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My Garden Diary

November and December 2012

Copyright © 2012 by David E. Ross

Many years ago, when I first started my Web site, I created an online diary of my gardening activities and observations. However, with work and the commute from Hell, I was often so tired I had to choose between maintaining my garden and maintaining my diary. Sometimes, I did neither. In 1998, I stopped my diary and removed the pages from my Web site.

Now I am retired. I am well-rested and have plenty of time to both garden and maintain a diary. This diary is primarily for my own benefit, so that I can look back upon what I did and when. But I thought others might also be interested, so here it is.

Also see What's Blooming in My Garden Now?


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Entries are in reverse order (latest at the top). Daily, I might stoop to pull a weed or use a hose to water some potted plants; however, I don't consider those significant gardening activities. Thus, you will not see daily entries. Also, I might accumulate a few entries before updating this page on the Web.

When plants have well-known common names, their scientific names are given only the first time they appear on this page (entry closest to the bottom). There, the common name is in bold or appears as a link to another Web page.

Dates refer to other entries in the same year as the entry in which they appear unless a different year is given. However, they may refer to entries on prior pages.

Date and Weather Observations and Activities
31 December

Clear, sunny, and cool

Temp: 41-58
Humidity: 76%
Wind: 0-15

Rain —
This season: 2.90
Week: 0.14

It was finally cold enough that The Tree has started to lose its leaves. Rake, rake, and rake some more. To leave enough room in the garden waste bin for pruning my roses, I have started to create mounds of leaves on the patio and paths.

Pruned two more roses in back. One of them — climbing 'Peace' — required the effort of at least three bushes, not two (27 Dec). Branch-end to branch-end, this very vigorous climber now stretches 15 feet along the top of the slough wall to which it is anchored.

30 December

Mostly cloudy, some sun (generally hazy), and cold

Temp: 39-53
Humidity: 44%
Wind: 2-13

Rain —
This season: 2.90
Week: 0.17

Yesterday, the temperature did not rise above 45°F, the threshold for measuring winter chill. Since the beginning of November, we have had over 129 hours of chill, almost a third of which occurred yesterday.

Pruned two more roses, one of which is the climbing 'Dublin Bay'. These were in the back yard. See 27 Dec regarding why pruning a climbing rose is like pruning two rose bushes.

27 December

Partially cloudy, mostly sunny, cold

Temp: 42-59
Humidity: 44%
Wind: 0-24 (gusts to 35)

Rain —
This season: 2.89
Week: 0.81

Yes, I realize that the eastern U.S. has been hit by a severe blizzard. However, today's high temperature was 4°F below the average for December in this area; and last night's low was 6°F below average. When the wind blows while I am in the shade, it is very cold.

The parlor palm cutting (24 Aug) developed noticeable roots. Today, I potted it after discarding its parent. I saved two rooted side shoots that were with the parent and included them with the new cutting. The pot is back in the greenhouse window.

Took cuttings of the nephthytis (Syngonium podophyllum), also growing in the greenhouse window. This had become quite overgrown.

Pruned four roses in front. One of them — the climbing 'Fourth of July' — took the effort of at least two rose bushes. Pruning a climbing rose involves removing at least twice as much growth as pruning a bush, climbers seem to have twice the number of thorns per inch of branch, and climbers must be tied to their supports after pruning. While pruning 'Fourth of July', I took some slack out of its supporting wire, which means the horizontal branches next year will be higher off the ground.

23 December

Cloudy, gray with rare hazy sunshine, cold

Temp: 46-57
Humidity: 79%
Wind: 0-8

Rain —
This season: 2.08
Week: 0.21

The pink clover in back has suffered some frost damage. This ground cover forms such a thick mat, however, it will revive in the spring even where it is not mulched. I don't see similar damage in front, where cold air can drain away. In back, our house traps the cold air.

Pruned the peach tree. The weather has been too wet and cold to do much else in my garden.

6 December

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 50-73
Humidity: 42%
Wind: 0-24 (gusts to 34)

Rain —
This season: 1.68
Week: 0.46

Yesterday, raked enough leaves in front to fill the green trash bin for the county's composting program. Most of the leaves were from my oak (Quercus lobata) and are far too good for the county. Today, I used them to mulch the camellia and east beds in back along with a little mulching of the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) in the west bed. I hope the mulch stabilizes before the wind moves it around. I was able to save most of the remaining leaves to add to my compost pile.

Although winter is almost here, the pink clover (Persicaria capitata) in front and back is still growing vigorously. In front, I trimmed the pink clover along the driveway, public sidewalk, and the brick path that goes to our front door. In back, I trimmed it along the rose bed. I also removed it from some of the blue fescue (Festuca glauca) and Cuphea hyssopifolia that are growing in the rose bed and that were being overwhelmed by the pink clover.

2 December

Cloudy, intermittent showers, and cold

Temp: 53-59
Humidity: 97%
Wind: 0-16

Rain —
This season: 1.43
Week: 0.60

Obviously, the weather kept me indoors; so I only did indoor gardening. The Philodendron cuttings (9 Nov) developed enough roots that I discarded the parent plants and placed the new plants in the blue glass bottle in the blue bathroom. This is a plant that seems to thrive growing in water without any soil or added nutrients. Indeed, it has always been my attempt to add nutrients to the water — no matter how dilute and tiny the amount — that has almost killed the Philodendron.
25 November

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 63-78
Humidity: 76%
Wind: 1-8

Rain —
This season: 0.83
Days since last: 8

Yesterday, the back lawn had its annual mowing.

The potted Cymbidium orchid on the circular patio in back has a new shoot with flower buds. Although this is really an outdoor plant, I will bring it indoors when the buds open.

Finished spreading gypsum in the east bed in back (12 Nov). Now that the back lawn was mowed, I also spread gypsum on the lawn. For the front and back yards, I used over 200 pounds of gypsum this month.

21 November

Clear, sunny, and mild

Temp: 56-73
Humidity: 38%
Wind: 0-7

Rain —
This season: 0.83
Week: 0.66

Finished spreading gypsum in the front yard, including the front rose bed. Then I spread some in back, in the west, rose, circular, teardrop, and camellia beds. I also spread some in part of the east bed, but I used up all the gypsum before I could finish. So far, I have used about 130 pounds of gypsum. I'll probably need close to another 100 pounds to finish the east bed and the back lawn.

However, I won't apply gypsum to the back lawn until after its annual mowing. It was supposed to be mowed last Saturday, but rain and the illness of the owner of the lawn service required rescheduling until this coming Saturday.

9 November

A few clouds, sunny, and cold

Temp: 46-55
Humidity: 45%
Wind: 6-23 (with gusts to 37)

Rain —
This season: 0.17
Week: 0.04

Checked the palm cutting (24 Aug). No roots are yet apparent in the potting mix. However, the foliage still looks quite fresh; and a new side shoot has started growing near the base. I'll check it again in a few weeks.

The Philodendron in our blue bathroom has not been well. Last Sunday, I took some cuttings to root in water.

Broadcast a generous amount of gypsum in the front yard. As the gypsum — calcium sulfate — dissolves, it reacts with the clay soil to make the clay porous and less sticky. This allows more moisture and nutrients to penetrate the soil and encourages vigorous root growth. After spreading about 60 pounds of gypsum, my back hurt too much to lug around any more of it. I'll have to finish the task on another day.

Trimmed the dwarf English ivy (Hedera helix 'Hahn's') around the liquidambar tree (L. styraciflua). I also gave the mailbox a "haircut", trimming the ivy there.

After spreading gypsum, I broadcast some soil sulfur around the liquidambar tree. This tree always seems to suffer from chlorosis, which often indicates an alkaline soil. Soil bacteria consume the sulfur and convert it into sulfuric acid, so slowly that the tree benefits without any adjacent plants getting burned.

2 November

Partially cloudy, mostly sunny, and cool

Temp: 50-71
Humidity: 54%
Wind: 0-13

Rain —
This season: 0.13
Days since last: 10

Divided the 'Gold Galore' bearded iris (I. germanica). This has a yellow flower.

Flushed another drain line. I also tried — unsuccessfully — to flush the line that appeared clogged last week (26 Oct). At least, I was able to determine that the clog is about 12 feet from the surface inlet where I inserted the hose.

Weather data are from the Cheeseboro (CHE) weather station, about 2 miles ENE of my house.

The high temperature (°F) is daytime for the indicated date; the low temperature (°F) is for the previous night.

The relative humidity is at noon. (In my garden, it is likely higher than reported, a result of regular irrigation.)

Wind speeds (mph) are average (not peak) low and high, midnight to midnight (subject to later correction for diary entries posted before the end of the day). I also indicate peak wind speeds parenthetically when they are significantly high.

Rain is in inches. Rain amounts are omitted after 60 consecutive days elapse without any measurable amount. Season is the cumulative amount of rainfall from 1 October until 30 September of the following year. Week is the cumulative amount of rainfall from noon seven days ago until noon of the indicated date. If no rain fell in that period, Days since last is reported.

Characterization of the weather (e.g., Clear, sunny, and warm) is purely subjective; for example, "warm" might occur with higher temperatures than "hot" if the former occurs with lower humidity and more breezes than the latter. Also, a day that would normally be characterized as "mild" might instead be "warm" if the immediately previous days were quite cold.

The signature line I use when writing messages about my garden includes the following:

Climate: California Mediterranean
Sunset Zone: 21 -- interior Santa Monica Mountains with some ocean influence (USDA 10a, very close to Sunset Zone 19)
See also The Climate.
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