walterandersen.com facebook.com/walterandersens twitter.com/walterandersens online store videos San Diego’s Independent Nursery Since 1928 TM NOVEMBER 2018 Camellias—Easy To Grow In San Diego By Walter Andersen, Jr. IN THIS ISSUE Camellias—Easy To Grow 1 Japanese Maple Lover Facts 1 Going Native 1 To Do List: November 2 WAN History: Coming & Going 4 Holiday Open Houses 5 Ben: White Crowned Sparrow 6 Sweet Peas In San Diego 7 Hey Adults! Need A Sippy Cup? 8 November Garden Classes 9 ‘Yuletide’ November Specials 9 During winter when many other plants be kept smaller by pruning them after are dormant and leafless, Camellias they have finished blooming, and once shine in San Diego. or twice more during their growing season. Once flower buds begin to Camellia japonica form (late summer), stop pruning Going Native There are many different types of until the plants finish blooming. Most By Melanie Potter camellias, but Camellia japonica is by varieties of Camellia japonica begin far, the most popular type. They can blooming from December to February, grow fairly large. Some varieties can and continue blooming for about three grow 8-10 feet or more, but can easily months. continued p2 10 Facts Every Japanese Maple Lover Needs To Know By Kate Karam, Monrovia Nursery With more than 1,000 varieties and cultivars including hybrids, the iconic Japanese maple tree is among the most versatile small trees for use in the landscape. Here are 10 “did you Banksia know” fun facts about them. When we prepared to give a plant There are lots of Acers but only three presentation to the Horticulture species are commonly called Japanese Society, we knew we had to bring maples, and only two of those are in lots of Australian and African very commonly grown: Acer japonicum natives since that was the subject. which hails from Japan, Korea and Man- We ordered extra so we would have Photo: Monrovia Nursery continued p3 some to offer for sale. In fact, some continued p3 11.18 2 Camellias continued from p1 TO DO LIST: November FERTILIZE For lawns, use Marathon Fertilizer for tall fescue, and Bonide DuraTurf Weed & Feed to feed grass and control broadleaf weeds. Feed ‘Setsugekka’ ‘Pink-A-Boo’ vegetables with Gro-Power Tomato The plants have beautiful, medium shade away from the coast. There are and Vegetable Food or Dr. Earth sized, dark green, glossy foliage about two primary growth habits to Camellia Organic Tomato and Vegetable 3-4 inches long. Blooms are 3-5 inches sasanqua. Some varieties grow low Food. Feed citrus, Avocado, and in diameter and are large, showy, and and wide, other types are more com- fruit trees with Gro-Power Citrus great for floating in bowls. They make pact and upright. and Avocado Food. Feed palms great container plants (use larger, 16- Sasanquas also make excellent con- and tropicals with Gro-Power Palm 20 inch pots), and do quite well in the tainer plants. Some of the low growers ground. When planting in the ground, Tree and Tropical Food. Do not feed can even be used as hanging plants! use a mix high in peat moss or other Camellias! Care for sasanquas is very similar to organic matter such as Sunshine japonicas. BERMUDA LAWN CARE Azalea Camellia mix. When planting in containers, use Edna’s Best potting The Tried & True and De-thatch and over seed Bermuda soil, or the Sunshine All Purpose in the Something New lawns with annual Rye. black bag. ‘Yuletide’ is a favorite. Single, brilliant PLANT Camellias like to be kept moist, but red blooms centered with bright yellow not soggy wet. During winter, water stamens make an elegant statement Look for fall bulbs, California natives camellias in the ground about once in the winter garden. The glossy, dark and drought-tolerant plants. Fall every 7-10 days. Camellias in containers green foliage creates a handsome color selections include Violas, will need to be watered about once or natural hedge, foundation shrub or Pansies, Snapdragons, fragrant twice per week. During summer or hot, espalier specimen. It’s a mid-season Stocks, Poppies, and more. Look for dry periods, water more frequently. bloomer and is evergreen. Pyracantha, Cotoneaster, Camellias, Fertilize with an acid food or camellia ‘Setsugekka’ has large, perfectly Azaleas, and holiday plants. You’ll and azalea fertilizer. Stop fertilizing formed, semi-double, white flowers find vegetables as well as potatoes, early September or once buds begin with ruffled edges and a bright center garlic and onions in mid-November. to form. Feeding after that may cause of golden stamens. The dense, upright Looking for more edibles to plant? the buds to drop. habit and glossy, dark green foliage How about caneberries, straw- create an exceptional evergreen found- Camellia japonica prefers shade, berries, kiwi, asparagus, and olives? morning sun or filtered sun but will ation planting or espalier. It’s a mid- Look for potted bare root trees to tolerate more sun in the coastal areas. season bloomer. arrive— Pomegranates and Figs. We Generally, darker flowering varieties Perfect for adding color to the winter don’t have an arrival date so call are more sun tolerant. garden is ‘Pink-A-Boo’ Camellia that offers wonderfully fragrant, deep pink the store to check. It should be late Camellia sasanqua blooms centered with bright yellow November or early December. The second most popular variety has stamens. The long lasting flowers are PEST CONTROL smaller leaves and smaller, but more stunning in floral arrangements or plentiful blooms. They tend to begin floated in a shallow bowl so that the This month start dormant spraying blooming a little earlier, usually start- fragrance can be enjoyed indoors. with Liqui-Cop and Oil Spray. ing in October or November. Camellia It’s an excellent choice for a colorful The wetter the winter, the more sasanqua tolerate more sun, but evergreen hedge, espalier, or border crucial dormant spraying becomes! usually do better with some afternoon shrub. • Clean up all foliage from beneath deciduous fruit trees and roses. • 11.18 3 - Japanese Maple Lover continued from p1 Going Native continued from p1 churia and Acer palmatum which hails was likely Acer palmatum. from Japan and eastern China. Some Japanese maples are monoecious mean- also come from eastern Mongolia, and ing they have both male and female southeast Russia. (Bonus when you use flowers on the same plant. These flow- this in conversation—the third is Acer ers are inconspicuous and small, and shirasawanum—also native to Japan. though they do not attract insects, Heights vary from dwarf shrubs to grouse, quail, and many songbirds adore small shade trees 20 to 25 feet tall, but them. The seeds are on the menu for in Southern California, generally much squirrels, chipmunks and other small shorter. (Dwarf is a relative term, of mammals as well. course. Some Japanese maples will Japanese maples grow best in zones stay very small but many are just very 5 – 8 but can be grown in containers slow growing meaning they stay small in colder and warmer zones if you can for a very long time.) Shaina Japanese provide appropriate care. In colder Maple, Waterfall Japanese Maple, and zones, allow plant to go fully dormant Red Select Japanese Maple are good outside and then bring into an unheated examples. Leucadendron garage or other sheltered, cool area. In Japanese maples typically grow just one warmer zones, place (or in this case are varieties that aren’t always to two feet or less per year. However, plant) a Japanese maple in a shaded available. under the right conditions, they can live location and where it can be protected Banksia to be more than one hundred years old. from drying winds. Also in warmer These have interesting leaves and zones, using a silicon solution such In Japan the maple is called the “autumn show stopping flowers. The tiny as Pro-Text monthly with additional welcoming tree” and it is planted in flowers appear in dense round or applications prior to hot, dry winds will the western portion of gardens (the cylinder-like clusters that are then help minimize leaf damage. direction from which fall comes). Here, followed by woody seed cones. The we plant them under other trees or in Fried maple leaves are a very popular blooms are rich with nectar which the shadow cast by trees and buildings snack in Osaka, and apparently have makes them hummingbird friendly to protect them from the hot summer been for at least a thousand years. The and why they are referred to as sun and drying winds. city of Minoh is particularly famous for Australian honeysuckle. their fried leaves. The maple leaves are Inconspicuous flowers are followed by dipped and fried in tempura batter, Leucadendron fruits called samaras which are nutlets which give them their unique taste. enclosed in a papery, fibrous tissue Native to South Africa and a relative Chefs in Minoh usually store their leaves that’s in the shape of wings. They are of Protea plants, you’ll find these in barrels of salt for one year, which shaped to spin as they fall and to carry growing as a shrub or tree. They makes them particularly tasty. the seeds a considerable distance on • may be grown for their foliage or the wind. flowers. Male and female flowers are borne on separate plants at stem Seeds can be collected from Japanese tips. The seed heads are woody and maple trees, but the seedlings are not cone shaped, thus they are aptly guaranteed to be exact clones of the known as Cone Bush. parent plant.