Q: I am looking for suggestions for plants or shrubs that can withstand full summer sun in a south-facing area and that won't freeze during the Sacramento winters. I want them to bear flowers and grow to about 3 to 4 feet tall. What types of plants or shrubs should I consider?
– Pam Smith, Sacramento
A: According to UC Master Gardener Bill Pierce, Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis indica) will take Sacramento's heat and cold. The plants have white and various shades of pink flowers and glossy leaves; the flowers are followed by small bluish berries.
Escallonia, particularly the Newport variety with pink and red flowers, is another good choice.
Carpet roses are available in red, white, pink, yellow and lavender. These blooming shrubs also will meet your requirements.
Perennials to consider include day lilies (Hemerocallis), with blooms in shade of yellow, gold, melon and dark red. The "Stella D'Oro" variety will bloom from spring until fall.
Shasta daisy, penstemon and black-eyed Susan (Rudbeckia fulgida 'Goldsturm') also are good choices.
Q: I have about 100 gladiolus plants. This summer, only about 10 were nice blooms; the rest looked like the blossoms had been burned.
I thought at first it was that I dug some up last fall as I wanted to raise their beds. I thought I might have let them dry out, but the bulbs looked all right. I bought 30 new bulbs in the spring and they were also defective.
Is there a disease affecting glads? Even those I left in the ground are affected.
– Carole Stewart, Sacramento
A: It appears that you have suffered an infestation of thrips, minute (less than 1/20th of an inch long) insects with rasping, sucking mouth parts.
According to UC Master Gardener Pat Schink, thrips prefer to feed within rapidly growing young buds and furled leaves, causing scars called stippling, distorted petals, color changes and spots that can look similar to windburn or blown sand damage.
They are a common problem with gladiolus plants. Thrips are particularly active in hot weather when they can complete a life cycle in as little as two weeks. Often, the damage is observed before the pest has been noticed.
Thrips often move into the garden from wet and/or weedy areas in the spring, so avoid planting gladiolus near these areas. Once an infestation has been observed, a water spray can be used to knock the pests off plants. Damaged flowers and plants should be removed.
Avoid excessive nitrogen fertilization that stimulates excess new plant growth, attracting higher populations of thrips. Time your planting of the corms so that the gladiolus will bloom before the hottest summer days.
Chemical controls should be considered as a last resort because many insecticides are unable to reach the protected plant areas where thrips thrive, resulting in partial control while damaging natural enemy populations.
The least toxic insecticides, insecticidal soaps and pyrethrins may be effective if applied early and often in the infestation, as they do not leave toxic residues that would continue to kill beneficial insects.
For more information on thrips, please send a self- addressed, stamped business-size envelope to: PN7429, UC Cooperative Extension, 4145 Branch Center Road, Sacramento, CA 95827. This pest note is also available online at www.ipm.ucdavis.edu.
GARDEN QUESTIONS?
Questions are answered by master gardeners at the UC Cooperative Extension services in Sacramento and Placer counties.
Send questions to Garden Detective, P.O. Box 15779, Sacramento, CA 95852. Send email to h&g@sacbee.com. Please put "Garden Detective" in the subject field and include your postal address. To contact your UC Extension directly, call:
• Sacramento: (916) 875-6913; 9 a.m.-noon and 1-4 p.m. weekdays
• Amador: (209) 223-6838; 10 a.m.-noon Monday through Thursday; email ceamador.ucdavis.edu
• Butte: (530) 538-7201; 8 a.m.-noon and 1-5 p.m. weekdays
• El Dorado: (530) 621-5512; 9 a.m.-noon weekdays
• Placer: (530) 889-7388; 9 a.m.-noon on Tuesdays, Wednesday and Thursdays or leave a message and calls will be returned
• Nevada: (530) 273-0919; 9 a.m.-noon Tuesdays through Thursday or leave a message
• Shasta, Tehama, Trinity: (530) 225-4605
• Solano: (707) 784-1322; leave a message and calls will be returned
• Sutter, Yuba: (530) 822-7515; 9 a.m.-noon Mondays and Tuesdays and 1-4 p.m. Thursdays
• Yolo: (530) 666-8737; 9-11 a.m. Tuesdays and Fridays, or leave a message and calls will be returned
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