Local News
Why an ability to chill may explain the proliferation of blossoms right now
I have noticed an explosion of flowers this spring like nothing I have seen in many years, and I believe that one of the greatest botanical mysteries can explain the current abundance of blooms.
This mystery concerns the connection between winter cold and spring flowering. The usual explanation given is that a sufficient number of hours of winter chill – when temperatures are less than 45 degrees between September 1 and the end of March – are needed for a plant to break dormancy or open its flower buds. (In some plants, the number of flowers is also impacted by the extent or depth of winter cold.)
With insufficient winter chill, some flower buds may still open, but the flowers will be stunted and unfit for pollination. The process of breaking dormancy generally refers to deciduous plants, from roses to apple trees, that lose their leaves in the fall or winter. Yet I have noticed evergreens such as azalea, Indian hawthorn (Rhaphiolepis spp.), Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum chinense), and bird of paradise (Strelitzia reginae) flowering like never before. Moreover, I have seen my own semitropicals, such as wild gardenia (Gardenia thunbergia) and amole (Beschorneria yuccoides), flowering in recent days after being completely bereft of blooms last year.
It so happens that the east San Fernando Valley, where I live, has experienced its coldest winter in years. There were 514 hours of winter chill this year, which is more than any year since 2018 – the earliest year for which I could find winter chill data – and more than double the number of such hours recorded in certain recent years. Should you want to check winter chill hours for your area, go to fruitsandnuts.ucdavis.edu/chill-calculator. In the list of weather stations provided, find the station closest to where you live and click it to reveal your winter chill hours each year since 2018.
Once you have an idea of the range of chill hours in your locale, you can make informed decisions about which fruit trees to plant, since each kind has its own chilling requirement. Before selecting trees, vines or bramble bushes that yield fruit, go to the website of Otto and Sons, (ottoandsonsnursery.com), a nursery in Fillmore. The description of each fruiting tree, vine, and bramble bush in their catalogue includes the number of winter chill hours it requires.
The horticultural importance of vernalization – cold exposure to induce flowering or other physiological processes – is not restricted to deciduous fruit trees. We know that most spring-flowering bulbs produce a greater number of flowers and/or larger flowers if they are refrigerated for at least one month prior to planting. Moreover, seeds of many species, especially those native to cold climates, require vernalization to germinate. The importance of cold in plant physiology is still shrouded in mystery, but the hypothesis is that cold dormancy prevents early onset of growth or development that would be disadvantageous to the plants involved. In the case of fruit trees and bulbs, without the requisite dose of winter cold, flowers may open early when weather conditions would not be optimal for pollination or when pollinating bees and other insects would not yet be active. In the case of seeds, dormancy prevents early germination before conditions are optimal for development of roots and shoots.
Speaking of flower explosions, I was intrigued by “10 Ways to Embrace the Maximalist Style in the Garden,” an article that appears on the National Garden Bureau website (ngb.org: when you get there, click “Inspiration” at the top of the page to access the article). By way of introduction, I must extol this website, most of whose content is free. Trends in gardening are highlighted and a search box is available for access to hundreds of articles on both ornamental and edible plants and every gardening subject under the sun, from growing vegetables indoors to constructing a water pond to planting an orchard, with many, many discussions like this one on garden design.
The maximalist style is bold and boisterous, creating unforgettable garden experiences. An exemplary maximalist garden would repeat a single color throughout, whether it was displayed in flower, foliage, or both. Take burgundy, for example. In this case, you would plant burgundy roses, especially since emerging foliage of roses is often burgundy around the edges as well. Hawaiian Ti plant (Cordyline fruticosa) and Cordyline cv. Burgundy Spire are famous for their burgundy foliage as is Kalanchoe cv. Pink Zinfandel, Kalanchoe sexangularis, Loropetalum cv. Red Diamond, Azalea cv. Little John, red Abyssinian banana tree (Ensete maurelii), and several coral bells (Heuchera) cultivars.
An easy way to design with a maximalist style is to choose seldom-seen species to fill up your garden space. With the closure of so many niche nurseries from one year to the next, a garden of exotics is going to be that much more astonishing to behold. The repetition of a monochrome garden has no place here as the gardener’s gaze, to say nothing of garden visitors, is constantly interrupted as it moves feverishly from one botanical wonder to the next.
Creating a number of garden rooms is a way of satisfying your craving for a combination of different maximalist looks. One room could be full of California natives or Mediterranean plants. Another, given that it had a half-sun to shady exposure, could be a fern grotto. Another could contain nothing but berries – strawberries, blueberries, and bramble berries. And then you could have an exotic fruit orchard in another room, or a room full of nothing but succulents and cactuses.
The Getty Center garden in Brentwood is the quintessential maximalist garden and should be on the bucket list of every local plant lover. Admission to the Getty Museum and garden is always free, but entrance is by reservation only and you will have to pay for parking. Make reservations at getty.edu/visit/center/.
California native of the week: There are quite a few California native species of coral bells (Heuchera spp.), although not all of them are typically encountered due to the highly specific habitat of some, especially those endemic to the Channel Islands. Many attractive Heuchera hybrids are available. Their maple leaf foliage can be found in lime green, gold, salmon, burgundy, purple, and a glittering gray with burgundy undertones. Heuchera, a ground cover, is notorious for being short-lived, an inevitable consequence of overirrigation. Yet if you just let coral bells grow and treat it with what is charmingly known as “benign neglect,” it can happily persevere for quite a few years at least and clumps may grow out to three feet across or more. I think the reason Heucheras flounder is due to too much shade. While not full-sun plants, coral bells will quickly die in excessively shady conditions. They are plants that benefit from bright shade, meaning they gladly absorb plenty of sunlight as long as it is filtered through the branches of overhanging trees.
If anyone has a maximalist garden they would like to share with readers of this column, please let me know about it by sending an email to [email protected]. Your questions and comments, as well as gardening conundrums and successes are always welcome here.
By CLIFF BRUNT AP Sports Writer
OKLAHOMA CITY — Shai Gilgeous-Alexander scored 38 points a day after being named the NBA’s MVP, and the Oklahoma City Thunder overwhelmed the Minnesota Timberwolves again, winning 118-103 on Thursday night to take a 2-0 lead in the Western Conference finals.
Gilgeous-Alexander shot 12 for 21 from the field and 13 for 15 from the free-throw line after receiving his MVP trophy from Commissioner Adam Silver before the game.
“I feel like all my emotions were so high, but I was a little bit tired out there, especially at the start,” Gilgeous-Alexander said. “I was a little too juiced up. Special moment. I’m happy we won so I can really enjoy the last couple days and soak it up. That really helps.”
Jalen Williams had 26 points and 10 rebounds and Chet Holmgren added 22 points for the Thunder.
Oklahoma City’s Lu Dort was named first-team all defense and Williams was named second-team all-defense earlier in the day. They helped anchor a unit that held Minnesota to 41.4% shooting.
“When you win games, you do it together and you have fun out there, everything else – all the individual stuff you want – it comes with it,” Gilgeous-Alexander said.
Anthony Edwards scored 32 points for Minnesota, but it took him 26 shots to get them. Jaden McDaniels scored 22 points and Nickeil Alexander-Walker added 17 for the Timberwolves.
Game 3 is Saturday in Minneapolis.
Gilgeous-Alexander hit a 3-pointer with 16 seconds left in the first half, then made a pair of free throws with three seconds remaining to help Oklahoma City take a 58-50 lead. He scored 19 points before the break.
“We didn’t close the half very well,” Minnesota coach Chris Finch said. “I thought if we close the half better then we don’t put ourselves on such a razor edge in the third.”
In the third quarter, Gilgeous-Alexander drove to the paint and threw up a wild shot that went in as he was fouled by his cousin, Alexander-Walker. Gilgeous-Alexander made the free throw to give the Thunder a 73-64 lead.
A lob by Cason Wallace to Holmgren for a two-handed jam on a fast break put Oklahoma City ahead 82-65 late in the third quarter. The Thunder took a 93-71 advantage into the fourth.
Minnesota closed to within 10 in the final period, but Oklahoma City kept the Timberwolves at bay late. Now, Minnesota gets to go home, where it is 4-1 in the playoffs.
Finch remained optimistic.
“Every minute in a series is a chance to find something,” he said. “So we’re going to go back home. This is a good team at home. So we’re going to go home and fight for Game 3. Heads up, look at the tape and get ready for Game 3.”
MONTEBELLO – The deeper a team goes in the playoffs, the tougher it gets. The Montebello baseball team has found that out the last three seasons.
The Oilers have amassed 61 wins during that span, but each time they have bowed out of the CIF Southern Section playoffs in the quarterfinals.
Montebello had flawless pitching and defense over the first two rounds of the postseason, but three errors helped contribute to a 7-3 loss to Heritage Christian in the Division 6 quarterfinals Thursday.
The Oilers (20-10) briefly threatened in the bottom of the seventh by scoring two runs, but left the bases loaded.
Heritage Christian (20-8-1) advances to Tuesday’s semifinals. It will face the winner of Friday’s game between Marshall and Santa Fe.
“You know, they are fighters year in and year out and this is the third year in a row going to the quarterfinals,” Montebello coach Manny Arana said. “We’ve had success and they’re all winners and we instill in them to be a winner. You have to be a fighter.
“You could see that in the last inning with a ball that could have gone five feet either way and put the tying run on base. After that, anything can happen. That’s baseball.”
Leading the way for the Oilers were senior center fielder Isaiah Cervantes, who had two singles, and freshman shortstop Nathan Govea, who had two singles and scored a run. Senior catcher Roberto Barraza had a double and an RBI.
Heritage Christian senior shortstop Eden Nalin led the way for team with three hits and an RBI, while three other players had two hits apiece.
The Warriors (22-8-1) opened the scoring with two runs in the first inning. One run came across on the first of three errors by the Oilers.
Two innings later, Montebello cut the lead in half with a run in the third inning.
Starting pitcher Fernando Cruz singled up the middle with two outs and came home on a double to left by Barraza.
The Oilers left two runners on base in the inning and also left runners on second and third in the second inning.
“From day one in the playoffs we’ve told them you have to throw strikes, play defense and get a clutch hit,” Arana said. “The first two games we did that and (Thursday) we had a couple of opportunities early and missed and that hurt us.”
Cruz opened the playoffs with a one-hitter. On Thursday Cruz scattered six his through five innings with five strikeouts.
“It’s been a good ride with my teammates, and we’ve been playing together for almost two or three years,” Cruz said. “I’ve shared the field with these seniors since before high school.”
The sixth inning turned out to be the downfall for Montebello, as the Warriors scored three runs.
With two outs, an infield pop fly was dropped for the third error of the game. That loaded the bases and the next two Warriors batters combined to knock in the three runs and increase their lead to 5-1.
Two more runs came across the next inning for a 7-1 advantage.
“In the seventh inning, we were down 7-1, but our team almost managed to get a comeback,” Cruz added. “We had the tying run at the plate, but just couldn’t get it done.”
Cruz was referring to the two-run rally and how they left the bases loaded to end the game.
Govea opened the inning with a single to left. Senior left fielder Devin Lopez was hit by the pitch and Cervantes loaded the bases with a single to right center.
An RBI walk to junior second baseman Michael Rios brought in the second run and a sacrifice fly by Cruz sent Lopez in to score. A fly ball to right ended the game and season for the Oilers.
Two tenant unions and several residents have each filed lawsuits against the city of Pasadena and the county of Los Angeles, frustrated in what they allege are agencies that have failed to meet their legal responsibilities to inspect and enforce safe and habitable living standards for renters following the Eaton fire.
Neighborhood Legal Services of L.A. County, a nonprofit legal advocacy group, announced on Thursday morning that, in conjunction with the legal firm Morrison Foerster LLP, it had filed lawsuits on behalf of the Altadena Tenants Union, Pasadena Tenants Union, along with four named wildfire survivors.
“The message that we’re sending with these lawsuits is simple,” said Whitney O’Byrne, a partner with Morrison Foerster and a board member of NLSLA. “When a government agency fails to protect the health and safety of its residents, especially the most vulnerable, it must be held accountable.”
The lawsuits aim to force government agencies to take legally required actions to thoroughly inspect rental residences for hazardous toxins and see that appropriate remediation methods are used by landlords to make them safe and livable.
“A primary issue presenting was that landlords were not remediating units contaminated with toxic smoke, soot and ash,” said Lena Silver, director of policy and administrative advocacy at NLSLA.
Silver said the city and county governments are responsible for conducting the inspections that are the first step in the process, but they have not met that responsibility.
“The County of Los Angeles Department of Public Health, responsible for enforcing and inspecting habitability rights for tenants in unincorporated Altadena, and the City of Pasadena Code Compliance Division, responsible for doing the same in Pasadena, both maintain that smoke, soot and ash inspection do not fall within their purview,” she said.
“Pasadena continues to state that smoke and ash remediation is a purely civil issue,” Silver said. “While Los Angeles has informed us that it has performed a handful of inspections, the type of inspection they’re providing cannot adequately identify the health risks of the impact of toxic smoke, soot and ash.”
L.A. County Public Health did not comment on the claims, and Pasadena’s spokesperson said the city has not been served with the lawsuit and couldn’t respond.
Conditions have put tenants between a rock and a hard place, Silver explained. Because some landlords are refusing to pay for the professional, certified remediation necessary to address toxins imbedded in places like walls and insulation, renters are having to make a choice.
Some have moved back in to unclean units and have begun experiencing health issues, Silver said, because they can’t afford to move elsewhere. Others are still living in temporary quarters, or in their cars, or paying two rents at once in order to keep their Altadena and Pasadena places, because they’re ultimately more affordable.
“We’ve also heard stories of tenants paying out of pocket at extremely high cost for testing just to confirm the toxic levels of lead and other contaminants that we know are present,” Silver said.
Brenda Lyon, a tenant in Pasadena, asked her landlord to file a homeowner’s claim in order to bring in a qualified remediation team, but they refused. Instead, she and her husband paid out of pocket for the work, expecting reimbursement from the landlord.
“I called every politician’s office, every city office,” Lyon said. “I was advised to file a code compliance, so I did, (but) the code compliance was denied, stating my problem was a civil issue.
“A habitable premise, per the state of California, is a right of a tenant,” she said, “so why would no one in the city make that happen for me?”
When she and her husband again approached the landlord about filing a homeowner’s claim so the couple could be reimbursed, they were told No and that, if they didn’t like it, they could move.
“We need our city to have our back, so that we can all move back in safely,” Lyon said.
Katie Clark, a founder of Altadena Tenant Union, who lost her rental home of 15 years to the Eaton fire, said she speaks with people every day that are still displaced, are living in unclean facilities, have been hit with illegal rent hikes, or are a step away from being homeless because their money is dwindling as they cover the cost of temporary housing.
“Throughout all of this, Los Angeles County has been virtually silent when it comes to the plight of tenants,” she said.
Many, Clark said, are people of modest means who rely on rent-controlled apartments to get by.
“The county has consistently passed the buck and shrugged off its responsibilities, telling tenants, ‘You’re on your own,’” she said.
“We’ve been told there’s nothing the County can do,” she said. “We know that’s not true … Just because we don’t own property doesn’t mean we’re not part of this community.”
Silver and the legal teams from both groups intend to make both Pasadena and L.A. County meet their obligations.
“The County and City must immediately provide adequate inspections of rental units with smoke, soot and ash damage caused by the Eaton fire and do it in a manner that actually ensures the health and safety of tenants,” Silver said. “They must cite property owners for any damage and they must require property owners to remediate that damage promptly and thoroughly to eliminate any health risks.”
Jarret Liotta is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and photographer.
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