By Tish Berge, CNPS Garden Ambassador
While to many an untrained eye, it may appear that San Diego doesn’t experience seasons, but to the native plant gardener, we know differently. Fall is an exciting time in the garden and a wonderful opportunity to take inventory of your space. This is an ideal time to plant new plants and to prune others. Here is a list of chores for you to consider as you look out at your garden (Reference: California Native Gardening by Helen Popper):
Sow annual wildflowers – remove weeds, wait for rain, then sow seeds
Buy native plants – if you didn’t get some native plants at the Native Plant Festival, consider visiting one of the nurseries participating in CNPS’s BLOOM! California (https://bloomcalifornia.org/nurseries/)
Start cool season grasses – most native grasses are cool season (https://bloomcalifornia.org/plants/grasses/)
Clean – remove damaged limbs, cut back perennials, add or remove mulch (consider using the chop and drop method for mulching for maximum soil benefits)
Plant native bulbs for spring bloom
Plant oaks – “The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago. The second best time is now.” – Chinese Proverb
Divide plants, including cool-season grasses, Irises, coral bells, and other perennials that bloom in spring
Groom – Prune sages, cut back large established perennials (like Matilija poppy), pinch shrubs to encourage new growth, and weed around seedlings.