The Coastal Gardener - August, 2008
The August Garden: fire and flowers
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I have to say how impressed I have been with how the garden rebounded after June’s big heat wave. Given a few weeks of cool weather, fog, smoke, and a dusting of fire ash, the garden is looking great.
In the Long Border, gold Santavallia, a spreading annual with mini zinnia-like flowers is blooming well in combination with deep red Ivy Geranium, blue Salvia chamaedryoides, and the scarlet Zauschneria ‘Calistoga”. Across the pond, red ‘Floral Carpet” roses are putting on a second show along with the burgundy Austin Rose ‘Tess of the D’Urbervilles’. This rose has been a real trooper, scorched badly by the near 100-degree heat back in June; it recovered nicely with new foliage and tight clusters of blooms by the third week of July. ‘Purple Dome’ asters are coming into bloom in several places around the garden. Down at end of the border I am watching the first pink bloom of Malacothamnus, the Bush Mallow, native to the Channel Islands.
If your garden lay unattended during the fire, many plants will have suffered but may bounce back if given some time and a good soaking. Roses are amazingly resilient. Concentrate on the canes, the green tissue is the storehouse of energy for the rose. Don’t cut them back hard, instead clean away the damaged foliage, and irrigate. But avoid feeding until the canes are fully swelled with moisture. Annuals and vegetables probably did not fare as well and should be sent to the compost heap without delay. There is still time to get in new crops of beans, peas, even corn. It may be too late for new tomatoes or peppers though.
In areas of your garden that were burned the main attention needs to be paid to the soil itself. The fire pulls essential Nitrogen out of the soil, leaving behind a thick layer of potassium in the form of ash. This ash is good for flower production but new Nitrogen will need to be added for strong growth. Further, scorched soil is often hydrophobic, almost impossible to moisten with normal irrigation. I would recommend turning garden beds under, adding blood meal and organic compost as you go, then using a bit of the Thermo-gel sludge as well, which is an ideal wetting agent. Irrigate thoroughly and check water penetration before replanting. For Southern Hemisphere plants such as protea, leaucospermum or grevillea, the sudden influx of potassium can be a death sentence but these shrubs also hold the key to their own rebirth in a thick tuber like crown that will re-sprout if conditions are right.
As for Thermo-Gel, we have learned that it is not so kind to soft plants such as annuals and ferns. Annuals showing signs of damage should go the compost pile but ferns and perennials will bounce back nicely if trimmed down to the crown and given a dose of liquid plant food. Citrus and avocados may also bounce back from the fire but give them time; good deep irrigation will get the recovery started. Keep an eye out for new growth; it should be above the graft, a knobby area near the base of the trunk. Shoots that appear below the graft or from the roots are of the rootstock, often a bitter trifoliate orange that is of little value.
The good news all around is that the fire is a chance to replant and renew the garden, exploring new plants and new ideas. Now is the time to enjoy new vistas that have been presented and to bloom again, but with fire safety clearly in our minds
