Shorter days mean less time in the garden; peruse gardening websites, magazines, and seed catalogs instead.
Tasks:
• Stake newly planted trees in windy areas.
• Clean up debris to eliminate hiding places for pests. Or consider leaving fallen leaves and debris where they are, as many beneficial insects lay their eggs in the leaf litter — it also serves as a natural mulch.
• Irrigate citrus trees at night if frost is expected. Damage to citrus varies with variety and fruit ripeness.
• Continue to irrigate if weather remains dry.
Pruning:
• Do not top or prune trees severely in an attempt to avoid raking leaves! Extreme pruning will disfigure trees and shorten their lives.
• Discard diseased wood.
• Leaf fall is the time to start pruning — except for apricot, oleander, and olive trees, which should have been pruned in August.
Fertilizing:
• Add bulb fertilizer to planting holes before planting bulbs.
Planting:
• Fall planting ends this month. The soil will cool rapidly, which will slow root growth.
• If you wish to transplant trees in the fall, it is best to wait until December or January when deciduous and evergreen trees are dormant.
• Perennials: dianthus, euphorbia, kalanchoe, red hot poker (Kniphofia).
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: Snowdrop (Galanthus), snowflake (Leucojum), tulip (Tulipa), Watsonia.
• Fruits and vegetables: bulb and green onions, strawberry.
• Annuals: Love-in-a-mist (Nigella), primrose (Primula), pansy (Viola).
• Trees, shrubs, vines: sedge (Carex), Rose of Sharon (Hibiscus), bay laurel (Laurus).
Enjoy now:
• Annuals and perennials: Mexican blue sage (Salvia leucantha), ‘Pink Muhly’ (Muhlenbergia capillaris), pincushion flower (Scabiosa).
• Fruits and vegetables: Asian pears, kale, pomegranate, persimmon, winter squash.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: lantana, viburnum.
• Fall color: Chinese Pistache (Pistacia chinensis), Heavenly Bamboo (Nandina domestica).
Things to ponder:
• Calendula petals (fresh or dried) can be used as a substitute for saffron to color rice or flavor soups and stews.
Drought tip:
• Landscape watering in many areas is now restricted to one day per week. Check your city’s policy for its winter irrigation schedule.
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Source: Adapted from A Gardener’s Companion for the Central San Joaquin Valley, 3rd edition, currently available from Fresno County Master Gardeners for $30. These can be purchased at our demonstration garden — Garden of the Sun, 1750 N Winery (McKinley/Winery), open Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays from 9 a.m. to noon, and via email at mgfresno@ucanr.edu. Gardening questions answered as well at mgfresno@ucanr.edu. Prepared by Terry Lewis, Master Gardener UCCE Fresno County.