Green Shoots

This week we have been enjoying unusually warm and mild weather on the central Oregon coast.

Late January is not known for sunny days, light wind and lack of precipitation. In past years, we have taken to calling it "firehose season" in honor of the horizontal-rain effect that seems directly trained on our windows for days or weeks at a time. So this week of mid-50s to 60s has taken us, and our plants, by surprise.

This winter has been dubbed an "El Nino" year on the Pacific coast, bringing warmer and drier weather than the recorded average. You may recall we experienced extreme cold temperatures in December, but what followed was quite the opposite. So many of our perennial plants and shrubs have decided it's already time to waken from their winter slumber.

So far I have noted the following early beginnings in Lincoln City landscapes:
- Fruiting trees and berries: the buds on my pear espalier are already swollen anticipating bloom, though the apples are holding firm. Raspberries are showing green-tip, and some runners are popping up with new shoots. Strawberries are sending up the first new leaves.
- Spring bulbs/flowers: primroses bursting into bloom, and most of the spring bulbs are up. Daffodils were first up, with tips breaking the soil just after New Year. They are now 8-10" tall but not blooming yet. Tulips are now coming up, about 2-3" leaves. Grape hyacinths have just now started blooming.
- Perennials/small shrubs: tea roses are beginning to leaf out, weeks ahead of schedule. Heathers have been blooming for weeks, and daylilies (among other lilies) are well into their spring growth, with shoots 3-4" tall.
- Larger shrubs: hydrangeas are pushing out new vegetative buds and even some leaves.
- Lawns are suddenly kicking into gear, if they were well fertilized in late summer/fall and have good southern exposure (remember, the sun is still quite low in the sky). It amazes me that we can legitimately fire up the lawnmower, as many clients' lawns are already shaggy.
- Weeds are on the rampage, especially Little Western Bittercress, also known as "Touch-me-Not." This last nickname aptly describes the gardener's frustration when trying to pluck out these prolific little weeds, only to have their pods explode on contact, sending seeds forth.

With all this early activity, it may be hard to decide what tasks are appropriate, or if it's too late for some. Here are a few that, in my opinion, should be on your list for the coming week or two.
- Get control of weeds as soon as you see them. The sooner you knock out weeds with a sharp hoe or pull them from the ground, the fewer will set seed or get established. You will appreciate the lighter workload come May 1.
- Complete any dormant pruning and/or dormant spraying you have put off, for fruit trees and other plants that might benefit from the off-season treatment. Dormant oil and copper or lime/sulfur sprays are commonly used on these plants while the leaves are off and before bud-break, to control various diseases and pests the rest of the year. Consult your local extension office for the appropriate plants to treat, and what sprays to use, in your area.
- Plant and/or prune your roses as we head into February. Normally this is recommended closer to President's Day, but with the roses moving quickly into leaf, they are saying "GO!"
- Clean up mulched areas of fallen leaves under disease- or pest-susceptible plants, such as fruit trees or rhododendrons (root weevils). This hygiene practice will help to greatly reduce the population of pests or disease by removing their overwintering and reproduction habitat.
- If you haven't applied lime to your lawn, now is still a good time. It's early for a dose of spring fertilizer, and this will give the lime more opportunity to work into the soil and help with correcting the acidic coastal soils.
- Start seeds indoors for planting out later. The list is too long to mention everything, but I will usually get my tomatoes and peppers going (with supplemental bottom heat) in February for an early start, which we need on the coast. Many salad greens can be started inside without extra heat, especially in a cool greenhouse, for planting out in a month or so-- think spinach, lettuce, Asian greens, brassicas, etc. If the weather stays mild, start peas and radishes outside, or plant the peas in peat pots. Check your seed packs for germination temperature.

Enjoy these early bursts of spring, and share your observations of the season in comments below!

Heaths and Heathers for the Oregon Coast

When the calendar turns to a new year, we are generally challenged to find any plants that offer a display of colorful blooms. It's pretty dark, wet and cold out there, and most plants are in hibernation. This is when winter-blooming heath rules the roost.

Heath (Erica spp.) is the lookalike cousin (frequently confused) to spring and summer-blooming heather (Calluna vulgaris). It is common for nurseries to even label heath as "heather," preferring to list a name more familiar to their customers. Inspect the two plants closely and you will find significant differences.

What is normally sold in winter or early spring, in bloom, is heath. Common varieties-- overly planted in my opinion-- are 'Mediterranean Pink' and 'Mediterranean White.' Don't ask me why this symbol of Scotland is given the moniker conjuring points south. My own plants of 'Pink' are blooming at this writing. Take a look at the branches and greenery, and you will find that Erica sports a needle-like leaf on thin woody stems, and tends to grow rather closely to the ground. It usually doesn't exceed 12 inches in height and can spread several feet in every direction.

Calluna, by contrast, is unlikely to be blooming in winter or early spring. These beauties tend to grow more upright, though they also spread. Height can reach 24' without shearing. The blooms are denser and often more brilliant, sporting many shades of pink, white and red. Foliage is often a soft silvery-grey resembling lavender foliage, and offers a contrast with other evergreen groundcovers year-round. The foliage is more scale-like than Erica, resembling tiny rounded leaves rather than needles.

Both Erica and Calluna are members of the same family, Ericaceae. This huge family includes other acid-loving evergreens with urn-shaped flowers, including Pieris, kinnickkinnick, blueberries and huckleberries, rhododendrons and even our native Pacific Madrone trees. So it should be no surprise that heaths and heathers love it on our central coast. The native soils are acidic, well-drained (sandy) with plenty of rotted organic matter and retain enough moisture to get the plants through dry summers. They also appreciate our mild temps, with best blooming on sites with good exposure to light.

The many attributes of these fine plants include low- to no-maintenance in the right spot, with only optional shearing for size or neatness. They require almost no supplemental water on the coast, and although they will appreciate occasional acid-plant fertilizer, they don't require it. Bloom time can be staggered over the many varieties, especially when you include the colorful winter/spring foliage on cultivars like 'Spring Torch' or 'Robert Chapman.' The plants are all evergreen, and fit neatly within a well-planned landscape to suppress weeds and cover hillsides. They can perform well under deciduous trees if the shade canopy is not overly dense, which will cause them to become thin and leggy with sparse blooms.

Great sources for heath and heather include our local nurseries Blake's in Gleneden Beach and Bear Valley in Lincoln City. For a wider array of choices by mail order, check out Heaths and Heathers in SW Washington state, and Highland Heather in Canby OR. I have used products from both and found them to be exceptional in quality and knowledge.

Water Runs Downhill

We are challenged by water on the central coast of Oregon.

In the summer, at the height of our growing season, it can be downright scarce. At that time of year, it's plain that the lack of planning for adequate water-- given our wind and sandy soil-- is to blame for many gardening failures.

But in January... oh yes and November, December, February, March etc... it's the opposite. We receive some of the highest rainfall counts in Oregon, 70-90 inches. Cascade Head, only 10 miles north of Lincoln City where I live, receives around 100 inches per year. By comparison, Portland receives merely 37-40 inches. Gives you some idea of what is considered "normal rainfall" on the central coast.

So what happens to all that water? Certainly the vast majority ends up in our rivers, streams and eventually the ocean. But it has to get there first... which gets me to the point of this post's title. Many homeowners here just don't plan for where the deluge is going to go, and what damage or benefit it may leave in its path.

One of the most obvious and lasting effects is on our soil. High rainfall totals equal acidic soils. Did you ever wonder why our soils west of the Cascades are "acid" and those east of the mountains are "alkaline" or less acidic? The falling rain leaches minerals like calcium and magnesium. In order to make our soils more palatable to the widest array of plants therefore may require annual applications of lime to boost the pH level. This is generally recommended for vegetables and lawns, and many other herbaceous plants.

The soil is likewise compacted by the constant falling rain, if it's exposed throughout winter. Protecting unplanted areas with mulches (bark, compost, straw) will make a huge difference come springtime. If the area is to be planted in spring/summer, simply pull back the mulch and compost it. In areas that you don't want lawn or shrubs, consider planting groundcovers in place of the annual chore of mulching. Many are low-maintenance and will thrive without extra water in summer. See my earlier post for some recommended spring-blooming groundcovers.

Drainage is no joking matter here. Take a good look at the slope of your property, locate your downspouts and storm drains. Now, where is the water going? Newer homes may have connected the downspouts to a storm sewer connection, but we have seen many that just drain out next to the house, across your treasured plant's roots, washing away bark and soil. The bigger the roof, the more water diverted, and the more potential damage. If you are not handy, consider asking a landscape contractor to look at whether you need French drains or other means to handle runoff.

When planning areas of hardscape (walkways, driveways) homeowners should consider permeable surfaces instead of concrete or blacktop. Selecting concrete pavers on a gravel foundation for your driveway, or even just using gravel as the drive surface, can help to keep vast amounts of water out of our storm sewers and improve groundwater by slower filtering as it moves through layers of rock and soil.

A personal pet-peeve of mine is bark on top of weedcloth, on steep slopes. The first time it rains hard, here comes your 3 inches of barkdust rolling down into the driveway, leaving ugly swathes of uncovered plastic fabric. Yuck. Again, this is a situation for groundcovers. Plant a dense selection and enjoy the view as they fill in; the added benefit is in preventing soil erosion from your steep slope. Plant roots hold soil in place better than anything else.

Obviously this is a big topic, and I am just scratching the surface. Let this be a gentle reminder to plan for rainy winter storms when you have the chance in summer. Happy New Year!

An update: OSU SeaGrant has posted a terrific resource guide for planning/planting "rain gardens." This could provide a beautiful and lasting solution to many homeowners' runoff problems.