Crescent Hill Nursery July E-Newsletter 2013 The CHN e-newsletter is our show of gratitude to the loyal market customers at our many events around th

 
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Crescent Hill Nursery July E-Newsletter 2013

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The showy fluted petals of Coreopsis 'Jethro Tull' !!!

The CHN e-newsletter is our show of gratitude to the loyal market customers at our many events around the Central Coast. It will serve as a site for seasonal updates, "plant of the month" specials, the "ask a nurseryman" section, links to our partners, and a whole lot more. New for 2013 will be a "project" page which offers ideas for weekend garden activities, and more in-depth coverage of some of our recent landscape installations. The e-newsletter is a way to stay connected with our thriving and knowledgeable garden community. Please send us your comments on how to make this e-newsletter more useful to all, and don't forget to pass along the link to a friend!

Happy Planting,
Nathan Krupa (owner/grower)

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Astilbe 'Visions' is a late season bloomer amongst the most purple and showy of the genus.

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Cordyline 'Cha Cha' serves up a stately and refined centerpiece for a mixed arrangement.

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MONTHLY BULLETIN

With the recent burst of hot weather, there leaves little doubt amongst California gardeners that summer is finally here!! Now while this means a little more time out there with the water wand, summer also signifies our first chance to check out the new selections offered by breeders in 2013. New varieties have gone through the vegetative process, and are now saluting the heat with their flowers for the first time. Please join us for a meet-and-greet at our markets this July to see what is new and exciting in the world of horticulture. On Saturday July 6, Crescent Hill will be helping celebrate Fourth of July weekend with our monthly shindig at De Anza College in Cupertino, Ca. For our Monterey Bay clients, we will be popping up at RCR Fabrication in Santa Cruz for the weekend of July 13-14. This two day event is always much more low keyed than our normal shows, and provides ample time for consultation on those difficult spots in the garden. On Sunday July 28, Crescent Hill will be showing at the 43rd Annual Moss Landing Antique Faire in the idyllic harbor hamlet on the north Monterey coast. Enjoy the cool weather, 200 + antique/collectable dealers, and of course wonderful rare and unusual plants. This year Crescent Hill will spotlight potted succulent arrangements made with our usual flare for the unique, as well as our landscape favorites. Maps and directions to all events are available on the CALENDAR page of the website linked below. www.crescenthillnursery.com

New for 2013
Crescent Hill is pleased to announce that we will be accepting credit/debit cards at all of our local garden markets. Thanks in advance for your patience as we navigate the waters of the new process.

Please don't forget to check out our constantly changing color collage on Facebook. The frequent updates feature a who's who of the present bloomers at the nursery, plus special updates and promotions. Find us at www.facebook.com/pages/Crescent-Hill-Nursery/207330655953337)
or click on the link below on this page.

In response to the numerous requests by our gardening family and partners, we are pleased to announce that an E-NEWSLETTER ARCHIVE link is now available on our website www.crescenthillnursery.com. Please take a moment to check it out, and also tour the newly updated PLANTS section and increasing content of color photos for all our selections!!

Nursery tours are encouraged. Please come out and see our 2 acre facility in Watsonville. With over 250 varieties grown, the growing grounds are turning into a little botanical park. Please call for an appointment. Groups are welcome.

Please remember Crescent Hill recycles all 1,2, and 5 gallon plastic containers. Drop off available at all markets, or here at the nursery. Thanks again!!

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PLANT OF THE MONTH

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Hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea) is a versatile species whose whorls of scented flowers specialize in the shade garden.

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Nothing says summer like flowers!!! Bold displays of summer color, and the pollinators that go hand-in hand, allows us gardeners to forget the doldrums of winter and somehow always lifts the spirits to new heights. The Crescent Hill Nursery July Plants of The Month seek to capture this spirit at its midsummer apex with a tried-and-true genus of blooming delights. There is no better compadre to the grandeur of summer than the genus Salvia. Comprised of approximately 700-900 species in the mint (Lamiaceae) plant family, the genus is commonly referred to as Sage. Derived from the Latin salvere (to feel well and healthy), the origin implies the plant's many healing properties, both medicinal and spiritual. Whether we are aware or not, we Californians encounter Salvias almost every day of our lives. From the Black Sage (Salvia mellifera) in the chaparral, to the culinary Sages (Salvia officinalis), to the ever present Mexican Bush Sage (Salvia leucantha); we pass by, eat, or medicinally use this largest genus in the Mint family with amazing regularity here in the sunshine state. In the landscape, its ubiquity is well deserved as there is hardly a niche in the garden that one species or another cannot fill. Who can't resist a rugged perennial that flowers all summer long, has scented flowers and foliage, deters herbivores, and provides habitat for the bees and hummingbirds we all so love and cherish? Now with so many members of this huge genus, this statement is a broad generalization, but the garden varieties grown by Crescent Hill accomplish this and so much more. This month we are pleased to offer nine varieties of Salvia to accessorize the heat and fireworks of July. For the mid to back border, taller (3-5' tall X wide) varieties like 'Waverly' and 'Hot Lips' are expert hummingbird attractors whose efficacy sometimes make it dangerous to take cuttings here at the nursery. Hot Lips, and its distinctive bicolored white and red lipped blooms, also has the added bonus of flowering all year long! As with the rest of our selections this month, these are perfect choices for deer country, where the volatile oils prevent aboveground herbivory. For the mid border, Salvia 'Black and Blue' features deep gentian blue flowers held up by jet black calyces on a sturdy upright frame (to 3' tall X wide). Salvia 'Furman's Red' is a proven garden standard with flushes of red flowers tipped in magenta pink (to 18-24" tall X wide). Salvia X coahuilensis is a relentless bloomer of the same stature with elegant velvety magenta blooms. Two new Salvia microphylla types (from the same branch of the family as Hot Lips) round out the mid border, this time with bright pink/purple flowers and shorter statures (12-18" tall X wide). The long flowering time of these mid border varieties begs their inclusion in that knockout patio mixed arrangement, with scented foliage and hummingbird love as a bonus. Although all of these varieties will tolerate part shade (preferably in the morning) and still bloom, they are best suited for the full sun aspect to maximize potential. One of our favorite varieties, hummingbird sage (Salvia spathacea), is most comfortable in the shade, where its whorled red blooms emerge from attractive arrow-like foliage. Hummingbird sage spreads by underground rhizomes, which when paired with its drought resistance, makes it a great candidate for dry shade gardens like those under native oaks. Salvia chamaedryoides, which like spathacea can tolerate full sun, showcases bright blue blooms perched on silvery grey foliage, and thrives in the dry shade garden. As with most Salvias, the July Plant of The Month selections appreciate a good haircut at least once a year to invigorate growth. One hard cutback in spring, and a few supplementary shearings in summer is all it takes to get an extraordinarily long flower cycle. With Salvias, it is not a mystery; "If it looks leggy, knock it back". A great place to view this wide ranging genus is the Cabrillo College Horticulture Center in Aptos, Ca. The garden there has achieved arboretum status with its collection of 200+ varieties growing in a multitude of sun and soil aspects. The program has been a forerunner in bringing many new species of this incredibly multi-faceted genus into production and understanding in the California ecosystem. So if you are ready to pair summer with an equally elegant partner, please join us in celebrating Crescent Hill's July Plant of the Month.

Special E-Newsletter Price: $6 per 1-gallon container. Buy in bulk and save. 6 or more for $5 each!!! Mention this review to receive discount.

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Salvia 'Furman's Red' packs a powerful summer punch on a compact frame.

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Salvia 'Black and Blue' features limey green foliage topped with long lipped vivid blooms.

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Salvia 'Hot Lips' explosion of summer color pairs well with the fireworks of the season.

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PROJECTS

With the hustle and bustle of everyday life, the yard and landscape can sometimes seem like an insurmountable task. This quarterly section attempts to provide ideas for weekend "projects" that will make the task less daunting, and hopefully fun as well!!

Gopher/Mole Protection

This year, more than ever, we have been receiving complaints about the voraciousness of gophers and moles in local gardens. So if you are lucky enough to not have these below ground pests, consider yourself blessed, as the damage they can do in a short time is stupendous. If you do find yourself cursed with this garden affliction, this section seeks to wade through urban legend and provide a blueprint for control. First of all, we need to distinguish between the two pests in order to know how to combat them. Moles, unlike gophers, are not rodents but instead insect and earthworm eating mammals who do not present many problems for the world of plants. They form runs, often evident near the soil surface, and are known for their circular mounds which they deposit above. Most of the damage they do to the garden is visual (mounds/runs), although their burrowing can cause plant roots to become exposed and desiccated. Gophers are true ground dwelling rodents known for their long sharp teeth, poor eyesight/hearing, and advanced sense of smell. They also form mounds above the soil surface, but theirs are generally crescent or horseshoe shaped. Although they eat grubs and earthworms, they seem to prefer eating plant roots, stems, and leaves, and can thus do a great deal of damage to the landscape. Their system of runs and burrows is extensive, and one adult gopher can move up to one ton of soil per year!!! The most important thing to understand is that both gophers and moles are attracted to water. Irrigation provides an ample supply of resources (insects, worms, fresh roots) for both species, and thus provides a perfect habitat. Despite an unplanted part of the garden not having gophers/moles yet, the "build it and they will come" axiom here becomes significantly apt. As our special garden plants all need water, how then do we keep these pests away? The three main manners of control are trapping, poison, and exclusion. Anyone who has watched the movie Caddyshack knows that trapping can be a frustrating and aggravating process, but when done properly does have its merits. Poisoning gophers is of course effective, but of course poses toxicity problems for nearby vegetables or neighborhood pets. The problem with both of these methods, especially if properties border native vegetation or agricultural fields, is that the gophers will be quick to return. Here the metaphoric arcade "mole game" rings surprisingly true, where one pest is killed only to quickly be replaced by another. At Crescent Hill, the preferred method of control is exclusion. Whether excluding gophers from entire garden beds or from individual plants, protection is long-term and prevents the "mole game" scenario and the accompanying greying/loss of hair for gardeners. The key here is to use the right gage and strength of wire. Common chicken wire has 1" openings which does not exclude small gophers, and aviary wire generally is too thin to provide long term protection. Choose wire that has 3/4 inch or smaller openings, and make sure that it is galvanized or stainless steel for long term viability. If protecting an entire garden bed, insure that there are absolutely no openings where our furry friends are adept at sneaking through. This is generally most effective in a raised bed type scenario where the wire can be securely stapled to a wooden frame. In our experience in-ground beds often have security breaches, whether wire is punctured by an accidental shovel or gophers simply go up and over any barriers and into the root zone of the plants. Making or purchasing gopher "baskets" for each individual plant eliminates these problems and has proven to be the most effective manner for long term success. Just make sure that the wire is galvanized, and the top of the basket remains an inch or two above the soil surface to prevent the up and over move. Crescent Hill has had great success using the Digger's brand gopher baskets which we offer at local markets. Their design is durable, inexpensive, lacking of sharp wire points, and has a green painted strip to tell the gardener exactly how far down to bury the basket. Other recent impostors offer a rollup style basket that is easier to work with, but lacks stainless/galvanized parts and has holes to small for larger roots. Digger's brand baskets are easily the Cadillac of the market, and will protect the main root ball of the plant for 6-10 years, well past the point of establishment. Over the years local gardeners have told us of a multitude of other methods which they have used to keep away these hungry garden pests. Cat litter, gum, laxatives, Castor bean seed or oil, wind or noise generating devices, and even animal feces have been recommended for insertion into runs or mounds. Unfortunately research has shown most of these "solutions" amount to little more than urban legend. So until training is complete on our team of Black Op Killer Kitties, gardeners will have to control gophers/moles themselves and protect their valuable investments with a fun and educational weekend project!!!

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Gopher baskets, whether homemade or store purchased, provide the most effective long term solution in protecting the garden.

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And just in case you were wondered if these things actually work.........

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