Spring is a month away, but this is still the season for planting. Evergreen plants that were not planted in the cold part of winter prefer planting while the days are still cool and the soil is less likely to dry out. This is the time of year to visit your favorite nurseries.
When I need something for my garden, I often go to the "garden department" at one of the large home improvement centers. I can do this because I know exactly what I want. I can distinguish good quality from poor, and I want to get the lowest prices. It is not, however, a pleasurable shopping experience. I am frequently appalled at the lack of experience and concern of the staff. These centers also lack variety in their stock.
Garden centers are a good compromise. The prices may be somewhat higher, but the quality of the material is generally higher. The staff at these stores are usually experienced in matters of horticulture, and can be helpful if you have any questions or need advice. Some wholesale nurseries are open for retail and function much like garden centers, but because retail space may be incorporated in production areas, and the staff are more production-oriented, it's important to be aware of quality when shopping in these places.
Retail nurseries are the establishments of choice for gardeners who want to enjoy purchasing material for their gardens. Most of these nurseries are staffed by competent horticulturists, and they stock the highest quality material. Retail nurseries also sell from a more complete selection of species, including some too obscure for wholesale nurseries or home improvement centers to be bothered with. I sometimes visit retail nurseries to see how particular species should look in my garden.
One of my favorite nurseries is a wholesale nursery that functions as a retail nursery. Capitol Wholesale Nursery in the Evergreen Valley of San Jose stocks an extensive variety of only the best quality material. Some of the annuals and perennials, for example, are acquired from Cavanaugh Color, a producer of the highest quality material and many obscure varieties. The staff at Capitol Wholesale Nursery is made up of educated and very experienced horticulturists. The retail prices, however, are the lowest I have encountered, only to be possibly outdone by the home improvement centers. I often recommend this nursery to my clients. Capitol Wholesale Nursery is located on Keaton Loop in East San Jose. It's well worth the drive.
Tree of the Week: Flowering Cherry
Every winter ends with the bloom cycle of the flowering fruit trees, those cultivars of fruit trees that are grown for their ornamental qualities but produce no fruit. Among these, flowering plums are the most common, but their distinctive purple or bronze foliage is a deterrent for many gardeners. The many cultivars of flowering cherries are available with a much wider range of tree structure, flower color and form.
All but the more exotic produce green foliage. The flowers are generally pink, but the range of pink is extensive, from a nearly white blush to a very bright deep rose. Flower form ranges from delicate five petal, single flowers to very large carnation-like double flowers. The only commonly available white flowered cultivar, Prunus serrulata (Tai Haku) produces the largest flowers, 21Ž2 inches wide. All are very profuse, blooming before foliation of the tree. Flowering cherries are almost always less than 30 feet tall at maturity, and their respective structures are as distinctive as their flowers.
Most are graceful, but some are strongly upright. Several are pendulous, and often grafted onto glossy red trunks of Prunus serrula, the birch bark cherry. Prunus serrulata (Amanogawa) is strictly columnar with the form of a small Lombardy poplar.
Winter is the most appropriate season to plant deciduous trees, but this is the time of year to see them in bloom if you have difficulty deciding on a cultivar based on its description. If purchased in a container and planted early, trees should have no problem with the transition from the nursery to your garden.
Flowering cherries prefer well-drained soil; so amendment to our endemic soil is necessary. They may also be planted in the rich soil of raised beds used for perennials or vegetables. Full sun is preferred. Once established, the root system tolerates dry periods, but prefers occasional irrigation during the summer.
Unlike fruit trees, flowering trees require only minor pruning. Many cultivars, particularly the pendulous forms, need structure pruning to eliminate problem cross-over branches when the trees are young. At maturity, it is only necessary to remove unhealthy or obstructive branches. Also unlike fruit trees, pruning may be done while the trees are in bloom and the branches may be brought in as cut flowers.
Flowering cherries bloom at different times each year, as they respond to different environmental stimuli. The earliest usually start their bloom cycle in mid-February, shortly after other flowering fruit trees. The latest may finish in April. A good place to see these trees in bloom is in San Jose's Japantown. Prunus serrulata (Kwanzan) and Prunus yedoensis (Akebono) are the two most commonly used as street trees. However, many other cultivars may be seen in gardens in this neighborhood.
Call Tony Tomeo at 358-2574.
Los Gatos, California Since 1881
