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My Garden Diary

September and October 2019

Copyright © 2019 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. 7

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?

Diary entries for 2004 through 2012

Entries below 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 without years refer to other entries in the same year as the entry in which they appear — including entries on prior pages for the same year — unless a different year is given.

Date and Weather	Observations and Activities
23 Oct Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 73-94 Humidity: 10% Wind: 1-13 Rain — This rain-year: 0.0 Days since last: 25	We are having Santa Ana weather but with only a slight wind: hot with very low humidity. For more than 24 hours, the relative humidity has remained below 20%, reaching 6% yesterday. (Last week, we had relative humidity staying below 10% for over 48 hours.) Raked leaves in front, almost filling the green trash bin for the county's composting program. Fed the roses with a commercial fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide. This is the last time that I feed the roses. I do not want new growth sprouting in two months when I prune them. I also gave the potted Cymbidium orchid a small amount of the same fertilizer. Leaf miners have attacked the dwarf kumquat (Citrus margarita). While the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources says that the damage can be ignored on mature, full-size citrus trees, leaf miners can do enough damage to kill dwarf citrus. I applied a systemic insecticide drench to the kumquat.
19 Oct Clear, sunny, and warm Temp: 57-84 Humidity: 13% Wind: 4-16 Rain — This rain-year: 0.0 Days since last: 21	With autumn progressing, the angle of the morning sun has shifted south. I removed the shade cloth from outside of the breakfast room greenhouse window. Repotted the sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) and oregano (Origanum vulgare). After removing each herb from its pot, I used a paring knife to shave about an inch from the bottom of the root ball and another inch from around the sides. I replaced the removed soil with my home-made potting mix, but I used a peat moss to coarse sand ratio of 2:3 instead of my usual 1:1 in order to improve drainage. After each herb was back in its pot, I severely trimmed the top growth to reduce the demand on traumatized roots.
16 Oct Mostly cloudy, some hazy sun, hot Temp: 71-92 Humidity: 13% Wind: 0-11 Rain — This rain-year: 0.0 Days since last: 18	A few days ago, I trimmed the eugenia (Syzygium paniculatum) in front and the star jasmine in back. The eugenia was again blocking a sprinkler head (26 Jul), and the star jasmine was again growing out over the walk (27 Sep). Most herbs other than mints prefer soil that drains very well. To keep the drain holes clear for my potted herbs in back, I put three plastic "pot toes" under each herb's flower pot. However, the weight of the pots kept pushing the pot toes down into the decomposed granite of the paths on which the pots rested. This resulted in the drain holes of the flower pots being blocked by decomposed granite. Today, I placed 12-inch hexagonal stepping stones on the paths for the pots. I then placed flower pots on the stepping stones with pot toes between them. I also moved the newly potted sage (22 Sep) onto one of the stepping stones. The stepping stones will distribute the weight of the pots and will not sink into the decomposed granite. (The much larger pot of Alstroemeria has larger pottery "pot feet" and has never sunk into the decomposed granite.) After growing shoots and leaves and even blooming, the 'Simply Marvelous' rose cutting (8 Jan, 29 Mar, et al) died. This was about my fourth attempt to propagate this floribunda rose, which is no longer available commercially. In the coming winter, I will try to find a similar variety at a nursery. Because of where I want to plant such a rose, I really want a floribunda. I do not think a hybrid tea will thrive there.
30 Sep Mostly clear with a few scattered clouds, sunny, and mild Temp: 52-74 Humidity: 28% Wind: 1-14 Rain — This rain-year: 19.57 The past week: 0.06	Yes, we had rain in September. While rare, it is not unknown. In the past nine years, this is the fourth September with small but measurable rainfall. Tomorrow is the start of a new rain year. While I will still indicate how long it has been since the last rainfall, the accumulated amount will be zero until there is rain after 1 October. I over-watered the all green pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum 'Jade') a few weeks ago. When I discovered this, I removed the standing water from the jardiniere in which the pothos's flower pot sits. However, it appears that the plant has been damaged. There are a number of wilted leaves. Since the ends of the shoots still look healthy, I took two cuttings to root and replace the afflicted plant. Cooler weather is upon us, so I reduced how long the garden sprinklers run by three minutes per valve (12 minutes instead of 15). The prinklers run early in the morning every third day.
27 Sep Cloudy, gray, and mild Temp: 61-71 Humidity: 67% Wind: 1-7 Rain — This rain-year: 19.51 Days since last: 92	Yesterday, I trimmed some of the wild growth on the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) in back. It is growing as a ground cover between the raised bed of the tangelo (Citrus reticulata × paradisi 'Mineola') and a trellis and then up the trellis. I want it to stay close to its trellis and near to the ground. It should not grow over the adjacent walk that runs from my patio around the side of the house to the front or over the adjacent wall into my neighbor's back yard. Today, fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia with ammonium, iron, and zinc sulfates. This will be the last feeding of these plants this year. Any later feeding would result in tender new growth that could be damaged by the light frosts that we sometimes get in the winter. My neighbor across the street invited me to go into his side yard and pick figs. His fig tree (Ficus carica) is huge and filled with both ripe and green fruit. I do not know the variety, but I suspect it is 'Mission' because the ripe fruit is dark purple and very sweet.
22 Sep Overcast in the morning and then clear in the afternoon, gray and then sunny, and hot Temp: 68-93 Humidity: 16% Wind: 0-10 Rain — This rain-year: 19.51 Days since last: 87	Raking leaves in front — from the driveway, the public sidewalk, and the brick path to the front door — is becoming a frequent task. This past week, I bought a cuphea (C. hyssopifolia) with pink flowers and a sage (Salvia officinalis) to replace plants that died. Today, I planted the cuphea in the teardrop bed; and potted the sage to place along the other herbs after it is established. For the latter, the potting mix I used was not the usual ratio of equal amounts of coarse sand and peat moss. Following the advice from Ventura County's master gardener program to provide excellent drainage, I used a ratio of two parts sand to one part peat moss. Tied down three new canes of the climbing 'Peace' rose and removed two other canes that were poorly positioned. Then I fed all the roses with ammonium sulfate.
6 Sep Clear, sunny, and hot Temp: 71-96 Humidity: 21% Wind: 0-16 Rain — This rain-year: 19.51 Days since last: 71	Fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii') in back with commercial citrus food plus two pinches of zinc sulfate each. Because of the heat, I ran all the sprinklers for five minutes instead of specifically rinsing the fertilizer into the soil around each plant. Earlier in the week I removed a branch of the Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) that was interfering with walking along an adjacent path.

Date and Weather

Observations and Activities

23 Oct

Clear, sunny, and hot

Temp: 73-94
Humidity: 10%
Wind: 1-13

Rain —
This rain-year: 0.0
Days since last: 25

We are having Santa Ana weather but with only a slight wind: hot with very low humidity. For more than 24 hours, the relative humidity has remained below 20%, reaching 6% yesterday. (Last week, we had relative humidity staying below 10% for over 48 hours.)

Raked leaves in front, almost filling the green trash bin for the county's composting program.

Fed the roses with a commercial fertilizer that contains a systemic insecticide. This is the last time that I feed the roses. I do not want new growth sprouting in two months when I prune them. I also gave the potted Cymbidium orchid a small amount of the same fertilizer.

Leaf miners have attacked the dwarf kumquat (Citrus margarita). While the University of California's Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources says that the damage can be ignored on mature, full-size citrus trees, leaf miners can do enough damage to kill dwarf citrus. I applied a systemic insecticide drench to the kumquat.

19 Oct

Clear, sunny, and warm

Temp: 57-84
Humidity: 13%
Wind: 4-16

Rain —
This rain-year: 0.0
Days since last: 21

With autumn progressing, the angle of the morning sun has shifted south. I removed the shade cloth from outside of the breakfast room greenhouse window.

Repotted the sweet bay (Laurus nobilis) and oregano (Origanum vulgare). After removing each herb from its pot, I used a paring knife to shave about an inch from the bottom of the root ball and another inch from around the sides. I replaced the removed soil with my home-made potting mix, but I used a peat moss to coarse sand ratio of 2:3 instead of my usual 1:1 in order to improve drainage. After each herb was back in its pot, I severely trimmed the top growth to reduce the demand on traumatized roots.

16 Oct

Mostly cloudy, some hazy sun, hot

Temp: 71-92
Humidity: 13%
Wind: 0-11

Rain —
This rain-year: 0.0
Days since last: 18

A few days ago, I trimmed the eugenia (Syzygium paniculatum) in front and the star jasmine in back. The eugenia was again blocking a sprinkler head (26 Jul), and the star jasmine was again growing out over the walk (27 Sep).

Most herbs other than mints prefer soil that drains very well. To keep the drain holes clear for my potted herbs in back, I put three plastic "pot toes" under each herb's flower pot. However, the weight of the pots kept pushing the pot toes down into the decomposed granite of the paths on which the pots rested. This resulted in the drain holes of the flower pots being blocked by decomposed granite. Today, I placed 12-inch hexagonal stepping stones on the paths for the pots. I then placed flower pots on the stepping stones with pot toes between them. I also moved the newly potted sage (22 Sep) onto one of the stepping stones. The stepping stones will distribute the weight of the pots and will not sink into the decomposed granite. (The much larger pot of Alstroemeria has larger pottery "pot feet" and has never sunk into the decomposed granite.)

After growing shoots and leaves and even blooming, the 'Simply Marvelous' rose cutting (8 Jan, 29 Mar, et al) died. This was about my fourth attempt to propagate this floribunda rose, which is no longer available commercially. In the coming winter, I will try to find a similar variety at a nursery. Because of where I want to plant such a rose, I really want a floribunda. I do not think a hybrid tea will thrive there.

30 Sep

Mostly clear with a few scattered clouds, sunny, and mild

Temp: 52-74
Humidity: 28%
Wind: 1-14

Rain —
This rain-year: 19.57
The past week: 0.06

Yes, we had rain in September. While rare, it is not unknown. In the past nine years, this is the fourth September with small but measurable rainfall. Tomorrow is the start of a new rain year. While I will still indicate how long it has been since the last rainfall, the accumulated amount will be zero until there is rain after 1 October.

I over-watered the all green pothos (Epipremnum pinnatum 'Jade') a few weeks ago. When I discovered this, I removed the standing water from the jardiniere in which the pothos's flower pot sits. However, it appears that the plant has been damaged. There are a number of wilted leaves. Since the ends of the shoots still look healthy, I took two cuttings to root and replace the afflicted plant.

Cooler weather is upon us, so I reduced how long the garden sprinklers run by three minutes per valve (12 minutes instead of 15). The prinklers run early in the morning every third day.

27 Sep

Cloudy, gray, and mild

Temp: 61-71
Humidity: 67%
Wind: 1-7

Rain —
This rain-year: 19.51
Days since last: 92

Yesterday, I trimmed some of the wild growth on the star jasmine (Trachelospermum jasminoides) in back. It is growing as a ground cover between the raised bed of the tangelo (Citrus reticulata × paradisi 'Mineola') and a trellis and then up the trellis. I want it to stay close to its trellis and near to the ground. It should not grow over the adjacent walk that runs from my patio around the side of the house to the front or over the adjacent wall into my neighbor's back yard.

Today, fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia with ammonium, iron, and zinc sulfates. This will be the last feeding of these plants this year. Any later feeding would result in tender new growth that could be damaged by the light frosts that we sometimes get in the winter.

My neighbor across the street invited me to go into his side yard and pick figs. His fig tree (Ficus carica) is huge and filled with both ripe and green fruit. I do not know the variety, but I suspect it is 'Mission' because the ripe fruit is dark purple and very sweet.

22 Sep

Overcast in the morning and then clear in the afternoon, gray and then sunny, and hot

Temp: 68-93
Humidity: 16%
Wind: 0-10

Rain —
This rain-year: 19.51
Days since last: 87

Raking leaves in front — from the driveway, the public sidewalk, and the brick path to the front door — is becoming a frequent task.

This past week, I bought a cuphea (C. hyssopifolia) with pink flowers and a sage (Salvia officinalis) to replace plants that died. Today, I planted the cuphea in the teardrop bed; and potted the sage to place along the other herbs after it is established. For the latter, the potting mix I used was not the usual ratio of equal amounts of coarse sand and peat moss. Following the advice from Ventura County's master gardener program to provide excellent drainage, I used a ratio of two parts sand to one part peat moss.

Tied down three new canes of the climbing 'Peace' rose and removed two other canes that were poorly positioned. Then I fed all the roses with ammonium sulfate.

6 Sep

Clear, sunny, and hot

Temp: 71-96
Humidity: 21%
Wind: 0-16

Rain —
This rain-year: 19.51
Days since last: 71

Fed the dwarf citrus and gardenia (G. jasminoides 'Veitchii') in back with commercial citrus food plus two pinches of zinc sulfate each. Because of the heat, I ran all the sprinklers for five minutes instead of specifically rinsing the fertilizer into the soil around each plant.

Earlier in the week I removed a branch of the Australian tea tree (Leptospermum laevigatum) that was interfering with walking along an adjacent path.

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.

Winter chill is the cumulative hours of temperatures at or below 45°F from 1 November through 31 March. It is reported during that period and through April.

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 gusts parenthetically when they are significantly high.

Rain is in inches. Rain-year is the cumulative amount of rainfall from 1 October until 30 September of the following year (our "rain-year"). Week is the cumulative amount of measurable rainfall from noon seven days ago until noon of the indicated date. If no measurable 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. Finally, such characterization reflects when I was actually outside and gardening and ignores changes that occur while I am inside.

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)