Flowers blooming in Goly’s snowy garden: Quince, Daffodils, Forsythia, Hellebore, Camellia
Photos taken by Goly Ostoar, AGC Member, March 3, 2024
Today in the Garden
Category Archives: Uncategorized
Garden Tools
Gardening Tools used and recommended by Ashland Garden Club Members
Japanese Hori Hori Knife: For weeding, digging, cutting roots, dividing perennials, removing plants from pots. Unbelievably versatile!
Nejiri Gama Garden Hoe (Japanese garden hand tool): Narrow end pushes deep into the soil helps with weeding, planting seedlings, aerating the soil, making seed trenches, and breaking up clods & soil.
Hand Plow Ho-Mi Digger (short-handled): A Korean tool that’s an all-around hand-digging tool, useful for planting, weeding, rock-removal and finding irrigation lines.
Kneelon Knee Pads – Flexible, Waterproof, durable, machine washable.
Sheep Shearing Tool: Large long blades are useful for clipping & trimming small shrubs .
Garden Bucket Caddy: Slips into a plastic bucket and holds garden tools.
Long Handle Spading Fork (48″ Handle): Dividing perennials, digging out trees, shrubs & perennials – Easier on the back when using long handle as leverage.
Flexible Buckets: Great for hauling weeds, plants, hand tools around the garden.
Felco Pruners, 2 sizes: Pruning, quality pruner, replaceable blades & parts, easy to sharpen. Right or Left handed offered.
Felco Pruner 7: Ergonomic heavy duty pruner with spinning handle – great for arthritic thumb joint issues.
Florian Ratchet Pruner: Ratchet-cut mechanism increases hand strength, prunes branches up to ¾ Inches in diameter, has a Lifetime Warranty. Right or Left handed offered.
CircleHoe – For weeding & cultivating close to plants.
Hoop Hoe, Stirrup Hoe, Action Hoe – All Similar hoes for weeding around plants.
Winged Weeder, Scuffle Hoe, Triangle Hoe: For weeding, cultivating, edging, aerating and making furrows.
Balling Spade: Ideal for cutting deep and slicing through roots.
Potlifter: Lifts 200 lb – Saves your back when lift pots or rocks.
Pro Potlifter lifts 350 lbs
Leaf Luster Digital Soil Thermometer: to measure Soil temperature for germination and transplanting.
Leaf Luster Soil Tester: Contains tests for ph, nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium levels.
Rapitest PH Meter: Easily checks the pH level of your garden soil and potted plants.
Mico-tip Pruners, aka Floral Pruners: For deadheading & pruning smaller plants & flowers. Fiskar Softough Mico-Tip Pruners: Recommended by Arthritis Foundation – Easy-to-use for people with arthritis or limited hand strength.
Roto Digger Auger: For planting bulbs, bedding plants, seedlings, deep water aeration, fertilizing trees & shrubs.
Corona AC 8300 Sharpening Tool: 5-Inch super carbide file for sharpening straight edge tools.
Fiskars Softouch Weeder (7060) – Ergonomic weeder with forked tip cuts deep to remove weeds by the root.
Yard Butler RKT-1000 Rocket Weeder or Grandpa’s Weeder: Pull weeds from the roots, organic weed control, ergonomic handle, ejector button pops off the weed-keeping your hands clean.
Leaf Rake with longer “York-style” bent tines: Good for scooping leaves, great for cleaning leaves out of ponds.
Tru Temper Narrow Garden Fork D-handle: For digging and mulching.
Tru Temper Miniature Shovel: [Size 27 x 6 x 8.5 inches] For planting bulbs and weeding.
Leaf Scoops: Multi-purpose hand-held leaf scoops.
Corona Clipper Folding Pruning Saw: Sturdy, easy to use, easy to store. Lifetime warranty.
2023 USDA Plant Hardiness Zone Map
Click the link below to check if your USDA Plant Hardiness Zone assignment has changed; search by zip code. Half of the USA has been reclassified. In 1990 Ashland Oregon was Zone 7b: 5°F to 10°F, but in 2023 Ashland is now Zone 8a 10°F to 15°F. Knowing your zone is important for plant survival in your area.
https://planthardiness.ars.usda.gov/
Below is a link to ‘A Way To Garden’ interview with Todd Rounsaville, USDA horticulturist and research scientist, where he explains this new USDA Zone map.
Below is a link to an Interesting 2018 article from Yale Environment 360 on how fast climate zones are shifting.
https://e360.yale.edu/features/redrawing-the-map-how-the-worlds-climate-zones-are-shifting
Schlumbergera (Christmas Cactus)
Schlumbergera is a small genus of cacti native to the coastal mountains of Brazil. These cacti are not desert dwellers, but are shade loving “epiphytes”, meaning they grow on the surface of other plants and get moisture and nutrients from the air, rain and debris accumulating around it. Schlumbergeras grow on tree branches in Brazilian coastal forests where the humidity is high.
Schlumbergera are also known as Christmas Cactus, but there are actually several Schlumbergera species: Thanksgiving Cactus, Schlumbergera truncata, which blooms in late fall, Christmas Cactus, Schlumbergera bridgesii, which blooms in mid to late December, and Easter Cactus, which blooms in early spring, but care for all of them is the same. What’s amazing about Schlumbergeras is they can live to be 100 years when cared for properly!
PLANT CARE:
Light Exposure: Schlumbergera like bright indirect light, never place in direct sunlight or they will burn.
Temperature: Prefer daytime temperatures of 65F-70F degrees, and nighttime temperatures of 55F-65F degrees.
Pest & Disease: Watch for Fungus gnats and Root rot
USDA Hardiness Zones: 9-11 to grow outdoors but in all other zones it’s a houseplant
Soil:
Plants grow best when pot-bound, but after two or three years they need re-potted. Re-pot plant only after it has bloomed, then move it into a slightly larger pot. Schlumbergeras roots can easily rot if the soil is too wet, so the pot must have good drain holes and be planted in a lightweight well-draining soil mix. Potting soils for cactus & succulents are readily available at garden centers, or you can make your own.
Below are four suggested Schlumbergera cactus soil recipes:
A. 1/2 potting soil, 1/4 horticultural perlite, 1/4 orchid bark.
B. 1/3 Coconut Coir, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 fine fir bark.
C. 1/3 soil-less potting soil, 1/3 horticultural perlite, 1/3 pine bark nuggets.
D. 2/3 balanced PH potting soil with perlite, 1/3 sand
Water & Fertilizer:
Water only when the top one or two inches of soil is dry. Water enough to soak the soil, but let it dry out before watering again.
Schlumbergeras like high humidity, so place the pot in a tray of pebbles to collect water, but don’t let the pot sit in a pool of water to avoid root rot. Placing the cacti beside other plants can provide it with higher humidity, too.
Use houseplant fertilizer 20-20-20, or 20-10-20. Feed plants monthly with half-strength diluted fertilizer spring through summer to ensure blooms around the holidays, once buds appear fertilize every two weeks with diluted solution of fertilizer. Allow plants to rest after blooming by holding off fertilizing them for 3 months.
Prune:
Prune plant to keep it balanced. Cut off leggy sections between stem segments. These stem cuttings can be rooted to make new plants. Place a cutting in a pot with good soil, and keep moist, it should root in 2 weeks. These rooted cuttings make great gifts.
NOTE: According to PetMD, Schlumbergeras are non-toxic to house pets
Carlotta Lucas’ 45-year-old Christmas Cactus Continue reading
Happy New Year!
Firewise Plant: Blanket Flower (Gaillardia)
Plant Name: Gaillardia varieties
Common name: Blanket Flower
Plant Type: Perennial
Plant Height: 8” – 36”
Plant Width: 12” – 24”
Bloom Time: June – September
Flower Color: Red, Gold, Burgundy
Exposure: Full Sun
Soil Requirements: Well-Drained
Water Needs: Low
Fire Resistant: YES; Zone 1-8, Plant 30’+ from House.
Attributes: Drought Tolerant; Deer Resistant; Attracts Birds & Butterflies; Other Pollinators.
Uses: Good Cut Flower; Container Plant; Borders; Butterfly Gardens;
Note: Deadhead for Continuous Bloom; Keep Some Seed Heads for Birds; Cutting Back Clumps in Late Summer Increases Chance of Winter Survival; Divide Clumps Every 2 – 3 Years in Spring or Early Fall for Plant Vigor; Susceptible to Powdery Mildew, Leafspot, & Leafhoppers.
Native to: Western North America
Oregon Native: YES
USDA Hardiness Zone: 3 – 10
Report by: Viki Ashford, AGC Member/Master Gardener
Photo credit: Lazaregagnidze, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons