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Q. What causes trees to turn color in the fall? Is it the rain or the cold weather? I have a friendly wager with my neighbor that it’s the cold weather.

A. It’s neither the rain nor the cold that causes the autumn foliage color in deciduous trees. Instead, the trigger is the day length or more correctly, the length of the nights. Temperature does play a role as it accelerates or slows down the rate of change. In the Bay Area, fall color is at its peak in early November through early December. Pistache, Japanese Maple, Crape Myrtle, Ginkgo, Raywood Ash, Flowering Pear and Liquidambar are the primary landscape trees that change color. We also find a color change in a few evergreen plants. Star Jasmine, and Algerian Ivy turn a maroon color while boxwood is dirty brown. The beginning of fall color season does shift each year due to the weather.

Although it’s unlikely to occur in our area, very cold nights can ruin the vivid colors by causing cells in the leaves to rupture and die. Rain is never a factor in leaf color, but heavy cloud cover limits the ultraviolet light, so the chlorophyll, the green pigment, lasts longer; hence, leaves stay green longer. Warmer temperatures cause leaf cells to burn the accumulated sugars, so less red and purple pigments are formed with the yellow and orange being the predominant colors. The actual leaf color is determined by genetics. The dominant color gene is green while the red, yellow, orange, purple or any other recessive color pigments are only apparent when Chlorophyll isn’t being produced. Many trees have only one color pigment while trees with variegated foliage have several dominant pigments. A deciduous tree goes dormant before the change in the foliage color. Dormancy is defining as a plant that is stop activity growing. Among the same species, the range of colors can and will vary. It depends on whether or not the tree was propagated from seed or a vegetative part. Liquidambar, American Sweet Gum is an excellent example. The foliage color is unknown until the fall. Palo Alto, Burgundy and Festival are grafted varieties sold for their predictable foliage color. Unrelated to weather, plant stress can cause the foliage to change color out of season or very early. Drought is the usual cause but other cultural practices can be an issue. This type change in foliage color is an indicator of a problem. The ideal conditions for fall color are warm, sunny days and cool nights with little wind or drought stress. This is has been a fabulous year for the fall color while has year it was poor.

Q. I’ve had snapdragons in six-inch pots since the spring. If I plant them in the ground, will they become perennials?

A. Snapdragons are an annual and might survive the winter and bloom again but they’re not going to become a perennial. Impatiens, Fibrous Begonias and others commonly last more than one year, because of our mild winters. So I’d enjoy them and replant when necessary.

 

Buzz Bertolero is Executive Vice President of Navlet’s Garden Centers and a California Certified Nursery Professional.  His web address is www.dirtgardener.com and you can send questions by email at dirtgarden@aol.com or to 360 Civic Drive Ste. ‘D’, Pleasant Hill, Calif. 94523 and on Facebook

at Facebook/.com/Buzz-Bertolero

 

The artwork in your home and place of business reflect your personality, memories of travel, and your unique design style. Art adds the pop of color needed against a neutral wall to complete a room. Whether it is an abstract, a beautiful Tuscan scene, or a floral painting; the art surrounding you needs to reflect your individual taste. There are many ways to place art on a wall, depending on the scale of the room and the scale of the piece.

Groupings of art along a staircase wall look great if done right. Various frame sizes with the same design placed just above eye level can follow the curve or slope of the staircase. These frames can house family photos, photos taken from family vacations, or work from your favorite artist. For a more eclectic look, mix wood stained frames and painted wood or metal frame styles. Space them equally from each other and you have a beautiful, custom-designed art wall.

Artwork in a dining room, above a buffet or on a large wall, can be larger in scale to fit the space. Flanking a mid-sized square piece with two vertical complementing pieces fills the wall nicely without crowding. A wall above the sofa in the living or family room may need a collage of several canvases to add height. The style of any piece should reflect the look of the room but the most important factor is the emotion that you personally get from it. Art should usually be placed just below center for the height and centered on the wall. Ask someone with a trained eye and get help from professional art installers when hanging important pieces.

The condition known as Sciatica is one of the most common conditions that we treat at Align Healing Center. Some of the typical symptoms of Sciatica are sharp pain in the low-back and/or buttocks accompanied by numbness, tingling, aching or burning down the back of the leg. In severe circumstances, weakness in the leg may also be seen.

The Sciatic Nerve is large and travels down the back of the leg to the foot. The nerve is buried deep within the muscles of the buttock and leg making it difficult to treat with common physical therapy methods. The Sciatic Nerve is composed of several smaller nerves and originates from the low back. It passes under the piriformis muscle (underneath the main buttock muscles) on its way down the leg. Irritation of the Sciatic Nerve at any point along its path is commonly known as “Sciatica”.

Understanding Sciatica

Let’s talk about nerves for a moment. Nerves are the electrical wiring of the human body. They carry the signals that allow us to move, feel, digest, detoxify, respond to our environment, and so much more. Plain and simple, if the nerves do not work the body will not work. That being said, it is important to understand that unlike other tissues, the primary blood supply to nerve tissue is actually located WITHIN the nerve itself. So, if a nerve becomes impinged or compromised, so does the blood supply to the nerve. Without proper blood supply, the nerve does not receive the energy and nutrition that are needed for the nerve to heal itself. Over time neural impingement leads to a painful chronic condition called Neuropathy. The definition of neuropathy is a disease or injury affecting nerve cells. The common symptoms of Neuropathy include sharp pain, burning, muscular weakness, numbness or tingling either at the site of the nerve injury or wherever the nerve travels. The condition known as Sciatica is a form of Neuropathy that specifically affects the Sciatic Nerve.

What can I do to relieve my Sciatica without drugs or surgery?

Since 1999 Align Healing Center has been offering many different modalities to heal Sciatica. We have found that a combination of Class IV laser therapy and spinal decompression offer outstanding results in healing stubborn Sciatica. Class IV Laser Therapy allows the practitioner to stimulate healing within the damaged tissue by delivering the necessary energy directly to the injured area. This creates an optimal healing environment that reduces pain and inflammation, swelling, muscle spasms and stiffness. In addition to laser therapy we implement spinal decompression to restore spinal disc health. Decompression works by gently stretching the spine, creating a vacuum effect which can restore disc height and even reduce the severity of bulging disc conditions associated with chronic pain and neurological symptoms.

We have found laser and decompression therapy to be most beneficial for patients with pinched nerves, arthritis, herniated discs, and degenerative disc disease. This unique combination of non-invasive therapy offers a chance for realizing a permanent cure. The treatment is finite and typically lasts for about a month. This eliminates the long-term care commitment forced upon patients by other symptomatic sciatica treatments.  With proper care and rehabilitation of your spine and nervous system you can be back to your healthy self quickly!

Dr. Niele Maimone, DC of Align Healing Center in Danville, CA has been active in natural health & wellness since 1999. For more information or to set up a consult call 925.362.8283 or visit www.alignhealingcenter.com.

Several months ago a client of mine of many years came into our salon to purchase her products and I noticed her skin was different. It was youthful, smooth and glowing like she just had a mini lift or a skin peel. Her youthfulness was so amazingly noticeable I was curious and had to ask her what she was doing to her skin to have such a beautiful glow. She then explained to me that she was getting J-Bio’s™ Intensif Concentre´ Human Growth Factor Serum micro-needled into her skin, while working as an R.N. at the office of Dr. Valerie Schneider M.D. Inc., Medical Aesthetics in Walnut Creek.

I decided to research this further and found that Human Growth Factors have been around for decades and that doctors have been using HGFs for wound healing, burn victims and to reduce scarring. Researchers also discovered by using the same method of treatment to aging skin, it also reduces fine lines and wrinkles and improves the appearance of sun damaged and photo-aged skin. I also found that it helps people who suffer from severe acne and pitted skin as it dramatically reduces inflammation and heals the skin from the inside out, restoring the skin to a healthy state.

To further this technology of Human Growth Factors, not to be confused with Human Growth Hormones, a totally different entity, Human Growth Factors in J•Bio™ Serums’ Proprietary ICG 9 Triplex, uses specialized growth factors from human fibroblasts, specifically chosen for their ability to enhance the skin. These factors stimulate the skin’s ability to repair the cells deep within the skin, replacing damaged collagen fibers with new ones and creating a proliferation of healthy, new skin cells. Doing a series of monthly J•Bio™ Intensif Concentre´ Micro-Needling treatments have shown impressive results in the reduction of fine lines and wrinkles, increased plumping of the skin, promoting a smoother complexion, and leaving the skin extremely supple with an overall youthful glow.

In September I booked an appointment for a series of these treatments with Gretchen Ranhoff R.N., at Dr. Schneider’s office, as I’ve been battling with acne and breakouts for years and I also wanted to improve my skin. During my consultation, I learned that this procedure not only helps women and men with aging skin and acne, but it augments IPL and Laser Facials by greatly enhancing the results of these treatments.

I have so enjoyed my HGF treatments that after having just two sessions the acne that I was experiencing is now under control and my skin is much smoother. Needless to say, I was very pleased with the outcome. Both practitioners have a special passion for helping women and men of all ages and have dedicated their professional skills in using the highest anti-aging technologies available today. They are extremely accommodating and committed to giving you the very best in skin care.