Purple Plum Tree

For the Low Desert

WHAT TO PLANT

• Edible landscape trees—Transplant bare-root deciduous fruit and nut trees, including apple, apricot, peach, pecan and plum.

• Tomatoes—Sow seeds indoors to prepare for transplanting into improved garden soil from mid-February to mid-March. This allows plants to establish root systems, and then flower and set fruit before intense heat arrives. Once transplanted, provide protection from late frosts.

• Continue transplanting bare-root roses—Dig a hole that is 18 by 30 inches deep and wide. Mix one cup soil sulfur and one cup triple superphosphate or bonemeal in the bottom of the hole. Create backfill that is one-third native soil; one-third compost; and one-third sand, perlite or pumice (to improve drainage). Add a few shovelsful of backfill to the hole, shaping it into a cone. Spread the rose bush roots over the cone, separating them gently. Be sure the bud union—a raised area where the rose variety is grafted to the rootstock—is 2 inches above the soil line. Fill in the hole, pat down the soil, and water daily for one week. Gradually reduce watering frequency as roses establish.

GARDEN MAINTENANCE

• Fertilize citrus—Feed in January or February with one-third of the tree’s annual nitrogen requirements. Apply at the tree’s drip line (edge of the canopy) and slightly beyond, which is where actively growing root tips will absorb the product. Water deeply right after applying fertilizer. The amount to apply depends on the tree’s size and how many years it has been in the ground. A small two-year-old tree needs one-half pound of nitrogen per year. The amount increases one-quarter pound annually until the tree is six years or older. It then takes about 1.5 pounds of nitrogen annually, with the exception of mature grapefruit trees, which require half that amount.

• Continue monitoring weather—Be prepared to cover frost-tender plants such as bougainvillea, citrus, hibiscus, natal plum and annual flowers and vegetables.

• Prune roses—Different types require slightly different pruning methods. Attend a demonstration at one of the local rose societies this month to learn tricks of the trade.

• Prune landscape plants effectively—Trim non-native deciduous shade trees, conifers and summer-blooming shrubs as needed to remove dead, broken, diseased, weak or crossing branches. Wait to prune cold-tender plants until danger of frost is over in mid-March. Prune native plants after they bloom in late spring or early summer. Never “top” trees by severely chopping branches down to flat stubs. Topping starves the tree by abruptly removing too much foliage, forcing the tree to produce abundant but weak regrowth that is prone to breaking. The tree also is susceptible to falling over because the quick regrowth produces a top-heavy tree.