Seasonal Topics

Winter

Winter is the wettest time of year, and it can be cold as well. While plants from colder climates are often dormant in winter, many Mediterranean climate-adapted plants are actively growing to take advantage of available moisture. These patterns influence our tasks in the garden in December, January and February.

Storm runoff occasionally needs monitoring. Here at Stanford, the Grounds staff keeps storm drains free of debris, while the tree crew prunes dangerous canopies to minimize damage during windy storms. On November 24, 2001, a powerful storm uprooted several trees on campus, like this cedar at Kingscote Garden.

Clay soils can be too waterlogged for planting, so the planting crew's schedule follows the storm track. If the ground is too wet for planting, projects are postponed.

Most academic areas are irrigated by an automatic irrigation central control system called Maxicom. Learn more about Maxicom at our Weather Station page. Every day the campus weather station communicates to a Grounds computer how much rain has fallen and other weather data. Our computer in turn calculates how much, if any, supplemental water campus plantings need. The irrigation schedules are updated accordingly. Those plantings not on Maxicom have their irrigation systems shut off at the start of the rainy season and turned on manually as needed. The irrigation crew continues routine maintenance to assure that all systems remain in working condition.

In December, the pruning crew works on campus roses. They replace roses as needed in front of Green Library, along El Camino Real and other locations with bareroot roses available in January.

The spray crew begins and ends the season with dormant oil applications to fruit trees in the Faculty/Staff Housing areas (by request) and to the olive trees lining East Campus Drive.

Campus Blooms and Berries

Camellias, azaleas and rhododendrons bloom from fall through spring, depending on variety. At Bing School, the Camellia japonica 'Shiro Chan' has pale pink blossoms in winter, while the Rhododendron 'Unique' nearby displays creamy pale yellow blossoms beginning in fall. The white-flowering Azalea 'Alaska', shown here, also flowers in the fall on the patio at Bing School.

The 'Red Bird' azaleas at The Haas Center bloom a bit later, in winter. Camellia japonica blooms in the Main Quad as well as at the Graduate School of Business from December through February. Sarcococca ruscifolia makes a nice formal hedge for a shady spot. Its sweet-smelling flowers open in winter at the Faculty Club, Kingscote Gardens and in the lower level of History Corner.

Rockspray and bearberry cotoneaster (Cotoneaster microphyllus and C. dammeri 'Lowfast') along Lasuen Mall are covered in red berries beginning in November. More upright and shrubby Cotoneaster lacteus can be seen in the northern part of the Quad; it holds its berries for many months. The native shrub toyon (Heteromeles arbutifolia) is also called Christmas berry or California holly, as its fruits are gathered for holiday arrangements. Firethorn (Pyracantha spp) was once commonly planted in many landscapes; today old specimens with numerous red berries can be seen in Escondido Village and along Serra Street. Pomegranate (Punica granatum) fruits split as they age to reveal their treasure of juicy sweet-tart seeds inside. The fruits can often be seen hanging on the trees in the Old Union Courtyard and the Main Quad, after the yellow leaves have fallen off. Many citrus varieties ripen in winter, such as the Dancy tangerine and navel oranges in Citrus Courtyard.

Other winter berries

The evergreen pear trees (Pyrus kawakamii) are one of the earliest trees to bloom. Their white flowers appear in February along the side of Dinkelspiel Auditorium and throughout Escondido Village. Acacia (both Acacia baileyana and Acacia decurrens) blooms follow, with yellow flower sprays set against soft gray foliage. Acacia longifolia also has yellow pompoms of flowers in February.

Manzanita (Arctostaphyllos densiflora 'Howard McMinn') blooms in many places on campus in February; look for it on the east side of the CERAS building, along Lomita and Serra Malls, throughout the Serra Complex parking lot and in front of the Arrillaga Center Sports Café. A beautiful combination of blossoms, white manzanita and pale pink purple-leaf plum (Prunus cerasifera cvs.), can be seen at the Ford Quad barbecue circle in late February.
Once the deciduous magnolias (Magnolia soulangiana and others) flower, as in Citrus Courtyard, Manzanita Park and at Kimball Hall (below), we know spring is on the way.

Month by Month in Your Garden

December:

• Protect frost-tender plants from winter cold.
• Water new plants if rains fail.
• Plant bulbs that were chilled in refrigerator.
• Collect shoots (scions) of favorite fruit varieties for later grafting onto existing trees.
• Store scions in refrigerator until late winter/ early spring.
• Learn more about grafting at http://doityourself.com/fruits/graftingfruittrees.htm or from UC Davis' helpful pamphlet "Budding and Grafting Fruit Trees in the Home Orchard" (UC publication 2990, price $1.50).
• Continue with dormant oil applications after leaves have fallen.
  
  

January:

• Plant winter-blooming annuals for color: calendula, candytuft, cineraria, dianthus, English and fairy primroses, Iceland poppies, pansy, snapdragon, stock, and viola.
• Plant bareroot trees, roses, and vines (raspberry, blackberry, grapes). Some favorite fruit trees for our area include Blenheim apricots, chocolate persimmons, Santa Rosa plums, and black mulberries.
• Plant perennial fruits and vegetables such as asparagus, artichokes, and strawberries.
• Transplant starts of winter vegetables: broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, lettuce, seed potatoes, onions, garlic.
• Plant tulip bulbs chilled in refrigerator.
• Sow sweet pea (Lathyrus) seeds now for early spring bloom.
• Cut back hydrangeas.
• Prune dormant deciduous plants: roses, grapes, fruit trees, flowering vines. Wait to prune spring-flowering plants until after bloom.
• Apply dormant oil spray to deciduous trees and shrubs to control pests in spring.
• Spray with lime sulfur to control peach leaf curl.
• Protect tender plants from frost.
• Pull weeds: hare barley, annual bluegrass, filaree and chickweed, to name a few.
  

February:

• Plant summer-blooming bulbs such as tuberous begonias, callas, cannas, dahlias, gladiolus.
• Prune fuchsias, hibiscus, lantana and winter-tender plants after frost danger is past, to stimulate new growth in spring.
• Control snails and slugs (beer traps, cornmeal, copper strips).
• Spray again for peach leaf curl.
• Sow seeds of summer vegetables (eggplant, peppers, and tomatoes) indoors for transplanting mid-April through mid-May.
• Sow seeds of carrots, lettuce, chard, spinach, peas and beets.
• Pick up camellia blossoms to control petal blight.
• Apply pre-emergent herbicide to control crabgrass in lawn.
• As buds swell on fruit trees, graft scions collected in December onto branches of identical diameter.