When shopping for the holidays, consider gifts of gardening tools. (Photo: Alabama Extension)

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

Shorter days mean there is less time to spend in the garden. Peruse gardening websites, magazines and seed catalogs instead

Protect citrus when nighttime temperatures fall below freezing. (Photo: Pixabay)

Tasks

• Stake newly planted trees in windy areas
• Clean up debris to eliminate hiding places for pests (if necessary). 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

Plant the beautiful perennial Rose of Sharon (hibiscus) in the fall. (Photo: HeungSoon from Pixabay)

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

Oak galls, which come in a wide variety of shapes and colors, don't harm people or trees. (Photo: UC IPM)

Tasks

• Cut warm-season grasses short and over-seed with cool season grasses – annual or perennial rye or fine fescue. Better yet – let them go dormant to save water and mowing
• Check and improve drainage around plants in low areas
• Add fallen leaves, chipped trimmings, and garden debris to compost
• Remember that plants in containers or beds under covered areas may not receive adequate water from rainfall and may require supplemental irrigation in fall and winter
• Use organic mulch around permanent plants and add organic matter to the soil to prepare beds for spring planting

Pruning

• Dispose of diseased wood by discarding in the trash

Plant peas from seeds in the fall. (Photo: Nancy Devaurs)

Fertilizing

• Feed cool-weather plants and vegetables
• Add bulb fertilizer to planting holes before planting bulbs

Planting

• Tulip and hyacinth bulbs that have been chilled for six weeks may be planted now
• Sow wildflowers or grasses on hillsides to prevent erosion in heavy rains
• Perennials: coral bells (Heuchera)
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: Hyacinthus orientalis
• Fruits and vegetables: cabbage, peas, spinach, plant from seed
• Annuals: toadflax (Linaria maroccana), stock (Matthiola incana)
• Trees, shrubs, vines: Indian hawthorne (Rhaphiolepsis)

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: stock (Matthiola) African daisy (Osteospermum)
• Fruit and vegetables: Asian pears, chard, nectarines, peas, peppers
• Trees, shrubs, vines: holly (Ilex), Chinese fringe flower (Loropetalum), Nandina
• Fall color: crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica), sweet gum (Liquidambar)

Things to ponder

• Do not use lime sulfur spray on apricots or walnuts

September plantings of Swiss chard, a healthy and delicious leafy green, are ready for harvest now. (Photo: Nancy Devaurs)

Coreopsis can be planted now. (Photo: Nancy Devaurs)

Tasks

• Top dress warm-season lawns with well-composted manure
• Sharpen and clean tools for fall pruning
• Adjust watering schedules to reflect cooler temperatures and shorter day

Pruning

Leaf-fall is the time to start pruning — except for apricots and olives, which should have been done in August

Fertilizing

Feed cool-weather plants and vegetables to promote fall growth

Planting

This is a good time to plant landscape trees and shrubs

• Continue to plant cool-weather annuals and those that use less water such as classic Coreopsis or hybrids such as ‘Rum Punch'
• Perennials: Lantana, Penstemon ‘Margarita BOP'
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: allium, anemone, Babiana
• Fruits and vegetables: carrots, garlic, lettuce, plant from seed
• Annuals: Michaelmas Daisy (Aster novi-belgii), snapdragon (Antirrhinum), calendula, chrysanthemum paludosum
• Trees, shrubs, vines: Cotoneaster

Do not replace vinca with pansies. A soil-borne fungal root rot affects these plants. (Photo: Nancy Devaurs)

Enjoy now

Harvest almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts and pecans when the outer hulls split open and nuts fall to the ground. Pick up nuts daily or shorten the task by shaking branches or knocking nuts down with a pole. Before shelling, dry nuts in the sun for two to three days; properly dried nutmeats should snap in two rather than bend. Use shelled nuts right away, or store in the freezer to prevent oxidation (rancidity), mold, and infestation by ants or small worms.

Fruits and vegetables: jicama, pumpkins, olives

Things to ponder

• Overnight temperatures in late October occasionally drop below freezing. Frost
  protection will be needed for houseplants, citrus, avocados and other cold-sensitive
  plants
• Do not replace vinca with pansies in the same bed - a soil-borne fungal root rot affects these plants

Drought tip

Use drip or soaker hoses for cool-season vegetable gardens, rather than less efficient overhead or furrow irrigation