Winterizing your Yard

Many people who have lived in areas that get a lot of snowfall know what it means to “winterize” your home.  For those of us who have only known the rains and winds of Southern California’s winters, it may come as a surprise to hear that there are special preparations one makes for their homes for the winter season, the very least of which is draining the water out of your pipes so they don’t burst from freezing.

But there are also preparations that should be made to your yard, whether you live in Duluth or Diamond Bar – I’m talking about Tree Pruning.  Yes, even in areas that don’t get snow, it is necessary, even critical, to prune your large and even small trees prior to the winter season.

What’s that you say?  You thought I was going to remind you to clean out your storm gutters.  Well, yes you should do that too, but you may not have to work so hard at it if you had pruned earlier.  You see the deciduous trees in your yard will be dropping their leaves once a cold spell arrives and all those leaves will be falling into your gutters, plugging them up.  Had you pruned before that you would have much less leaf litter to clean up.

Those who have been watching the news lately can recall the early snowstorm that recently gripped the Northeast of the U.S. and the ensuing power outage that followed.  The reason so many had lost their power is due to the fact that the trees still bore most of their leaves and so bore an enormous weight of snow that accumulated on those leafy branches.  Those trees inevitably toppled from the weight right on to the power lines serving the community.

Now despite the fact that it is rare for snow to fall below the 3000’ level in Southern California, there is still a great risk of similar damage to trees from the off shore, or Santa Ana winds, that frequently buffet the region after most rain events.  Since many of our trees in SoCal are not deciduous, but are evergreen, they can be easily uprooted in a 60+ mph wind storm and cause major damage to structures as well as power lines.  This danger can be alleviated by timely and proper tree pruning.

Pruning is also beneficial for the trees as wind blown limbs tend to crack and split to the center of the trunk causing the death of the entire tree…and perhaps your neighbor’s fence.  Coral trees are especially known for this problem (the cracking and splitting – the neighbor’s fence is YOUR problem).

I met a few folks who have said, “No problem, I’ll prune it myself”, and before you know it they have whittled the tree down to a pile of firewood.  Not only is the job of pruning difficult and dangerous, it also takes some knowledge of the tree species being pruned to prevent irreparable damage.  The best idea is to consult a professional and let them take the risk of dropping a limb on your neighbor’s car or falling out of a tree on their head.

So don’t fret, you’re not out of time yet, but you will regret if you forget to prune your trees before the season’s cold and wet.

Orchid Care

Phalaenopsis orchid

Perhaps you’ve received an Orchid arrangement as a gift or you bought one on sale at a grocery and it was beautiful for a while, but now the flowers have all fallen off and you are left with a bald Orchid and the burning question: What do I do now?

If you’ve ever wondered if it was possible to get the Orchid to bloom again, you’ll be happy to know that it is not only possible but could even be considered  … easy!

Despite their reputation for fussiness, the varieties of orchids most commonly used in arrangements, Phalaenopsis, Dendrobium, and Oncidium, can all rebloom if you take these few things into consideration:

1. Location, Location, Location – Yes, as they say, it is everything.  An ideal spot for an Orchid to rebloom is somewhere indoors with bright, diffused light, away from drafts and cold, and has some source of humidity.  A sunny kitchen window sill above a sink or a bright bathroom window are ideal places since they have both light and humidity.  Putting the pots on a bed of pebbles in a shallow tray of water is a good way to increase humidity directly surrounding the plants.
2. Watering and Feeding – Generally, commercially grown Orchids do not need too much of either water or food.  They have residual fertilizer left in their soil that is usually sufficient to do the job.  If your Orchid has experienced health issues or you would just like to speed the bloom process along, you may want to add Orchid food such as “Grow More’s Bloom Formula 6-30-30”.  As to the watering, get all the soil (bark chips or Sphagnum moss) wet and let it drain.  Do this every week or two, depending on the level of humidity in the room.
3. Pruning and Staking – Phalaenopsis Orchids can send a new bloom stem off an older one, so don’t remove the bloom stem unless it is brown and dead.  Instead, cut it just above the 5^th segment or node from the bottom.  A new stem should appear from that spot, saving some time in the rebloom process.  Unfortunately, Dendrobiums and Oncidiums don’t share that characteristic, so their whole bloom stem should be removed after it is finished.  Staking the stem can help support the flowers but is not necessarily necessary. J
4. Time – Be patient, it is usually only after you have given up on it that it surprises you with a spike of flowers.

Good Luck and Happy Blooming!

Patrick