California Native Plants, drought tolerant plants

Why Plant in the Fall?

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Those lazy, crazy, foggy days of summer are behind us now. What a strange summer it was. Checking my un-scientific weather records I’ve kept since 1999, I find no other summer that was as cool at this one. This comes as no surprise to you tomato growers out there, I know.   At the other end of the spectrum, a few years, like the summer of 2006 and 2008 were real scorchers. We’re all looking forward to Indian summer which is the best planting season of the year.

There is plenty of time to plant California natives, Mediterranean plants or any other perennial, shrub, grass or tree.  By r, roots have a chance to grow all autumn and most of the winter as well without having to supply nourishment to the leafy portion of the plant. Roots of deciduous plants still grow even after plants drop their foliage as long as the ground temperature is above 50 degrees.  Cooler day and night temperatures slowly harden off the top of the plant to prepare for the cold days of winter.

Another reason that fall is the no-fail planting season is because plants put in the ground in fall need less water to establish. Plants themselves use less water since photosynthesis is slowed by shorter days even if it’s occasionally hot. Evaporation rates slow down also during fall so water in the soil lasts longer as well. Sometimes we get lucky with fall and winter rains perfectly spaced so the ground never completely dries out.

Even cool season annuals such as snapdragons, pansies and violas, Iceland poppies and primrose planted in early fall have time to develop better roots before flowering and because they start blooming earlier they bloom over a longer time.

So get out the shovel, prepare you soil and make a shopping list.

Plants that thrive in dry, shady spots benefit especially from fall planting as they need established root systems before next years dry season. Dry shade sometimes occurs in places beyond the reach of the hose but also under native oaks. To protect their health, it’s a requirement that plants underneath thrive with little or no summer irrigation.

Plants of proven success under these conditions include native currants and gooseberry. Claremont pink flowering currant ( Ribes sanguineum var. glutinosum) are beautiful in spring with pale pink flower clusters that darken as they age. The powdered, blue-black berries are edible although the seeds are bitter. To get a taste of the fruit, though, you’ll have to compete with the birds. Chapparal currant is another tough reliable shrub that blooms early and often, flowering from December through March. The pendulous flower clusters are 2-6 inches long and range in color from dusty pink to rose red.

Other winning shrubs for dry shade include mahonia, nandina, osmanthus, snowberry, coffeeberry, aucuba, barberry and upright manzanita.

Groundcovers that thrive under oaks or other dry shady spots include hellebore, evergreen currant, correa, manzanita and sarcoccoca.

Whatever conditions you have in your garden, don’t miss out adding some great plants during the fabulous fall planting season.

 

container gardening, succulents

Tough Succulents & other Plants for Containers

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I have hundreds of plants in containers (295 at last count). You’d be amazed how many pots you can squeeze on a wrap-around deck, including the railings! Some of my favorites are those that house my succulent collection. I’ve come to think of them as pets as they grow over the years. They are tough, resilient and beautiful.

All my plants must be able to survive our winters without intervention on my part. I remember one cold snap about 10 years ago when the surface of my deck was frozen by early evening. I decided to move some cymbidium orchids onto the covered porch, slipped and almost broke my leg. Never again, I vowed. I may move a few succulents out of the pouring rain for the winter season but that’s the extent of my coddling.

The simplest and most sophisticated of all hardy container designs is to plant a skim of sedum across the surface of a shallow container. There are so many to choose from Then leave it alone to grow and drip down the sides.

Another plant combination that works well is to anchor a large pot with a slow growing shrub or dwarf tree that lends height as well as carries your display through the season.Plant a few hens and chickens (echeveria or sempervivum)  at the base and maybe a couple of blue fescue grasses for contrast.

Fast growing succulents, like trailing Sedum acre Lemon Ball or Golden Girl are fun and easy to grow and propagate. I’ve had my original for years although I thought I’d lost it last winter. Sixty inches of rain washed out all the soil in the pot and floated away most of the plant. From one small piece it has recovered beautifully.The chartreuse foliage would blend nicely with chocolate foliage like Carex Red Rooster or even chocolate cosmos.

Libertia, an iris relative with golden-orange swordlike leaves, looks great underplants with any of the succulents. This beautiful grass-like plant grows 2 ft high and 1 ft wide forming a colony by rhizomes. They are especially attractive when backlit. Clusters of inch wide, white flowers bloom from late spring to midsummer. Grow them in sun or light shade along with your succulents, phormiums and grasses.

Be sure to use a quality potting mix in your containers. There are special succulent and cactus mixes available but succulents are forgiving as long as the soil drains freely. of the pot as this impedes drainage. It work best to fill the entire pot with soil, top to bottom.

There are lots of succulents to plant up in interesting containers or simple clay pots. Some take full sun, while others like a bit of shade. Some handle frost easily while others need some protection. Let your imagination go wild.
 

Deer Resistant Plants

Beautiful Deer Resistant Plants

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It’s coming. You can feel it. When school starts, Indian Summer usually starts, too, and it won’t be long before we’ll be basking in lots of sunshine.

Fall is just around the corner and most flowering perennials and annuals will continue to bloom until Halloween and maybe into November if the weather cooperates. My garden is mostly blue, pink and lavender but I like to add warm colored flowers and foliage plants to the garden now to enjoy for the next several months.

Living in mostly shade I’m excited to see a new impatien in a peach color. Envoy peach butterfly sport a profusion  flowers with dark coral centers. This series also comes in bicolor rose and lavender shades which are equally showy. They really light up the shade garden.

There are many flowering plants that ease us into fall. Whether they bloom with red, orange, yellow, bronze or rust flowers, the colors seem appropriate at this time of year. Some of my favorites are kangaroo paw, erysimum ‘Fragrant Sunshine’, mimulus, strawflowers, asteriscus, lantana, coreopsis, mums and zinnia. Orange clock vines are one of the showiest around. They need protection here to survive the winter but the huge 3" long, bright orange flowers are worth the risk.

Gloriosa daisy or rudbeckia now come in so many new colors. Cherry Brandy produces beautiful masses of cherry red flowers to add to your traditional rusty colors. All are tough and easy to grow and they make a good cut flower for bouquets.

Don’t forget warm foliage colors like coprosma, Golden Delicious pineapple sage and red fountain grass to play off the bold colors of your fall flowers. By mixing in a liberal doses of grasses and shrubs you’ll have a garden that won’t quit until it gets cold.

Remember the color wheel to add additional colors to your warm autumn garden. Blue is the complementary color of orange and purple or lavender goes with yellow and gold. Cool down hot colors with blue flowering perennials like blue plumbago, Aster frikartii Monch, Russian sage, blue ground morning glory and scabiosa. Lilac or purple flowers include lavatera bicolor, Midnight penstemon, verbena, princess flowers, salvia and annuals like torenia and lobelia.
 

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