UCCE Placer County Master Gardeners

11/03/2025

Big news for our garden community!

We’re thrilled to share that the partnership between the Placer County Water Agency (PCWA) and our Demonstration Garden at the Loomis Library & Community Learning Center has resulted in real water-savings! The transformation of over 11,000 sq ft of turf/lawn into native and low-water-use plants shows what’s possible when we align with our local climate and adopt smart irrigation. 

Here’s what you can check out and celebrate:

✅ A garden designed as a living classroom—come visit for inspiration and ideas. 
✅ Multiple plant zones, each labeled (with QR codes!) so you can learn as you explore. 
✅ An efficient irrigation system, plus smart design for drought-resilient and wildlife-friendly planting. 

For all our home gardeners: this is your invitation! Come see how lawn can be converted to a vibrant, beautiful, low-water alternative. Whether you’re thinking of re-imagining a portion of your yard or want to learn more about water-wise landscaping, our garden is open and ready for you.

📍 Location: Loomis Library & Community Learning Center, 6050 Library Drive, Loomis

🕒 Open during the Library’s regular hours — come by anytime!

👉 Bonus: PCWA offers rebates for homes and businesses who want to do their own garden transformations. 

💡 Tip: Bring a photo of your yard and stop by – we’d be happy to point out possibilities!

Thank you to PCWA and all the Master Gardener volunteers who made this happen. Sustainable gardening is stepping into the spotlight in Placer County! Let’s grow smarter together.

PCWA sees water savings at Placer County Master Gardeners Demonstration Garden in Loomis

11/03/2025

Is it a California native plant if it’s not native to your region? It depends. According to the California Native Plant Society, a California native plant is one that was growing in California before European contact. They also note that native plants have co-evolved animals, fungi, and microbes over a very long period to form a complex network of relationships. https://www.cnps.org/gardening/why-natives/what-are-native-plants .

If you are growing California native plants in your garden because you love California’s amazing biodiversity (we are the most biodiverse state in the country and one of the world’s biodiverse hotspots with over 6,500 native plant species, subspecies and varieties.), that’s a rewarding goal in itself. Many of these natives may be native to the California coast range or to SoCal but they are California natives and they are likely to grow well in your garden. The horticultural industry has been cultivating California natives for over 100 years, and nurseries nearly always stock California natives that are tried-and true-favorites, in the shrub and groundcover sections, and other sections, of your favorite nursery.

But…if you’re growing natives to bring a fuller spectrum of biodiversity to your garden and support a thriving population of butterflies and other little critters, it IS important to choose native plants that are native to YOUR garden and the region it is in. You may have heard that “monarch butterflies need milkweed”. The adults can sip nectar from a wide variety of fall flowers, BUT the caterpillars ONLY eat milkweed. Without milkweed for the caterpillars, there are no monarch butterflies. And monarchs aren’t the only butterfly or insect that has specific plant requirements for their young. Most caterpillars and most insect larvae have very specific plant requirements. And these plants are NATIVES! And just as important, these native plants are LOCALLY NATIVE!

In South Placer, we need to choose plants that are native to parts of the Sacramento Valley region and the low Foothills. Even though many California native plants may thrive in your garden, a plant that naturally grows hundreds of miles away (or maybe only a few dozen miles away but at a higher elevation) may not support the unique butterflies or pollinator population in your area. So local IS a big deal! Here’s a good source on the subject and 7 ways to bring more biodiversity to your garden: https://www.cnps.org/gardening/7-ways-to-bring-biodiversity-to-your-garden-40139

How do you find out which plants are locally native? Visit Calscape: https://calscape.org/search Enter your specific address for plants that are native to your region. In South Placer, you may want to further scrutinize the ranges on the maps provided because some suggested plants are native a few dozen miles away in the higher Foothills and may support different animals, different butterflies, different fungi and different microbes. A great thing about Calscape is that the program allows you to reverse the process and pick a butterfly and then find its host plants. It’s an excellent resource and worth a few minutes of your time to learn how to use its features!



Photo credit: Woolly Sunflower L. Meyerpeter

11/03/2025

Join us at the Loomis Library Demonstration Garden on Saturday, November 8 for a fun, fall-in-the-garden morning! All events are free and family-friendly.

10:00-1:00 APPLE EXTRAVAGANZA
• 10:00 am – Cider mill demonstration
• Apple tasting & stamping activities throughout the morning
• Local orchard booth for early holiday shopping

10:30-11:30 SUCCESSFUL CONTAINER GARDENING WORKSHOP
• Learn how to select the right container and plants
• Tips for growing ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables in containers
• Demonstration of the thriller • filler • spiller design method
• Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/4246652212286036/

11:45 am – MARK FOWLER PRESENTS “CHASING APPLES IN PLACER COUNTY”

Event Link for the Apple Extravaganza: https://www.facebook.com/events/715696578218937/

Loomis Library & Community Center
6050 Library Drive, Loomis, CA 95650

We hope you’ll spend the morning with us in the garden!

10/31/2025

Fall cleanup time! Cooler and rainy days mean it’s time to tidy up, cut back, and stop garden diseases before they start. Learn how to keep powdery mildew, rust, and other fall troubles in check with simple UC-tested tips and UC IPM guidance.

Read more in the Auburn Journal: Reducing Disease in the Garden



The link: https://goldcountrymedia.com/news/337930/reducing-disease-in-the-garden-this-fall/

Photo by Brian Hicks

10/30/2025

Take Care During Fall (and Spring) Garden “Clean-ups.” As the last of the warm, dry fall days are upon us, it might seem like a great time to clean up the garden. But actually, it is best to leave fallen leaves and woody debris on the bare soil. Leaves and other plant material are part of nature’s systems that nurture and shelter wildlife, enriching the soil while protecting it. Fallen leaves also help support wild ones such as birds, amphibians, and small mammals in your garden, as well as myriad invertebrates, including bees, butterflies, spiders, beetles, and worms.
Fall pruning isn’t a good idea because it may stimulate a plant to put on new growth, which could be damaged by the lower winter temperatures soon to come.

Search through this website to find out why leaving the leaves is not only good for the soil but also for the insects and pollinators to find homes.

https://realgardensgrownatives.com/?p=653

(Photo credit: Eileen Stark)

10/30/2025

Join us at the Loomis Library Demonstration Garden on Saturday, November 8 for a fun, fall-in-the-garden morning! Both events are free and family-friendly.

🍎 APPLE EXTRAVAGANZA - 10:00 am – 1:00 pm
• 10:00 am – Cider mill demonstration
• Apple tasting & stamping activities throughout the morning
• 11:45 am – Mark Fowler presents “Chasing Apples”
• Local orchard booth for early holiday shopping
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/715696578218937/

🌿 SUCCESSFUL CONTAINER GARDENING WORKSHOP
10:30 am – 11:30 am
• Learn how to select the right container and plants
• Tips for growing ornamentals, fruits, and vegetables in containers
• Demonstration of the thriller • filler • spiller design method
Event Link: https://www.facebook.com/events/4246652212286036/

📍 Loomis Library & Community Center
6050 Library Drive, Loomis, CA 95650

We hope you’ll spend the morning with us in the garden!

10/29/2025

It’s Time for the Black Widow Spiders to Come out of Hiding

You know it is Halloween season when you see large black widow spiders preying upon shoppers in stores and children playing with them on porches and lawns. Those large long legs spread across shrubs and hedges or dangling near a doorway are determined to scare you. And they might do just that.

But the real deal’s whereabouts is not so obvious and the widow’s mission in life is not to make you scream. Instead, the black widows are attracted to dark, dry, sheltered, cluttered, relatively undisturbed places such as piles of wood, rubbish, or stones; in culverts, hollow stumps, and old animal burrows; in garages, sheds, barns, crawl spaces, utility meter boxes, and outhouses; and sometimes among plants.

Seal up open bags of compost, dirt and manure. If seldom used shoes are left outside, be sure to check them before inserting your foot. People are most likely to be bitten while they are cleaning out or picking up items in these undisturbed, cluttered places. A sensible precaution is to always wear good garden gloves, a long-sleeved shirt, and sturdy footwear when working in areas that have been undisturbed for a time and where there are good hiding places for black widow spiders. Yes, even in your garden.

The western black widow spider (Latrodectus hesperus)—a native species—is quite common in California garden environments and is the spider posing the greatest threat to humans in the Western United States. It should not be confused with the brown widow spider which is less toxic and commonly found in S. California,
but not here. Also less toxic are the black widow males which look different from their mates and are usually unable to bite through human skin. Only the larger immature female and adult female black widows are able to bite through our skin and inject enough venom to cause a painful reaction. Her bites contain a neurotoxin and can be very serious, especially for children and older people. Reactions range from mild to painful/serious, but death is very unlikely and many symptoms can be alleviated if medical treatment is promptly obtained.

Mature females have big, fat, shiny black bodies, slender black legs, and a red or orange mark in the shape of an hourglass on the underside of the round abdomen. This hourglass can vary in shape and size. The body, excluding legs, is 5/16 to 5/8 inch long. The black widow spider babies are much harder to identify, being tan
with white bellies. Proper identification should exclude the false black widow spider, or Steatoda grossa, which is a European import commonly found here. It has the familiar fat belly, but the spider is dark brown, has no characteristic red
mark, and has a bite of fairly low toxicity. Look for an irregular, tough-stranded, STICKY cobweb in which the black widow spider hangs with its underside up. During the day it often hides under an object at the edge of the web or stays in a silken retreat in the center. The spider may rush out of its hiding place when the web is disturbed, especially if the white egg sacs are present. So carefully trod in undisturbed areas and protect yourself from that widow!

Happy Halloweento all!!
By Master Gardener Trish Grenfell

10/27/2025

Why Are My Oranges Splitting?


Citrus fruit commonly splits during the fall as a result of environmental conditions that stress the tree. Splitting can be caused by rapid changes in humidity, temperature, inconsistent watering and/or over-fertilization. Certain varieties, such as navel oranges, are more susceptible to splitting, and the quantity of fruit that is affected will vary from year to year.

The best way to minimize fruit loss due to splitting is to irrigate and fertilize properly, adjusting your watering schedule based on weather conditions. During especially hot weather, over watering can cause the fruit to absorb too much water too quickly, causing the rind to split. Instead, water lightly for several days to allow the tree and fruit to absorb water more slowly. Too little water can also cause fruit to split, so proper watering is important.

It is also best to avoid large applications of fertilizer. Instead, use smaller amounts of slow release fertilizer throughout the growing season. This will help avoid a sudden growth spurt that can increase splitting. The bottom line is that you can minimize citrus splitting by providing your citrus trees with the best possible care.

Refer to the following sources for more information on the proper care of your citrus:
homeorchard.ucdavis.edu/8038.pdf ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citruswatering.html ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/CULTURAL/citfertilization.html ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/GARDEN/FRUIT/citrus.html

By Pauline Kuklis, Placer County Master Gardener
Photo: Elizabeth E. Grafton-Cardwell

10/26/2025

Apples! Apples! Apples! Come taste apple varieties. Watch apples get pressed in a cider mill and come out as juice. Hear Mark Fowler talk about apples. Do apple crafts. FREE!!! This is a family friendly event on Saturday, November 8 from 10-1 at Demo Garden behind the Loomis Library. See you there!

10/25/2025

Now is the time of year when bumble bees are wrapping up their season. The Queen bee will be entering hibermacula, to emerge again next spring.
The availability of nesting and overwintering habitat is one of the most important factors influencing populations of native bees and other beneficial insects.

Check out this thorough guide to help provide nesting sites, and overwintering habitats for bumble bees, butterflies and food for songbirds.
https://xerces.org/publications/fact-sheets/nesting-overwintering-habitat?fbclid=IwAR2ScXtNifiJH-GpkdAnA9Wc2KG5qD4xXfxPYyqqbaHM8fcT8ZFsj06nXiY

(photo credit: Xerces)

10/24/2025

Container Gardening, it's a thing and we can show you how to get it done right. ⭐️
How to pick the right container, the right plant 🪴 , and/or transplant we will cover how to be successful at it.
When: Saturday, November 8th
Where: Loomis Library & Community center , 6050 Library Drive, Loomis
Time: 10:30 am to 11:30 am