Saratoga Horticulture's fall sale is something very special

By Tony Tomeo

Any nursery can have a spring sale, but few host a fall sale like the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation. On Oct. 16, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., the Foundation will be open to the public, offering a wide selection of perennials, shrubs, trees, ground covers and other goodies. The plants are either grown by foundation staff or donated by local nurseries. Revenue from the sale helps fund the various research programs conducted by the foundation, which is dedicated to research and development of new plant varieties for the nursery industry.

Most plants developed by the Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation are drought tolerant or otherwise well suited to California's Mediterranean climate. Many are imported from places with similar climates, such as South Africa, New Zealand and Australia. The Saratoga Horticultural Research Foundation, located at 15185 Murphy Ave. in San Martin, is easily found by turning left from southbound Highway 101 onto Tennant Avenue and taking the first right turn, which is Murphy Avenue.

For more information, the foundation can be contacted at 408.779.3303. If you would like to be more involved with the foundation, memberships may be purchased at the sale.

If you prefer to be involved with roses, the staff of the Heritage Rose Garden of San Jose, which was so helpful with providing information for our columns about roses, is recruiting volunteers for the seasonal maintenance of the garden. If you don't remember the columns, you should be aware that the Heritage Rose Garden is like no other rose garden in the world, and is the most complete collection of Old World roses. The unique cultural practices used in this garden are more practical for modern and future rose gardening, eliminating the need for chemical pesticides.

Involvement in this garden would definitely be a learning experience. The new fall hours and workdays are from 9 a.m. to noon on Wednesdays and Saturdays. Volunteers may meet at the community center at the corner of W. Taylor and Spring streets, opposite the garden. The telephone number at the Garden Center is 408.298.7657.

By now, you may be noticing autumn color in many of your annuals and perennials. As leaves begin to yellow on pumpkin and winter squash vines, irrigation will no longer be necessary. Too much water promotes rot and bland flavor. As pumpkins grow, they should be periodically rotated so that any one surface is not in contact with soil long enough to rot. Boards may be placed under pumpkins for the same purpose. When canna lilies, dahlias and gladioli turn yellow, they can simply be cut to the ground. If left long enough, expired foliar parts of dahlias and gladiola separate themselves from subterranean plant parts, and may be easily plucked off. Below ground, their corms and tubers seal themselves in and seal out rot fungus as dormancy begins.

Tuberous begonias should be dug up and stored like potatoes after the foliar part of the plants dies back. When tomato plants turn yellow, any green fruit on them will not likely ripen unless it is removed from the plants and placed on a windowsill.

Tree of the Week: Maidenhair Tree

When I was in the seventh grade, my walk to school took me past Fire Station No. 14 on Saratoga Avenue, which had several maidenhair trees, Ginkgo biloba, planted along the sidewalk. I can still remember the bright, clear yellow that the foliage turned at this time of year. All the leaves stayed neatly on the trees for quite some time, but once they began to fall, they did so completely and in only a few days. The leaves were just as impressive on the ground as they were on the trees. The whole area was so efficiently covered in bright yellow foliage that I could not distinguish the sidewalk from the lawn until I stepped off the edge. My aversion to "mow, blow and go" gardeners probably began the day I found all the leaves raked and removed and the lawn green again.

Maidenhair trees, also commonly called ginkgo trees, are actually better suited to home gardens than most people realize. The three most common cultivars are exclusively male and will not produce the profuse, foul-smelling fruit that gives these trees such a bad reputation. Incidentally, the cultivar "Saratoga" was selected by the Saratoga Horticultural Foundation for its unusually long, pendulous foliage and not because it was discovered growing on Saratoga Avenue. Young trees prefer irrigation through summer, but will eventually be satisfied with minimal irrigation. If planted in landscaped areas, water will likely never be a concern. The trees usually grow slowly, but in ideal conditions may gain up to 3 feet in height each year, eventually reaching up to 50 feet tall. Young trees are often lean and open in form, but fill out with age. The Saratoga cultivar stays smaller than most, and colors less vibrantly, but is usually grown for its interesting texture. Two other cultivars, Autumn Gold and Fairmount, perform much like the older, seed-grown trees, with excellent autumn color; however, Fairmount is faster, straighter and leaner than Autumn Gold, which is broad and stately.

It is difficult to believe that this species is actually a conifer. It is unique among conifers because the foliage is both deciduous and up to 3 inches wide. Unfortunately, many older ungrafted trees are female and produce the foul fruit; and non-fruiting male trees are not as stable as modern cultivars and may decide to "switch" and start bearing fruit at any time.

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Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be reached at 408.358.2574.

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