Why you should consider planting dragon fruit in your Southern California garden
Five things to do in the garden this week:
Fruit. It’s about time you considered growing dragon fruit, also known as pitaya. Although dragon fruit is native to the Central American and South American tropics, I have seen it growing throughout the San Fernando and San Gabriel Valleys, and I can say without hesitation that it would grow anywhere south of Los Angeles, too. Dragon fruit are divided into Hylocereus and Seleniceruus species. The former have overlapping flaps of smooth skin that is red, pink, magenta, or white and pulp that may occur in any of these colors, while the latter have a yellow, thorny skin and white pulp only. Selenicereus fruit are sweeter and the white flowers that precede them are enormous and fragrant. To increase sweetness of Hylocereus types, refrigerate them before consumption. Dragon fruit grow on a vining cactus in full to partial sun. Plants are available at Papaya Tree Nursery (papayatreenursery.com) in Granada Hills and through many online vendors.
Vegetables. Mizuna is a leafy green in the mustard family with a sharp, tangy flavor. You can grow it throughout the year, but it is likely to bolt (go to seed) in hot weather. To keep it from bolting, plant it in the shade as we get deeper into spring. Mizuna grows quickly, producing edible leaves in 40 days. Harvest whole leaves or, as with leafy greens in general, cut the leaves back partially, and they will grow some more. The Japanese Pink variety have colorful leaf bases that impart an ornamental touch to this nutritious green. Order Japanese Pink seeds from rareseeds.com. MIzuna is derived from two Japanese words: “mizu,” meaning water, and “na,” meaning greens, so you will have to make sure that the soil in your mizuna patch stays somewhat moist. Young leaves can be eaten raw or tossed fresh into salads while older leaves are better tasting when steamed.
Herbs. I always thought of cleavers (Galium aparine) as a weed. Little did I know of its medicinal properties. For years, it has climbed its way through my parkway planting of lantana. It is aptly named cleavers since, thanks to tiny and invisible hooked hairs, it cleaves or sticks to whatever plants it touches. It’s actually quite attractive with whorls of six to eight, one-inch lanceolate leaves that emanate from a single point. It’s believed by some that to treat a burn you can make a strong tea from its leaves, allow it to cool, and then make a compress from it to apply to your skin. You can find cleavers seed online and, when they planted in rich soil will produce a dense crop of this sticky herb.
Perennials. San Marcos Growers (smgrowers.com) led me to the discovery of fuchsia begonia (Begonia foliosa var. miniata, which blooms in red without interruption throughout the year. Growing to a height of three feet, it will require cold protection and may not survive a freeze. Planting next to a wall or under an evergreen tree can offer such protection. Flowers are tiny ear drops such as those seen on certain fuchsias and leaves are one-inch ovals making this perennial an irresistible gem. Grow it in bright shade which means in filtered light, or in an area where the sky is visible but no direct sun reaches the plant.
Consider installing a pond. Select from among hardy and tropical water lilies (Nymphaea) and lotus plants (Nelumbo) for a colorful, yet tranquil addition to your backyard space. Hardy water lilies are the easiest to grow and are available in every color except blue. Tropical water lilies are generally blue, but may also be found in pink, while lotus blooms are creamy white and flushed with pink. Hardy water lilies are the most cold-tolerant, although tropical lotus is considerably cold-tolerant as well. There is also a lotus native to North America (Nelumbo lutea) with yellow flowers that is extremely hardy. Tropical water lilies will freeze where temperatures dip below freezing, but generally speaking, wherever oranges will grow, tropical water lilies will grow as well.