Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

Dear Friends of Anderson's La Costa,

Happy March and welcome to spring! Here in North County San Diego, it already feels like spring has sprung, even though we still have a couple of weeks to go until the official vernal equinox.

At the nursery, we have more plants than we know what to do with, and flowers are blooming everywhere. Please come in to see everything that has arrived, including massive amounts of new pottery and fountains, and while you're here, we hope you take advantage of our monthly specials. All Kangaroo Paws and Hoyas are now 20% off. 

20% Off

Kangaroo Paws and Hoyas

Kangaroo Paws (Anigozanthos) from Western Australia are perennial plants known for their unique, fuzzy, tubular flowers that resemble a kangaroo's paw, blooming in red, green, yellow, pink, and now blue. They grow 3–6 feet tall, and thrive in full sun with well-drained, sandy soil.

Hoyas are vining indoor plants with waxy, succulent-like leaves that come in a wide range of shapes and textures. They thrive in bright light and produce clusters of fragrant flowers in shades of white, pink, burgundy, and yellow. Our greenhouse is stocked with tons of hoya varieties for you to choose from.

You'll find Steven's write-up in the next section, featuring some of the best early-spring plants that are here and ready to go home with you. Then, March Gardening Tips is up next.

Our iconic Ficus trees recently received a big trim, removing heavy leaves and letting in so much more light. We hope you notice when you come in next. (See pics below.)

Happy Daylight Saving Time and Happy St. Patrick's Day! We look forward to seeing you all very soon.



Best wishes,

Your Anderson's La Costa Team ~ Marc, Mariah, Steven, Manny, Hanna, Tandy, Julie, Courtney, Madeline, June, Josh, Mo, and Zoe

What's New at the Nursery

...by Steven Froess

Hello everyone!

March is here, and it's time for a spring newsletter. Although spring doesn't officially start until the 20th, it feels like it arrived early this year. We experienced a week of cold weather and rain in February, giving us a winter reality check. This is when I remind people it's perfectly fine to wait to start planting warm-season veggies, as rushing can lead to disappointing results. Either way, daylight saving time will spring forward on March 8th. It sure will be nice to have the extra daylight into the evening.

The next three months will feature the greatest number of plants of the year at the nursery. This month leads the way with a great selection of California natives, including the largest variety of Leucospermum (pincushion protea). Roses will arrive toward the end of the month, and warm-season vegetable starts will be in full swing. This and so much more as we start receiving truckloads of new plants every week. 

California natives, including Ceanothus (California lilac) and California poppies, are among the first to bloom, jump-starting the spring season. Some of the best low-growing ceanothus for covering ground or slopes include Yankee Point, Horizontalis, King Sip, and Centennial. Other varieties, such as Far Horizon and Concha, have a more upright habit and brilliant blue flowers.

One of my other favorite natives is a continuous bloomer called Trichostema x purpusii. This plant is a more durable version of Woolly blue curls and has sweet-smelling blooms that attract pollinators throughout the year.

In March, we carry the largest selection of Proteaceae family plants, especially Leucospermum. We have an excellent selection of one-, two-, and five-gallon sizes. These plants are increasingly popular for their colorful, unique flowers that last for months. Varieties include Flame Giant, Brandi de la Cruz (Hawaiian hybrids with stunning flowers, orangey blooms in pics below), High Gold (best for first-timers, one of the easiest to grow, third pic below with 50+ blooms), Blanche Ito, and many others.

A couple of my favorite Leucospermums include 'Red Rocket' and Protea 'Red Mink'. This unique flower has reddish blooms with black fuzz around the petals. We get maybe 3-5 plants of these every year.

Remember a few things before trying out these stunning native South African Proteaceae family plants:

• Your chosen location must have mostly or full sun, otherwise they won't bloom as well, especially on the coast
• The soil must drain well. Dig a hole 12-16" deep, fill it with water, and watch to see if the water drains out of the hole
• Avoid overstimulating the roots when planting. Sometimes it's best to just cut away the nursery pot and set the plant into the planting hole.
• Avoid any fertilizer with high phosphorus (the middle number in N-P-K). Cottonseed meal is OK.
• Avoid planting in any previously heavily fertilized areas, for example, where a rose bush or fruit tree may have been
• Lastly, I recommend watering semi-regularly for the first 1-2 years to help your plants become established. Don't let your Leucaospermums dry out completely for more than a day.

Our spring/summer vegetable and herb starts are arriving. I like to wait slightly longer for the warmer temperatures to start planting my herb and veggie garden, however, planting this time of year is not a problem. The selection is usually the best earlier in the season, as the growers release everything close to the same time. I will also continue my seed starts for the nursery since I enjoy it so much.

One of your most important tasks before planting is amending the soil. Remember that soil doesn't go bad; it's just that its nutrients will deplete over time. The more nutrient-rich the soil, the more successful your vegetable garden will be. 

I recommend keeping a good balance of the three main nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium). If there is an excess of nitrogen, you will get beautiful, fast-growing plants, but they may not flower or produce much fruit. My personal mix includes amending all my beds with a combination of Agrowinn 4-4-6 fertilizer, worm castings, E.B. Stone Soil Booster, granular gypsum, and Recipe 420 potting soil.

You can grow almost anything edible in this combination of amendments, except maybe blueberries, which need more acidic elements. You will begin to see tomatoes, cucumbers, beans, zucchini, squash, melons, eggplant, peppers, strawberries, artichokes, basil, and all the other goodies that love warm weather. You can also begin planting some warm-season seeds now.

Of course, there are some individual plant varieties I'd like to mention that are some of my current favorites at the nursery. Cistus 'Blanche' is one of my favorite rockrose shrubs. A few reasons are that it is a very durable plant and has white flowers that look like fried eggs, which honeybees go crazy for.

Dendromecon harfordii (Channel Island bush poppy) is one of my favorite native plants, and the one I have planted at home just blooms all year long. Available in 5-gallon size for a limited time! 

This next plant has gained popularity in both the bonsai world and, apparently, the indoor plant world. I've always known Brachychiton rupestris as a unique tree that, over time, develops a large, swollen trunk. If you expose the roots (dig them up), they can have unique features when used for bonsai. As for indoor uses, I only recommend trying it if you have bright light and don't mind a lacy-looking tree in that location.

One more plant I'd like to mention from the succulent section is the Sempervivum 'Golden Nugget'. This low-growing hen and chicks has some of the most vibrant foliage that would make any container or garden stand out. 

You won't want to miss our huge selection of beautiful, healthy houseplants, including hoyas, on sale now! The greenhouse looks really solid, with new plants coming in every week and brand-new table surfaces that Hanna and Manny recently installed.

If there's ever anything that you are looking for but can't find, please check in with one of our staff or me. We are happy to try and special order hard-to-come-by plants or larger quantities that you are looking for.

I am looking forward to a busy month getting ready for spring and seeing you all at the nursery soon! 

Your Local Horticulturalist,

Steven

Garden Design Services

Welcome to Anderson's La Costa Garden Design Services. Our talented staff has designed hundreds of gardens for Southern California homeowners. Having a dedicated garden designer visit your home or office will help you create the beautiful outdoor space you've always dreamed of.

Our experienced Garden Designers can assist you with:



• A garden designed to your preferences
• Optimal plant selection and options for your unique setting and microclimate
• Advice on drought-tolerant and California native designs
• Recommendations on soil amending
• Plant problem identification and resolution
• Address maintenance needs
• A scheduled nursery visit to view the recommended plant materials
• Professional garden advice as needed

We hope you stop by to learn more about how we can help with your garden. Our Garden Design team is talented, creative, passionate, and professional. Please call or visit us at the nursery or visit our website:

andersonslacostanursery.com/garden-design-services

Among gardening jobs, fertilizing is by far the most important garden chore this month. March is also one of the best times to plant ground covers and perennials and most trees, shrubs, and vines. Be certain to group plants according to their water and soil needs and their sun/shade requirements. March is the last month before autumn to plant cool-season flowers and vegetables. Later this month, we can start planting some of the warm-season plants.

Plant Veggies

You can still plant some cool-season vegetables such as broccoli, lettuce, cabbage, and kale but start planting warm-season vegetables such as beans, summer and winter squashes and early tomato varieties. No need to wait until April to put in heat-lovers such as tomato varieties, peppers, melons, eggplant, and okra. We will have plenty of warm days ahead of us to get a jump start on these fruits & veggies. And, of course, you can plant year-round crops such carrots, beets, Swiss chard, and radishes.

To continue reading March Gardening Tips, click here.