Autumn color
Sometimes, trees in the Southwest lack fall color, but this is only true where no provision is made in the garden for plants with bright autumn hues. Sweet gum, Liquidambar styraciflua, is a blaze of color every year.
Leaves turn a mottled red-yellow, and orange color that puts a maple to shame. Ginkgo, pistachio, and deciduous oaks can usually be depended on for fall color.
Lawns
October is the perfect time to plant grass lawns, especially if you use bluegrass, fescue, or bent. Root development is better in cool weather, and weeds are less competitive. Do not plant Dichondra lawns wait until spring.
Lilies
Plant lily bulbs as soon as received. Plant them in filtered sun where drainage is good. Lilies, as well as other bulbs, like a phosphate-rich soil, bone meal gives good results.
Biological Controls
West Coast gardeners are excited about a new material for lawn moths (sod web-worm) and dichondra cutworms that utilize a biological control like Bacillus Thuringiensis (Bt). When larvae and caterpillars ingest this bacteria, it causes death within four days.
This approach offers a supplementary control method because the bacteria can be applied with insecticides presently used against these soil pests.
Good-bye to Annual Blue Grass
The pesky little grass weed that is the bane of all dichondra lawns, annual blue grass (Poa annua), can now be controlled. Using a Chickweed Killer, applied now, will prevent this pest from appearing in winter or spring.
Poa annua is often overlooked in blue grass lawns, but its presence usually accounts for grass dying out in midsummer. Annual blue grass cannot survive the summer heat, and crabgrass takes its place.
Because its insidious habit is not recognized, it is my candidate for the worst weed pest of grass and dichondra lawns.
Bulbs
Buy top-sized bulbs as these will produce the sturdiest plants with the largest flowers. Bargain-sized bulbs cost as much in labor, fertilizer, and water, so you save little and lose much when buying smaller bulbs. The bulbs you can plant now include:
- Narcissus
- Hyacinth
- Dutch iris
- Lily
- Crocus
- Anemone
- Ranunculus
- Calla
- Freesia
- Gladiolus
Chrysanthemums:
Plants of Chrysanthemums can be purchased in full bloom and used to decorate the house or patio for several weeks; they can be cut back and planted in the garden for bloom next year.
Winter Color
For color in your garden this winter, plant Primroses, Cinerarias, Pansies, and Calceolarias in the shade garden.
In the sun, depend on stock, snapdragon, Iceland poppy, and sweet pea. The new dwarf sweet peas make a mound of vivid hues that rival petunias.
West Coast October Question of the Month
Question: When is the best time to set out bulbs of Ranunculus?
Answer: PlantRanunculus when soil is cool, usually in October or November. If planted in warmer weather, the plants are apt to be weak.
FGR1060 – by A Roberts – California