gardening (Santa Monica: apartment, home, buy)

[violet42]

hello!

Next week, I am moving into an apartment in West LA (near the Santa Monica border / Olympic area) and it has a small garden in the back. Right now the garden contains a lime tree and a bunch of weeds. I want to keep the limes but tear up the weeds and plant some fruits, vegetables and flowers.

I just moved here from the northeast and have no clue about the weather patterns here and what can grow here. Anyone have any advice about gardening, or what good things are to grow in a Westside garden? Any specific issues or pests I should be worried about? I've never lived somewhere where I've had to worry about poisonous spiders or scorpions, so I'm a bit concerned about that.

Thanks!

[Charles]

You can use products like Amaze and Preen to keep weeds from growing. These are pre-emergent weed preventers - they don't kill weeds, but they keep weeds from reproducing. Miracle Grow is an excellent general purpose fertilizer.
I forgot what I used for pests....but the internet has tons of recommendations.

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by violet42

I just moved here from the northeast and have no clue about the weather patterns here and what can grow here.

Well it never freezes so you can pretty much grow whatever you want whenever, provided it gets the right amount of sun and water.

[James T]

Check out Frank's nursery on Wilshire Blvd.

[straight outta camden]

Gardening here is pretty easy. You put something in the ground and water it; it grows. There are two main differences with the NE: the long summer / fall drought, and the fact that it never freezes. The drought means you either xeriscape or rely on sprinklers and the hose. Which is expensive. A good compromise is to go for Australian and Mediterranean plants, which tend to need some water but not much. The lack of freezing weather means that bulbs do not work well. Some Angelenos plant tulips but the results are pretty feeble.

The merciless drought means there aren't many leaf-munchers around. Even roses, which attract every pest known to man, can thrive without much attention. Don't worry about spiders and scorpions. The most dangerous are brown recluse spiders, and they are called recluse for a reason.

[Charles]

Originally Posted by EscapeCalifornia

Well it never freezes so you can pretty much grow whatever you want whenever, provided it gets the right amount of sun and water.

Anyone have any advice for growing roses at 7300 feet?

[Cattknap]

Originally Posted by straight outta camden

Gardening here is pretty easy. You put something in the ground and water it; it grows. There are two main differences with the NE: the long summer / fall drought, and the fact that it never freezes. The drought means you either xeriscape or rely on sprinklers and the hose. Which is expensive. A good compromise is to go for Australian and Mediterranean plants, which tend to need some water but not much. The lack of freezing weather means that bulbs do not work well. Some Angelenos plant tulips but the results are pretty feeble.

The merciless drought means there aren't many leaf-munchers around. Even roses, which attract every pest known to man, can thrive without much attention. Don't worry about spiders and scorpions. The most dangerous are brown recluse spiders, and they are called recluse for a reason.

Having maintained a cottage garden in our front yard and a tropical garden in our back for many years, I am here to tell you that there is a lot more to gardening in So. California than putting something in the ground and watching it grow. Much of the above advice is absolutely untrue.

Plants need to be planted in an environment in which they will thrive - that means: Proper light, sufficient water, most plants need regular feeding and addition of organic material, pruning and thinning, dead-heading, providing correct soil conditions (some plants thrive only in well-drained soil - not possible if you have heavy clay) and often you will need to use some sort of treatment for pests.

You cannot buy a shade loving plant and place it in direct sun and expect it to live. You cannot place roses in a soggy environment and not expect them to develop rust and mildew.

It does most certainly freeze. This year near the coast where we live we had 3 consecutive nights of freezing weather. Many tropical plants were lost, the tops of established trees and shrubs were blighted and quite a few unprotected immature trees and shrubs died. Unusual, but it does happen. There was also freezing conditions inland as well.

Bulbs most certainly do wonderfully in So. California. Tulips can be planted and bloom profusely (often they don't rebloom and need to be replanted - but sometimes they do rebloom once or twice). Certain bulbs like Tulips and hyacinths require 6-8 weeks of refrigeration before planting - simulating winter.

For a real treat visit Descanso Gardens in La Canada/Flintridge in the spring where you will be delighted with thousands of blooming tulips and other varieties of bulbs. Descanso also is the original hybridizer of the California lilac....Descanso has a spectacular and fragrant lilac forest and their Camelia forests are like none I have ever seen.

There are all kinds of spring, summer and fall blooming bulbs that grow beautifully in So. California. Iris, narcissus, daffodils, freesia, sparaxis, scilla, ranunuculas, allium, grape hyacinths, amaryllis and many, many more bulbs do great here. Gladiola, calla lily and dahlia, etc. At the end of summer you will notice the garden centers are full of fall planting bulbs for spring bloom and you will see summer blooming bulbs become available in spring.

There are several types of rose worm that can be devastating to roses - one of them is fairly new on the scene and is of great concern to the local nurseries and home owners - spraying with the correct chemical is the only thing that works in getting rid of them (that I have found any way). Aphids generally stage a spring attack of many rose varieties and insecticidal soap is the easy remedy. Neem oil works as an organic treatment to prevent rust and mildew.

Grasshoppers, snails, slugs and certain worms will attack many common garden annuals and perennials and have to be dealt with.

If you wish to maintain a flower garden, regular maintenance and feeding is a must.

It is true that planting native plants will generally require the least amount of water and plant care (once established), but that look is not for everyone.

Establishing a beautiful garden takes a lot of work, some knowledge, money and maintenance - you don't just plop something in the ground and expect it to grow - even in So. California.