A large growing Ceanothus hybrid of C. griseus and C. arboreus, this an excellent choice if you want a Ceanothus that grows as a large shrub or tree, a tree-anothus if you will. Stunning deep sky blue flowers absolutely cover the plant in late spring and are beloved by native pollinators. Can be pruned to have a distinct trunk and they’ve even been used as a street tree. Give this one a prominent spot and room to grow!

Latin Name: Ceanothus hybrid ‘Ray Hartman’
Site and Soil: Prefers well draining soils in full sun and as a nitrogen fixing shrub can tolerate nutrient poor soils
Hardiness: Ray Hartman Ceanothus is hardy to about 10º Fahrenheit 
Size at Maturity: 10-15 feet high by 10-15 feet wide
Bloom Time: March through May
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7b

The post Ray Hartman Ceanothus appeared first on One Green World.

What in the One Green World does “well-draining soil” actually mean? We’ve all seen this listed on indoor, garden, and orchard plant descriptions. We all know most varieties grow best in this elusive, mysterious medium. But what exactly is it? How do we tell if our soil is well-draining? If our soil isn’t well draining, should we reject gardening as a hobby altogether? What are some signs we’ve finally attained it?

Let’s get down to it!

The goal is to have (or create) soil that supplies both air and water to plant roots in about equal proportions. If you have coarse, sandy soil, you may notice that water drains quickly through it, so your plants dry out and wilt sooner. But in heavy clay soil, you may have the opposite problem, where water takes a long time to drain, causing roots to rot from a lack of airflow. Fortunately, it is possible to improve your soil if your garden suffers from either extreme. Improving its drainage will go a long way toward creating a healthy, successful garden or orchard.

Simply put: well-drained soil allows water to enter the soil structure at a moderate rate without pooling or puddling, hang out for long enough for the plants to absorb the water they need, and then move along, making way for good ol’ oxygen to join the party; the oxygen is also absorbed by the roots and allows them to “breathe” between waterings. Cool, right?

What are some characteristics of well-drained soil?
Imagine you fill a jar with various sizes of marbles. Each marble represents a soil particle. The spaces between the marbles are filled with oxygen and water, both of which are necessary for healthy plant growth. When it rains or you water your garden, these pore spaces in between the soil particles fill with water. As the water moves downward through the soil, it’s replaced by air. This movement is referred to as soil drainage, so let’s talk about why the speed of this process is important.

Well-drained soil retains water long enough for roots to absorb what the plant needs and dries out sufficiently between rains or waterings so that roots can take up oxygen in the air that replaces the water once it drains out. Puddles that form after heavy rain are absorbed quickly by well-drained soil. Generally, these soils have a loose structure that makes them easy to dig in. When soil drains too quickly, plants do not have enough time to absorb the water and can die. Likewise, when the soil does not drain quickly enough and plants are left in pooling water, their oxygen intake from the soil is reduced, root rot can set in, and the plants can die. Plants that are weak and suffering from insufficient or over watering are more susceptible to disease and insect damage too. Bad news bears!

How do I tell if my soil is well-draining?
Determining how well your soil drains is pretty easy. Just dig a hole approximately 15” x 15” and fill with water. After it drains completely, refill it with water and note how long it takes for the water level to drop. In soil with good drainage, the level should drop about an inch per hour.

How can I improve drainage?
To improve soil drainage, begin by simply digging organic matter (like compost or shredded leaves) into your existing soil. Compacted, clay, and sandy soils all benefit from being amended with rich organic materials. For areas with poor drainage to either extreme, too wet or too dry, thoroughly mix in organic materials such as peat moss, compost, shredded bark, or manure. Nutrient-rich, properly drained soil is very important for healthy plants. This is a straightforward solution and works for almost any soil that drains too fast or slowly. For an unplanted bed, spread 3-4 inches of your organic matter across the surface of the soil and work it into the top 8-12 inches (a garden tiller or pitchfork will do the job). For a bed that is already planted, add a couple of inches of compost to the soil surface each year and over time, nature will do the mixing. Compacted and clay soil can drain poorly and cause plant roots to sit too long in wet conditions. We advise against adding sand to clay soil to improve drainage– this will just make the problem worse! If you have heavy clay or compacted soil, either amend the soil to make it more porous or choose plants that can tolerate wet areas. Clay soil may be improved by installing a drain tile. Sandy soil can drain water away from plant roots too quickly. For sandy soil, amend the soil or choose plants that can tolerate dry and drought-like conditions. If you’d rather avoid lots of digging or want a quicker solution, you may find your solution in installing raised beds. The beds should be at least 6-8” above the existing soil level. Recipes abound for soil mixes for raised beds, but they are basically combinations of high-quality topsoil (40-60%) and compost or other well-decomposed organic matter. Creating well-draining soil in pots is similar. You can either buy bagged potting mix or make your own blend. We don’t recommend using soil from your garden in containers, no matter how well-drained.

Why are some parts of my garden or yard more well-draining than others?
It’s important to note that drainage may be different in different parts of your yard. There are many reasons why this occurs, including the removal of topsoil during construction, compaction with heavy equipment, drainage towards or diversions from municipal systems and utilities, or simply the lay of the land. If there is an area of the yard where the soil stays wet for long periods, the best solution may be to simply select plants that thrive in poorly drained, soggy soil such as Elephant Ear, ferns, and willows. Similarly, if an area of your yard stays on the dry side, no matter how much it rains or you water, that’s where you should place drought-tolerant plants, such as ceanothus, lavender, and yucca.

The post Soil Drainage 101 appeared first on One Green World.

A fun variegated take on the California Lilac, Lemon Ice features icy blue flowers with a vibrant backdrop of variegated foliage of dark green surrounded by a lemony yellow. Drought tolerant and fairly small to 4′ tall by about as wide.

Latin Name: Ceanothus x ‘Lemon Ice’
Site and Soil: Prefers well draining soils in full sun and as a nitrogen fixing shrub can tolerate nutrient poor soils
Hardiness: 0º Fahrenheit 
Size at Maturity: 4 feet high by 3-4 feet wide
Bloom Time: March through May
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7a, possibly 6b

The post Lemon Ice Ceanothus appeared first on One Green World.

But luckily for us in the milder parts of the country, and even for those of you in the colder pockets of the country, there are a great number of plants that look their best and put on their fabulous floral displays all throughout the winter. Some start in fall when the winter rains return, such as this loquat that began flowering right on cue with the return of the rains in October and has been going strong ever since.

We have 5 different clones planted around the nursery right now and most of them are flowering. Though we’ve had a handful of dips below freezing at night, the loquats seem to be on a continuous flowering cycle and our fingers are crossed that enough pollinators will be out and about to ensure we get some fruit this spring.

And speaking of pollinators, one of our favorites, the Anna’s hummingbird, has been hanging around the nursery all winter! We have a real soft spot for these hovering beauties and much of the plants around the nursery are planted to attract them throughout the winter.

Here a hummingbird is feeding on the newly opened blossoms of the Arthur Menzies Mahonia. This plant started flowering right at the turn of the new year and has been slowly opening up more and more of its large flowering spikes! Though it already looks like one of our native mahonias on steroids, this cultivar can achieve heights up to 15 feet! We’ve been watching the hummers feed from this and rest in the branches of the towering Western Red Cedar above it for weeks now.

But if you’re a true lover of the hummingbirds and want to have them visiting you all year round then there’s few better choices than the Grevilleas! These evergreen shrubs from down under flower nearly year round, taking only a quick break during the summer dry season but go on producing an abundance of their spider-like proteaceous flowers all winter long!

The Darwin’s barberries have been another favorite nectar source for our resident humming birds since October! Our winged friends will ensure that we have loads of delicious barberries to snack on this summer.

It might seem peculiar, especially for those of you who inhabit much colder climates, that these plants choose to flower when the weather frequently dips below freezing. Why not just flower in spring when the weather warms up and there’s still ample moisture in the soil? The answers are varied and of course have everything to do with each species’ natural history, but the one huge advantage, (at least from this fruit-focused nursery’s point of view), is that the fruits they produce will ripen at a time when not many other fruits are. These plants essentially “corner the market” on the seed dispersers who will eat their fruits and spread their seeds at a time of year when few other fruits are around. If your flowers are hardy enough to make it through frosts, you have exclusive access to the pollinators that are active during winter, evapo-transpiration rates are extremely low, and by the time you’ve finished the extremely energy intensive process of ripening fruit you are ready to coast through the dry months of summer, at least in our climate.

Many, if not most, of these winter flowering species are also coming from climates that have a distinct dry season in summer and a mild, wet winter such as we do here. For that reason it makes a lot of sense to get the whole act of flowering and fruiting that utilizes so much of the plants precious energy finished while there is still ample rainfall and cooler weather. Right now the manzanitas, cyclamens, hellebores, rosemaries and coast silk tassels have started flowering, and even the Ceanothus, typically not the earliest, is starting to open a few cautious flowers during these mild January days.

(insert manzanita, ceanothus and garrya photos)

It’s just the beginning of what has been described in our part of the world as the longest, slowest spring you’ll ever witness. As soon as seriously cold weather subsides, and often quite a bit before, a whole cast of botanical characters come out to play their parts. It makes the darker days of winter so much more exciting and hopeful when a little sprinkle of flowers here or there, maybe outside a kitchen window or right along a main pathway, can really brighten our moods and have us dreaming of the fruits they’ll be making as the days get longer and warmer.

Take a look around your garden and see where a few more winter flowers or evergreen shrubs might add some sparkle to your winter days and pull you outside to take in winter’s beauty!

The post Flowers in winter! appeared first on One Green World.

Be sure to check out our winter pruning guide and follow the link to watch our Horticulturist, Sam, provide further fruit tree pruning guidance below!

1. Winter prune between Early December – Late February.  Pruning too early can take away too much energy from a tree when a heavy amount of sap is still in the branches and leave wounds open for a longer period of time exposing them to winter rains and potential diseases. Pruning too late can also stunt the tree because sap is concentrated in the branches and buds.  Pruning while your trees are fully dormant but soon to wake up is ideal. 

2.  Prune out any dead wood, diseased wood, and crossing branches.   These are the first branches to remove and the easiest ones to make decisions on.  Dead branches will be brown and desiccated, and diseased wood isn’t always obvious but often has discoloration, cankers or fungal spores showing.  Be sure to sterilize tools after you’ve been pruning diseased branches.

4.  Winter pruning is a great time to control the height of your tree and take out larger branches.  While the tree is dormant you can cut out larger branches without stunting the tree too much. Branches growing towards the interior or growing parallel to one another, often called redundant branches, should be removed. 

5. Prune to let light in on your maturing fruits.  More UV means higher levels of anthocyanins and sugars which means a more nutritious and delicious fruit!  Though you’ll sometimes have to prune out some fruit bearing branches.  We understand how difficult this can be, but rest assured it means larger and more flavorful fruits come summertime.

6.  Try not to over-prune.  Over-pruning risks stunting the plant.  It is also important to be mindful of not removing too much material. The general rule is to never remove more than 1/3 of the wood in your canopy. But also, do not be shy about removing material. Trees are resilient and the healthiest and most productive fruit trees are pruned regularly.

7.  Prune nitrogen fixing plants to get a release of nutrients.  Pruning nitrogen fixing plants causes root die back which releases nitrogen from the nitrogen fixing nodules back into the soil for your surrounding fruit trees.  Just be careful not to prune off all the fruiting wood on your goumi for example, or all the flowering wood on that beautiful, soon-to-flower Ceanothus.

8.  Be mindful which trees you’re pruning!
Some trees, like peaches, nectarines, apricots and cherries should be pruned only during dry periods and sprayed with a fungicide afterwards to keep fungal diseases from invading. Consider significant summer pruning on these species to alleviate the risks of rain-borne fungal diseases infecting them. And always be careful to not remove all of the fruit-bearing wood on plants that produce only on last year’s wood.

9. Pay attention to how your trees react to your pruning.
The best way to become an expert pruner is to just pay attention to your trees and see how they react to your cuts. Notice how they branch after you cut them, how opening up certain parts of the canopy can effect them and how flower and fruit production vary based on how you prune. 

The post Winter Pruning Guide for Fruit Trees appeared first on One Green World.

While most fruiting plants need a fair amount of water throughout the growing season in order to produce heavy crops, a few come from Mediterranean climates similar to ours that have wet, mild winters and warm or hot, dry summers.

Even for growers who don’t have such a pronounced dry season, planting a Mediterranean garden provides a uniquely beautiful plant palette with no added cost to your water bill. All of the plants presented below will thrive with little to no summer water once they’re established, and many, such as Ceanothus and Manzanitas, require great drainage and no summer water or else they will face a premature death.  It’s possible to plant an entire dry garden, or even a just a section of your garden, that receives no summer water once it’s established.  Maybe just providing a handful of splashes with the garden hose to keep it looking lush throughout the hot dry months of summer.  

For all those wanting to experience the Mediterranean in their own backyard, we have some helpful grow tips below to help get you started!

Tips for Growing Mediterranean plants:

1. All of the plants listed below love full, hot, all day sun! Planting these in the places on your property that have blasting heat will make them happiest!

2. Plant in well-draining soil and, if necessary, amend with gravel or pumice to increase drainage. Many commonly grown herbs like lavender, thyme and rosemary will have a prolonged life and avoid having dead looking centers or getting extra leggy if they are planted in an area with excellent drainage! 

3. Water deeply and infrequently, preferably in the early morning, to establish.  Mediterranean plants tend to fail in irrigated gardens or very wet climates. To establish Mediterranean plants you’ll need to water for the first summer or two. After that, only give them 2-3 waterings throughout the growing season to keep them looking lush.

4. Refrain from watering after the first week of September. Though it can be tempting to keep watering and pushing that vigorous new growth through the hot days of September it can cause many woody plants to head into the cold of winter with wood that hasn’t been fully ripened and vascular tissues that haven’t gone dormant. Many of these plants actually have drought-induced dormancy and cutting back on the water late in the season will help them harden off for winter. 

5. Fertilize minimally, if at all.  Most of these species have all they need in our native soils and fertilizing can cause excessive and weak growth.  The recent wind storm was a severe reminder that it is better to have strong branches than fast growth.  Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither were all the olive trees that surrounded it.  Also pruning excessively vigorous growth, especially in olives, can help create a tree that is denser, stockier and stronger. 

Enjoy the fruits, flavors and aromas of a beautiful dry garden! Many Mediterranean plants actually produce much tastier fruit, figs being a prime example, or more aromatic foliage, such as in lavenders and rosemary, when they haven’t been given any summer water. Life can still be lush in the dry garden!

Recommended Mediterranean and Dry Garden Selections:

Figs

Olives

Manzanitas

Rock Rose

Rosemary

Lavender

The post Growing Dry Gardens and Mediterranean Plants appeared first on One Green World.

A wonderful and easy manzanita for the Northwest, Sentinel is tolerant of both garden conditions and dry rocky soil, and is incredibly hardy and disease resistant! Fast growing to about 7′ tall by 5′ wide, the leaves are held perpendicular to the stems to reduce moisture loss but it also gives this shrub a fantastic texture! Bark is exfoliating and gorgeous, becoming deep mahogany red in time.

Latin Name: Arctostaphylos densiflora
Site and Soil: Well draining unamended soils in full sun
Hardiness: Hardy to about 0 F.
Size at Maturity: 7′ x 5′
Bloom Time: Late winter
Pests & Diseases: None that we have observed
USDA Zone: 7

The post Sentinel Manzanita appeared first on One Green World.

Italian Skies Ceanothus is a fantastic selection from the UK that forms a large mounding shrub and has the most spectacular deep blue flowers for nearly two months! Grows very quickly when young in well drained soil with no summer water once established. The flower trusses on this one are one of the biggest of any Ceanothus we grow!

Latin Name: Ceanothus hybrid ‘Italian Skies’
Site and Soil: Prefers well draining soils in full sun and as a nitrogen fixing shrub can tolerate nutrient poor soils
Hardiness: 10º Fahrenheit 
Size at Maturity: 10 feet high by 10-15 feet wide
Bloom Time: March through May
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7b

The post Italian Skies Ceanothus appeared first on One Green World.

What do you get when you cross two of our favorite ceanothus varieties? The gorgeous tree forming Ceanothus thrysiflorus ‘Ray Hartman’ and the crowd favorite, deep blue flowered Dark Star made a love child and that shrub is buck wild! Growing about 10′ tall by 15′ wide. This is a big mama! Excellent for naturalized plantings and covering large areas. A true gift to the pollinators and an absolutely gorgeous shrub if you’re trying to cover a lot of space.

A very useful and beautiful genus of shrubs native to the West Coast, mostly in the California and Southern Oregon Coast Range, Ceanothus boast evergreen foliage, gorgeous purple to blue, sometimes white, flowers and can tolerate the worst soil conditions so long as they are well draining. As nitrogen fixing shrubs they also fix nitrogen in the soil and are excellent companion plants for other woody plants.

Latin Name: Ceanothus hybrid ‘Blue Ray’
Site and Soil: Prefers well draining soils in full sun and as a nitrogen fixing shrub can tolerate nutrient poor soils
Hardiness: 0º Fahrenheit 
Size at Maturity: 10 feet high by 10-15 feet wide
Bloom Time: March through May
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7b

The post Blue Ray Ceanothus appeared first on One Green World.

One of the easiest and most reliable Ceanothus, Blue Jeans is tough as nails, cold hardy and stays at a very manageable size of about 4′ tall. We love this one for its very unique holly-like compact foliage and intensely lavender colored flowers that cover the entire shrub when its in flower. Somewhat tolerant of garden conditions but also soars through the driest summers with style and grace! Tough and beautiful, like Princess Leia in Ceanothus form.

Blue Jeans baby, L.A. lady, seamstress for the band!

A very useful and beautiful genus of shrubs native to the West Coast, mostly in the California and Southern Oregon Coast Range, Ceanothus boast evergreen foliage, gorgeous purple to blue, sometimes white, flowers and can tolerate the worst soil conditions so long as they are well draining. As nitrogen fixing shrubs they also fix nitrogen in the soil and are excellent companion plants for other woody plants.

Latin Name: Ceanothus hybrid ‘Blue Jeans’
Site and Soil: Prefers well draining soils in full sun and as a nitrogen fixing shrub can tolerate nutrient poor soils
Hardiness: 0º Fahrenheit 
Size at Maturity: 4 feet high by 4-6 feet wide
Bloom Time: March through May
Pests & Diseases: None
USDA Zone: 7b

The post Blue Jeans Ceanothus appeared first on One Green World.