Secret’s Out: Fall’s Perfect for Planting : Experts Say Flowers Planted Now Are Prettiest; Southern California Has a Climate of Its Own
Experienced gardeners--those with the green thumbs--can feel fall in their bones and know it’s time to plant. They are not distracted by heat, quakes, humidity, tropical downpours and other false clues, but look at the sun hunkered down on the horizon and feel the nip in the night air.
They also know to look at the calendar, and more than a few have this weekend marked in red because no matter how capricious the weather at the moment, the middle of October is the beginning of a planting season better than spring.
Much Can Be Planted
The urge to get out and plant something may be stronger in the spring--parking spaces at nurseries are certainly harder to come by--and fall gardening may be up against a lot of competition--school, kid’s soccer, pro ball (most years), Halloween, Thanksgiving sales--but those with the gardens we admire most in spring, find the time to plant them in the fall. So much can be planted, so easily.
There are bulbs that can be planted and almost forgotten until they surprise you with their flowers. There are those vegetables that must be planted in the autumn months, because they need cool weather to grow, things such as spinach, peas and cauliflower.
That this is the best time to plant trees, shrubs and other permanent parts of the landscape surprises some. These are best planted now because they make good root growth in the warm autumn soil and watering them is less critical, and less of a chore, with whatever rain we get helping out.
But, best of all, this is the time to plant flowers, some say the best flowers of the year, the prettiest, brightest and gayest of flowers, such as Iceland poppies, pansies, snapdragons, sweet peas, foxgloves and delphiniums.
“Fall planted flowers are my favorites,” says Cristin Fusano, horticulturalist at Roger’s Gardens in Corona del Mar, “because the colors are clear, crisp, icy colors.”
This is not to belittle the sunny flowers of summer, such as marigolds and zinnias, but there are so many more flowers to plant in the fall, including all of the perennial flowers as well as the annual flowers that bloom in the spring.
“People often wait until spring to plant flowers that bloom in the spring and then it is too late,” Fusano says. “Fall is when they should be planted.”
While bulbs are planted all across the country in the fall, and even Easterners are discovering that they can plant trees and shrubs in the fall (and a few sturdy vegetables as well), the planting of flowers is something Southern Californians can do that others dare not.
Southern Califronia Special
This opportunity to plant flowers, of all kinds, annuals and perennials, is so special to this part of the country that precious little information is available on the subject. Look on the back of a seed packet and it will probably say “plant in spring after danger of frost.” Look in most books and you will find that you should be raking up leaves in October, not planting, and certainly not planting flowers.
So it is not surprising that not everyone takes advantage of this special opportunity. “This should be our busiest time of the year, but people just don’t know about fall planting.”
Farther up the coast and farther inland, in Calabasas, Lillian Greenup of Sperling Nursery concurs, “This is our best time to plant and it’s so much easier to get a plant started during the cool months of the year. You’re not as likely to overwater or underwater, which is probably our biggest problem in gardening.”
“What you want to plant in the fall are young plants, not plants already in flower.”
This advice to start small in the fall is important. It is all too tempting to buy those plants that are growing in what the nurseries call “4-inch” or “quart” pots, plants that are already in flower.
“Quart pots are great for temporary color, in container plantings or small beds, but they won’t last as long or flower as much as the young plants started from flats or pony packs,” Fusano says. Flats are those large plastic trays filled with seedlings, and packs are the smaller trays.
Looking for Color
“October is really the beginning of our longest gardening season,” Fusano says. Flowers planted now will be there until at least April or May, maybe even June, and they will flower much of that time, if they are put in as young plants. People want color right away, but in the fall it’s wiser to start small.”
The reasoning is very similar to that behind the fall-planting of trees and shrubs--in the warm soil and mild weather, the root system has a chance to fully develop so it is better able to support the flowers when they come. The stronger, sturdier plants simply bloom better, and longer.
Another good reason to choose young plants that are not yet flowering is that you will probably avoid planting the wrong thing. Some nurseries still have leftover summer flowers--plants such as asters, portulaca and zinnias--in the larger quart pots and even in packs. These are intended for immediate effect, if you’re planning a party next weekend or want some temporary color in containers. They are not for the long-haul and will look pretty poor by the onset of winter.
Perennial flower are the exception. Many of these semi-permanent plants are not sold in anything smaller than a quart pot, but even here, Fusano suggests looking for the smallest, lowest, densest plants--the youngest.
Following is a list of flowers that can be planted now. It zeros in on those found most often in flats or packs or in seed racks. All are annuals or are grown as such, coming out at the end of their season--usually in late spring or early summer.
Some of these flowers are technically perennials but do better when replanted every year. Longer-lived perennials are not included in the list, but they can and should be mixed with these seasonal flowers. All of these flowers bloom sometime in the spring.
Annual African daisy--foot-tall pastel orange and yellow flowers; not the common ground-covering African daisy; best from seed.
Sweet alyssum--six inches tall in white or rosy lavender; annual that seeds about.
Bells of Ireland--amazing two-foot spires of green flowers; an annual best from seed.
Calendula--Foot-tall yellow or orange mum-like flowers; annual.
Candytuft--there is an annual and a perennial kind; both are short; annual may be white or pinkish, perennial is white and fairly long-lived.
Canterbury Bells--the old-fashioned cup-and-saucer-like flowers on tall stems, in white, pink or blue; biennial that grows like an annual.
Chrysanthemum multicaule--tiny plant with flowers like little buttercups; annual.
Chrysanthemum paludosum--looks like foot-tall marguerite daisies; annual.
Cineraria--likes some shade and easily frostbitten; vibrant blue and purple daisies; annual.
Clarkia or Godetia--descended from a wildflower, bright pink; annual best from seed.
Columbine--mostly soft yellows, pinks and blues two-feet tall; most common kinds are treated as annuals, but there are exotic perennials around too.
Cyclamen--a trooper in the shade; distinctive pink, white and lavender flowers; perennial growing from tuber but usually replanted each fall.
Delphinium--Blue Fountains grow to three or four feet, Pacific types to six; the brightest blues and purples; perennials grown as annuals, but cut back after flowering in spring, they will flower again in summer.
Dusty Miller--grown for gray foliage, most people cut off yellow flowers; 18-inch-tall perennial grown as annual.
English daisy--often labeled “Bellis,” a little bit of a plant with fluffy pink or white flowers; perennial but usually replanted.
Forget-me-nots--tiny blue flowers best in some shade; annual.
Foxgloves--storybook flowers three-feet tall in pinks and lavenders; biennial that grows like an annual.
Hollyhock--another storybook flower that grows to six feet; yellow, pink, white flowers; annual; susceptible to rust disease.
Iceland poppy--tissue-like flowers on 18-inch stems in bright yellow and orange; annual.
Larkspur--three-foot spires of purple, pink, white; related to delphiniums but true annual.
Linaria--delightful little snapdragon-like flowers on foot-tall plants; annual best from seed.
Lobelia--pretty blue, purple or white flowers on six-inch plants; annual grown year-round.
Mignonette--old-fashioned weedy thing but smells great; annual.
Nicotiana--two-foot-tall tobacco relative with rose, white, or green flowers; perennial usually grown as annual.
Pansy and viola--pansies have the large faces; violas have small plain faces but there are exceptions; in all colors but true red; Johnny-jump-ups are the smallest flowered with cutest faces; annuals, but violas extra-long lasting.
Annual phlox--foot-tall plants with pink, white or the brightest of red flowers, some with white center; there are perennial kinds but they are not a good bet here.
Primula--English or Pacific primroses come in all colors, obconica primroses are pink, white or lavender and flower better, along with fairy primroses in pink and white; perennials best grown as annuals in some shade.
Ranunculus--sold as bulbs (actually tubers) and as small plants grown from tubers or seed; to two-feet tall with the brightest shades of orange, yellow, pink and red; usually pulled out when finished but can be let go dormant and may return next fall.
Blue salvia--foot-tall, deep purple spires; often labeled “blue bedder;” perennial often replanted each year, but after they flower in spring, they can be cut back and will flower again in summer.
Schizanthus--small orchid-like flowers in interesting shades of pink, lilac and purple on foot-tall plants; annual.
Snapdragon--many different heights, from a foot to three feet and some don’t “snap” anymore; pinks, yellow, deep reds, white; annual.
Stock--rosy pink or white flowers on one-foot to two-foot plants are fragrant; annual.
Sweet peas--bush types grow just over a foot tall; vining types to the roof; flowers are shades of red, pink, lavender and white; annual best from seed.
Sweet William--heads of little carnation-like flowers in red and pink on foot-tall plants; annual.
Several flowers that are often asked for in the fall, but are better planted in the spring are cosmos, ageratum, impatiens and bedding begonias. They will grow, but slowly, and there are better choices. Many choices, as you can see.
The trick then is knowing what to plant, and then getting to it before the end of November or at least by mid-December. After then, the soil has cooled enough to slow the growth of plants and the advantages of fall planting are gone.
