What to Plant in October
Trees, Shrubs, Perennials
- October and November are the best months to plant.
- Acorns for new oak trees. Acorns do best with 30 days cold treatment.
- Install drought tolerant shrubs and perennials such as barberry, ceanothus, dogwood, iris, fremontia, manzanita, Oregon grape, penstemon, redbud, rockrose, smoke tree, toyon.
- Plant spring bulbs! You have about 2 months to get them in the ground.
Flowers
- Direct seed cornflower, nasturtium, nigella, poppy, lupine, columbine, portulaca, sweet pea, garden pea, and stock.
- Above 2000 ft.: direct seed crocus, daffodil, hyacinth, scilla, tulips.
- Continue to set out cool-weather bedding plants such as calendula, pansy, snapdragon, primrose and viola.
Vegetables
- Plant onions, garlic, artichokes and asparagus before frost.
- Direct seed beets, bok choy, spinach, peas, mustard, radishes.
- At warmer elevations, plant potatoes now through March.
Lawns
- This is an ideal time to reseed bare spots.
- Think about reducing the size of, or removing, your lawn to conserve resources.
Cover Crops
- Seed for erosion control on slopes.
- Clover or fava beans to improve soil structure in your vegetable garden.
Garden Maintenance
- Clean out flower and vegetable gardens to discourage diseases and pests from overwintering in your beds.
- Rake leaves from ditches to make way for the rain that's coming.
- Reprogram drip system timers for cooler weather and rain.
- Update your garden journal, noting what worked and what didn't work. Look around at the fall color you might want to plant for next year.
- Mulch or mow leaves on your lawn and add to your compost pile, either an existing one or a new one.
- Apply a thick layer of compost to enrich your soil for spring planting.
- Apply mulch to bulbs and tubers left in the ground.
- Deadhead spent flowers.
- Lift tuberous begonias.
- Lift and divide dahlias, dust with sulfur before storing.
- Divide lilies.
- Cut back and divide spent perennial phlox and asters.
- Cover compost bins with plastic tarps once the rains begin.
- Clean out bird houses and bird feeders.
- Cut old berry canes and tie the new canes to support wires. It's easy to identify the old canes now; they're turning brown.
- Finish pruning any fruit trees after the last fruit is removed.
Fertilize
- Established lawns.
- Indoor plants.
- Persimmons and pomegranates before dormancy.
- Chrysanthemums.
Spray
Check the California Backyard Orchard website for current information.
- First dormant spray of stone fruits when leaves fall.
- Citrus with copper for brown rot. Pay special attention to lower branches and ground under tree.
- Cane berries with copper before winter rains.