Today’s weather report? Another heat wave lasting a week. Welcome to the dog days of summer in SoCal. Extreme heat is hard on your plants, too. Prolonged exposure to temperatures above 95°F can cause leaf scorch, wilting, and sunburn in sensitive plants like...
The 12 Days of Christmas features 12 repeats of “partridge in a pear tree.” Partridges and pear trees were popular in 18th-century England. But did you know that in California, we have both? Pear trees (Pyrus communis) are native to Europe and parts of...
According to superstition, apricots are bad luck in the Marines. According to fact, they’re good luck in your Southern California garden. Marines may shun the apricot tree, but gardeners should welcome it. Some magnificent specimens grow to 30 feet and bear up...
Got fruit? You should, if you live in LA. California accounts for 75% of the nation’s total fruit output. Most of that fruit grows in the Central Valley, but your SoCal yard has a similar favorable climate, fertile soil, and a long growing season. What’s...
This ancient fruit has so many uses! You can pickle it, dry it, dice it into salads, eat it fresh off the tree, or bake it in a Christmas pie for Little Jack Horner. The plum dates back thousands of years. European plums (Prunus domestica) trace to Western Asia and...
Do you have an endless appetite for citrus? Then consider the pomelo (Citrus maxima), the world’s largest citrus fruit, sometimes as big as a basketball! Native to Southeast Asia, this grapefruit cousin has thick skin, pale flesh (ranging from yellow to pink),...
