Mulching
Thursday 01 December 2011 at 08:15 am.
Yes, you can find fall color in California. The Goldenrain tree or Koelreuteria paniculata shown at the top of the page has rusty red husks that last for many weeks in the fall. Many other trees and shrubs put on a great display with colorful leaves or fruit. Hawthorn or Crataegus comes in many species and is adapted to zones 8 and 9. It is a member of the pome tribe of the rose family. The fruits resemble tiny apples. Many plants are covered with red or black 'berries' now. Mow and Mulch
If you're lucky enough to have a good mulching mower, you'll appreciate its value this time of year. I use a Toro Commercial Recycler with a special mulching blade. The blade has sharpened fins that lift the clippings and shred them at the same time. These blades are available for many mowers. I can mow a lawn covered with sycamore aand liquidambar leaves, and the leaves virtually disappear. I may have to go over the lawn two times if the leaves are very thick, but it's worth it. I have no bags of leaves to tie up and send to the landfill. There's Still Time to Plant The fall planting season is coming to a close, and the rainiest months will soon be upon us. Finish up your fall planting now. Select landscape trees now while they are showing fall color. Choose Liquidambar, Chinese Pistache and Ginko biloba.
If you want colorful flowers this month, shop for sasanqua camellias, bushy plants with small but profuse flowers. Plant those tulip and hyacinth bulbs that you put in the refrigerator 6 to 8 weeks ago. Plant in drifts of a dozen or two bulbs with the same color flower for best effect. Add some superphosphate to the soil beneath the bulb as you plant. Plant wildflower seeds. Prepare the ground by cultivating and raking.
Scatter the seeds, rake to thinly cover and water them in. Plant native shrubs too - manzanita, toyon, ceanothus, coffeeberry. Buy chrysanthemums in all the fall colors now. Cut them down to a few inches from the ground when they finish flowering. They will begin to grow again next March. Mums will bloom in July. Let them bloom lightly; then shear them back for the main bloom in the fall. Harvest Figs Why not try fig jam? Cut up the figs and boil with some water, honey, lemon juice and peel. You can't beat fig trees. They are beautiful, easy to grow, and take any amount of pruning. Easily available are Black Mission and Brown Turkey, which do well all over the state. If you want a white flesh, choose Genoa at the coast and Kadota inland.
Fall Chores Keep on top of raking and cleanup until leaf fall is over. Be sure to clean up under fruit trees. Fallen leaves and dead fruit can harbor insect eggs and fungus spores over the winter. If your peach or nectarine had leaf curl this year, spray it with lime sulfur or fixed copper at full leaf fall. Use a copper spray that contains 50% fixed copper. Weaker sprays are ineffective. Water needs are low this month, but if rainfall is light, your flowers and vegetables and all new plantings will need watering. Open watering basins around plants if you have slow draining clay soil. Thin out evergreen trees so that the strong winds that come with our winter storms will blow through them more easily. Be sure to fertilize lawns at the end of November, before the coldest days of winter. Use a complete lawn fertilizer rather than a nitrogen-only product. This will give your lawn the best chance of staying green all winter. Of course, during very cold winters, lawns will not remain bright green. But our winters are short; we can look forward to green lawns again as early as February.
Winter begins in December. It's the darkest month of the year and a cold and rainy one too. Average figures tell us that December, January and February will each give us 20% of our rainfall. Temperatures below freezing are possible in most of California during these months. It's the dormant season, and there is much to do in California gardens. It Ain't Over 'til it's Over! You can still see fall color in our landscapes. Autumn doesn't officially end until the winter solstice on the 21st of the month. A few trees hold on to some of their leaves even into January. Select plants with 'berries' now - toyon, holly, cotoneaster, pyracantha, nandina, arbutus. Color can range from light orange to deep red. Buy now to get the color you prefer. Be sure to ask whether you need a male plant nearby as a pollenator.
The Weather Outside is Frightful! Remember that USDA plant zones are based on average winter low temperatures. If you have plants that are hardy in your zone but not in colder zones, you will need to give these plants some protection during our infrequent 'Alaska blaster' cold spells. Best frost protection is provided by moist, bare ground and by ground cover plants. Put potted plants in protected places near your house or under trees. Dig it! A few days after a good rain, we are apt to have clear skies and sunny days. The soil will be damp but not wet, and it will be easy to cultivate. This is a good time to turn the soil over with a spading fork. Dig in some organic amendment while you're at it. Don't worry about smoothing out the ground. Let the next rain do it for you.
If you don't want to cultivate, at least check to see that weeds aren't beginning to thrive. It's easy to weed now too. If you have problem areas where weeds grow every year after the rains, be sure to apply a pre-emergent herbicide, a weed preventer, and let the rains wash it in. Even evergreen plants are at their greatest dormancy during the winter months, making it a good time to transplant small trees, shrubs and perennials if they were planted in the wrong place. Be sure the soil is dry enough to dig without compacting it. Camellias Camellia japonica begins its bloom this month and continues into January and February. If you want to add one of these colorful winter bloomers to your garden, select them now while they are in bloom. For the largest and showiest flowers, disbud camellias by removing all but the largest bud in a cluster of two or three. It's a slow job but worth the effort. Lawns and Flowers All grasses grow slowly now and may need mowing only twice a month or less. Annual ryegrass will probably need to be mowed weekly.
Be sure not to mow lawns planted in clay soils until they have had plenty of time to dry out. Cool season lawns can be kept green over the winter by using nitrate fertilizers beginning this month. Winter fertilizers should contain nitrogen in the form of nitrate; other forms cannot be used by plants when the weather is cold. Plant pansies, Iceland poppies and other winter flowers from 4 inch containers. Euryops is a shrubby perennial that is covered with bright yellow flowers all winter. Caution! Warning! Danger! Well, at least be aware before you plant. Those cute little decorated Christmas trees you buy at the supermarket are Italian Stone Pines. They are fast growers, and they become huge trees, too big for most landscapes.
