Janine Ferrer The Botagonist

Janine Ferrer The Botagonist ISA Consulting Arborist WE-13196A, ISA Tree Risk Expert (TRAQ) Consulting Horticulturist and Botanist. Virtual and in-person appointments available.

Something Strange Happened in San FranciscoIn 1985, someone noticed a single branch with unusual golden foliage growing ...
05/29/2026

Something Strange Happened in San Francisco

In 1985, someone noticed a single branch with unusual golden foliage growing on an otherwise ordinary Ceanothus in the Diamond Heights neighborhood of San Francisco.

That one branch was propagated and eventually introduced as Ceanothus 'Diamond Heights'.

It makes me wonder how many future garden plants are hiding in plain sight, waiting for someone to notice them during an evening walk around their neighborhood.

This mutation loaded with blue flowers can find a home in any California garden. If you'd like to see it in all its golden glory, check out the comments.

“Green paint” for plants looks like a fix, but it’s really just a cover. These sprays coat living leaves with a solvent-...
05/02/2026

“Green paint” for plants looks like a fix, but it’s really just a cover. These sprays coat living leaves with a solvent-based film that can interfere with how the plant breathes and functions, without addressing why it’s struggling in the first place.

You get instant color, but it’s a short-term visual patch, that does actual harm to the plant. It’s not plant care, and there’s some human level exposure risks to consider while applying.

If you want real, lasting green, it always comes back to water, soil, and the right growing conditions.

PESTICIDE RESIDUE. Organic black bean products from Falcon Trading Company, Inc., based in Royal Oaks, California, were ...
03/31/2026

PESTICIDE RESIDUE. Organic black bean products from Falcon Trading Company, Inc., based in Royal Oaks, California, were recalled in March 2026 due to potential pesticide residue. These products were sold in bulk bins nationwide, including in California.  It is difficult to trace at the consumer end, because lots are mixed when product is put out for bulk sale.

The FDA did not list the retailers. If you purchased bulk black beans, you might think about throwing them away to be on the side of caution.

Contact information [email protected]

Easy cutting garden I designed for a client. Simple and low maintenance. (Shared with permission.) She is looking to sou...
03/05/2026

Easy cutting garden I designed for a client. Simple and low maintenance. (Shared with permission.) She is looking to source old brick.

This layout uses three brick beds and plants flowers in small groups so they are easy to harvest for bouquets.

Back of the beds (taller flowers)
Sunflowers
Mexican sunflower
False sunflower
Coneflower

Middle of the beds
Cosmos
China aster
Black eyed Susan
Coreopsis
Yarrow
Tansy

Front of the beds
Zinnia
Calendula
Bachelor button
Pincushion flower
Floss flower
Dahlia

Plant each type in small clusters of about 4 to 7 plants rather than mixing everything randomly. That grouping is what gives a cutting garden its structure.

Beds about 4 x 8 feet work well for this type of layout and make harvesting flowers easy.

Content Update. I will now be regularly posting questions that I’ve answered in groups throughout Facebook. The owner of...
02/22/2026

Content Update. I will now be regularly posting questions that I’ve answered in groups throughout Facebook. The owner of this tree was looking to have the insect identified as the cause of a branch collapse.

Bigger black bees like that are carpenter bees. They tunnel into wood, but they usually go after wood that’s already dead or starting to decay. They’re not typically the reason a healthy branch snaps.

The wood in these photos looks compromised before the break. I’m seeing fungal growth and lichen on the bark, which can be indicators of stress or decline over time. The bees most likely moved in after the wood softened. Soft wood is easier to make tunnels in. Bees choose to be less busy.

When a branch of this size fails, it’s worth paying attention. Sometimes it’s isolated. Sometimes it’s a symptom of a larger structural or health issue in the tree.

I’d keep people and pets clear of the area until the tree can be looked at more closely. Heavy rain and saturated soil can add stress, especially if there’s underlying decay

Public Service AnnouncementMore rain is coming so that means tiptoe season is here.Healthy roots need fluffy soil. Fluff...
02/16/2026

Public Service Announcement
More rain is coming so that means tiptoe season is here.

Healthy roots need fluffy soil.
Fluffy soil means it holds air.
If it’s muddy, give it a break and stay off if you can.

Let’s not turn the yard into those terrible heavy pancakes I made in college. Keep your soil like those fluffy Japanese soufflé ones!

It’s cold today! 🥶 Dormant Field Finished Bench Graft grapevines started their lives as custom designed plants. A vineya...
02/13/2026

It’s cold today! 🥶 Dormant Field Finished Bench Graft grapevines started their lives as custom designed plants. A vineyard owner chose the type of roots and the type of fruit that were joined together. The plants were then grown in a field for a year. While dormant, they were harvested and trimmed and will be sent to their final home vineyard to be planted. The land where these were planted will not be planted again for ten years. Using this type of rotation helps with pest and disease management so that we can provide certified material. Malicious nematodes being one of them nasty critters!

“Nematodes are typically microscopic elongated roundworms that occur in nearly every aquatic and terrestrial environment. The vast majority of soil-dwelling nematodes cannot harm plants but play an important role in the soil food web and in nutrient cycling. Plant parasitic nematodes obtain their food only from living plant tissues. They feed by puncturing cells and withdrawing the contents with a needle-like mouthpart called a stylet.”

01/31/2026

Easystumps is on the job.

01/29/2026

Plants love dechlorinated tap water which is best applied after the top few inches of soil have dried out. I frequently use the only water when wilting method. That method really does work but requires occasional aeration. Chopsticks do a great job. ☺️

If you live in Folsom, leave your water out for 24 hours to remove the chlorine. This can be done because of how they treat the water. San Juan Water District treats with chloramine.  It is a different sanitizer and leaving water out will not dissipate the chlorine.

01/21/2026

When will pesticides be sprayed near you? Check out Spray Days California.

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