What to plant, how to water and more

Keep your landscape looking the best in the neighborhood!

The New Year is here and let's kick it off by taking better care of our landscapes throughout 2017. To help homeowners prepare for the colder temperatures, our nursery professionals have compiled a to-do list as well as their recommendations for planting this month.

To Do List:

• Winter Watering: We are still in the winter season and if you have not adjusted your watering schedule you will want to do it ASAP. In the winter months, you will want to cut back on the frequency of watering. However, make sure you are always deep watering and allowing time for the soil to dry out between waterings. You can download our    to help you get a better idea on how to just take care of your landscape.
• Fertilization: The material in our landscapes is quite active during the winter months. Top growth slows down, but underground where the roots are, there is a lot of growth. That is because the ground stays warmer allowing our trees and shrubs the ability to work on their root development. Fertilizing everything from your palms, shade trees, citrus, fruit, flowering trees, and even your dormant trees gives them all a boost to push through the winter and turn that into explosive growth in the spring. We recommend using our custom blended fertilizers for your landscape needs as they are specifically formatted for our soil and weather conditions. These can be purchased at all Moon Valley Nursery locations or online.
• Vegetable Gardens: The winter is a great time to be planting your veggies. Our cold weather vegetables are going to be things like cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, kale, lettuce, peas, spinach and everyone's favorite tomatoes and jalapenos! These should all be started now and fertilized once a month while they are growing. These need to be watered regularly and given a chance to dry out in between each watering cycle. This helps them to develop good strong roots through post production.
• Christmas Trees: Yes, we know that Christmas was a few weeks ago, BUT we know at least one homeowner still has the Christmas tree on their property with no idea what to do with it. If you’re that homeowner, be sure to check out our environmentally friendly ways to recycle your Christmas tree.

Below are a few trees our experts recommend planting for this month

Italian Cypress
No other tree captures the Tuscan landscape like the Italian Cypress and fortunately for us it performs extraordinarily well in our climate. Its tall elegant narrow shape allows it to be planted nearly anywhere in a landscape. Our customers have used the elegance of the Italian Cypress as a formal entrance, a backdrop, and as a border. In addition to their natural beauty, their ability to thrive in sunny climates with low water requirements and minimal maintenance has made it a popular tree for homeowners. Plus, it will stay green all year long.

Brazilian Pepper
This attractive medium to a large evergreen tree is a wonderful option for homeowners looking for a durable tree that requires minimal maintenance while providing year-round shade. This tree is both cold and heat tolerant and can be grown with a single trunk or multi-trunk. It will keep its dark green foliage all year long and in the winter it produces showy bright red berries. A mature Brazilian Pepper will produce an umbrella-shaped canopy for those areas that need shade.

Tipu
When it comes to fast-growing, look no further than the always popular Tipu tree. This extreme water-wise and semi-evergreen tree has become one of the most popular trees we offer at Moon Valley Nurseries. Don’t be fooled by its delicate-looking foliage. This tree is tough and can thrive in intense desert heat and cold. The Tipu is a wonderful tree for a high canopy of shade and in the spring is produces golden blooms that are just exquisite.

Chinese Elm
One of the best shade trees or those sun-drenched homes, the Chinese Elm is an attractive tree that can be planted as the focal point in any landscape. It absolutely loves the sun and the variety we carry at Moon Valley Nurseries does not weep. Ours is a fast growing tree that grows upright and round for maximum shade and curbs appeal. Its leaves are small and elliptic in shape and the bark sheds in a puzzle fashion. It's a fantastic option for any landscape seeking instant shade.

Fruitless Olive
The best part about our olive trees is that they are fruitless. The unique, silver appearance of Fruitless Olive trees make them an interesting focal point in nearly all landscape styles. In addition, the natural, multiple trunks always create an artistic look, while bringing strength and flexibility to the tree. Olive trees keep their leaves all year which makes them great for creating privacy or blocking unwanted views. Fruitless Olives are very durable to heat, cold and require minimal water once established.

Windmill Palm
One of the most unique palms that we offer at Moon Valley Nurseries is the Windmill palm. It’s narrow trunk and upright growth pattern has allowed hundreds of our customers to plant these in close proximity for an interesting multi-trunk appearance. It is both cold and hot tolerant and when shaved, the trunk exposes the colorful old frond layers giving it a unique look in any landscape.

Sago
A Sago may look like a palm tree, but it's actually a Cycad. This genus has been relatively unchanged for 200 million years, making the Sago a living fossil. Sagos are slow growing and the only maintenance they require is when removing the old fronds. The fronds extend out from the center of the trunk exposing the eye-catching brown trunk. Both cold and heat hardy, the Sago can be grown in full to partial sun and it a wonderful option to be planted in large pots and containers.

Canary Island Date Palm
One of our favorite palms to plant, the Canary Island Date Palm is an eye-catcher. It’s elegant upright growth patterns, long reaching fronds that extend out in all directions and unique crown has made it a focal point in many landscapes. Also known as the Pineapple Palm, the Canary Island Date Palm is extremely durable, cold hardy, and it loves the sun. The wide fronds can be used for shade and it’s very clean and formal appearance has made it a top option for homeowners looking to add palm trees.

Moon Valley Nurseries is your one stop shop for all your landscape needs. Our experts have decades worth of experience and they will be able to assist you with any and all projects you may have. Click here to map a nursery near you.