California Plants

I’ve tested and written about roses that stand out before. Many roses in my test garden are just bursting into bloom, soon to be written about for their terrific qualities. But, there are 5 that stand out as the most prone to disease so far for me. Yes, I am in the San Francisco Bay Area, so some roses are not as disease resistant here, but most I grow are. I feel if many roses can grow well here, then those that sit next to those doing well but can’t do well in the same conditions, aren’t preferable to me.

These 5 disease prone roses, and their problems in my growing tests:

1. Honor - An older hybrid tea rose. This rose has a nice flower, and I have written about it before just for the flower. But, it has few flowers, easily wilts if not watered enough, and easily gets aphids, rust, and black spot on the leaves.
2. Henry Fonda - A hybrid tea rose well known for bright yellow flowers. Although pretty, with a decent bud count, this rose easily gets diseased leaves.
3. Climbing Blaze of Glory - A slow growing climbing rose. This rose easily wilts without enough water and leaves damage with disease and insects.
4. Sundance - A grandiflora rose which gets a lot of leaf problems, including black spot and rust.
5. Crimson Flame - A slow growing Floribunda rose which got many damaged leaves for me.

I hope this helps, and in the future as other roses do well, or don’t do well in tests, I plan to include photos of their leaves as well as flowers. Search for roses on Amazon.com.

The Disneyland Rose is a clustered orange/pink Floribunda rose. This rose was bred by John Walden United States. There is a mild fragrance for this rose, around 30 petals per flower on average, a flower diameter of 4.25 inches, and an average mature height of almost 5 feet. This disease resistant rose is a rebloomer throughout the season. This rose grows in zones 6b through 9b. I have found that this is a great rose to grow. If this rose is planted in January bare root, it may bloom as soon as three months later. Search for floribunda roses on Amazon.com.

Growing The Disneyland Rose

Honor is a 1976 Hybrid Tea rose introduction, hybridized by Warriner. This white double, fragrant rose grows an average height of 5 feet. It is a repeat bloomer that grows as a shrub bush. It is susceptible to disease so should be cared for carefully. This rose can grow in zones 5a through 9b. I have not found the flowers to last for very long, and flowers bloom on new wood. Search for hybrid tea roses on Amazon.com.

Rose Honor

Poppies are an amazing wildflower that have been around for thousands of years. Being a wildflower, they are easy to grow and are also drought tolerant. You can grow them from seed indoors (start 5 inches apart) and then bring outdoors after last frost, or start outdoors. Poppy flowers stand at a height of 12 inches to 24 inches on average. Poppies don’t bloom very long, and because of this I recommend planting them among other wildflowers or perennials.

They like well drained soil, half to a full day of sun, and intermittent watering. Often they can be seen on roadsides so it is clear they are easy to grow. But they are a beautiful addition to the home garden as well. Poppies come from many parts of the world, so are quite versatile. Poppies come in many colors, such as yellow, red, pink, and orange. Some are annuals and others are perennial varieties. Birds love poppy seeds, but they can also be used for cooking.

Poppies don’t like to be transplanted, so remember that the pot you start out with will be kept as is while they grow, or their whole root ball will need to be sunk into the ground intact. I would suggest fertilizing poppies once per month with an organic fertilizer. If you like, you can let poppies go to seed after blooming. Or, to promote more flowering, deadhead plants after each finishes flowering.

Growing Red Poppies

Growing a Pink Poppy

Growing Cherry Bell Radishes is almost as fun as you can have vegetable gardening. This is a pretty standard radish, similar to Sparkler. This radish is disease resistant, fast growing, and prolific. I like that any bugs that get on leaves generally do not bother the radish itself. Many people choose not to eat radishes from the store since they are a root vegetable, so often higher in pesticides. But, at home these can easily be grown organically with an organic fertilizer in the ground or in a pot. The roots do not generally go deeper than 4 - 5 inches, so if using a pot, it does not need to be too deep. In fact, if using a large pot, some plastic bottles or old containers from your recycling bin can be used in the bottom of the pot before adding soil to help save on the amount of potting soil you will need.

When potting, I would recommend using potting soil for sure, since it is lighter and better drained than many other kinds of topsoil. Here is a sample of a good potting soil. When planting, I place seeds about 2 inches apart. For sure I recommend not putting more than one seed together, since as the radishes grow, they can compete and deliver a smaller radish vegetable. The space allotted for each plant is important. It is generally not a good idea to plan to thin plants later since radishes grow fast. Also, since the germination rate of radishes is generally high, and the germination speed fast, they deliver radishes fairly fast from seed to production.

Cherry Bell Radishes generally germinate within less than a week. You can usually harvest them within less than a month. If you want to make them larger by using more organic fertilizer and waterings, they may take a bit longer to mature. The longer one waits to harvest them, the slightly tougher they can get. There is a certain point where they are full size, and if not harvested, they may split and go to seed.

Planting Cherry Bell Radishes, I lay the seeds on the soil and sprinkle a centimeter to half inch of soil on top. If sprinkling a centimeter, then as the radishes mature, the red color of the radish can be seen above ground partially. If planted an inch in depth, the red on the radish cannot usually be seen from above ground. When harvesting radishes, I would recommend pulling off any soil and putting that back in the hole. After that I would recommend cutting off the tiny root at the bottom as well as leaves at the top and composting them.

To wash radishes before eating, they can be put in a strainer, or a handful rubbed/rolled together between the hands under water. Radishes can be used in salads, dishes, and eaten on their own. The photos below show radishes growing in a pot, and one radish pulled out of the soil. Purchase 600 Radish Cherry Bell Seeds from Amazon.com.

Growing Cherry Bell Radishes in a Pot

Radish

Romaine Lettuce ‘Parris Island’ has been quite the performer so far. I would recommend starting out this lettuce from seed. We found that given good spacing between plants, at least 6 inches, this romaine lettuce produces and produces. Either it can be cut about an inch from where each of the leaves grows, to wait for all new leaves to grow, or better it can be picked from the outside in.

Always leave at least ten leaves in the inside to give the plant strength and photosynthesis. The outer larger leaves can be picked for a nice salad. We would recommend growing lettuce staggered, meaning starting new lettuce from seed every month. This ensures that as any heads of lettuce no longer perform, others are coming in. Romaine Lettuce ‘Parris Island’ matures in about 70 days, and likes well drained soil. I fertilize with an organic fertilizer
every month, and mix compost and aged manure into the soil. Purchase Organic Parris Island Lettuce 400 Seeds 3 Grams.

Romaine Lettuce

Growing African Daisies can be quite a pleasure! African Daisies (Margarita Africana) come in a number of colors and types. This sun perennial grows fast. In our garden, with fertilizing once a month, it quadrupled in size within only a few months. It also has bloomed almost nonstop. It attracts bees and other wildlife for a healthy garden. African Daisies prefer full sun, or at least 6 hours of sun. Watering should be done so these plants don’t dry out, although they can become drought tolerant after established for a few months. They are known to bloom in the summer and fall, but ours has bloomed winter and spring nonstop so far. The height of this perennial is an average of 20 inches, and they can get quite a few feet wide when cared for well. They do not like weather colder than 32 degrees farenheight. The African Daisy in the photo below started out in a regular nursery pot a few months ago. Check out these African Daisy - Dimorphotheca Sinuata — 2,500 Flower Seeds.

African Daisy

We have found Sicilian Oregano to be a pleasure to grow in a pot. Sicilian Oregano can also be grown in the ground or in planters. This herb is Origanum x majorana. It enjoys full sun, or at least 6 hours of sun. Although this herb does bloom with white flowers in the summer, it is best to remove flowers so that all plant energy goes into new foliage production. This particular herb grows to a height of about 24 inches, although other varieties of oregano grow taller and shorter. Sicilian Oregano does not like to dry out between waterings, so while it gets established, it should be watered 2-3 times per week as needed. This herb can be dried or used fresh. We have tried it in Chicken Parmesan and Pizza with good success, and it can taste good for many other dishes. To pick the leaves, either pick part of a stem, or some leaves off of a stem. Always leave at least 1/3 of the stems on the plant so that it can continue to grow and photosynthesize. Check out these Italian Oregano Herb 4 Plants with Good Scents - Organum!

Sicilian Oregano

Fraser’s Photinia (Photinia x fraseri) is a perfect large evergreen shrub to use as a privacy screen between your house and a neighbor. Plants can be very affordable to buy. They are beautiful, with bright red and green leaves. These can also be used as a hedge or beautiful bush in the yard. Photinia flowers in the spring are sweet smelling. Photinias generally like at least 6 hours of sun. This Photinia does not want to dry out between waterings, although after being established for about 6 months, this shrub is fairly drought tolerant. Generally these do grow to 10 or 15 feet high and wide, so it is best to give ample spacing between plants. The Fraser’s Photinia in the below photo is just under two feet in height, but will grow fast. This shrub can be shaped with pruning, and likes to be fertilized in the spring. It does not like weather to be colder than 10 degrees Fahrenheit. If you like Photinias, also check out this nice Waxleaf Privet Five Gallon.

Fraser

Bacopa can be a terrific, fast growing, trailing annual to grow as a ground cover. This plant is very floriferous, growing about 2 - 3 inches in height. It is important that this plant receive at least 2-3 hours of sun. Ideal is 6 or more hours of sun. This plant acts as a perennial so far in San Francisco, California. We have found it spreads in all directions. These can have small white or purple flowers. As you can see in the photo of this one, the one we grow has white flowers. This ground cover likes to have soil that does not dry out too much in between waterings. It can bloom from the summer to fall, but for us it has bloomed in winter and spring as well. We generally fertilize this plant every month or two. We recommend this book about ground covers.

Bacopa Trailing Annual