Chorisia Speciosa (left and right): This beautiful tree with green bark and grey thorns on trunk. Stop watering for the through August (same as the conditions they get in their native Brazil). To prolong the bloom start watering when the flower bases begin to swell.


Daylilies - Hemerocallis (left): To prolong the bloom of your daylilies feed with complete fertilizer now and water thoroughly. This is one of Southern California's most popular plants because it is easy to grow and has long blooming season and many different varieties with different color flowers.

Duranta (right) - This is a fast growing plant has beautiful flowers now. Garden View nursery has been selling small garden trees with beautiful drooping blooms and Terrine asked me to include care in our garden tips. To keep this plant as a small patio tree it will need to be pruned often. After the plant blooms and sets out berries trim hard. Trim every other month and remove suckers regularly.

Armeria maritima (left) - Blooms in spring till summer cutting spent flowers prolongs blooms. These grassy ground cover plants need little to moderate water and good drainage, they are moderately durable. Small sections will probably need to be replanted occasionally. Prefers full sun but Garden View's experience is that Armeria will tolerate some partial shade.

Leptospermum (right) - when pruning, clipping, or shearing into hedges don't cut into the bare wood, new growth is unlikely to sprout. This plant requires little water and good drainage too much water can cause root rot. Plant can grow into and nice tree if not pruned regularly.

Rosmarinus officinalis (left) - Heavy feeding and too much water results in rank growth and subsequent woodiness (occasional light feeding is good). Control growth by frequent pinching when plants are young. If plants become woody cut into the leafy wood about half way through and encourage new growth. Plant will not re-grow from bare wood.

Martha Washington geraniums (right) - When they stop blooming lip off their faded flowers and begin to cut them back progressively. These plants are not true geraniums but are actually pelargoniums. They prefer well drained soil and not too much water. Though they can survive many seasons they are often treated like annuals.

Coleus (left) - This is a shade loving plant (does not do good in deep shade) that is planted for its brightly colored leaf. Remove the flower to prolong the life and to keep the plant compact.. There are newer varieties that grow in the sun but they are generally not as colorful. This plant can be used as a house plant if it is in a bright area in the house.

Coreopsis (right) - Easy to grow member of the sunflower family. Blooms profusely through the summer. It needs little to moderate water.Dead head for longer bloom. You can use a hedge shear t remove spent blooms.

ALSTROEMERIA (left):
These beautiful plants flower off and on throughout the year. They are generally not blooming in the hottest months and the foliage can get sparse. But don't think they are dead or they are not going to come back. These plants are drought resistant meaning if you stop watering them they will generally live. But the foliage will die back but the roots and tuber of the plant will stay alive and come back when watering. This plant will bloom on an off most of the year with sufficient water and fertilizer. Garden View Crews will often use this plant in annual flower beds and supplement it with annual flowers

WISTERIAS (right):
On established plants, this is the time of the first of three annual prunings. A good schedule for these three prunings is June, August and December. Cut any and all unwanted new growth to three buds above last years resting point. The point where the current years growth began and last years ended can be located by noticing the change in the stem/bark color. This pruning should be done to encourage flower bud development and to contain the size of the plant.

CALIFORNIA NATIVE PLANTS (left):
Be very cautious irrigating most of our native plants during the summer. Most are adapted to a wet winters and dry summer moisture cycle. Too frequent irrigations now (especially in soils with a clay content) will most likely cause problems.

AZALEAS:
Keep azaleas well irrigated now that the weather is warming up. Azaleas are shallow rooted and will dry out quickly. Avoid cultivating or allowing other plants to grow in competition with the roots.

COLEONEMA - BREATH OF HEAVEN (right):
Trim after its main blooming season: Spring and early summer. It still will bloom sporadically through the warm months but you can keep it compact and increase the quality of blooms in the future by pruning now.

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Many of us waste a lot of water through run off, especially on slopes. When watering on a slope if we put a lot of water down at once the water will run down to the bottom of the slope. The lower slope will be getting a lot of water through percolation and the top of the slope much less. When this has happened the plants at the bottom of the slope are probably being over watered and plants on top are getting under watered. Also a lot of water may have simply run off to the street, driveway or whatever is at the bottom of the slope.

We can reduce this problem by dividing watering times into cycles with shorter run times. For instance instead of watering for 10 minutes, water in cycles for three minutes. Set your controller to repeat cycles to be finished within a few hours.

There are additional benefits to this. You will develop deeper root systems allowing greater water and nutrient storage capacity for the plants resulting in watering less often and better slope stabilization due to the larger root systems.

It has been hot; however the real heat is on its way like a fast freight train headed to your home and community soon. Sounds like a movie huh? Titled "Bring Paradise Home".

You can cool down your yard with tropical palms. At Garden View Nursery we have a great selection of many different types of palms including King and super inexpensive Queen Palms. We carry them in single and multi trunk with dark green lush fronds. Add some white and blue Agapanthus in full bloom or Daylilies with vibrant reds, yellow and peach colors.

Are you seeing the movie set yet? If not Garden View's experienced staff can help you make the right selections for your paradise. You will be the leading star of "Bring Paradise Home". Sit in the directors' chair, sip your favorite cold drink and cool off until the Academy Awards come.