back and arms close to your sides.

California native of the week: Blue elderberry (Sambucus mexicana) is either a huge shrub or a small to medium-sized tree, depending on its growing conditions. It illustrates what is true for many woody California natives: Given regular water, its mature size may eclipse the size of another plant whose water allotment came exclusively from winter rain. Thus, blue elderberry may grow 10 feet tall with an equal spread or it may reach 30 feet tall with a 20 foot spread. It all depends on available water and exposure, too, since a partial sun or even light shade exposure will be less stressful and therefore more conducive to robust growth than when this species is exposed to all-day sun. Although it is deciduous, its period of leaflessness is brief and it is one of the first plants to leaf out in the spring. By soaking its soil once every two weeks, you can prolong its leafiness deep into the fall. Creamy flower parasols may appear at any time from April to August and navy blue to black berries are visible in large clusters during September and October. When handling the fruit, which attracts birds, take care to wear old clothes since the stains it creates are permanent. The anthocyanin pigment which gives the fruit its color is the same pigment is found in varying concentrations in all fruits and vegetables that are red, blue, purple, or black in color.

Your great-grandparents were on to something; growing budget-friendly groceries is a smart way to save money and enjoy fresh produce right from your home. Recent rapidly rising grocery prices suggest that now might be the time to follow their lead.

Learning how to grow food indoors and out lets you enjoy fresh produce without stretching your budget. But before you start digging, review these tips and tricks for growing the right crops with the best yields.

Start seeds indoors

Start seeds indoors to get a head start on gardening. Make sure you have the proper setup. Invest in trays, good quality soil mix and good lighting.

Seed starting requires durable, lightweight containers with drainage holes and enough depth for root growth. Cardboard egg cartons work well. Keep the soil moist, but beware of overwatering, which can lead to fungal diseases.

Invest in heirloom seeds

According to the USDA Economic Research Service, the price of food prepared at home rose 5% in 2023. This underscores the importance of finding sustainable ways to reduce food costs, including growing food at home.

While growing food at home requires an investment in seeds, some seeds offer better value than others. Cost-effective heirloom seeds allow gardeners to harvest them from the fruits, vegetables or herbs at the end of each season for replanting. This eliminates the need for repeated purchases.

Resilient and flavorful, heirloom seeds support biodiversity and adapt to specific local growing conditions. They may even need less water and fewer pesticides. This saves gardeners more money and contributes to a more sustainable garden.

Choose low-maintenance crops

Certain vegetables and herbs are low maintenance and particularly easy to grow, making them good choices for beginner gardeners. Longtime freelance gardening writer Janet Loughrey of Garden Design suggests new gardeners start small to help avoid feeling overwhelmed.

“Start out with a few easy crops like carrots, radishes and greens such as lettuce, spinach and kale,” she says.” These crops are easy to grow from seed, which is less expensive than buying plant starts.”

Starting with these crops will boost confidence in your gardening skills while reducing grocery bills. Tomatoes, radishes and basil are also excellent choices for new gardeners.

Choose the right crops

Not all crops do well in all areas. Soil conditions, sun, wind and temperature can impact your plants’ growth.

When planning your first garden, choose plants that thrive in local conditions to reduce the effort and resources needed for their care. Get advice from local gardening groups or area agricultural college extension offices.

Next, choose plants best suited to your available space. For example, snap peas, beans and cucumbers grow on trellises in vertical gardens.

Parsley, basil and peppers grow well in pots in warm, sunny corners of patios or balconies. However, don’t plant anything you won’t eat.

“Make a list of edibles you are most likely to eat, whether it’s fresh herbs, tomatoes, peppers or beans,” says Laughrey, adding that doing so will reduce food wastage and be easier on your budget. “Some edible crops such as tomatoes or strawberries can be expensive to buy fresh at the grocery store or farmer’s market, so it will save you money to grow them yourself.”

Learn about companion planting

Companion planting boosts a garden’s health and yield by maximizing the natural relationships between plants. For example, planting basil with tomatoes can help deter pests. Growing marigolds among vegetables can ward off nematodes. Beans, squash and corn grow so well together that Indigenous North Americans called the trio “the three sisters.”

Use a garden planner to experiment with different layouts using companion planting principles based on the size and location of your garden containers, raised beds or pots. After transplanting your seedlings into their final locations, water regularly and apply natural fertilizers to encourage healthy growth.

Try container gardening

Some fruits, vegetables and herbs do better in containers than others. Grow leafy greens, root vegetables and herbs in large planters or pots indoors or out.

Focus on high-yield plants like tomatoes and peppers to maximize your garden’s output, especially if you are working in a small space. Loughry says even people with limited space can grow food crops on a patio or apartment balcony, and herbs and greens can grow indoors in pots on a sunny kitchen window sill.

“Choose a spot that gets 6 to 8 hours of direct sunlight per day,” she advises, explaining there are varieties of vegetables or fruits with a compact habit suitable for container gardening. These include patio tomatoes, bush cucumbers, bush beans, dwarf blueberry bushes and alpine strawberries. “And make sure containers are large enough and have adequate drainage holes.”

Make the most of microgreens

Microgreens offer a nutritious and space-efficient option for indoor gardening. Growing microgreens or sprouts is simple and just requires a shallow tray or mason jar, soil or soil alternative and seeds. The whole process can take as little as 7-14 days. Keeping the soil moist but not soggy to prevent mold is a common challenge with indoor microgreens.

Succession gardening for a steady food supply

Succession gardening ensures a continuous supply of fresh produce. By planting crops every few weeks, gardeners harvest vegetables throughout the season. This approach helps maximize yield and extends the gardening season in backyard gardens and indoors for microgreens and herbs.

Grow your own food and save

Growing your own budget-friendly groceries can help to reduce your food expenses. Start heirloom seeds indoors. Try growing a container garden or even a vertical garden on balconies or patios.

Choose climate-appropriate crops, employ companion and succession planting and experiment with growing microgreens indoors. When you start small and plan carefully, your garden will flourish, providing a steady supply of fresh produce right at your doorstep.

Sarita Harbour is a long-time business and finance writer. She created An Off Grid Life to help people become more self-reliant. Sarita and her family garden off the grid in Canada’s Northwest Territories.