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The mayten is an evergreen tree used in landscaping that exhibits finely textured foliage on drooping branches, resembling a small weeping willow.
Photograph by Shari Kaplan
Garden events beginning to crowd spring calendar
By Tony Tomeo
There are two events that should be discussed this week, so I will try to be brief. If this continues into spring, when there are even more gardening events, I might have to commandeer the other half of this page.
The schedule of classes offered by Common Ground Organic Garden Supply and Education Center is much more extensive than the seed propagation class instructed by John Jeavons that I described two weeks ago. The schedule is: Composting with Jan Buck on Feb. 16; Easy Edible Gardening with Wendy Krupnick on Feb. 23; Worm Composting with Alane O'Rielly on March 2; California Natives with Susie Madder on March 9; Double-Digging & Companion Planting with Carol Cox on March 16; and later, Starting Your Vegetable Gardening with Adrienne Duncan and Drip Irrigation with Frank Niccoli.
Common Ground, a project of Ecology Action, is dedicated to "Grow Bio-Intensive" gardening and mini-farming. These procedures, developed by Ecology Action during the last 27 years, enable garden enthusiasts to grow their own food while maintaining and improving the fertility of the garden. Common Ground is located at 559 College Ave. in Palo Alto and can be contacted at 650.493.6072 or at www.commongroundinpaloalto.org for information concerning the winter schedule of classes.
The San Francisco Flower & Garden Show is scheduled for March 20 through 24 at the Cow Palace. Because this is still six weeks away, I can discuss specific features of this event in more detail later, but thought some readers might want the date well in advance to plan accordingly. More information, as well as tickets, can be obtained by calling 800.829.9751 or visiting www.gardenshow.com.
The San Francisco Flower & Garden Show will, of course, include the orchid pavilion, ikebana show, bonsai show, new plants exhibit, garden living pavilion, koi festival and various educational booths. More than 450 exhibitors will make available a wide range of unique horticultural implements and paraphernalia. More than 60 free seminars will be offered by Sunset magazine's seminar series. The children's garden exhibit and the California Garden Club Competition are new events this year. Group tours can be arranged with California Tour Consultants at 800.227.4276 or www.catour.com.
The show will be open to the public between 9 a.m. and 6:30 p.m. on Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday and between 9 a.m. and 9 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. An all-show pass for all five days is available for $59. Otherwise, tickets are $18 ($12 after 2 p.m.) at the door or $15 in advance. Children 11 and younger are $7.
The San Francisco Friends of Recreation and Parks will host their Opening Night Party on March 19, just prior to the opening of the Flower & Garden Show. Dinner will be served among the show gardens, where guests will experience an exclusive preview. Tickets are available for $150 by calling 415.750.5441. I tried to sneak in last year after the press tour, but only got far enough to see that it was quite a lavish event.
Tree of the Week: Mayten
This is a popular tree among some of my friends from college back in Los Osos because the bothersome watersprouts from the roots are so easily removed from the main trees and installed elsewhere. They are all over the place! However, some trees never produce watersprouts.
The mayten, Maytenus boaria, requires good drainage; roots are easily damaged if irrigated too generously in the dense soil that is typical in the Santa Clara Valley. If soil is well-drained, infrequent but generous irrigation will promote deeper root growth. Otherwise, frequent irrigation may promote a more aggressive root system near the surface of the soil, particularly if the soil is not well-drained.
Mayten trees may be grown with a single trunk or with multiple trunks or low branches. They grow at a moderate or slow rate to 20 feet wide and tall, possibly taller. The finely textured foliage is 1 or 2 inches long on very pendulous stems resembling those of a weeping willow. Genetic variability is evident among some of the older trees, causing insipid foliar color or structural deviations. Some of these trees may be taller and leaner or less pendulous than others. Newer trees are likely all of the cultivar "Green Showers," which exhibits slightly broader and greener foliage among reliably pendulous stems.
Horticulturist Tony Tomeo can be contacted at 408.358.2574 or LGHORTICULTURE@aol.com.
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Sunnyvale, California Since 1994
