Wintrer in California

This is why we live here...this one's the first to bloom. One of the 'tall' ones, gets to about 3' tall. I think this may be one that I got from weegy. What do you think, weege...did this one come from your nursery?

Sure looks like one of the ones I pulled out of my garden here to make way for a veggie garden. I don't know it's name, never did but it's a beauty. It's fragrant too, right? Looks like it's loving it where it is!
Thanks for sharing Sherry.

All of the ones that I got from you are potted in 2 gal pots until 'somebody' makes me a raised bed fitted with hardware cloth for them to go into. They're all looking so good and this is the first to bloom. 'Somebody' has been very busy with other projects for me and quite a few of his own.

I wonder who that "somebody" might be?!?!?!?
I hope they all bloom for you Sherry.
It sure feels more like spring here than winter. It's absolutely gorgeous today, I've been working in the yard and now I'm working in the house. This weather inspires me!

Me,too! I'm getting all of the work done that I've been complaining about all year.....not that I'm caught up, but still, it's pretty good.

Beautiful Iris. Too true about the climate, should be a good weekend to catch up on some garden chores. Like weeding! : )
WIB

SW, too hot to weed! I tried to do some Wednesday, it was hot.

My daffs are only up about 4 inches---and my iris leaves are only about 2 inches tall. My mouseared chickweed, however, is about a FOOT tall, and threatening to take over the garden! Why is it that the weeds aren't affected by frost????

The jonquils, paper whites and lilly of the valley are in full bloom. The Christmas Rose (hellebore) are just starting out. Hyacinth & crocus are up and the tulip tree has buds so pretty soon the garden will be full of color.
Here's a jade that never fails to bloom.

It was 68F degrees (20Celsius) on my patio at 3ish this afternoon. At 4:30 pm it's 65F degrees (18C). This is why I love what I've done with this yard tucked in the inner corner of my house. The two 30+YO Fruitless Mulberries on the western perimeter of my property, adjacent to the patio and house. In the summer they provide near total shade, thus keeping the area as cool as is possible when we have our 100F++ degree (38C) summers in the San Joaquin Valley. In the winter with the leaves GONE from the tree (not necessarily from the ground ^_^ ) the concrete is in full sun on sunny days, thus grabbing and holding on to the warmth from the sun. It is just delightful, not to mention likely energy-saving. I had both doors open all afternoon, just now closing them.

And, guys . . . help me out, here. 1) Two of my camellia shrubs have bloomed already, with the petals almost all on the ground. Another, my 30YO "whatever-it's name-is" is still in full bud, no blooms yet appearing at all. What's happening with that? Huh? huh? huh? I haven't pruned any of them for years, except to trim an occasional branch growing beyond the overall shape of the plant, or one which is dead. So, how is it that a single shrub is so recalcitrant? This shrub, BTW, as I've watched it over the years, is quite sensitive to temps, it seems. Some years it blooms at Christmastime, other years it blooms later. So, I would guess it is more sensitive to temps than the newer plants. Is that characteristic of the newer plants 'cause they're later cultivars? Is it possible that a camellia can be so sensitive to temps?

And, 2) it may not be apparent, but there is considerable moss growing on the roof in spots. Some of it is light and on the surface. Other areas seem to be "heavier" and growing under the roofing in spots. Doubtless, summer won't solve this problem, as these areas appear to be in shady spots, without access to sun at all. It is, of course, more visible and obvious in winter due to the lack of shade hiding it. Is it damaging my roof? Should I be going after it with some kind of weed killer? Some of it is accessible from the roof edge, but I've only once been on top of my roof and was terrified, screaming at a neighbor to come over to help me down. I aint going back up there ever again! Thoughts? wisdom?

Linda and The MopTops



edited to add: BTW, SacValley, that pic of the flowering jade is mind-boggling to me. I've never seen a jade flower before! WOW!

This message was edited Jan 17, 2009 10:27 PM

Yes, it is possible that your Camellia is sensitive to temps. There are so many different cultivars and each one can be a little different depending on exposure, heat, water, etc.

I have Camellias that set tons of buds, then if it get;s too wet, many will just fall off and never bloom. With this odd weather we've been having, anything is possible it seems.

Some of my Sasanqua's have been blooming since September, and should have stopped a long time ago. Some of my japonicas haven't even set buds yet, and they should have by now.

As far as your roof is concerned, if it's a wood shake roof, moss and algae are typical. Some people clean it off with a bleach solution, some just leave it and the sun will eventually kill it. If you're concerned about it, have a roofer come and look at it and give you an opinion. Being that it's wood and porous, this is to be expected.

WC...I don't know which iris that is, but I have several of them and they're an old fashioned rebloomer...and prolific !

Yes, and one of my faves...it will be going to a new home with Donna in March......

Say, when someone needs to thin their iris, can you put some by for me? I'm having to redo my iris bed. Lost most of them due to construction workers throwing trash on top of them. I have the trash cleaned off now, but lost so many to rude people. Having the same problem out front, with DH's workers making some repairs, and doing some painting. So I did do some weeding today, so they'd quit stomping on the emerging bulbs. I hope it helps. Don't think they care where they stomp.
My jonquils are happy! : ) Some are blooming along the fence line, and they are spreading! : )
I've never had a problem with moss on the roof. So I can't help out there.
SacValley, I love succulents, and your jade plant looks very happy. Mine bloom and it took by surprise the first time I saw the blooms too. I have a different kind of Jade plant that has large rounded leaves, in addition to the one you have. I'll have to get photos of it. I think, that one has orange blooms (could be wrong). It's pretty hardy, and even if it freezes it comes back. Very easy to propagate too.
Back to weeding if it isn't too cold tomorrow, and starting some plants out in the greenhouse.
WIB,
SW

Too cold? It was 90 degrees here today and I'm getting to where I can only work in that kind of heat for a very short time. At least I got the little roses pruned. :-)
A little moderation from mother nature would be appreciated!

70F (21Celsius) degrees on my patio Fresno today. Unbelievable!!

Roof and moss? Roof, JD, is composition, not wood. And except for cooler temperatures as we're experiencing now, the spaces which have it NEVER see sun. So, I'm doubtless down to a bleach solution.

I have a professional tree trimmer coming over tomorrow for a consult in preparation to continue the ongoing tree rehab work he's been doing for me over the past 5 years. If I snivel a bit, perhaps he'll zap the moss in the area under the tree where he'll be working.

Boy, I'll tell ya', a really good tree guy/gal is truly a delight to have in your contact list. I've been working on rehabing these trees from the homeowner trimming during the first 8-or-so years when my ex-H was in charge of such work. Poor trees. It is unbelievable what people do to these Fruitless Mulberries, cutting them back to nubs less than 3-4 feet long of the main trunk. The county staff does that to the county's FM's on their property, too. So sad to see. It must be like cutting off all your fingers at the first joint.

Linda

It was about 83 here today. Roses I pruned two weeks ago are sprouting already, which isn't good.

Very bizarre weather...

Linda, a good solution to kill the moss is : vinegar, baking soda and a little dish soap. We used that solution to clean the moss off moms walkway in WA (lots of moss up there!). Just poured it on and then hosed it off and all the moss came off without even scrubbing it :)

it was a nice 75* here in Fremont today :)!! I love these CA 'winters'! just hate the summers! LOL!

Can you rub off the buds, JD? I'm a dummy when it comes to roses, but saw a rose pruning episode on GBTY recently and I swear he said something about rubbing off buds. Will they sprout again, or are you killing that bud node?

I suppose you can, but I just leave them...hoping the weather will stay good ! Usually though, they sprout and then we get cold and rainy again and they yellow and fall off on their own...then they sprout again when it warms up for good.

I doubt you'll ruin the node if you rub them off...they always seem to sprout again anyway. Roses are pretty forgiving.

That's good to know! Thanks, JD.

Okay, I should have said if I don't feel to old. LOL! Seriously, I got chilled last night. I was so cold. Even all the cats snuck in to sleep in my room. Had a four cat night! LOL!
I did get some weeding done, and totally forgot that tomorrow is a holiday. Good thing I have kids to remind me of this stuff.
My roses are still blooming. I haven't dared to trim them yet. I usually wait until Feb. The weather is so strange this year, I don't know what to think. Especially when I am having to water some of my garden. It wasn't as warm as the weathermen predicted it would be in the valleys, and when the wind blows. . . well you know.
WIB,
SW

SW, oh thank-you, girl!

SW...it must get a lot different weather from my place to yours...I've been sleeping with doors and windows open and loving it. Last night I actually had the fan on. I suppose I'll have to bring more firewood up to the house again if it's supposed to cool off this next week. It was mentioned this week on TV that they're now saying that roses actually do better if not pruned, so if you haven't done it yet, there's your reason to not feel bad about it.

We've been getting up to the 70s during the day and 40 at night here. A little warmer than usual for this time of year. It's nice to be able to work outside without freezing, but I sure hope we get some rain soon!!

When the sun goes down here, it does get chilly, and DH has seen temps in the high 30s when he gets up in the morning. I think it's our spot towards the bottom of the hill and our terrace holds the cold until the sun is really out. Looks like we will get a little moderation this week.

Here it's been getting up close to 70 during the day, but then down to 30-ish at night, I'm waking up to frost every morning. Very strange! I think we're supposed to get a little rain later this week which will bring things more back to normal. I really hope we get the rain--as much as I love all the sunshine and warm temps we are way behind on rain for the season. The hills are just barely green instead of lush like they usually would be at this time, and the seasonal wetland behind my house is dry as a bone and I'm missing the little frogs that live back there and sing all night long, since it's still dry they haven't put in an appearance yet.

Iris unguicularis aka Algergian Iris or Winter Iris

This is another of the fall and winter blooms in California. From Greece and Northern Africa it needs dry summers. Forms large clumps--3ft wide. The blooms are short lived, but keep coming for months. Mine start blooming in Nov and bloom into March. Some say the blooms are fragrant, but the fragrance is slight to my nose. Maybe there are selected cultivars that are more fragrant. The clumps shelter snails and slugs which do eat the flowers.

Chris

wcgypsy, the difference is two fold. Elevation and the afternoon breezes. Both conspire to make me cold. : (
Daytime temps are comparable. Nights are colder. Gotta be the elevation! : )
They said you don't have to prune the roses? Yank the rug out from under Me! : O
I'm glad to hear my slothful ways are making you feel better, Linda. Last year I had the same problem. Now I'm just perplexed. I'm okay with not trimming them. Less work on the roses gives me more time to weed.
We have cold spots here too, KC. At least the leaves finally fell off the poplar trees so the house isn't shaded all day. That helps keep it warmer.
I'm ready for some more rain myself, ecrane. I hope we get some soon.
Chris, I'm having a really bad case of Bulb Envy! Lovely Winter Iris! Snails don't last in my yard, my tortoises think they are delicious, and when I find them, I toss them snails into the chicken pen. I really love your photos and am glad that you do share! Please don't stop! : )
I've got to go take care of chores.
WIB,
SW

Soft,light rain starting here now..sounds nice with the doors open. Rather balmy outside. It would be great to get 3-4 days of just a nice,soft rain, enough to soak everything well without having it be such an intrusion.

Hope it comes this way! Haven't seen a drop yet, but the skyline is beautiful.

Started sprinkling last night about 10 pm. Still light sprinkling this morning when I took the kid to school about 7:30. Not here but by the school. Hope we get a few days of this light stuff too. I'll take what we can get. Was 58 degrees on the way to school, but felt colder than yesterday when it was 54 degrees. I don't know what to think except to keep wearing layers. : )
Will take whatever rain we can get!
WIB,
SW

No sprinkles here. :-( But my magnolia Galaxy is blooming about three weeks earlier than it normally does.

OOOOOOHHHHHH Doss, very pretty!

Doss, your magnolia is so lovely. Do you think our weeks of 70 degree weather might have caused the early bloom?

The sprinkles just started here. I'm hoping we get enough over the next few days that I don't have to water my bulb beds--they are all coming up so they need the moisture.

Chris

Chris,

Your winter iris is gorgeous. Do you know of any local sources for that - ie. in your neck of the woods, I live close by & my MIL lives in Los Altos. Thanks!

Liz

I think that the premature weather may very well have something to do with the early bloom. Don't know how it will fare in the rain now though. Sure hope that we don't have a cold snap before it started blooming.

I think that I lost most of my Sea Lavender from that one cold day we had. :-( I don't think that i'll replace it this time although it is one of my favorite plants.

doss, if you can't keep it alive, I have no hope for it. Glad you posted that, as I've been tempted to try it again. I guess I'll just grow the annual blue statice from seed and call it good!

I guess I could grow sea lavender as an annual but I've got about 24 plants so it's an expensive thing to replace in 4" pots. Then it takes a couple of years to get really beautiful. I'm not sure all of it is dead yet but think that I've lost a lot. I'm death to seeds though so always buy my plants. Don't know why I have such a brown thumb for seeds.

doss, I'm sad that you lost your Sea Lavender. Mine surprised me and came through it all okay. The little tents probably helped. I think I bought mine at the UCR Botanical Garden plant sale, in one gallon pots, and they were flowering like crazy the first year, and getting huge this last year. I still think we are going to have another frost, and am wary of removing the tents.
Someone from AZ told me that theirs comes back every year. I wonder if they have a different kind? I'll have to try to find that post.
imapigeon, don't give up yet. Now I'll just have to go take a photo and show you that it can be done in our zone.
BBS,
WIB,
SW