Wild and Wooly

A new pest has once again graced our region. The Wooly White Fly and it has arrived with a vengeance. It seems to affect only citrus at this time, with a particular affinity for lemons and oranges. Most people first notice this pest as they stand under their precious citrus and notice a profuse shower of sticky honeydew. As you look up into the tree, you will notice great masses of white cottony looking insects. They will be glistening with large amounts of honeydew just ready to fall on your head, car, or whatever else lies beneath. To control this new pest, you must be persistent. The cottony shield, as well as the large amount of honeydew, effectively protects these insects from contact with insecticides. Most people have found sprays containing cyfluthrin concentrate, to be effective when sprayed 3 times at 10-day to 2-week intervals. Be aware, while the insects will die, it will take some time for the cottony looking masses to disappear. You can help the process by squirting water on the trees with a high pressure nozzle to wash away the mess. Come on in and we'll be happy to show you how to control this problem.

Strip the Maple
The Japanese Maple is a striking tree in almost any landscape. However, the summer winds can scorch the leaves and make your plant look less than spectacular. But you can make them fresh and green again. Simply use a gloved hand to strip off those old tired leaves.
Pull loosely along the branch away from the trunk. You will find most of the leaves are easily and quickly removed. Be careful not to break the delicate branches. In 3 to 4 weeks, a new set of leaves will grow with all of the glory of the first spring growth.
You will find this new leaf set is more sun tolerant and will give a great display until the glorious fall color arrives in late November or December.

Harvesting Your Tomatoes
Harvesting tomatoes requires a gentle hand to remove the fruit without damaging the plant or unripe fruits that may be closely associated with the one you are picking. In addition, you must know how to pick tomatoes at the right stage of maturity. Tomatoes will ripen naturally off the vine once they have reached the stage of maturity known as "hard green," but a tomato is considered to be mature only when it has reached the "breaker stage" of development. The breaker stage is indicated by the appearance of any pink or red color on the fruit. At this point, all the chemical actions associated with ripening will proceed identically either on or off the plant, so the tomato that is picked at this point will be indistinguishable from one that has ripened fully on the vine. If a tomato has been picked prior to full ripeness it should be stored at normal room temperatures of about 65-75°C until ripe.

Plant of The Week - Fuchsia
The genus Fuchsia includes about 100 species. The most commonly grown, Fuchsia x hybrida, or ladies’ eardrops, is a hybrid derived from Fuchsia fulgens and F. magellanica, natives of Mexico and southern Chile and Argentina, respectively. While fuchsias are grown as perennial garden shrubs in mild climates worldwide, in Southern California they are grown primarily as potted flowering plants.
	Fuchsias are ideally suited for hanging baskets because of their drooping stems and colorful, bell-shaped flowers. Although fuchsias may flower almost continuously from spring to fall outdoors, they are unlikely to bloom indoors for more than three or four months at a time. The flowers appear in pairs from each leaf axil on thin, usually drooping 1- to 2-inch long stalks.
Each bloom is comprised of four (sometimes more) arching sepals (outermost portion of the bloom), one or more bell-shaped or skirted corollas (petals), long stamens (pollen-bearing structures), and an extremely long style (stalk that the pollen travels through for fertilization to occur). Oftentimes, fuchsia blooms are bicolor with the sepals one color and the corolla a different color. Flower color can be almost any combination of white, pink, red, magenta and purple.

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