Leucadendrons are a fascinating group of plants from South Africa prized for their winter blooms, both in the garden and for cut flowers in the home. Leucadendrons are tough, drought hardy, and not attractive to deer. They should be planted in areas where they can be kept on the dry side, especially once established.

Leucadendrons are for those who want a more exotic look to their gardens and vases. They perform well in containers and tolerate drier conditions than many other plants. They prefer full sun but will tolerate a little shade with careful (infrequent) watering. Yamagami's offers a few showy varieties from Monterey Bay Nursery in bud and bloom now.

Leucadendron d. 'Pom Pom' has vanilla-colored bracts surrounding cones with bright red or yellow tiny flowers. It grows to about 6' tall and wide with steely gray-blue foliage. Like all Leucadendrons, be careful to let it dry out pretty well in between waterings, especially in the summer. It is hardy to about 20 ° F.
Leucadendron s. 'Golden Tips' is named for the rich color of its bracts, ranging from honey blonde through golden yellow. It grows to about 3' tall and 5' wide, with a graceful growth habit. Its blue-grey foliage is a handsome setting for the warm-colored winter bracts.
Leucadendron x 'Silvan Red' is closely related to the better known 'Safari Sunset' but with better disease resistance. Long blooming (fall through late spring), 'Silvan Red' offers bright red to ruby red bracts on long stems. It is one of the very best for cutting. It grows to about 7' tall and wide, with an open habit. Frequent cutting helps keep it bushier.

Visit Yamagami's Nursery when you want interesting plants for your garden. Add a leucadendron to your garden for a touch of the exotic that will actually perform well here.

Let Yamagami's Nursery Pros guide you to garden success!

Serengeti Nemesias and Camelot Foxgloves

Ruben Nuñez, Yamagami's color buyer, suggests planting the Serengeti series of upright nemesias now for spectacular spring into summer color. This upright series of nemesia was developed for brilliant, long-lasting color and improved disease resistance. Plant them in full sun or mostly sun. They grow to 12" tall with large blossoms in purple, yellow, or violet and white. Try inter-planting them with dahlias or gladiolas for a "skirt" of color around your summer blooming bulbs. They are also showy in container gardens.

For morning sun or areas with filtered shade try the Camelot series of foxglove. These compact, upright beauties grow 3 to 4 feet tall and bloom in shades of pinks, lavenders and creams. They give an old-fashioned feeling combined with modern consistent blooming. Try using them for an upright accent in beds of impatiens or in mixed container gardens. Their velvety tubular blossoms are a beacon to hummingbirds, adding their flash of life and color to your garden too.

Come to Yamagami's Nursery for the best blooming plants for the Silicon Valley. You'll also find the garden supplies you need to succeed...the first time!

Celebrate Spring at Yamagami's 2010 Spring Garden Fair on Saturday and Sunday March 20th and 21st from 10 AM to 3 PM. Find Guest Experts with raffle prizes scattered throughout the nursery. This is your chance to talk one-on-one with garden experts to find solutions to your garden problems and answers to your garden questions.

Sunday, March 21st, America's Happy Gardener, Bob Tanem, broadcasts his radio show LIVE on KSFO 560AM here at Yamagami's from 7AM to 10 AM. This is your chance to be a part of a live broadcast! Come ask your questions live or phone them in for Bob's uniquely practical advice.

Both days you'll find fruit and vegetable experts to guide you to success in your own garden of eatin'. Beautiful plants, the best garden supplies and loads of helpful information – what more could you want from a garden fair? It's FREE! Plus, there are FREE Goodie Bags, both days, to the first 50 attendees (starting at 10AM). Join us for all the fun.

Click here to see the Schedule of Guest Experts.

While we are all happy to get all this RAIN, it does mean greater danger of fruit tree diseases--in particular, fireblight, a disease affecting apple, pear or Asian pear trees.

This disease is spread during the blooming season, especially in rainy springs. To prevent infection, apply Monterey Liqui-Cop weekly during the bloom. There is no way to kill this disease once the tree is infected, so to be safe in a year this rainy--spray.

How do you know if your tree has it? Watch carefully during the summer for blackening of a branch (usually starting from an old flower bud), moving down into the center of the tree.

When active tree growth stops in summer, prune affected branch 12" to 18" BELOW where you see the blackening.

Sterilize your pruners after each cut; Lysol disinfectant spray works very well and does not damage steel blades the way a bleach solution does.

NEW! Saturday, March 6th from 10 AM to noon.
How to Start a Vegetable Garden. Gisele Schoniger, Kellogg's Organic Gardening Educator, will talk about soils and fertilizers; then Lindsay Del Carlo, Rennee's Garden Seed Garden Manager, will talk about seed starting, planting and spacing.

Together they will talk about organic garden practices and issues like companion planting and container gardening. See fee information above.

Saturday, March 13th at 10 AM.
Success with Citrus: Fertilizing, Pest Control and Growing Tips with Aaron Dillon of Four Winds Nursery. New citrus pests have invaded the Santa Clara Valley. Learn how to identify and control them. See fee information above.

Saturday and Sunday, April 10th and 11th
Early Season Tomatoes with Steve Goto. Find organically grown early season tomato plants selected by Steve. Free classes for success at 10 AM and 2 PM both days.

Saturday, April 17th at 10 AM and 1 PM
Pumpkinmania- Growing Giant Pumpkins Classwith Stuart Shim. Free seed and growing instructions are included.

Saturday, April 17th from 10 AM to 2 PM
Cupertino's Earth Day Festival--Free! Visit Yamagami's booth! Cupertino City Hall Plaza, 1030 Torre Ave., Cupertino. This is the 40th Anniversary of Earth Day!