Time to Plant Everything
October is the best time to plant just about anything, from an entire landscape to a few flowers and bulbs for winter and spring color. Plants have plenty of time to get established before spring, and as the sun drops lower, as the weather cools and as the rains arrive, caring for the new plants gets easier.
Trees and shrubs do especially well planted now because roots grow rapidly in soil still warm from summer. You may not see much activity up top, but roots are spreading, and come spring, the plants explode with new growth. Drought-resistant plants are best planted now so they have the long, cool and wet (let’s hope) winter to become established before next summer’s heat and drought.
The only exceptions to the “plant anything” advice are frost-tender plants and those that do their growing in summer, such as bougainvillea, hibiscus and summer annuals and vegetables.
Roses, meanwhile, should flower one more time this month, if you have been cutting off the spent flowers and fertilizing after each bloom. After this flush, you have a choice--either cut them back and fertilize again and they may bloom around the holidays, or leave them alone so they make hips. Rose hips can be every bit as pretty, and letting them form helps the plants fade into dormancy for much needed rest.
From the Los Angeles Times 2001 Garden Calendar
Garden Calendar
* California Native Plant Sale and Fair, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m, Saturday and Sunday, Sepulveda Garden Center, 16633 Magnolia Blvd., Encino. Free. Information: California Native Plant Society (818) 881-3706.
* Orange County Chapter of California Native Plant Society holds its annual native plant sale 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday at the UC Irvine Arboretum, Campus Drive and Jamboree Road, Irvine, (949) 496-9689.
* Annual Fall Plant Sale, Thursday through Sunday at the Huntington Library and Botanical Gardens, 1151 Oxford Road, San Marino, (626) 405-2141, https://www.huntington.org. No fee required for the sale area.
* Arborfest and fall plant sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton, (714) 278-4790. Adults $5, children free.
* Held in conjunction with Arborfest, Orange County Cactus and Succulent Society’s 25th annual plant show and sale, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday at the Fullerton Arboretum, 1900 Associated Road, Fullerton, (714) 539-8773. Free with Arborfest admission.
* Rhonda Kess, executive director of Theodore Payne Foundation, will talk about and show native plants found the in the valleys and mounts of Rancho Tujunga. 1 p.m Sunday at the Theodore Payne Foundation, 10459 Tuxford St., Sun Valley, (818) 951-1041. Free.
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Send garden announcements to Garden Events, Los Angeles Times, 202 W. 1st Street, Los Angeles, CA 90012, at least three weeks before the event date.
