Want to save water and money irrigating your landscape? Not sure what you can do? I’ll be leading an online workshop and hosting one on one consultations for the Water Conservation Garden on the Cuyamaca College Campus in El Cajon April and May 2020.
Online workshop: Spring Irrigation Tune-up (choose one)
Tuesday April 14 @ 11:00am-1:00pm
Saturday May 16 @ 10:00am-12:00pm
Online or phone: One on One Irrigation Consultation (choose one 45 minute time slot from the following dates/times)
Saurday, April 18 10am-12pm
Tuesday, April 21 12pm-2pm
Friday, April 24 2pm-4pm
Register to attend one or both of these sessions by visiting www.thegarden.org/events/ You will receive insight into getting your irrigation system ready for the dry months ahead and managing your landscape water usage efficiently.
Wondering what plants to choose for your associations renovation? Register here for our seminar focusing on landscapes for HOA sites!
Topics include plant choices for specific areas, risk management in the landscape, landscape specifications and maintenance contracts, and a landscape walkthrough on site with Tiffany Faulstich of Botanicon and Brad Brown of Tree Life Consulting.
Fri. Nov. 15 11am-4pm at Stonecrest Village Recreation Center, 3110 W. Canyon Ave., San Diego CA 92123. See you there!
var exampleCallback = function() {
console.log(‘Order complete!’);
};
window.EBWidgets.createWidget({
// Required
widgetType: ‘checkout’,
eventId: ‘72570946655’,
iframeContainerId: ‘eventbrite-widget-container-72570946655’,
// Optional
iframeContainerHeight: 425, // Widget height in pixels. Defaults to a minimum of 425px if not provided
onOrderComplete: exampleCallback // Method called when an order has successfully completed
});
Landscape Seminar For Property Managers and HOA Board Members
Providing education regarding site landscaping and offering clients an opportunity to ask questions is very important to us. Botanicon is here to support you in managing one of the largest line items on a communities budget, the landscaped environment.
Our independent, third party landscape vendor management, horticultural consultation and quality assurance services benefit plants and people. We facilitate all aspects of site landscaping on behalf of our clients, and sharing knowledge helps us all do our jobs better.
In June, we hosted our 1st educational event HORT 101: Landscape Plants for Southern California Landscapes at the Water Conservation Garden. Attendees were led on a tour throughout the garden to view and discuss low maintenance, water conscious plants. They loved it and asked for more!
The tour was outstanding. Excellent information!
Great tour! I’d love to learn more about focused areas in the landscape – islands, slopes, entrances.
Knowledgeable speakers. How about more on best practices for HOA Boards and Landscapes?
Well, here you go! Our 2nd Landscape Seminar, HORT 102 is being held on Friday, Oct. 4, 2019 11am-4pm. We will host property managers, HOA board and landscape committee members, developer and municipal land managers for an afternoon of education and opportunity. Location TBD, but somewhere in Central San Diego. So, save the date!
Topics? Attendees decide! What horticulture, landscape, tree or irrigation topics would benefit your community? Email or call us to be added to our interest list, and choose from some topics below or write in some of your own.
I’ll be teaching OH 170 Plant Materials: Trees and Shrubs again Fall Semester at Cuyamaca College. Class starts August 21. We will be having some of our class meetings at Balboa Park, the best place in San Diego to learn about woody plants!
Please email me with any questions. We hope to see you there!
A couple weeks ago Botanicon led a tour of the Water Conservation Garden in El Cajon, CA. Our focus was educating HOA Board members and Property Managers on low maintenance, water wise plant choices for their communities. And who doesn’t like to get outside and look at beautiful plant specimens? Thank you to all who attended and sponsored our event.
Weeping bottlebrush – Drought tolerant tree with pendulous growth habit requiring minimal pruning to shape
Pincushion protea – dramatic drought tolerant low or medium sized shrub. Good for coastal areas and soils with neutral pH
Toyon – Drought tolerant, large California native shrub good for slopes and ecosystem buffer zones
Mesquite tree – medium, broad canopy tree known for its tolerance of hot, dry, arid conditions
Pink melaleuca – large Australian native shrub with good drought tolerance requiring minimal pruning to highlight bark and structure
Grevillea – drought tolerant Australian natives, many cultivars available. Used as ground covers, low borders, screens, background plants
Acacia ‘Cousin Itt’ – low growing, mounding cultivar good for use spilling over boulders or low slopes
What is Wrong With My Plant?
Diagnosing Landscape Plant Problems
All landscapes have plant health issues which arise. A question I am often asked is what is going on and how do I fix it? Some landscape plant health concerns are easy to identify, an aphid infestation for example. Often times issues have more than one causal agent. Abiotic factors many times will lead to biotic issues. Right plant, right place is applicable here.
An abiotic factor is a causal agent which is non-living, such as watering, soil conditions, chemical use, aeration, mechanical damage, etc. Biotic causal agents are living organisms, such as whiteflies, oak root rot, bacterial leaf scorch.
In order to fix the plant problem, it is critical to have an accurate diagnosis. Just like a medical doctor would do during a patient visit, many questions need to be asked and answered for us to be confident about what is going on. Ineffective treatments arise from inaccurate diagnoses.
Because plants and trees can not tell us what is going on, like a medical patient would, we need to ask lots of questions and look for answers to determine a diagnosis. What are the symptoms? A symptom is the plants reaction to a causal agent – stunting, chlorosis, spots, tissue death. Are there signs? Signs are a physical presence of a pest – excrement, casings, mushrooms, frass.
Questions about the plants location, species susceptibility, care, environment, irrigation, planting methods, etc. need to be answered. We are investigators looking for clues to point us towards a diagnosis. Then a treatment plan can be formulated.
Using a systematic, methodical, question based approach is the only way to approach diagnosing landscape plant problems with confidence. Here is a slide show I presented at a recent seminar which outlines the process. Need a consultation and diagnosis? Just ask us!
University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources is hosting the IPM Training for Landscape Professionals on May 23, 2019. Location is the Scottish Rite Event Center 1895 Camino del Rio South, San Diego, CA 92108.
Topics of interest for pest management in the landscape setting and CEU’s available. I’ll be speaking on the topic of Diagnosing Landscape Plant Problems, and highlighting the steps and resources useful for an accurate diagnosis.
