Words and photos by Mike Evans
It is looking pretty official, the 2024-25 “rainy” season will go on record as one of the driest. At our nursery, with only 7” (about 50% of “normal”) on the books to date, we can safely say that by August/September, (if not earlier) things will start to look a little parched. In the wildlands, that might mean that seed production will be low and chaparral plants will be more prone to burn hotter and faster, if provided a source of ignition. But this is nary their first nor their last dry spell, so all woody plants will persist, but the annuals (which for the most part took a year off), will wait. They needed a rest anyway, after the back to back “super blooms” over the last few years.
Current events, history, review, and notes
By review, we recognize six seasons in our horticultural year’s natural cycles.
Fall – October, November – rains commence, many garden tasks, fall flowers.
Winter – December, January – rain, short cool days, calming dormancy, winter flowers.
Spring – February, March, April – more rain, birds, butterflies, life abounds, abundant flowers.
(Note: 2024-25 season, “rain” and “more rain” barely happened)
Pre-Summer – May – farewell cool and moist, hello hot and dry, transition month.
Summer – June, July, August – judicious watering, long hot days, seeds, summer blooms.
Post-Summer – September – farewell hot and dry, hello cool and moist, transition month.
As you can see above, and as our plants will soon be feeling, we are entering a period called “Pre-summer.”
Watering
(Note: 2024-25 season, “rain” and “more rain” barely happened)
The detail mentioned above bodes for very dry soil and stressed plants in August/September if we don’t start applying irrigation water to our garden now.
The Deep Soak with refreshing Sprinkles Method (revisited) (DS + RS)
Deep Soak. (DS) To make up for our scant rains and warm spring temps, we need to get water into the soil to a depth of 14-18”. Do this by applying the equivalent of 1-1.5” of precipitation every 4-5 weeks, starting as soon as possible. You can set a hose-end mini sprinkler in one spot for several hours, and move it over the next few days, or if you have a sprinkler system, water the entire garden three days in a row with the sprinklers on for 30-45 each time. You can do “spot watering” on new plants by hand, by strategically setting a mini sprinkler where needed.
Refreshing Sprinkles. (RS) Usually reserved for heat waves and summer weather, this is a technique supplemental to the Deep Soak in which you simply wet the leaves of all the plants. Best done by hand, you simply stand in a good place and spray the whole garden with water from a hose-end pistol sprayer, wetting the leaves and the surface of the soil. Do it late in the afternoon so the leaves will be dry by around dusk. Plants absorb water through their leaves and this technique gives the plants a reprieve overnight, and helps make the DS moisture more effective. RS can be done a few times a week, and you will not need them at all during periods of May Gray, June Gloom or other overcast moist conditions.
Deep Soak (DS) – every 4-5 weeks, 20-30 sprinkler minutes per day, three mornings in a row to make one DS.
Refreshing Sprinkles (RS) – a few times a week, spray 5 minutes by hand, early evening, especially during hot periods.
Related to Watering
Avoid applying DS or RS during the heat of the day. DS in the early morning. RS in the early evening. During this pre-summer season, be aware of “mid-day depression”, an agricultural term describing stems that are wilted even though there is plenty of moisture in the soil. New growth from spring is affected when the sun hits it during the heat of the day because the plant simply cannot get water from the roots to the leaves as fast as it is being lost through transpiration. If the plant remains wilted in the evening, check the soil, it’s probably dry and you need a DS. If the branch tips are revived, it was mid-day depression, a natural phenomenon. Don’t be fooled into watering, and know that the plant will eventually learn to cope.
Pruning
You can remove the branch tips and spent flowers from Ceanothus when they are finished blooming. Many shrubs are still in flower and you may want to let them set seed for the birds and suchlike. All plants can be shaped by heading them back (tip pruning for springtime new growth) to get them ready for summer.
Weeding
The three rain events in April/May (.15” each) that totaled (drum roll please) .45” did wet the surface just enough to bring a fresh crop of weeds to many gardens. We are the gardeners who must eventually learn to cope.
Mulching / Top Dress
May is a very safe month for importing “exotic” (originating elsewhere) topdress, if that is part of your narrative. We insist that the best topdress consists of the fallen leaves that naturally gather at the base of shrubs and trees, discouraging weeds, keeping the roots cool, preserving soil moisture and providing a natural look. If you want to import an organic mulch, clean chunky bark products are best, applied 1-2” thick. If you prefer a mineral mulch to match your garden’s story, you can bring in 1” of any attractive rock aggregate, decomposed granite or small pebbles. As always, we remind you to be creative with the topdress design. If you have different plant communities or ecosystems represented in your natural garden, apply the appropriate top dress to each area, i.e.; organic for a fresh shady woodland look, aggregate for chaparral or desert style plantings.
Feeding
It is still safe to apply all purpose organic fertilizer if you have not done so this spring. Many people never feed their native plants and everyone seems happy, plants and people alike. However, an occasional light application of an all purpose plant food is satisfying to all parties, and April/May is the last chance until October/November for this activity.
Troubleshooting – Varmints, Pests and Diseases
Ants. Argentine ants. Control ants and you will have controlled many insect problems caused by them. Argentine ants carry aphids, scale and mealybug onto our plants, move them around, protect them, and feed on the excrement, a sweet liquid called honeydew. Honeydew, aged on the leaves and pavement below a plant, will support a black fungus called sooty mold. If you see sooty mold, you have an insect infestation (the kind with sucking mouthparts), and those insects are probably being farmed by Argentine ants. The aphids or their relatives can be controlled with a strong stream of water, insecticidal soaps or insecticidal oils. The ants, hmmmm, more difficult. Growth regulators (like Combat, a gel) can be effective in knocking back the colonies.
Snails. Brown snails. Since your garden has natural native plants, we can assume that you are not keeping things wet enough for snails to thrive, therefore they are migrating in from your neighbors… thanks but no thanks.
Annual Wildflowers
Summer is the best time to imagine the flowers you will have next spring if you sow seed this fall. If you sowed seed last fall, and the flowers are starting to fade, maturing towards seed, you can selectively remove the bulk of the dying plants, leaving the seed behind to germinate next year. Alternatively, consider stomping on them and roughing them up by hand, breaking the plants into small bits, creating a valuable organic mulch, replete with wildflower seeds.
Adding New Plants
Your location in relation to the coast will suggest the latest dates you can safely plant new plants and not have undue work and risk involved in summer, when the days are long and hot. Inland, May is approaching the end of the planting season. Unless you are planting in the shade, or only a few very special plants, you might consider waiting until fall, especially for large scale projects. The new plants will prove too big a chore for watering and upkeep this summer. Closer to the coast it is safe to plant now, or even all year, because of the cooling factor from the seas. Such are the idiosyncrasies of the Mediterranean climate zone in which we live.
My Patio Re-wild
Potted plants, miniature landscapes, and natural patio decor such as rocks, pine cones, etc., make for good habitat and healthful activity all year.
Phytophilia
Our love of plants and their love for us. When I look and listen over the natural landscape or into a natural garden, this month I see and hear the words “Welcome back.” The vegetation in our natural lands and natural garden is the basis for bird habitat, and our plants are happy to see their migrating friends again.
Re-wild
A good technique to practice this month in the realm of “Re-wild” will be to trim some of the new growth on fast growing shrubs, shaping them without creating artificial forms of spheres, triangles, squares etc. Use hand pruners only.
Important Review
Native Hort Calendar
Not much rain
DS + RS = Success
Light pruning
Not many weeds
Topdress safe season
Feeding window closing
Ants and snails oh my!
Wildflowers going to seed
Planting at the coast or in the shade
Natural features
Welcome back
Natural shapes when pruning
Engage
Let’s keep makin’ it.
From APRIL and MAY in the Natural Garden,
Mike Evans
Questions? Help is just one call or one email away. Call (949) 728-0685 or email (with pictures if you like) our special helpline: gardenhelp@californianativeplants.com