Harvest fall foliage and vegetables to make an autumn centerpiece. (Photo: PickPic)

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.

Not only are Calendulas beautiful, they are known as 'poor man's saffron.' Use fresh or dried petals to get the same taste and color as saffron in rice and stews.(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.

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 form in a wide variety of colors, shapes and sizes when chemicals produced by the larva of wasps are injected into oak leaves, branches or twigs. (Illustration: “Alternating generations; a biological study of oak galls and gall flies,” 1894, University of California Libraries)

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.

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 6 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.

Mulch your winter garden to nourish the soil and prevent weeds. (Photo: Vicki Moore, CC by 2.0)

Tasks

• Monitor rainfall and adjust water accordingly to keep soil moist for new plantings.
• Put organic mulch around permanent plants to conserve water and prevent weeds.
• Trees need to be deeply watered as they enter dormancy.
• Mushrooms often appear in the lawn in the fall as growing conditions are favorable. If you do not like them, rake or pull them out and discard.

Pruning

• Prune shrubs and trees to shape. Pruning junipers during cool weather prevents sunburn.
• Deadhead and shape rose bushes to promote final fall bloom.

Fertilizing

• Feed cool-season lawns with time-release granular fertilizer.
• Fertilize flowering annuals and perennials to promote fall growth.

Planting

• Continue staggered planting of cool-weather vegetables such as chard and spinach.
• Perennials: agave, dianthus.
• Bulbs, corms, tubers: brodiaea, crocus, freesia.
• Fruits and vegetables: onions, parsley, radish.
• Annuals: larkspur (Consolida), flowering kale, Primrose (Primula).
• Trees, shrubs, vines: Goldenchain tree (Laburnum), pomegranate (Punica).

Enjoy now

• Annuals and perennials: dianthus, alyssum (Lobularia).
• Fruits and vegetables: artichokes, cauliflower, figs, grapes, kale, limes.
• Trees, shrubs, vines: crape myrtle, bayberry (Berberis), beautyberry (Callicarpa).
• Fall color: maidenhair (Ginkgo biloba), goldenrain tree (Koelreuteria).

Things to ponder

• Store unused fertilizers and pesticides in a dry, warm place. Pesticides should be stored in a separate, locked cabinet or container.

Drought tip

• Postpone unnecessary fall planting until rainfall replenishes soil moisture and supplemental watering is no longer needed.