Gardening With Tony

UNITED STATES—Now that winter is only two weeks away, and many deciduous plants are defoliating and dormant, it may seem as if there will be less work to do in the garden. After all, not much is growing. The funny thing is that this is the best time to sneak up on some of them, and prune them while...

UNITED STATES—Winter storms sometimes break limbs or topple trees. Such damage is no surprise during winter because that is when almost all windy weather happens here. Early storms during autumn might be more damaging because deciduous trees are less aerodynamic prior to defoliation. Nonetheless, falling trees and limb failure typically associate with wind. That is why spontaneous limb failure is...

UNITED STATES—Spring, in several regards, is like autumn in reverse, or vice versa. Bloom increases for spring but decreases for autumn. Foliage increases for spring but decreases for autumn. The two seasons are in opposition. In this chaparral climate, the rainy season that began last autumn ends now. Irrigation that became redundant then becomes necessary now. Diminishing rain is not...

UNITED STATES—Some of the earliest of spring flowers are done blooming. More are just beginning. Then, a few early spring flowers barely qualify as early. Their fresh color is especially pleasing after such an atypically wintry winter. Many are delightful cut flowers. A few that bloom on bare deciduous stems are conducive to forcing. Even the earliest bloom could...

UNITED STATES—Green is the most common floral color. It only seems to be rare amongst flowers because almost all green bloom relies on wind for pollination. Thus, neither color nor fragrance is useful to get the attention of pollinators. Actually, green flowers do not get much attention at all. They are easy to ignore in the wild, and generally...

UNITED STATES—Flowers produce seed. That is their priority. Flowers that do not rely primarily on wind for pollination are colorful and fragrant merely to attract pollinators. They deteriorate as seed develops after pollination. Many flowers finish bloom between summer and autumn. This can generate an abundance of true to type seed to potentially collect for the next season. Seed of...

UNITED STATES—This really is the best climate for gardening. Even though summers are mild, there are not many plants that want for more warmth. Even though winters are mild, it gets just cool enough for many plants that require winter chilling. Yet, there are a few plants, particularly plants from tropical climates, that can be damaged by frost. The...

UNITED STATES—Ivy is creepy. It creeps everywhere. As it does so, it extends roots into or onto whatever it creeps over. Not only does it do this to climb, but it also does this to propagate. It literally roots as it goes, to function more as a swarm of countless small plants instead of a single big plant. A...

UNITED STATES—Poinsettias are very popular blooming potted plants for about a month prior to Christmas. Then, most quietly disappear prior to spring. A few become foliar houseplants. Fewer go into home gardens to likely succumb to frost or neglect. Very few survive for more than a few years. It is not easy to recover from the procedures that forced...

UNITED STATES—There really is no such thing as a perfect tree. Some are not quite as messy as others. Some have better structural integrity than others. Some have gentle roots; and some stay proportionate to tight spots. However, without exception, all trees grow, drop leaves, and disperse roots. This is an important consideration when selecting any tree, and especially when...