Trumpet Trees

Matt Ritter's Advise on Tree Leaves to Use As Toilet Paper

Cal Poly Botany Professor Matt Ritter's Blog entry last week goes over a list of tree leaves to use as toilet paper in an emergency. I don't know if has tested these, and remember if you have an allergy to any of these trees this practice could really ruin your day.

What's Blooming Now at the Arboretum Smartphone Google Earth Tour 3-7-2020

Just aim your Google Earth equipped smart phone's QR code reader at this image

and you'll bring up a Google Earth tour of what's blooming now at the Arboretum! 

Here's the link to the Google Earth project if you don't have a QR reader handy:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1MRFwpX0C1CgRZeE0zyaLRfkexse2hCkK&usp=sharing

Outline for Marvelous, Miraculous Mulches: How Choosing the Right One Can be the Key to Gardening Success

1)      What is “mulch”?

a)      A layer, organic or inorganic, applied to the top of the soil around selected plants that aid in their survival and aesthetics.

i)        Survival

(1)   Heat Regulation

(2)   Water Conservation

(3)   Soil Building

(4)   Weed Control

(5)   Pest Control

ii)      Aesthetics

(1)   Path building

(2)   Artistic Elements

(3)   Landscape Elements

2)      What Isn’t A (very good) Mulch

a)      Fertilizer

b)     Manure

c)      Compost

3)      Survival

a)      Heat Regulation

i)        Reflects heat and sun away from soil

ii)      Soaks up heat

iii)    Wicks up moisture, the resulting evaporation of water off of the mulch cools down the soil below.

b)     Water Conservation

i)        Cooling properties keep evapotranspiration rates lower.

ii)      Cooling also keeps plants roots active –hot, dry roots don’t work very well.

(1)   80% of the roots of most plants are located no deeper than 18 inches deep.

iii)    Reflective cooling mulches reflect heat and light off of the soil. Ex. Plants next to rocks growing better than those not.

iv)    Evaporative cooling mulches dry out more slowly than hard soil surfaces. This slow drying stretches out the evaporative cooling effect of the drying mulch, cooling the soil surface and the roots below.

c)      Soil building

i)        Mulches provide unique compounds to the soils around the plants that help the biological organisms in the soil that are helpful to the plant.

ii)      Bark contains tannins, phenolic and other compounds that break down slowly in the soil and can help lower the pH of the soil to that more favorable to plants. These compounds can be chelating agents as well and may be necessary for the health of beneficial soil organisms.

iii)    Just the cooling and water conserving nature of mulch helps plant friendly organisms thrive in the soil.

d)     Weed Control

i)        Mulch acts through several mechanisms to keep weeds down.

(1)   Physical

(a)   Seeds cannot get down to the soil level to germinate.

(b)   Seeds germinate and then dry out because of the air circulation between mulch particles

(c)    Barrier –lasagna mulching prevents weeds in part by keeping the newly germinated plants from reaching air and light.

(2)   Bio Active

(a)   Mulch has or creates natural herbicidal compounds

(i)     Lasagna Mulching (bio active?)

1.      A layer of moist green waste sandwiched between two layers of cardboard (or one layer on top if heavy clay).  On top is a layer of traditional mulch.

2.      The green waste decomposes and forms herbicidal compounds that kill weeds and propagules.

3.      After a period of time desired plants are planted through the mulch and the top layer of cardboard.

(ii)   Rice Hulls: a similar method using plastic and rice hulls is used by strawberry growers to replace now banned soil sterilificants (like Methyl Bromide).

e)      Pest Control

i)        Many types of mulch provide cover and ideal conditions for various insect predators.

ii)      Many types of mulch also provide conditions repellent to pests & diseases.

(1)   Snails can be repelled by rocky, dry mulch.

(2)   They can also be repelled by sharp mulches.

(3)   Pecan hulls are used around Camellias to repel snails AND they have an anti-fungal effect on Camellia Bud Blast.

iii)    Mylar reflective mulches can be effective pest control.

(1)   Light reflected on the dorsal side of leaves and flowers confuses insects like aphids that prefer to start their infestations on the shady part of their hosts.

(2)   Light can also make pests more visible to predators.

(3)   There’s also the added benefit of more light for photosynthesis.

iv)    Straw –keeps fruits off of the ground, safe from fungal infestation.

4)      Aesthetics

a)      DG, gravel, and other mulches can be structural and aesthetic, as well as beneficial to plants.

i)        DG

(1)   Great for paths and, in larger meshes, great mulch for most native plants.

(2)   A layer of DG over a properly created convex path makes a good walking surface and will prevent many weeds from growing on the path. Sealing  the DG path is also a good idea.

ii)      Different sizes of Fir or hardwood bark make good paths as well, however make sure the soil under them is compacted well and inspect for weeds regularly. Bark decomposes significantly in a year or two and you might have to add more.

(1)   Stay away from colored bark.

(2)   Stay away from wood chips.

iii)    Gravel.

(1)   Can purchase in different colors

(2)   Can be purchased in different sizes.

iv)    Volcanic cinder rock.

(1)   For a dark colored look.

(2)   Tough for weeds to get a start in it.

(3)   Can be too hot for plants due to the dark color absorbing more infrared light.

v)      Tumbled Glass (and shattered safety glass)

(1)   Comes in many colors.

(2)   Can be used to create stripes, patterns, even pictures that are fairly long lasting.

(3)   Can be lit from below for an added effect.

vi)    Stay away from: Mulch made from old tires, plastic sheeting that is not reusable, and especially –Stay Away From Weed Block Cloth (Unless you prefer using a jackhammer to remove it).

What's Blooming at the L.A. County Arboretum and Botanic Garden, January 25th, 2020

Blue agave (foreground), Golden barrel cactus (background)

Ceiba insignis

Miscanthus grass

Paperwhite Narcissus

Aloe speciosa

Aloe marlothii

Red hot poker, Kniphofia uvaria

Flowering Magnolia

Flowering Magnolia

Prunus 'mume', Japanese flowering apricot

Prunus 'mume', Japanese flowering apricot

Prunus 'mume', Japanese flowering apricot

California silk tassel, Garrya elliptica

California silk tassel, Garrya elliptica

Chinaberry tree, Melia azedarach 

Shaving-brush tree, Pseudobombax ellipticum 

Flowering plum, Prunus cerasifera 

Flowering plum, Prunus cerasifera 

Flowering plum, Prunus cerasifera 

Flowering plum petals, Prunus cerasifera 

Two egrets fighting for territory at the Baldwin Lagoon. 

Map to some of the plants mentioned above. 

Looking Around the Arboretum

Omphalotus olivascens, the Jack-O-Lantern fungus on the oak next to Meyberg falls. 

Omphalotus (background), Clitocybe nuda (Lavender mushroom in the foreground). 

Ceiba speciosa, probably a hybrid between C. speciosa and Ceiba insignis. 

Clivia nobilis, differs from the more common Clivia miniata by its slender and nodding tubular flowers. 

Parrotia persica, the Persian ironwood tree in bloom. The flower has no petals or sepals, however it does have insignificant brown bracts. Notice the wax-red stamens. 

Parrotia persica, the Persian ironwood tree in bloom. Besides stamens, somewhere in that flower are two pistils. 

Ceiba insignis, this tree seems to always be in bloom. 

The Engelmann oak grove on Tallac Knoll. Engelmann oaks are now an endangered species as of 2017.  

The Engelmann oak grove on Tallac Knoll. Engelmann oaks are now an endangered species as of 2017. 

This is our oak collection. We have over 45 different species of oak trees here at the L.A. County Arboretum and botanic garden. 

January Plant Information Class Outline

January 2020 Plant Information Class

San Gabrieliscious snow above the Aloe trail. 

1. Pretty Pictures
2. Moonlight Forest
3. Cactus and Succulent Winter Show and Sale
4. What to look for in the garden this month.
5. Plant Info Questions

Lecture

1. Bare-root season

1. Why bare root?
2. Advantages, disadvantages.
3. How and where to plant bare root roses, berries, nut and fruit trees.
4. Special pruning and maintenance needs.

1. First years
2. Spurs
3. Pruning out shoots

5. Where to find.
6. San Gabriel Nursery’s Lists
7. Davewilson.com
8. Chilling Hours
9. Rose types and considerations

2. Grandifloras
3. Floribundas
4. Hybrid Tea
5. Climbing roses
6. Groundcover roses
7. Miniature Roses
8. Tree Roses
10. There’s a Plant For That

1. Handout
2. Chinese Narcissus
3. Good Luck Plant (Pachira aquatica), tough as nails, edible seed.

3. Houseplants

1. Slide Presentation
2. Cultural Considerations
3. Wick pots.
4. Lights for houseplants

Arboretum Aloe Walk Aloe Map

Recent Questions: Leaves and Lights

Q. Are watermelon leaves edible ?

A.  would be carefull, that plant family can produce toxins. 

Poisoned by Bitter Squash, Two Women Lose Their Hair | Live Science There wasn't anything particularly unusual about the squash — just a slightly bitter taste. But that all changed when two women in France started losing their hair. The women didn't know each ... www.livescience.com

See:https://www.livescience.com/62158-toxic-squash-syndrome-hair-loss.html

The plant mentioned in the article above is in the same family as watermelon. The reaction seems to be fairly rare, but why take any chances?

Q. What's wrong with my nerve plant (see picture below). 

Nerve plant (Fittonia albivenis) showing etiolation.

A. It looks like your Nerve plant (Fittonia albivenis) is suffering from etiolation. 

Etiolation is a process where a plant, starved for light, produces hormones in its roots that cause the stems of the plant to elongate in search of better light. 

There are two things you can do for this:

1. Make sure the plant is getting lots of bright indirect light. The best place for it would be a curtained south facing window, followed by a west facing or east facing window. If this is impossible, then purchase a plant light (flourescent or led best) and illuminate the plant with it during the daylight hours. Make sure the light turns off during the day (examples of plant lights.)
2. Keep the plant cut back if it does start to stretch. This will cause the plants  hormone mix to favor leaf growth and not stem stretching. 

PS, after answering your question I had to get some of those lights for myself -things have changed since I first tried out LED lights for plants. The last set of lights I got burned the plants I used them on. These are much better. 

LED plant lights NOT burning plants in my office.