Getting a jump on Bareroot season.

Every year, the solstices and equinoxes mark the changing of the seasons. But right around mid-January, like clockwork, many gardeners begin to buzz with anticipation as they look forward to a lesser known season - Bareroot Season.

In and around Santa Cruz, this season usually lasts from mid-January to early March and anyone visiting a local nursery cannot help but feel the excitement. What's this excitement about? Well, every year hundreds and hundreds of bareroot trees and vines appear and the nursery is transformed into a veritable forest of "sticks". These bareroot offerings are comprised of various deciduous, dormant flowering and fruiting trees, flowering and fruiting vines and other offerings such as hops, asparagus and rhubarb.

These plants are in a dormant state and are non-potted, hence the name bareroot. They are temporarily dug into a medium where they can reside before purchase by customers who then promptly give them permanent homes in the ground.

The benefits you can reap from this type of purchasing are many. A) Selection. Rarely do you see so many different varieties and so many individual specimens to choose from amongst them. Different trees speak to different needs and it's rare to be able to walk into a nursery and pick your special Braeburn apple tree out from a choice of 25 trees. B) Cost. Often buying bareroot can save you 50% the cost of buying a potted up tree and, in many cases, the bareroot specimen is more well developed and is in a state of better health. C) Less chance of transplant shock. Bareroot season is the ideal time to transplant trees. You can look at it like the tree is sleeping and, when it "wakes" in the Spring, it finds itself happily planted in your yard. D) It's fun!

Now is the time to begin thinking about and researching the best varieties of trees for your garden's climate. Many plants get snapped up quickly by special orders and customers who've put their names on a waiting list. Don't wait until March to think about picking up a specimen. By then, if any are left, they are heavily picked over and can be considered "the dogs" of the shipment and with fruit trees, a good start really does matter.

For more advice about fruit trees, how to properly plant your new purchase, or if you'd like us to select and plant a tree for you, just let us know. We'd love to talk to you.

Fall is Upon Us...

As the leaves begin to change shades and fall to the ground, and the temperatures dip from brisk to chilly, we become aware that Winter is just around the corner. But does this mean that gardening activities should come to a standstill?

We happen to live in one of the most mild climates around, which allows us to garden nearly year-round. In fact, this is believed by many to be one of the best times of year to plant in the Bay Area. While temperatures above ground are dipping and we have to put away those flip-flops for a couple of months, the temperature in the soil remains fairly constant. While you aren't seeing much new growth on plants above ground right now, there's a lot still going on in the soil. Setting plants in the ground now where it's still warm spurs their roots to grow and gain a foothold for Spring's explosive growth above ground. So planting now really gives your garden a head start for Spring and Early Summer maturation.

But planting now also requires some protection from the colder months still to come. Adding mulch to your planting, whether it is already established or just being installed, provides an added blanket that your plants will surely appreciate. Not only will they benefit from the protection from extremes in temperature, mulch also acts as a sponge to retain rainwater and prevent run-off erosion. And it's decorative.

But not all mulches are the same, nor do they serve the same purposes. To learn more, contact Jackson Landscape today.