Louise Grabell Pinal County Master Gardener Gardeners arise! Spring is in the air. There’s work to do and it’s still cool enough to work outside without fear of heat stroke. Ready, set go: finish all pruning of shrubs and trees; amend garden and vegetable beds; transplant perennials; check irrigation for function and leaks and treat…
Louise Grabell Got your pruners and lopers sharpened? By mid-February it will be safe to prune all that is dormant or dead. You can easily tell if a branch is dead by making a small scrape with your thumbnail to remove a bit of bark. If it is green underneath, then the branch is simply…
Louise Grabell We are deep into winter, but nothing to moan and groan about because it’s a very short season. While not a growing season for most plants, some succulents are getting ready for their early spring blooms like the red aloes and cape aloes, etc. So what’s a gardener to do? If you’re like…
Louise Grabell, Master Gardener University of Arizona, Pinal County Cooperative Extension The holidays are upon us and outdoor gardening is for the future. Winter is the time to focus on indoor plants and outdoor plans. You might even be the recipient of some holiday beauties, like poinsettia or cyclamen, etc., and I’m going to tell…
Louise Grabell It’s November! What happened to summer? Well, let’s look ahead to pleasant days and cool nights. What could be bad? OK—so let’s think forward to the holidays and plants that we can use to brighten up the interior of our homes. Poinsettias come to mind first and cyclamens second. But what about the…
Louise Grabell Fall is fabulous! October brings us warm sunshiny days and cooler nights. Give your AC system a rest, open the windows and breathe some fresh air. Fall is the time to finish those garden projects that you left by the wayside when the temperature was 100 degrees forever! I will be doing a…
Louise Grabell Although there is lots of beautiful weather ahead, fall is upon us and it’s time to make those adjustments to your flowering beds you’ve been thinking about all summer. I gave up thinking about it and started a little notebook with all my ideas for the improvements I want to make. Most of…
Louise Grabell Humidity is wonderful! It’s good for your plants—and your skin, too! You may find mold, moss and mushrooms around your estate. The spores for these organisms live in the soil, waiting for just the right time to germinate and reproduce before everything dries out again. Some annuals may develop moldy leaves. This is…
Louise Grabell Now that we are in monsoon season, I thought I might mention some drought tolerant plants. Even though we will be experiencing some heavy rainfall, for those who don’t like to be bothered with or worried about a garden, here are some suggestions for plants that will produce flowers with little attention. Even…
Louise Grabell Summer is here, folks. It’s hot out there! The soil is drying out very quickly. If you haven’t done so, you should have changed your irrigation system to the summer schedule. If you do not know how to go about doing this, it might be a good idea find a company that specializes…