While grubbing in my garden....Wah...grubs!

If I were a Mocking bird, a California Thrasher etc. this would make my day! If I owned a Box turtle, which I do, it would also make My day! What you see are two totally opposing creatures as far as most gardeners would be concerned. One is a thoroughly noxious pest to any sod forming plants such as grasses and other ground covers. The other is actually as beneficial or perhaps more so in the short run than the lowly earthworm!

What you see in this picture are the mature sizes of two beetle larvae. The smallest and more delicate is by far the most destructive to living plants from below the soil surface...especially those plants actively producing a dense network of roots like sod forming grasses and similar plants with a multitude of fibrous roots. The largest mature grub is the larvae of the incredible Fig Beetle! Scary to most people especially if you have had a glass of wine...this irridescent green beetle of rather large proportions will buzz around your head...simply because they are attracted to the scent of ripe or fermenting fruit! Yes, they are quite large beetles and quite imposing especially to those familiar with Bumble bees. They create a deep buzzing sound that is proportionate to their large size.

Once understood...they are quite humorous creatures in flight! They are rather clumsy and slow in comparison to a bumblebee. If you have eaten a couple of ripe peaches, had a beer or a glass of wine they are fun to play with for a game of hide and seek! I know this statement will bring some of you to tears struggling with the idea that any supposedly sane adult might play hide-and-seek with a Fig beetle!!! Believe me it does not take several beers or glasses or wine or taking a peach facial. Therefor enebriation has little to do with it or obsession with soft skin.

To begin fig beetle hide-and-seek one must have a sensitive little finger that is kept moist and held sufficiently away from the body, preferably upwards; and sufficient fruity smells on your hands, face and in your gullet so that you exude "fruitiness". The key factor is determining whether you are upwind or downwind of your beetle playmate. A very windy day will not work as the fruity smells will be too quickly dissipated. So on a warm sunny day with a slight wind... the secret is to get upwind of the beetle if you want it to come towards you...or move downwind to "hide". Once the beetle has gotten close you are doomed to no longer remain "hidden" unless you can run really fast and circle upwind of the flying Fig beetle! Now doesn't that sound like a lot of fun?!

If there are the right number of beetles and the right number of fruit salad eaters, beer, or wine drinkers I imagine everyone would probably be bumping into each other and the beetles might appear to be swarming...or at least quite confused! Gee! I can almost hear "A Midsummer's Night Dream"! Such frollicking chaos of lovers and things in the night! (Only, in broad daylight!)

OK! I am sure you get it ad-nauseum!
But really...there is no need to be squeamish about fig beetles!
Mice...well, a mouse is in the house I might quite agree!
I know that for most an "insider spider" gives you the chills...
but I would rather have an insider-spider... than a roach on my toast!
Don't forget that some insider-spiders keep you from having ants in your pants!
I have been well assured you will never find a grub in your tub!
Unless someone was pretending that they didn't like you!
So now you can join the Grub Club and be free of all kinds of freaking stuff!!!

Now what makes a beetle a Fig beetle? Since they are primarily from a mediteranian climate where figs grow they have commonly been associated with figs as they ripen and ferment on or below the trees before they are harvested. Thus this exotic large beetle and the even larger grub which is a boon to all gardeners in a meditteranean type clime is commonly named the Fig Beetle. Adults enjoy with incredible gusto almost any fermenting or over-ripe fruits to the point of utter distraction! Fruit on the ground or in a tree can be picked with one or more beetles intact, very much unwilling to release their position...I wouldn't be afraid either if I were equiped with such tough coverings all round my body, possessing spiny legs with enough strength to loosen myself from all but the most ambitious predator or human hand!

The very well fed fig beetle's next destination is to find the scents of rotting plant materials found in your compost pile of kitchen garbage and gardening prunings. AND what do you have but a critter that is at least in the short term, much more effective that the lowly EARTHWORM. You shall see pics displaying poop from this bulbous critter that is not any different from earthworm poop! It has a similar earthy smell as earthworms far from the rotting things that it ingested. As with earthworms this insect works in conjunction with beneficial bacteria and other organisms. I would not normally find a grub in a smelly, stinky mass of rotting plant material any more than I would find earthworms there. There is probably a specific chemistry and things like a balance of O2 and CO2 and pH. The right kinds of bacteria and fungi are probably as important as the nutrients of the plant material that is available.

Just look at that nutrient rich NON-smelly poop...on my finger on the fabric and in process of excretion! It is black and has a very similar water content as worm poop. When left alone in drier conditions they make discreet little pellets that are great for sprinkling on your potted plants!

I open a challenge to anyone who can prove to me that the poop from the Fig Beetle larvae is any less potent than earthworm poop! They also have a superior ability to turn many more, and tougher plant materials into this wonderful poop. Banana peels, melon rinds, and the stemmy parts of vegetables that we don't like to eat seem to almost disappear into a dark mass of nutritious microbially active compost! The only other insect that goes perhaps one step furthur in conversion of waste materials is the Black fly. See some of my earlier blogs for pics and info. Having even more of a limited season than the Fig beetle or the earthworm they also have a disproportionate appetite for many plant AND animal materials. They are another must have critter in terms of clean composting and recycling of garbage!

Now that you have been introduced to this pretty big grub and the fact that it becomes this big beetle that may buzz around your head at a Saturday afternoon party what do you want to live with? Choice #1, the May/June bug which you see only at night around bright lights and in dead patches of lawn turf and faltering garden plants. Choice #2 The Fig Beetle which you see only at your extravagant garden parties and when you turn over your compost pile!

This small grub (notice my fingers) has a pair of small sharp mandibles (projections that are surrounding or outside of the actual mouth) capable of tearing into the toughest of roots or taking small pieces of root that can be ingested in smaller pieces by the mouth.

The difference in the larger of the two grubs, the Fig beetle larvae is obvious in that the "manidible" is meant for mashing as opposed to cutting or tearing. I submit that both grubs especially the Fig beetle are quite strong of "jaw" or mandible. However the fig beetle holds the record for mobility even amongst catepillars by  "back lapping" rather than dealing with a bunch of pseudo-legs ...there is no more obvious contendor to grub or catepillar racing than the Fig beetle grub. I have seen Wooly bear catepillars do a pretty good sprint! The June/May beetle struggles when exposed upon hard or compacted surfaces where the Fig Beetle flips on its back and is off in a flash! Meanwhile the June/May beetle larvae dies where it has been exposed! (If it hasn't been picked off by a Mocking bird or other thrush bird like the Robin.

If you are a naturalist at heart you would ask why the larger of the two grubs is the most agile? Well the smaller grub is used to living in a more or less moist, confined environment where there are an abundance of living roots. It's ultimate daily effort is moving a few inches through the soil eating roots. The larger grub is in a shallow level of soil most of the time where there are continual layering of decomposing plants. This grub is not dependant upon root systems but upon the availability of varying degrees of decomposing plant materials that requires a greater mobility to find the most desirable material. If I was a big grub with perhaps a great variety of nutrient requirements I certainly would opt for greater mobility. I would also be capable or creating small burrows into which I could withdraw quickly to escape a skunk or an opposum or in some circumstances a ring-necked snake or an alligator lizard.

Now you will hear my RANT! It is quite unfortunate that the USDA insists upon lumping the Fig beetle in with it's close relative the May/June beetle. Most of the genus to which they belong are pests when it comes to the root systems of living plants. I have spoken to those who are members of the above and have written documentation from this agency. It is all BS because there is no evidence that they can provide except for the generalities of the activities of the genus of beetle in question. I will claim to my grave that the Fig Beetle is totally benign when it come to our efforts to garden and produce material which will allow us to survive. What if someone blamed you for certain activities just because you looked like someone who supposedly displayed those activities? Choose your grub! I want to get a real vote on this! I dare you! It all comes down to soft and succulant or big and tough. Just remember that terms and definitiions relative to whom we are, are always relative!

Where the Hades did winter go...did it ever happen?

This is about the only real verification that there is something even close to a concept of winter in San Diego! I would like to re-phrase a common expression to this statement: "The summer is not over in San Diego until the fat frog sings!" Now, if I were a logical person which ultimately I am not; I would assume that as long as the Fat Frog sings it must be winter or at the latest maybe spring? I don't know, I still keep getting confused. I've got tiny apples on my trees and most of the flowers are done. The Pineapple quava is pumping up to bloom soon. Some of the weeds are chest-high due to El Nino's gratuitous nature!

OK, I am sorry, but I am from the northern part of the midwest. Bulbs and bulb-like things hold a special place in my gardening heart! Please forgive me if I become more specific than a more general gardening audience might like...still if you are willing to hang on I am sure you will find something of interest to you.

What I have learned from bulbs is a very important lesson about plants in general. This is, I would assume, the most appropriate time to open this discussion! We still have winter on our minds even though some of us Southern Folk may not have even felt it! Plants adapt to the presence of water and light. For the most part these two things determine their adaptations to survival. If we suffer ourselves this over-simplification of adaptation of species of plants some things become very simple to understand the needs of the plants in our own garden.

Given #1: The day is either short or long if you live in a "temperate" zone. Shorter day length simply means less heat available to air, water and soil. This provides clues to many plants and animals.

Given #2: The rains naturally fall at different times of the year, where there are recurrent dry and wet cycles each year. Many areas have a period of drought each year. (Not necessarily attached to temperature considerations.) What are the mechanisms in plants to conserve water and prevent unnecessary loss? Rainfall is a complex mechanism that is governed by many things like mountains, oceans, forests, and prairies...but that is a very big 'other' story to go into especially because so many of those natural features have been changed to suit our modern technological needs!

Given #3: Temperature...more specifically temperature below freezing (32 degrees Farenheit). Water (H2O) is an unusual molecule that really should be a solid when it is a liquid as we know it. I am not a chemist so don't ask me to back this up! All that I know is that if it were not for the incredible design within nature that Darwin touched upon plantlife and perhaps all of life would not exist as it is today! For the sake of argument let us leave out most of the lower and higher organisms. Let's just deal with plants. Take a plant growing in the tropics and put it outside during a Canadian winter blizzard. What happens? Have you ever put a soda or a beer in the freezer...need I say more? This is what happens to the cells of plants that are not "prepared" for the cold! Tell you what...If you were a tree and you struck it really rich this year and you had such a tremendous growth...if you knew winter was coming what would you do? You would withdraw as much as you could from that growth and let the rest fall. Most of the moisture would be drawn deep into the trunk and roots of the tree where there is no ill effect from the freezing cold! (Please note that as I write this I DO attribute much of this to the movie "Being There" , starring Peter Sellers and Shirley Maclaine; where Chauncey Gardner, alias a sensitive but intellectually challenged estate caretaker left to fend on his own when his master dies....ok get the story somewhere else but you will find it a remarkable one!!!)

Water-filled cells burst and then implode when frozen. Anything that remains within that frozen environment is essentially living in a DESERT!!! Any plant or embryo of a plant must be able to withstand this period of extreme drought. Since all of the water is frozen there is no available moisture (as long as the water remains frozen). Extreme cold is nothing more than extreme drought! A bulb or a seed in 12" of frozen soil is no different than the same in the soil of an absolutely dry desert!

What if we coat those seed embryos with nearly moisture-proof covering. What if we move aggregates of plant cells underground away from points #3 freezing (absence of fluid water) and #2 dehydration (total absence of water) due to lack of rain? Voila! Thus became the humble potato, the exalted lily and the curn of wheat!

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Now for some common garden sense:

Ask yourself...where do my plants come from? Climate is a primary consideration. Climate that is defined by light, rainfall, and temperature. A plant that thrives during a very hot moist summer but goes dormant when the days grow shorter and the ground begins to freeze is not going to like it when the cold time of the year is wet and the hot summer is a desert!!! In the same manner the survival of a lush tropical plant is just as much in jeopardy when left out during an early northern frost as during an extremely windy, hot and dry "Santa Anna" condition in So. CA. (This is where the winds shift from prevailing moisture laden off-shore ocean to hot dry winds from the NE desert.)

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The Narcissus (Daffodils etc.) are done. The earliest tulip species the pure rich yellow T. sylvestris and the wide opening violet/deep-yellow centered T. bakeri are finished. Just as T. bakeri finishes the showy T. saxatilis is beginning with very simililar lavender flowers with deep yellow centers, held higher up than T. saxatilis and with attractively cupped petals. Tulipa saxatilis also produces several flowers per stem which extends the bloom time! T. clusiana which has multiple cvs. is just beginning to bloom. Ipheion uniflorum which should be a standard in all So. CA gardens is blooming profusely in white, and different shades of blue and purple.

Oh my gosh! How could I forget the Gladiola tristis! This could easily be the harbinger of all things good for So. Californians along with the Pacific Treefrog (Fat Frog). This naturalizing import from So. Africa is perfectly suited to many of our So. CA gardens.  It is in my opinion the most exquisite of winter bulbs for us here. The flower is lily-like in appearance, small, pale with subtle markings on cream petals of purple and chartreause. It's almost orchid like manner is furthur enhanced by an evening fragrance that would be hard to match among flowers! This gladiola earned its name G. tristis, because it is commonly used in funerals for indiginous peoples. tristis comes from the latin word trist which means sad.

I dare to take a moment to say that there is nothing morbid about this plant...in fact it expresses a kind of joy that you have when you see a good friend away knowing that they will return with much adventure to share! For us here and for those where this beautiful plant was exported we have something that comes when the hills are green even if for a moment...when the flora and fauna seem to appear as magic from the desert! This is the plant that could rival the CA poppy, the Mariposa tulips, and the miriad of other wildflowers that come with winter rains of our desert climate! If anything this "trist" gladiola merely entices us to give pause...it is not the death that we feared, but is in the silence that we recall who we are...therefor it is necessary that we die in that we give life to all else by our pause.

I can't help but note that it seems that when Fat Frog sings at dusk is when our Trist Glad-iola releases her soft perfume! How fortunate am I to have both!

Clover and Oxalis, 3 leaves vs. 4 lvs...let's get it straight before St. Patrick's day!!!

So here we go...mistakes make us all the more human and like gummy bears all the more maleable and suitable to oral pleasure! I appologize for not chewing my gummy bear before I let my words fly out of my mouth. Now is the moment of truth about the 3 leaf clover vs. the 4 leaf clover!!!

Saint Pattie hit me over the head a couple of times before I got it right! There are at least two distinct plants from very distant families of plants that have triune leaves(three perfectly aranged leaves) atop a single upright stem. That would be Clover of the family Faboideae (Leguminosae) a very large family of plants commonly known as the Pea Family, Genus Trifolium and the second, Oxalis, from the Wood Sorrel family Oxalidaceae, genus Oxalis. Both species display quite an aray of color, texture, size and shape within this limited arrangement of a triangular shape. If I could place all of the miriad of plants I have seen on a good sized colage of living color would be quite impressive!! I have seen reds, chocolate, yellow, white, purple, pink, amythest colors in intricate designs upon the leaves. There are more and more clovers that are ariving in the horticultural trades that have varying sizes of leaves and colored designs. Trifolium repens cvs. make very good ground covers or additions to low maintenance lawns.

So some of you might want a "Four-leaf Clover...yes? And yes that IS possible! Other than the occaisional 4-leaves that Clovers may produce...there is one mystery plant that very few have ever heard of that produces a 4-leaf "clover" all of the time!!! I will present a few clues before I come to the ultimate truth about the 4-leaf clover!

1) Go back to the dinosaur days where the predominant plants included mosses, club mosses and.....F....!

2)These plants propagate by spore producing bodies on different locations of the leaf or stem.

If you guessed that this is some kind of a FERN...well you would be mostly right!

The real "4-leaf clover" is actually a member of the fern family, Filicae. The ferns that we are most familar with are of the order Filicales: Polypodiaceae family. The "4-leaf clover" belongs to the order Marsileales: Marsileaceae family, genus Marsilea. The center of development of this genus is Australia with smaller distributions in temperate lattitudes according to Helmut Muhlberg's "The Complete Guide to Water Plants" (translation from German 1982) There are many species that have the 4-leaf configuration. Most of them or perhaps all of them are adapted to a marsh or aquatic environment. They seem to fit into the above category for  true clovers and oxalis in having a variety of leaf coloration and shapes that can be quite ornamental. One example is Marsilea quadrifolia which I grew in a pond situation that started out in shallow water. By mid-summer the plants had managed to creep along the bottom to a depth of 3-5 ft. the leaves that reached the surface were 3-4 in. across! This same plant in boggy conditions were only a little more than 1 in. across!  It is good to note at this point that only plants that are grown in boggy conditions are capable of a spore producing body at the base of each petiole(leaf stem) This plant also produces attractive central markings on each "leaf" and a very glossy overlay.
Marsilea vestita, Hairy Cloverfern, is considered a native to our area along reservoirs and ponds at lower elevations. Here are a list of just a few species:
Marsilea quadrifolia
M. crenata
M. drummondi
M. hirsuta
M. minuta
M. natans
M. mutica
M. vestita

Maybe I can drummondi...I mean drum up some pics in a few minuta's or maybe more or vest-it-a become a mut-ica point! Can ya believe I wud'a 'vesti-ta lot of in'trest in crenata-ting somethin' hir-suta like this 4-leaf stuff...so I quad-re-fo-ya!!! Jus' like that...na-tan,s-econds a bit later!

Like I always do...just DREAM ON! When it happens it happens...more or less, I guess...?!