Say 'Hello'...

Say Hello to the Abelia Kaleidoscope..

Japanese Maple (Update)

Dec. 6

I think the crisis is over & JM is recovering from whatever  was causing his leaves to turn black & die-back from the tips..the infected leaves are never going to regrow tips or regain their color,but there is new growth appearing that will replace the discolored leaves that remain & I also see back-budding since the pruning. 

(click here to access the full history for this tree) 

Not Your Mother's Candles...

 Update: Mexican Weeping Pine

The Pinus Patula has been taking shape over the last few months, to the point that you can almost see what he's going to look like when he's grown. You can see 3 distinct sets of candles growing at the tips of branch ends, that indicate where the major branching will be on this tree, if allowed to continue.

Topping the plant is a whorl (circle) of 7 candles, each about 3 " long. In order to balance the tree, it will be necessary to reduce the number of candles, or the tree will become top-heavy or lopsided.

This morning, I pruned 3 of the 7 candles, leaving 4 in a North-South-East-West configuration, as pictured here:

I'll let him rest now for a few days, although I don't expect any reaction at all..young trees like this are remarkably resilient at this stage, I am learning.

Back to Work

 I've been so engaged with the suspected fungal infections affecting the Japanese Maple & "the Fremont" (my Cottonwood tree) and getting the new trees squared-away, and the Thanksgiving holiday, that I have been neglecting the rest of my plants, so today, I tried to get back to a regular routine of water & feeding & taking a closer look at each plant.

The Dragon Tree foliage is looking a little ragged, these days, so I gave him a boost by misting his foliage with a dilute mix of water & liquid seaweed..since I discovered the benefits of foliar feeding, I am finding out that it can be a solution to many plant maladies &/or problems, including physical damage.

I also sprayed the Japanese Maple & I think he's gonna be ok..his color is coming back, as we've stopped the progress of whatever was causing them to turn black & die, from the tips inward.. I am encouraged.Monter

Also gave the pines (Monterey Pine & Mexican Weeping pine) a shower, using just plain water, as well as the Junipers (Blue Star & Juniperis). Then, since I had my sprayer out, gave all of the Jades, Elephant Bush & the other succulents (that I don't know the names of)a shower..they all seemed to like it.

Spent a little time with my Olive tree, as I noticed that he had experienced another growth spurt.This little tree will seem to go dormant for stretches of time & then exhibit discernible growth..his color is an amazing deep green that I have not seen previously on this plant..his leaf size is also increasing towards what I assume is how they look when fully mature..the Olive is very slow-growing, even in our Mediterranean climate