Long ago and far away, the hills and flatlands of Southern California used to be covered with orange groves. One can almost hear Peter, Paul and Mary singing, “Where have all the orange groves gone? Long time passing. Where have all the orange groves gone? Long time ago. Where have all the orange groves gone? Gone to housing, everyone. "

Ah, but you can have your very own “citrus grove,” right in your yard. Citrus trees are ornamentally beautiful, have fragrant blooms, are evergreen and boast colorful fruits all year long. Who could ask for more? Walk out into your yard and pluck an orange, lime, lemon, grapefruit, kumquat or your citrus of choice - fresh and delicious.

Now, we don’t mean to imply you should add rows and rows of citrus trees. But you can select your favorite citrus trees and incorporate them into your landscape, front or back yard. Also, dwarf citrus grow great in containers. Include them in that container-designed area of your patio or deck. If you plan to plant a citrus tree in a container, use cactus mix as the planting soil. This will give your citrus tree the best drainage.

We have numerous varieties of citrus trees from which to make your selection. Many of these are available in either standard or dwarf.

Standard:
• Nagami Kumquat
• Grapefruit
• Meyer Lemon
• Eureka Lemon
• Variegated Pink Lemon
• Bearss Lime
• Owari Satsuma Mandarin
• Washington Navel Orange
• Valencia Orange
• Dancy Tangerine

Dwarf:
• Nagami Kumquat
• Grapefruit
• Meyer Lemon
• Eureka Lemon
• Variegated Pink Lemon
• Bearss Lime
• Limequat
• Owari Satsuma Mandarin
• Cara Cara Orange
• Lane Late Orange
• Morro Blood Orange
• Washington Navel Orange
• Valencia Orange
• Minneola Tangelo
• Dancy Tangerine

Citrus trees love full sun and well-drained soil. They prefer sandy soils. If you have more clay-like soil, amend heavily or plant the tree on a slight mound to keep the roots elevated for good drainage. And don’t forget to mulch, mulch, mulch! Citrus trees like moist soil, but not saturated soil. If you have clay soil, take care not to over-water in the root areas of your citrus. It is also best not to under-plant these trees at all, especially with grass that needs lots of water.

Fertilizing is important for citrus. They are heavy feeders and need lots of nitrogen. That should make sense when you observe their continuous foliage-growing, flowering and fruiting cycle. They also need other minerals such as iron, manganese and zinc. Yellowing leaves with dark veins are a sign of chlorosis from iron deficiency. Yellow mottling or blotching on leaves can be characteristic of manganese and/or zinc deficiency. If you are uncertain of what is happening with your citrus, bring us a leaf or two and we’ll direct you to the correct fertilizer.

Unhealthy citrus can get pests such as aphids, mites, scale, mealybugs, sooty mold and/or whitefly. Remember that you cannot use most synthetic chemical treatments on an edible plant. Keep your citrus healthy with regular organic fertilizing (we recommend Dr. Earth #9 Fruit Tree & Vine Food), a full sun location, mulch, and regular water but not saturation. It also helps to mulch with worm castings from time to time.

If you do get one of or a combination of the above pests, the first type of treatment is spraying with water. You can knock off all of the listed insect pests with a hard blast of water. And you can clean foliage coated with black sooty mold with water and finger scrubbing. Almaden Valley Nursery also recommends Take Down Garden Spray, a safe organic solution.

If you are growing your citrus in a container, all of the above instructions are for you, too. However, you may need to water more often, because containers tend to dry out.

Citrus are excellent landscape plants that add to your gardens an attractive form, glossy green foliage, perfume fragrance, colorful fruits and above all, delectable eating! Come in to see us. We’ll meet you in the citrus grove!

The most effective management of leaf miners is simply to remove the infected leaves and throw them away. These larvae eat until full and then fall into the soil beneath the foliage to grow up. If you don’t want their life cycle to go that far, throwing out the leaves is best. If you miss a leaf or two, chances are birds or other natural predators will probably eat the pupae in the soil.

Planting
Bedding plants/annuals are now available to replace any cool-season annuals that are just about done. Zinnia, ageratum, coleus, dahlia, marigold, nicotiana, phlox, petunia, salvia and many more have brightened up our garden center. Let them brighten up your gardens. Also, try some taller annuals such as cosmos, cleome, sunflowers, and foxgloves to add height and interest to the garden beds.

Roses, Roses, Roses. There's still time to plant roses. They are full of buds and blooms right now – and they are simply gorgeous

If you are a beneficial insect lover, flat-topped flowers like Shasta daisies, scabiosa, strawflowers, and yarrow are perfect additions to your garden for feeding them. Beneficial insects such as the almost microscopic parasitic wasps, ladybugs, etc. keep other insect pests away from your vegetable gardens by eating aphids, scale, and other annoying insect intruders! You can use beautiful flowers to temp these garden friends into your garden. Try putting some of these flowers near to your rose garden for aphid control!

Time to plant dahlias, begonias and get in the gladiolus bulbs. Add some bone meal to the planting hole.

The narcissus and daffodils are blooming, as well as other spring blooming bulbs. However, as soon as the blooms are spent, you can deadhead - but don't remove the foliage! The bulb needs that green foliage to add nutrients back to the bulb for next year's flowers. Hide the clippers for a little while longer. Try and old-fashioned technique of braiding the leaves or if you must cut...leave at least half of the leaf length for the bulb. It will thank you with next year's bloom!

It's time to start warm season crops. Coastal areas can continue planting cool season crops like the leaf lettuces, radishes, and spinach for a while. Inland zones (not the high desert, though) can start the warm season vegetables such as beans, corn, squashes, cucumber, eggplant, tomatoes and peppers. We have them all and more.

Maintenance
Continue with fertilizing those areas of the garden you haven't gotten to yet. Once your azaleas and camellias have stopped blooming their hearts out, they will thank you if you feed them with Dr. Earth #4 for Acid Loving Plants. This is a good time to prune back these spring bloomers. Once the flowering has ended and before the new growth begins, prune and shape to your desired shape and size.

Also, you may see some chlorosis on your acid-loving plants like the azalea or camellia and also on your citrus. This is yellowing of the leaves between the veins. It is a sign of iron deficiency for the plant. Feed with Dr. Iron (iron supplement).

Especially near the coast, this is the time we begin to see powdery mildew on our rose foliage (and other plants too). There are several different foliar fungicidal sprays to try.

Aphids will be back. Remember that you can first wash them off with water. Really, it does help. For more severe infestations, ask us to recommend something suitable for your particular plants.

Mulch, Mulch Mulch!
We will always tell you to mulch. This does not mean mound up the mulch to 5 feet. It means continue to replenish the mulch and maintain a 2-4 inch blanket over your soil. So when you hear us singing the MULCH song, you know just what we mean!

Spring has sprung, and with this warmer weather comes our first selection of water plants. If you have a water feature with plants, you have probably been waiting for our plants to arrive! Join us at our pond plant oasis.

For those who have been dreaming of installing a water feature, large or small, here are a few tips to follow. There are three main categories of water plants, and each category of plants fulfills a very particular role in your water garden.

A water garden can be as simple as one pot filled with water and a few water plants, or a small bubbling fountain with room for a few floating plants placed in a quiet corner of your garden next to your favorite chair. It can be as elaborate as a large pond with koi, frogs, and other of nature’s creatures. What do they all have in common? Peaceful serenity and quiet beauty.

Once you have decided upon the scale of your water feature and the area of your garden that it will inhabit, the next step is learning about all of the different water plants and their functions--including beauty, of course.

When you choose plants, apply the same rules that you might to any other area of your garden. Consider color, profile, and the eventual size of the plants. Remember to take into account that some water plants are deciduous, just like some trees and shrubs in your garden. You will want to have a good mixture of evergreen and deciduous (dormant in winter). Don't over-fill your water pond with plants, making it too full and crowding out your favorite plants.

Water plants are categorized or grouped into their "home" locations in and around the pond.

The main types are listed here:

Floating plants: These are divided into two types, those with their roots in the soil and leaves floating, and those that truly just float, leaves and roots both. Examples of the latter are water hyacinth and water lettuce.

Oxygenating plants: These plants are submerged beneath the water surface. Many bloom with small flowers above the water. They are much needed, as they take in the carbon dioxide and release oxygen, necessary for the other plants or for pond life such as fish. Pondweeds and eelgrass are two examples.

Marginal/bog plants: These live at the pond's margins, with their "feet" in the shallow water and their "heads" up out of the water. They prefer water that is 2-6 inches deep. Bog plants are marginal plants, too. They prefer to grow in wet, wet soil rather than in the standing water. Among many examples of marginal plants, here are just a few: canna, sedges, cyperus, Houttuynia cordata, irises, juncus and many more.

Almaden Valley Nursery has just received our first shipment with many more to come!

Michael was born in a hospital and spent his youth growing up in the Windy City. You'll never find him auditioning for American Idol, as his worst subject in school was Choir.

Michael graduated from the University of Hawaii and has held some unique jobs, including working at the M&M Mars Candy Company and as a fishing guide at Lake of the Woods in Canada.

He has always been a straight arrow and in his spare time enjoys fishing, gardening, and more fishing.

My staff and I look forward to serving you this year. We'll go out of our way to make your day!

Matt Lepow