By Maggie King, Master Gardener

January means different things to different people. For some it means good books, bunny slippers, and naps by the fire.  For avid gardeners, January is the time to grab a pair of pruners and head outside to the fruit trees and vines that await our attention.  Careful pruning can make the difference between a bountiful crop of fruits and berries and an unhealthy, unproductive orchard.  When we prune we get rid of dead and diseased branches and we improve the structure of a tree. 

Probably the biggest reason for pruning can be understood if one thinks back to high school biology class (for some of us it’s a LONG way back!)  Does the word photosynthesis ring a bell?  It’s the process by...

Advice To Grow By Workshop
By Andrea Peck, Master Gardener

The San Luis Obispo Master Gardeners are at it again with their monthly Advice To Grow By Workshops. This Saturday from 10 to noon the workshop will discuss that odd piece of machinery that inhabits the center of the Garden of The Seven Sisters. As important as any growing element in the garden, the mechanical whirligig is not modern garden art; it is a state-of-the-art weather station which measures temperature, precipitation, wind speed and soil moisture. All...

Q.  What can I plant under the Coast Live Oak in my front yard to fill in the sandy area below and around the canopy? Ginny Kemper, Nipomo

A.   You have lots of colorful and interesting choices in companion plantings for oak trees.  Hummingbird sage will give you a wide-spreading groundcover of bright green leaves with pink flowers.  Carpenteria californica is an evergreen shrub with beautiful white anemone-like flowers.   In a sunnier section under the tree, plant California fuchsia for grey green foliage with red tubular flowers attractive to hummingbirds. 

When planting under oaks, however, there are a few basic rules to keep your tree healthy.  First, any companion plant should be well adapted to our...

Thinking of doing a little re-landscaping this fall?

Wishing your landscaping could thrive with less work and water? 

The Master Gardener Advice to Grow By presentation this Saturday will give ideas for low-maintenance landscaping through use of native California plants.
Fall is the time to plant California native perennials, shrubs and trees.  It is the time of the year when the soil is still warm and winter rains are just around the corner.  The winter is a prime time for the roots of newly planted shrubs and trees to become established, which will help them survive on little supplemental water during the first summer and if we are lucky, perhaps no additional water in the years that follow. ...