Gardendelightsnursery’s Blog
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Checking to see how well rain has watered your plants
With the coming of the fall rainy season and a few rain showers already, you should check those areas which are not usually wetted by the rain. Those areas under eaves, and under tree canopies may not get very wet at this time and will need to be watered to keep plants in those areas from drying out unnecessarily.
Courtesy of Bob Tanem
Fall Planting Time
the fall season is a wonderful time to plant almost anything. By taking advantage of planting this season, you gain a growing season for the coming spring. Roots will grow now and continue to do so during winter, and when spring arrives, you will have an established root system capable of supporting a grand flush of growth which will give you a bigger plant sooner than one planted in spring.
Fall is also a premier time to plant Calif. natives, and other Mediterranean climate plants. They will be coming into an active period of growth with the fall, winter rains and become established more easily at this time than at any other time of year. (although container planting will allow you to plant at any time for the most part.)
Plant tender species in spring when there will be no frost, but for the majority of other plants, fall is the best time to plant.
As well, you can begin to plant your bulbs for a brilliant spring display. If you have not yet done so, refrigerate them now for a few weeks so they will grow vigorously when planted. The weather will be cooler now and bulb planting can be done anytime, if you have already refrigerated those bulbs that like a cold dormant period. (tulips, hyacinths, etc.)
bare root and winter planting season
Now is the beginning of the arrival of bare root plants… trees, shrubs, roses, berries, perennial veggies, etc. It is important to take advantage of this short season of dormancy as many plants are very forgiving at this time of year and can be found just with roots and not containerized is soil. Additionally, most plants are dormant and can be moved readily, with root loss having little effect on the plant when they are dug.
Most commonly available are the fruit and nut trees and roses. You can inspect the roots if they are not bagged and actually see what is underground. Remember that more roots will give more growth. There are also some deciduous shrubs (forsythia, viburnum/snowballs, hydrangea, chaenomeles/flowering quince, weigela, honeysuckle, lilac, and more) that can be bought as well as perennial veggies like asparagus, rhubarb, artichoke, cane berries, strawberries, etc. You can buy conatinerized dormant plants as well (I actually prefer that since you get all the plant roots) and plant those now provided the soil is not waterlogged. I find that during the dry spells between rains, the soil can dry to a good degree which is suitable for planting.
the basic rule of thumb is to cut back the top growth somewhat to balance the loss of roots which were left in the growing fields when the bareroot plants were dug. (remember that pruning stimulates growth, but a balance to prune conservatively is a good point to consider since food reserves are stored both in the roots as well as the wood.)
To plant it is important to have a wider than needed hole, it need not be especially deep, but the width should allow the roots to be spread without bending. You can either leave a cone shaped mound in the center of the hole as you dig, or prepare a hill of soil in the center of the hole. The bareroot plant is placed on top of this and then soil is backfilled over the roots. Spread the roots widely over the hill to allow space and try to keep the roots in an arrangement like that of the spokes of a wheel if possible. You can add soil amendments to the backfill soil if you wish. There are separate schools of thought here. I usually add something like compost to the backfill soil. I like to plant in this fashion. As you fill the planting hole with soil, water it in when you have about half filled the hole, then water in again when that water has drained into the soil and you have filled the hole to the top. Do not stomp on the freshly filled soil or you will squeeze out the air spaces and compact the soil structure. It is important to find the original soil level of the plant and plant at the same level/height, no deeper is better than too shallowly 9you can correct this by adding a mulch or a bit more soil)
If the plant is top heavy, you can stake it. I like to angle the stake so that the top is supported by the angled stake and the bottom of the stake is put into firm ground away from the root zone or at least at the edges of the planting hole. Any good compost based soil mix will work as and additive to the backfill soil. I tend not to make basins for watering. A slow running hose or micro spray or drip irrigation is all that is needed to water the plant as the soil dries out over a long period. It is very important not to over water. Once you have planted and watered, that is usually all that is needed in a normal rainfall year until the temps rise in spring. Too much watering will drown the plant and suffocate any new growing roots, often killing the transplant.
Nut trees like walnuts, pecans, etc, need special attention paid to proper planting depth. These (and figs too) have a deep tap root and need to have the thick base of the root where it turns into the trunk planted beneath soil or else they will dry out and the plant will die. There is a faint color change to indicate where this point is on the trunk/root and here you can plant that a little deeper to insure it is covered by soil / alternately, you can mulch that area and keep it well watered. Nurseries will often double stack pots to make sure this point is planted and the tree will live.
With transplants or container plants, you can also plant them during dormancy, keeping them at the same grade/soil level or plant just slightly high as the freshly dug soil will settle a bit and when it does, it will be at grade, not below it. Almost all plants can be moved like this.
Pruning comes into the picture here at several stages. First off, cut off any dead, damaged, diseased growth. For root tips, you can make clean cuts just below the tips. Then you can lightly prune the top growth. the same principle applies…i.e. cut off dead, damaged growth, snags(branch tips without growth buds) cut these back to side branches or healthy buds, just about 1/4″ above the healthy dormant growth.
make any ties to stakes secure, but do not make them constricting. you must allow for growth of the branch, trunk so tie securely, but allow for wind movement and growth in the coming season.
Good luck! try your hand at this if you have not yet done so. you may be amazed and gain a great sense of satisfaction from your efforts!
