A devoted gardener would rather give or receive tools, plants, or a unique garden treasure than gold, diamonds or pearls.

Tasks

• Monitor ground moisture, especially in beds and under eaves and patios.
• Store unused fertilizers and pesticides in a dry place.
• Dig and divide overcrowded dahlia tubers and store in a cool, dry place. Replant in late February.

Pruning

• Remove dead foliage and stems from dormant perennials.
• Prune junipers during cool weather to prevent sunburn.
• Prune and trellis caneberries.

Fertilizing

• Feed cool weather plants and vegetables.

Planting

• The time for fall planting is coming to an end.
• Order bare-root roses and perennials from gardening websites or catalogs.
• Fruits and vegetables: Lettuce, peas, edible pod peas - plant from seed or six-packs.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: fig, walnut (Juglans), crabapple (Malus).
• Annuals: larkspur (Consolida), flowering kale.

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: cyclamen, dianthus.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: paperwhite (Narcissus).
• Trees, shrubs, vines: barberry (Berberis).
• Fruits and vegetables: cauliflower, comice pears.

Things to ponder

• Enjoy the quiet of the winter garden.
• At the end of the month, apply dormant oil spray to deciduous fruit with copper fungicides, to control shot hole disease on twigs.
• Avoid overhead irrigation if frost is expected.

Historic frost dates

• Zone 8: November 15 through March 15
• Zone 9: December 15 through February 15

It's a time of transition for the weather and daylight (back to standard time. Sigh, I like the later sunsets). Mother Nature is giving us a break from the awful heat we had this summer. However, forecasters predict a warmer and drier month than normal. Remember that the new watering schedule starts Nov. 1. Your yard can only be watered once a week. Make sure to water your roses (and yard) in cycles (anywhere from 5 minutes to 15 minutes at a time, depending on the plantings, soil, etc.). That way, water can be absorbed easier and stay in the soil, where it belongs (not running down the street).

You can fertilize on the 1st and again on the 15^th of November. That is it for fertilizing your roses until early spring of next year. So, sit back and enjoy your fall bloom. There should be beautiful blooms for Thanksgiving and up until Christmas or the first of the year, depending on the weather. Check for any unwanted bugs or fungal diseases and treat accordingly. (See: Rose Pests)

What if you don't have a yard but still want to grow roses? Grow them in pots! I have several roses in pots since I don't have room for them elsewhere. You can grow mini roses in a three-gallon pot. A bush rose will do very well in a five-gallon container (or larger). If you want to plant a large climbing rose, use a 13-gallon pot or larger.

Drainage is important — do not place pots directly on soil or lawn since it could block the drainage holes. I place all my pots on a rolling pot stand that holds up to 500 lbs. May sound like overkill, but I have used them successfully for decades! They really last! Also, you will be surprised how often you end up moving your pots. Having them on the rolling pot stand makes all the difference in the world. Potted roses are very heavy. 

Your potting soil will eventually settle and compact after a year or two. I use a mixture of outdoor potting soil and mix in perlite for extra drainage. The perlite is lightweight, which also makes the pots easier to move. You can also mix in pine bark, mulch, sand or fine gravel. It will help with drainage. Roses hate wet feet! 

Feed potted roses every month. Plants will perform for about 4 to 5 years in a container. If they stop blooming, you will need to replace the potting soil. When the plant is dormant and pruned for spring, take them out of the pot, trim up the roots and replant with fresh potting soil (mixed with the perlite). For some of my more vigorous roses, I may re-pot every three years. The rose will let you know!

You can use clay or plastic pots. Just be aware that clay pots are heavy and expensive. They also can crack when we get freezing weather. I use pots that are made from fiber cement material. They can be pricey; however, I have had mine for about 10 years before they need to be replaced. Look for them at membership stores in the spring, which tend to have the best prices.

Fiber cement posts are sturdy, lightweight and frost resistant to 0 F. I do drill extra drainage holes in the bottom (easy to do with these pots and they don't crack). I also line the bottom part of the pot with window screening material. It keeps the soil from coming out of the holes and slugs cannot get into the pot through the holes on the bottom (great if you grow hostas as well!). I find these pots to be much cooler in the summer. They are thicker than regular plastic pots. They protect the roots from our heat during summer. I also plant in light-colored pots, not dark colors, as I don't want the dark color to absorb the sun and heat up the roots.

Do not use stones or pebbles at the bottom of your pot thinking this will improve drainage. This theory was disproved long ago. It creates something called a perched water table. This is a saturated zone where water pools and can't drain away, leading to root rot. As I have said before, roses hate wet feet!

This is a picture of the rose, Candice, that I grew in a pot. This is a shrub rose bred by G. Delbard (France) named after Candice Morgan, a deaf TV presenter and actress in South Africa. She is an advocate for deaf rights. Both Candices are beautiful.

Until next time … Do not be impatient with your seemingly slow progress. Do not try to run faster than you presently can. If you are studying, reflecting and trying, you are making progress whether you are aware of it or not. A traveler walking the road in the darkness of night is still going forward. Someday, some way, everything will break open, like the natural unfolding of a rosebud." - Vernon Howard

 

Create a visual feast with pomegranates, miniature pumpkins, Indian corn, gourds, fall flowers, and herbs from your garden.

Tasks

• The tuberous roots of sweet potatoes will be ruined if the foliage is damaged by frost. Harvest before freezing temperatures kill the vines.
• Use fall leaves as mulch.
• This is the month to stimulate flower bud formation in your Christmas cactus by placing it in darkness for 12 to 14 hours each day when the temperature is 50° to 55° at night.

Pruning

• “Pre?prune” roses by aggressively deadheading spent blooms and removing leaves from canes to nudge plants into dormancy.
• Prune shrubs and trees to shape, except for spring-flowering varieties.
• Thin black pine candles.

Fertilizing

• For even application of nutrients, use time?release fertilizer formulations on cool season vegetables.

Planting

• As outdoor garden activity slows, use the time to transfer some design ideas to paper.
• Fruits and vegetables: cabbage, garlic.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: almond, apple, apricot.
• Annuals: snapdragon (Antirrhinum), calendula, Baja fairy duster (Calliandra californica), Leucanthemum paludosum, Iceland Poppy (Papaver nudicaule).

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: snapdragon (Antirrhinum), calendula.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: paperwhite (Narcissus).
• Trees, shrubs, vines: abelia.
• Fruits and vegetables: apples, broccoli, cabbage, limes.
• Fall color: aster, Maidenhair tree (Ginkgo biloba).

Things to ponder

• Feed the birds, including resident hummingbirds (and remember to clean your feeders regularly).
• Repair shops are busiest in spring. Now is a good time to have repairs made to power tools and to have your lawn mower serviced.
• Historically, Nov. 15 is the first frost date for Zone 8 and Dec. 15 for Zone 9, but frost may occur earlier.
• Move or cover tender plants. Plastic is not recommended.

Drought tip

• Clean rain gutters and use downspout extensions to direct rain runoff back into the landscape, rather than into the street and storm drains.

My neighbor is a very active and observant bird watcher and on my daily dog walk he told me to take a look at the stand of Chinese pistache trees down the block. “They're full of red berries and the little birds are feasting on them,” he told me. “You might even see a yellow Wilson's warbler; they're migrating now.” I didn't spot any warblers in the trees, but did see about 30 noisy finches and sparrows flitting around the berry clusters.

I had never noticed that those three trees were loaded with berries and full of small birds in fall. Maybe that's because almost all the trees in my neighborhood are male varieties; it's rare to see female or flower and fruit-bearing landscape trees in any neighborhood.

The rationale for planting only male trees has been that female fruit, nut and seed-bearing trees trees create litter that can make a mess on sidewalks, patios and cars. They can also attract rats, squirrels and other vermin. Male trees aren't as messy, but they do produce pollen – one of the main reasons allergy problems have increased in recent years. Nurseries often stock only male trees.  

According to a report on the Audubon website, the population of birds in North America is nearly three billion fewer than in 1970. Other sources state that 90% of the decline in the U.S. bird population is in just 12 bird families, including small warblers, sparrows and finches, seed and berry-eating birds that are very common in our urban neighborhoods. The decline is driven by climate change, heat stress, urbanization and the loss of agricultural land. Some birds – including crows, riparian black Phoebes and Anna's hummingbirds – have been better able to adapt to changing conditions, unlike desert birds whose populations have plummeted. 

We try to encourage home gardeners to plant bee- and pollinator-friendly gardens that include a variety of flowering plants that bloom at differing times in order to provide a constant source of pollen and nectar for beneficial insects (and hummingbirds). We might also stress the need to plant a variety of flowering trees and bushes in home gardens, which will provide shelter, nest-building materials, habitat, seeds, fruit, sap and insects for birds throughout the seasons.

Native trees, which will attract and feed native birds, are the obvious first choice, but finding them can be difficult. Many new housing developments have very limited yards or green space and lack parking strips where trees can be planted, so size at maturity is another factor. Nursery labels often don't indicate whether trees and bushes are native, whether they produce seed that is edible for birds, or when fruit and seed production will take place. However, more local nurseries and garden centers are setting aside space for and emphasizing native plants, and their staff is becoming more knowledgeable.

The most bird-friendly Central Valley gardens would include a few smaller evergreen conifers, one deciduous fruit or flowering tree, two or three groupings of perennial seed and berry bushes as well as flowering annuals and perennials that bloom over the length of the growing season and hold seed through the winter.

Sources:

Plant Native Trees That Attract Birds, Birdsandblooms.com, Jan. 21, 2022   

Climate change, urbanization drive major declines in birds, UC Berkeley News, Feb.22, 2023

North America has lost more than 1 in 4 birds in the last 50 years, new study says, Audubon, Sept. 19, 2009

"The Allergy-Fighting Garden," Thomas Leo Ogren, 2015, Ten Speed Press, ISBN: 978-1-60774-491-7