Q. My camellia flowers are getting eaten at the base as they are opening. I don’t see any bugs and would like to know what is causing it and how to fix it.
Camellia flower blight is caused by a fungus (Ciborinia camelliae). It causes flower petals to turn brown and premature flower drop. Prevention includes the removal of fallen and affected flowers, weed removal, and pruning to improve air circulation inside the plant. Unfortunately, antifungals are not very effective because treatment can’t reach the fungus hiding inside the tight flower buds.
If flower blight continues to be a problem, you can try growing blight-resistant varieties such as Kanjiro or Debutante.
Q. My houseplants were getting dusty, so I took them outside to hose them off and get some fresh air. After I brought them back inside, I noticed that many of the leaves looked bleached out. What happened?
Indoor plants are not accustomed to direct, unfiltered sunlight and can get sunburned. Think about going to the beach after spending all winter away from the sun, except you can’t put sunscreen on your plants.
If you want to give your plants a rinse, and it’s too cumbersome to use a spray bottle, hosing them off in the shower (be careful not to get potting soil in the drain!) or outdoors is effective, but you must take precautions when putting your indoor plants outside. Pick an overcast day and a sheltered spot. Once you’ve given your babies their rinse, bring them inside promptly. If you want to give them a chance to finish dripping, set a timer for 5 or 10 minutes so you don’t forget them. For my larger plants, I like to rinse them on the driveway, then drag them into the garage to dry off.
If your plant has a lot of sunburn damage, give it a dilute fertilizer with every watering to help it recover.
Q. When can I plant tomatoes out in my garden? What about peppers, eggplants, and squash?
For tomatoes, eggplants, peppers, and any other frost-tender plants, you’ll want to find out the last frost date for your area. For example, for most of the Inland Empire, the last frost date is March 15, but this can vary with altitude, proximity to water or development. I found a handy online map at https://www.plantmaps.com that shows this information in detail.
For direct seeding, wait until the soil has warmed up. This will usually be several weeks after the last frost date. If you plant seeds directly into cold soil, they will most likely rot in place without germinating.
Los Angeles County
mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/
Orange County
ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/
Riverside County
anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; 951-955-0170; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/
San Bernardino County
mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu