According to the calendar and position of the sun, it is now officially fall. It might not seem like it, but the nights are cooler and the days are shorter. Trees will start to drop leaves as they prepare for dormancy. Make sure you stay on top of raking to reduce fire danger in the windy Santa Ana season. We can now do any final hard pruning on the heartiest of plants, but do not prune tender plants at this time. By October the growth rate of our turf has slowed so we can lower our mowing height to 2.5”. While at it, sharpen your mower blade. The demand for water by your lawn has also lessened, and the cooler damp evenings could breed fungus. Keeping the turf shorter will help prevent this and may reduce thatch buildup. October is a great time to replenish any mulch that has depleted from summer. Now is the absolute best time to plant native shrubs, such as California wild lilac (Ceanothus), lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia), and manzanita (Arctostaphylos), to your garden. Other California friendly and Mediterranean plants like Texas ranger, calliandra, salvias, do well if planted now too. As the weather continues to cool, add days between watering, but always irrigate for that same 5-9 minutes. We may only be watering 3 days a week now, adding an additional day if the temperature spikes, or the dry winds whip up. Speaking of winds now is a great time to prune your trees. If you wait another month, you may get damage to overly thick canopies during the rain and wind ahead. For a festive fall look, plant garden mums, pansies and violas in fall colors now. We can also plant annual flowers for over wintering like snapdragons, geranium, nasturtium, and Iceland poppies. They will bloom now then return to bloom again in spring. Bonus Tip: It's worth picking up wildflower seeds toward the end of this month. You'll have fresh seeds to select from and be ready to sow them as soon as the rains come, be it the beginning of November or not until the turn of the year.
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