As long as the weather stays cool, October’s a great time for planting everything other than tropical and semi-tropical plants. Planting in fall allows strong root systems to develop so what you put in the ground now can produce spring flowers and survive next summer’s heat.
This is also a good time to divide many perennials. Take a look at October 2019 gardening tips for more information.
Here are some October gardening tips to keep your yard looking beautiful year-round.
Bulbs for Southern California
When we think of bulbs, we often think of tulips. But because they need colder weather than most of San Diego County gets, you have to refrigerate most varieties over the winter. I don’t have time to pull my bulbs out of the ground or room in my fridge to store them. Luckily, there are many bulbs that are better suited to our climate, and October is a great time to get a lot of these bulbs in the ground.
Here are some suggestions from Jim Threadgill of Easy to Grow Bulbs in Oceanside (www.easytogrowbulbs.com): watsonia, freesia, Spanish bluebell, giant white squill, saffron crocus, eremurus, and trumpet lilies. Iris, gladiolus, narcissus including paperwhites and ranunculus also do well in my yard.
Add Some Fun Halloween Plants
Dark flowers and foliage add drama to your garden any time of the year, but they’re especially fun around Halloween. Some pretty, not-scary plants that you can add to your garden now are: Leptospermum ‘Dark Shadows,’ Nemophila ‘Pennie Black,’ Papaver ‘Black Peony,’ Aeonium ‘Zwartkop’ and ‘Plum Purdy’ Ipomoea batatas ‘Sweet Caroline Sweetheart Purple’ and hellebore hybrids.
Plant a Butterfly Garden
Do you want more butterflies in your garden? Butterfly Farms in Encinitas (butterflyfarms.org) is doing research to save native butterflies. They have lists of native California plants that attract butterflies, tell you which plants are used as hosts by different butterfly species and what you can plant specifically for monarch butterflies. Go to their website, or contact me and I’ll share those lists with you.
A lot of information for October Gardening Tips 2020 comes from the Master Gardener Association of San Diego County. They are a great resource for all of your gardening needs including planting, pests, vegetables, and water use. They even have a free hotline where you can get your home gardening and pest control problems answered.