Horticultural Frontiers twelveth day of Christmas

Holiday Gift Ideas....

The Holidays are right around the corner so get the whole family a gift and call us to renovate your landscape. A Bunko Seat and Fire pit would be a great gathering area for family and friends after dinner.

Or perhaps replace that Grass with Artificial Turf and have no New Year's worries, no fertilizing, no watering, no mowing, etc...









We can also cover that existing cement patio with some flagstone, brick or tile.










How about that BBQ that you are sick of dragging around the patio, let us build that in for you and possibly add a bar to it.











Give us an opportunity and we will make you proud of your landscape and excited to entertain for the Holidays.


Horticultural Frontiers
www.horticulturalfrontiers.com
(602) THE-BEST
843-2378

October planning

It's time to start thinking out our subtle but obvious season change. Soon we will be changing our watering times and welcoming our northern guests. It is starting to cool down and we will soon begin to experience cooler climates in our patio areas. There a several additions to your patio that can enhance your enjoyment and entertainment value within your outdoor living environment. Welcome these Wintery visitors with a captivating invitation to a warm hospitality of the Great Southwest with Bunko Seats, Fireplaces, Kivas, Fire Pits, Fire pots and firewalls. Nestle them into Seating walls, Benches, and our signature Banko seats accented with flagstone, ancient stone, slate, tile, brick or adobe. A Bunko Seat can be an effective compliment any patio areas. These custom designed seats are uniquely individual and created exclusively by Horticultural Frontiers; their sloped backs provide maximum comfort, sturdiness and last ability Invite your after dinner guests to join you in sharing further merriment around a campfire-like setting. Fire features can be set up for natural gas, propane, or natural wood. Flickering fire light and soft accent lighting will illuminate the December chilly nights when you blanket yourself within a Horticultural Frontiers Patio Creation.

Give us a call and we will make your Holiday Dreams come true.

Horticultural Frontiers
(602) THE-BEST

(843-2378)

September Gardening Preparations

To achieve a great garden in the Valley of the Sun you may want to prepare the soil by spading the garden bed to a depth of 8-12 inches, turn the soil, and break up the clods. Another good procedure to follow is for every 100 square foot of garden area add the following mixture and water it well:

• 2 lbs of 16-20-0 ammonium phosphate

• 5 lbs sulfur

• 5 lbs ironite

• 8-10 two-cubic-foot bags of compost, mulch, or manure

Let the soil dry to where it is just moist and then get ready to plant. Seeds and transplants are best done when the temperatures drop below 100 degrees.

If you accomplish the above earlier in the year you can cover your garden with sheets of clear plastic for six weeks and this will kill or drive out many of the soil pathogens.

Transplant tomatoes, lettuce, strawberries, onions, broccoli, brussel sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, celery, chard, and lettuce. If you have onions in your garden it may be best to use gypsum in place of sulfur in the mixture above because the sulfur makes the onions strong and hot.

The following can be directly seeded in your garden (when temperatures drop below 100 degrees) : beets, bok choy, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, chard, collard greens, cucumbers, endive, kale, kohlrabi, lettuce, leeks, mustard, onion, peas, radishes, snap beans, spinach, turnips, anise, caraway, chamomile, chervil, chicory, chives, cilantro, cumin, dill, fennel, and parsley.

Thank you to The University of Arizona, College of Agriculture and Life Science and John Chapman’s Southwest Gardening for their great information.

Phoenix Landscape Guide....Palm Tree Tips for the Summer

Watering and fertilizing palm trees in the warmer summer months is a vital process. Queen Palms (Syagrus romanzoffiana), Mediterranean Fan Palm (Chamaerops humilis), Sago Palms (Cycas revoluta), Pygmy Date Palm (Phoenix roebealini), and other palms here in Phoenix are regarded as tropical palms rather than a desert palm (Mexican Fan Palm and California Fan Palm). These palms when newly planted should be watered about three times a week for the first summer. Once in the ground a season watering can be scaled back to about once a week in the summer. Water deeply so the soil is wetted to a depth of about two feet.

Palms do most of their growing in the spring and summer so those are the months to fertilize. Palms require regular feeding in those warmer months to insure health and beauty. "Palm Special" fertilizers provide the nutrients palms need, the following proportions in fertilizers work well:

• Nitrogen (10%-20%)
• Phosphorous(5%-10%)
• Potassium(10%-20%)
• Magnesium(2%-5%)
• Manganese(.5%)
• Trace amounts of iron, sulfur, zinc, and copper

Palms, especially Queens, are susceptible to a Manganese deficiency problem know as "frizzle top". This deficiency cause new leaves to become yellow or brown and frizzled as they emerge from the crown. If left untreated the three will weaken and eventually die. If your tree appears to have this problem increase the amount of Manganese by using fertilizer spikes or Manganese sulfate and if possible, as a slurry in the crown of the palm.

And remember:

As a general rule of thumb....there are no general rules of thumb!

We at Horticultural Frontiers hope you enjoyed our blog and ask you to visit our website http://www.hortfrontiers.com