Plant Name: Allium acuminatum Common Name: Hooker’s onion Plant type : Deciduous Perennial Herb Height: 0’ – 2’ Spread: 0’ – 1’ Bloom Time: May – July Flower Color: Purple, White, Pin Exposure: Sun to Part Shade Soil Requirements: Dry, well-drained; sandy/loamy Water Needs: Occasional Summer Water Attributes: Bulblets reproduce easily; strong onion smell; deer resistant; attracts pollinators: bats, butterflies, birds; nectar source for butterflies Note: Flowers appear on long stalks after leaves have died; goes dormant in summer after going to seed Uses: Rock Garden; Dry Open Meadows; Habitat Restoration; Green Roof Native to: Western United States Oregon Native: YES USDA Hardiness Zone 5 – 9
Prune fig trees between late February and early March, before new growth appears.
Prune young trees for shape and good scaffold branching. A scaffold branch forms the main framework of the tree. Prune mature trees to maintain tree structure, health and easy harvest.
Pruning:
Do not remove more than 30 percent of the tree’s canopy in a given year. Figs bear fruit on new wood, so over pruning will not only reduce fruit yields it also causes the tree to focus on foliage production. Over pruning can also cause a hormonal imbalance, which regulates its growth and fruit production.
Prune out dead, diseased, and crossing branches, cut back excessively long branches, and shape to retain scaffold branches. Monitor pruning cuts for bacterial or fungal problems until they heal.
Fertilize:
Fertilize fig trees with an all-purpose fertilizer; a 10 -10 -10 ratio of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Spread fertilizer evenly around the tree, keeping it at least 18 inches away from the trunk. Water the tree well after applying fertilizer.
Young fig trees: For the first two years in early spring apply 1 ounce of fertilizer once a month through August. Do not apply after August.
Mature fig trees: Apply in the spring when new growth appears, fertilize with 1/3 pound of fertilizer per foot of height.
Enjoy the fruits of your labor!
Italian Honey Fig: A dessert Fig with a pale slightly tart chartreuse skin and sweet amber flesh. Dries well.
Article by: Carlotta Lucas, Ashland Garden Club board member
Ashland Garden Club member, Tsutae Novick’s art in the garden.
Tsutae enjoys making art and doing whatever brings love and joy into her life; she enjoys meeting with people & making friends, traveling, singing, cooking, gardening; she likes animals, tea ceremonies, healing, spirituality, and sculpting with clay. She especially likes making little buddhas, which the Japanese call “Jizou”.
Today, Sun, Sep 22, 2024 is the first day of Autumn.
Monarch butterflies are migrating now and today I saw a one visiting my garden. This is the fourth monarch I have seen this summer. It spent several hours getting nectar and resting in the garden. It preferred the zinnia flowers more than all others. This monarch sampled other flowers, but kept coming back to the zinnias. I noticed it liked newer flowers more than the older ones. This suggests it’s a good habit to deadhead your flowers, since cutting back older flowers encourages new buds. If interested, you can report your monarch sightings to journeynorth.org Include the number of monarchs you observed and the length of time they spent in your area.
