Sunscreen

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A Gardener's Notebook: The latest incarnation of my column detailing the trails and tribulations of my garden. Join the list and ask your own questions about gardening Subscribe

Sunburn. Sunburn? Yes, sunburn. No, I am not talking about me. I am talking about my garden. While California weather often makes it the envy of the rest of the country, this time of year can be very hard on gardens. The days are still quite long and the heat can still run in the low 100's if the conditions are right. The direct sunlight can be too much for both people and plants.

Sometimes when I am out in the direct sun it is so intense that it actually hurts. It can feel like your arm or face has been placed too close to a heat lamp. It does give me a better understanding, though, of why a few of my plants are looking like they need a little sunscreen themselves.

I usually first notice signs of sunburn on my Japanese Maple. (Acer palmatum) The edges of the delicate leaves start to turn brown and curl. It is a long time before they are ready to drop for the winter so I know it is having problems dealing with the sun. The maple receives some shade from surrounding trees, but is rather exposed in the mid-to-late afternoon. Luckily, the sunburn only effects the outside leaves which sacrifice themselves by providing shade for the interior leaves.

Other casualties include a couple of non-flowering azaleas in the front garden and a Pittosporum in the back. They all look as if they are never going to recover but somehow they do as soon as the sun abates. I once tried covering the azaleas with a shade cloth, but this actually caused more damage instead of less. I thought it would work like covering plants against frost, but it seemed to trap heat and moisture close to the leaves and turned some of them completely black. In this case I simply draped the shade cloth on the plant. I think now it would work better if it were raised on stakes above the foliage. I have planned on trying this for a while but haven't gotten around to it, yet. As with all gardening, you live and learn.

A brief respite

Thankfully today we are experiencing what is known as a coastal eddy. Even though we are 10-12 miles inland from the ocean this rotating air mass pushes the dense "marine layer" of fog far inland. This occurs most often in the middle of summer, hence the name "June Gloom." While it can last all day near the beach, here in the San Fernando Valley it usually burns off by the middle of the day. The cloud cover limits how hot the day can get and helps to cut back on the sunburn problem. It also is just a nice change from the unrelenting sunshine and dryness of the Valley. Now I am sure there are those people who would revel in the constant sunshine but I prefer my weather with a little more variety. I am probably one of the few people, besides those living in the tinder-dry hillsides, who look forward to the rainy season of winter. There is something about a nice gentle rain all day to put you in a reflective mode. On the more pragmatic side, it also means I don't have to water the garden as much.

The Great Iris Move of '99

The "great iris move" I mentioned last week is slowly getting started. I decided to not only move my existing iris but also purchase a few new ones to build up a nice mass. It will also be a good time to transplant the scattered Gladiolus They were either not planted deeply enough originally or have worked themselves closer to the surface. While they do grow and blossom, most of them topple over unceremoniously before they ever reach their full height. Staking them up is ugly and, hopefully after this transplant, will be unnecessary.

Keep Digging!

Douglas