Botany

Help for avocado trees: How to boost health and improve harvests

2013-04-21 14:00:00

This week our SoCal Garden Clinic turns to problematic avocado trees: Question from reader Steven Klein of Malibu: In November 2011, I planted a 3-gallon Lamb Hass avocado tree on a slope with full sun about 90% of the day. Despite my ineptitude,...

'The Drunken Botanist': Cocktail plants, from garden to glass

2013-03-23 09:39:00

Amy Stewart's new book, "The Drunken Botanist," explores the plant ingredients in our favorite cocktails (and the lesser known ones too). "Every great drink starts with a plant,"�Stewart writes in her introduction, a section aptly titled "Aperitif." "If...

TreePeople workshops on harvesting rainwater, replacing lawn

2013-04-29 12:31:00

Sustainably minded Angelenos can head to Coldwater Canyon�on Saturday and TreePeople’s Center for Community Forestry, where the environmental nonprofit is hosting workshops on rainwater harvesting, lawn replacement and tree planting. For three...

Nutgrass: Three experts' solutions to one of the worst weeds

2013-03-07 07:00:00

Dear SoCal Garden Clinic, My garden, as well as many of my neighbors', is overrun by nutgrass. I have tried the product recommended by a local garden store, with not good results. It is expensive, and I tried it two times, but the nutgrass grew back...

Why do my orange trees have no fruit? Blame pruning, watering

2013-02-14 11:50:00

I have two orange trees that were planted 12 years ago. They bore beautiful fruit until four years ago, when my gardener pruned them rather severely. Since that pruning, no more fruit at all. But the trees appear healthy -- very green, with few...

When blue fescue turns brown, do you revive or replace?

2012-11-04 10:10:00

How do you revive Elijah Blue fescue, the popular blue tufted ornamental grass, if it's is looking dry and dead? Or can you? Costa Mesa reader Niki Parker wrote into to our SoCal Garden Clinic with that question. A few new shoots came up after her...

Tara Kolla, L.A's down-to-earth urban farmer

2012-11-21 00:00:00

Tara Kolla was born in Inglewood but grew up in Europe. She came back to Los Angeles, to a half-acre Silver Lake plot, where she decided to try her hand at "urban farming." Her neighbors objected, so now she mostly works other people's land, and works...

Review: 'American Canopy' by Eric Rutkow should get out more

2012-04-29 00:00:00

-------------------- American Canopy Trees, Forests and the Making of a Nation Eric Rutkow Scribner: 407 pp., $29 -------------------- Every book has its quirks. In the case of the newly published history "American Canopy: Trees, Forests, and the...

The Dry Garden: Now that the high winds have departed...

2011-12-03 16:34:09

Datebook: Events, exhibits, classes for the week ahead

2011-12-05 16:34:31

The Dry Garden: Ornamental grasses, poetry in motion

2011-12-09 16:34:03

Chinese New Year, Camellia Festival and more for the week ahead

2012-01-30 16:34:22

Schoolchildren rest in the shade of an old oak tree at the botanic garden, where a benefit art sale will take place Saturday.

2009-10-02 00:00:00

Viburnum opulus), a deciduous multistemmed shrub that grows up to 12 feet in height and that often becomes wider than it is tall. This easy-to-grow, winter-hardy shrub is adaptable to different soil types and sun conditions but prefers full sun and moist soil.

2009-09-12 00:00:00

G20 leaders hold their annual summit in Pittsburgh's Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Garden. Shown: The certified green welcome center at Phipps Conservatory & Botanical Gardens.

2008-08-01 00:00:00