Perennials

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Ornamental Oregano Round Leaf Oregano

Ornamental Oregano is a species of flowering plant in the family Lamiaceae, native to Turkey, Armenia and Georgia. It is a small woody-based perennial or subshrub growing 4"-12" tall by 12" wide, with aromatic leaves, and loose clusters of pink flowers with hop-like pale green bracts throughout the summer. This herb grows best in full to part sun with regular moisture the first year. It's fairly drought tolerant once established and prefers only minimal water during the winter. This is usually grown as an ornamental because the leaves don't have the typically strong flavor of most culinary oreganos. But it's beautiful with many different varieties displaying different colored bracts. It is a filler plant much loved and used by floral design professionals. Hardy in USDA Zones 7-10

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:20-07:00 March 12th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Orchid Problem

Orchids can get powdery mildew but it is not common. The white stuff could also be rotting plant material. It appears the foliage may be sun scorched. If you have it outdoors during this warm weather, it needs to be in a shady spot and indoors it needs to be where there is bright indirect light, not full sun. Water regularly but do not allow the plant to sit in water and feed with a slow-release fertilizer formulated for blooming container plants. Putting a greenhouse grown orchid outdoors in full sun is like us going out to the beach with no sunscreen and staying in the sun all day. Hopefully your orchid will recover if put in a shady spot outdoors or bright indirect light indoors. However, since this plant means a lot to you, the best advise is to take it to a nursery that specializes in orchids and ask them for help. We just can't tell enough from one photo. Here's some more info: http://www.abc.net.au/gardening/stories/s1415335.htm

By | 2016-03-11T20:59:52-08:00 March 11th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Aster Daisy Family

The family of Composites include many great garden plants and - yes - many weeds with a great talent for spreading their seeds around, as your plant might do in exactly the way that dandelions do (yup, same family). They can be notoriously hard to identify even when the flower is present. However, we believe your weed is in this plant family and while it resembles the Willow Aster, we found a similar weed, the Oldfield Aster, that it may more closely resemble. You can do a google or yahoo image search to see if you weed more closely resembles this aster. Regardless of it's official name, the removal strategy is the same. Hand pulling when the soil is moist, not letting the blossoms go to seed, and considering using a broadleaf herbicide. You may want to check with a local nursery for the best herbicide options and instructions. You have a lovely garden bed - best of luck to you in managing your weedy intruder!

By | 2017-09-11T15:49:20-07:00 March 10th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Spurge

This appears to be a euphorbia known as spurge. This is a large and popular family of colorful perennials that collectors covet. This plant is sen-evrgreen in warmer climates and want a place where it gets plenty of direct light depending on the cultivar. They are also known to have a bit of an unusual fragrance.
Some can grow as large as 4-5 ft. tall and wide. some are ground covers. A few re-seed politely and others are quite invasive as ground covers, so it is vital to understand which type you are choosing.
It is important to understand two things about this plant; 1) correct pruning. Prune only the canes that formerly had the old blooms on them all the way down at grown level when the blooms fade, but not so late that they set seed. 2) When cutting the canes, this plant will leak a milky white sap that can be a major skin irritant, in particular if you have any allergy to latex. Take care not to touch your eyes or face if you come into contact with this sap on your bare skin.

By | 2016-03-10T15:56:29-08:00 March 10th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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African Boxwood

This is a tough slow growing evergreen shrub that forms a dense upright shrub to 4 to 7 feet tall and 5 feet wide with upright stems bearing tightly overlapping small dark green rounded leaves, with the upper edges slightly cut with fine teeth. Older leaves are leathery and dark green and stems a gray color but new growth, both stems and leaves, have a deep red coloration. In spring appear tiny cream colored flowers at the base of the leaves. A dioecious plant with insignificant flowers - a bit more conspicuous on male plants and berries on female plants - our cutting grown selection is male and we have never seen the berries. Plant in sun or part shade. It is drought tolerant and hardy to about 20 degrees F. A very nice plant for small hedges. This plant has a wide distribution from Asia west as far as the Azores in the Atlantic Ocean south to southern Africa where it is common in both the summer and winter rainfall areas. The name Myrsine is from the Greek name for the similar looking Myrtle.

By | 2016-03-10T03:42:36-08:00 March 10th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Too Small A Container

It looks like your plant is in a relatively small container and it may be getting too much or not enough water for the size of the root system. Nutrient/salt excess can also cause the browning of the leaf tips/edges as we see in your photo; however we're leaning toward too much water because the affected stems are yellow. Roots that are drowning or too dry cannot function to bring the necessary water and nutrients up thru the stems and leaves. Also, this plant will perform much better if you plant it in a sunny, well drained area of your garden. If you must grow it in a container, we recommend only watering as the soil begins to dry out on top. As the plant grows you'll need to put it in a larger container, but be careful not to go too large, and don't over-water. As the root system fills out the pot (and good leaf development is occurring) you can begin to water more, keeping the soil evenly moist.

By | 2016-03-08T13:41:49-08:00 March 8th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Gardenia Problem

As an evergreen shrub, it is normal for older leaves of a gardenia to turn yellow and drop. This typically occurs during early spring before new growth appears. If chlorosis (leaf yellowing) occurs at other times of the year and there is no evidence of insect pests or disease, and the remaining leaves look healthy, then there may be an environmental or cultural factor causing yellow foliage. As with bud drop, several stressors, including insect infestations, nematode feeding, over-watering, under-watering, poor soil drainage, insufficient light, soil temperatures below 70 °F and poor nutrition may cause leaf yellowing and drop. Gardenias are acid-loving plants that grow best in a soil with a pH of 5.0 to 6.0. Iron is an essential nutrient that plants use to produce the green pigment, chlorophyll. While iron is rarely deficient in soil, if the soil pH is above 7.0, the iron may be in a form that is not available to the plant.

By | 2016-03-08T06:28:44-08:00 March 8th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Blueeyed Grass

The numerous, narrow, light-green leaves of this perennial form dense, tufted clumps which steadily grow with new foliage during the season. The flattened, leaf-like flowering stems may be up to 18 in. long and bear light-blue, star-shaped flowers a few inches above the leaves. Height is 1-1 1/2 ft.
Well Michelle your plant is a big topic of conversation among us because of the common name that it is known by Blue eyed Grass but this botanical name fits your very specific blue eyed grass! We complain about the Latin names but they really are important because they help to distinguish so many plants from each other. The numbers of green things that live in our small section of the planet is staggering and then you have new plants coming out every year in every color that the Latin becomes even more important. It is sealed in concrete, this is the correct botanical name of your plant. I hope it does well after all of this commotion! Thanks on behalf of the Garden Compass Team.

By | 2016-03-07T22:18:19-08:00 March 7th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Manzanita

It is really hard to tell from this photo but this might be a species of Manzanita. They grow from two inches (some of the coastal species) to twenty feet tall (many interior species). There are hundreds of different species and cultivars from small shrubs to tree sized and native all over the state of California. Manzanitas are popular for their shiny red or mahogany colored bark. Manzanitas have urn-shaped flowers that vary from pink to white and are popular with hummingbirds. They are very drought tolerant and evergreen, always looking green and healthy even in the hottest, driest part of the summer. Manzanita (Arctostaphylos spp) is of the family Ericaceae. Plants in this family are highly mycorrhizal (associated with symbiotic fungi). This allows them to survive in many harsh environments; however, it also makes them very susceptible to over watering and fertilizing. Here is a link that you might find helpful:
http://www.laspilitas.com/groups/manzanita_arctostaphylos/southern/southern_california_Manzanitas.html

By | 2016-03-07T12:13:06-08:00 March 7th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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Paint Brush

Your lovely plant is likely H. albiflos, native to South Africa and is an evergreen, bulbous type plant with smooth, strap-shaped leaves and umbels of white "flowers" (stamens) that have yellow tipped anthers. Flowers are followed by berries. Provide dappled shade and regular to moderate water once established. Indoors in regions where the autumn and winter months are prone to frost outdoors, place in an area that receives bright, indirect light, rotate the pot regularly so that it receives an even amount of light and water when the soil feels dry down to the first knuckle. Hopefully the container has drainage holes - water in the sink allowing the water to drain out completely before returning to a cover decorative pot or saucer. Do not allow plant to sit in water as this may lead to root rot. Feed with a slow-release or organic fertilizer formulated for container plants during its grown and "bloom" cycles.

By | 2017-10-08T01:37:25-07:00 March 6th, 2016|Perennials|0 Comments
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