Gardening 101: Learn the Basics of Plant Selection and Planting

ROGER’S MAINTANENCE CARE + PRODUCT RECOMMENDATIONS:

If your soil needs amendment, start with compost. Roger’s Recommends Malibu Compost. You can mix this 1-part compost to 4-5 parts native soil OR planting mix.

Also, use compost & worm castings, Worm Gold or Agrowin Worm Castings, with your mulch to continue to improve your soil and help with pest control.

• Try to mulch 2-3 inches twice a year, while making sure you leave 1-2 inches around each plant stem, to give your garden a finished look, help suppress weeds, and conserve water.

• Planting in pots requires Organic Potting Soil and sometimes the addition of Cactus Mix to help with drainage, or Acid Planting Mix for plants such as azaleas, camellias, gardenias and blueberries. If you're growing fruits or vegetables, we recommend using Malibu Potting Soil that has Malibu Compost in it for the best season-long environment for growing.

• Watering Maintenance: Water deeply, less often is our mantra. Learn to water low & slow, avoiding getting water on the foliage and making sure you water the entire root base down to at least 6 inches each time you water. This takes a different amount of time in every garden. Enjoy the most relaxing part of your week which should be once or twice a week during all but the warmest weather. Once the weather warms up you might need to water more often.

• Fertilizer Maintenance: Use an organic fertilizer like Down To Earth monthly and keep an eye out for pests. Keep water based insecticidal soap type products and oil-based pesticides, like Neem or horticultural oils, on hand to treat pests before they get out of hand. You can use All-Purpose products but it's best to be specific with pests.

ROGER’S PERRENIAL PLANT RECOMMENDATIONS: