Planting for Fall and Year-Round Color in Southern California
Question from Chris:
Interested in adding some flowers for the fall – any suggestions? live 2miles from the ocean in redondo beach – i’m not a native, so I need guidance!
Answer from Pat:
You live in an excellent climate zone. You certainly can create a garden with year-round color, including fall color, but I am sorry to tell you that now is not the time to plant for fall. Beginning in September this is the time to pull out summer annuals, amend and fertilize and replant for winter and spring. It is also the time to weed, cut back, divide, and replant perennial gardens for winter and spring. If you plant the right annuals and bulbs now you can have color from annual plants and bulbs all winter long into spring. In the annual garden, the plants you put into the ground now don’t need to be in bloom, but they must be cool-season plants. Some annual plants to put in now include primroses, Iceland poppies, cinerarias, hollyhock, snap dragon, calendula, foxgloves, stock, pansies, and sweet alyssum. Now is also the time to plant wildflowers from seeds and to plant bulbs such as , daffodils, narcissus and all the wonderful South African bulbs that will come back year after year in our gardens. (You can also plant hyacinths, tulips, and Dutch crocus but these need pre-chilling in the refrigerator for 6 weeks prior to planting.) The sooner you get things into the ground and the more regularly you feed them—wildflowers however don’t need fertilizer—the more likely you will be to have blooms prior to the holidays. If you manage that they will bloom all winter into spring, with April being the height of bloom, but the spring garden will continue in full bloom through May.
Your question is an excellent one. It gives me a chance to help many people who did not grow up here in California and thus don’t understand the rhythm of Southern California gardening. As my book explains in detail, in Southern California we garden year-round, but we plant cool-season (or “winter”) crops and flowers in fall, and we plant warm-season (or “summer”) crops and flowers in spring. Right now, for example, in October we are in the very midst of our fall planting season. Though our mild temperatures permit planting to continue through November, our fall months are already two-thirds over, thus as a general rule now is not the time to plant for fall color. This should have been done months or years ago. Fall is the time when we should be looking ahead and planting for spring or, alternatively, we should be planting permanent climbers, trees, and shrubs for the full future life of our garden. Much of our best seasonal color comes from permanent woody plants. Among fall blooming trees are Chinese flame tree (Koelreuteria elegans; K. henryii), floss silk tree (Chorisia speciosa), and Nile tulip tree (Markhamia lutea), among climbers are Hardenbergia ‘Happy Wanderer’ and flame vine (Pyrostegia venusta), and among colorful shrubs are Copper canyon daisy (Tagetes lemonii), firethorn (Pyracantha), and euryops. Watch for other permanent flowering plants as you drive around or go to botanical gardens to see what is in bloom at each season of the year. Except for tropical plants, this is the best time of the year to put in many woody plants.
One of the saddest things that can happen to a new gardener in Southern California is to go and look at other people’s glorious flower gardens in April and say “Wow! what are the names of these flowers? I want to dash to the nursery right now and buy them so I can have a garden like this one!” I have actually heard people say this, but unfortunately it doesn’t work that way here. Most of the flowers people gasp over at the height of bloom in April have usually been blooming for months. If you plant these in April they will cost a huge amount of money and die one month later. The glorious flower garden you are looking at in April might have come from a few packets of wildflower seeds that cost under ten dollars and were planted in October, which is now. My message to you is start now, in fall, to plant for your April garden. The colorful plants you put in now from plants and seeds will begin blooming in winter and continue blooming into June, in some cases all summer. So unless you’re hosting a wedding don’t plant for fall now, it’s too late. We’re almost at the end of fall and into winter. Plant now for winter and spring.
Many of the best fall-blooming plants we grow in California are not annuals we grow in pots or beds for only one season but are perennial plants, such as, for example, paperwhite narcissus and Grand Soleil d’Or, which can be planted now from bulbs and they will come back year-after-year. In your climate zone if you plant these now they will bloom in late winter or early spring, but after that they will come up every fall and bloom now. So they are among our best plants for fall and winter color when other things are not in bloom. Much of our fall color also comes from permanent plants. Two of the most colorful and splashy plants for color now are Mexican sage (Salvia leucantha) and Copper canyon daisy (Tagetes lemonii) but you would have needed to plant them month ago to have all that color now. Other fall-blooming plants of shrub size include euryops and Hypoestes aristata ‘Lavender Cloud’. These are all in full bloom now. Roses are magnificent in fall here also but don’t buy them now. Wait until the bare-root season in January. You might find some of the fall blooming permanent plants for sale now because nurseries usually carry plants only when they are in bloom. Get them while you can, but when you find these plants for sale they will be tiny— too small to make a splash. Plant them for the future. Salvia leucantha and Tagetes lemonii look great planted together, side by side in full sun and they bloom spring and fall. Give them plenty of space. They are big plants and should be cut back after bloom. Hypoestes would be a great addition to your garden in semi shade. It is difficult to find, but worth a hunt. It too is a large plant. I have a huge drift of it four foot tall and wide in full splendiferous bloom right now. It began with one spindly-looking plant in a gallon plan that I found in a nursery in late October or early November. If you find one, snaffle it up! This is a great plant for a narrow bed on the edge of a patio in part shade. I grow it on the west side of a pergola covered with wisteria so it blooms when the wisteria does not.
Please read the September, October, and November chapters in my book, “Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening Month by Month”. These chapters will prove invaluable in your quest for a garden with color in fall as well as every other season of the year.
I saw many beautiful trees around Ontario International Airport (CA) with yellow/orange flowers in October, and a yellow-green bark. Am unable to identify the tree. Can you help?
Judging by the description you have given me of these trees and their location, you saw Palo verde (Cercidium ‘Desert Museum’.) Ontario International Airport is in a hot, dry interior climate zone which would make this tree an outstanding choice. ‘Desert Museum’ has green bark and bright yellow flowers—one inch across—larger than most species palo verde’s, and it blooms for a long time mainly in spring but again in late summer or early fall. This highly desirable, drought-resistant tree is a three-way cross between Parkinsonia aculeata, Circidium microphyllum and C. floridum. It has the best characteristics of all three and takes roughly five years to grow to mature size— twenty feet tall and wide. When the flowers first open they are bright yellow, but since you saw it in October, that was towards the end of its late-summer bloom. As the flowers begin to fade the stamens go more orange in tone and some of the flowers fall onto the ground taking on an orangey hue. Additionally, some of the petals dry out but still stay hanging on the tree along with the yellow ones, and this makes it appear as if the flowers are yellow/orange, as you observed. This beautiful glowing look in fall is especially noticeable when the low-lying sun is shining through them either early in the morning or in the evening.
Hi Pat, I am reading your blog today (Sept 18) and wondering if it is too early to follow the fall guide.
I will use your tips next to full sun steps. I am also planting a south facing flower box. Any tips would be appreciated. It currently has sweet potato and sweet allysum in it but needs some color.
I love your blog.
Thank you!
September is the time when we begin switching summer or “warm-season” annual flowers and vegetables to winter or “cool-season” flowers and vegetables. For a south-facing flower box in full sun in a coastal zone of Southern California one choice is Iceland poppies. Purchase and plant these as soon as you can find them even if they are not yet in bloom. A large window box can look very cheerful filled with Iceland poppies and will give you color all winter long. Feed with slow-release so the plants are fed every time you water and deadhead regularly, that is cut down the stems of flowers as soon as they fade and drop petals. You will have flowers continually from fall through spring and in May or June after they stop flowering, pull out and discard and replant with red salvia, yellow marigolds, and blue lobelia or other summer flowers.
Another suggestion is primroses. You could plant the bed solidly with fairy or malacoides primroses now or if you prefer plant English primroses (Primula polyantha) and choose several different colors such as blue, yellow and white. Look for specimens with flowers on taller stems because otherwise you won’t see them in a window box. If you would like something cascading over the edge, stick in a bit of gray variegated miniature ivy. Primroses will also bloom non-stop from fall through spring.
I think you would be greatly helped by my book “Pat Welsh’s Southern California Organic Gardening:Month-by-Month.” See the right sidebar of this website for links. Read each chapter during the correct month of the year and after a couple of years you will be an expert.
Hi Pat!
I LOVE this article, so much great information! Maybe you can help me out with my garden as well… I’m considering planting a wildflower meadow in the coming months (San Gabriel Valley area) in the hopes of harvesting some blooms for my September 2017 wedding. I’ve read that winter is the best time to plant wildflowers in warmer climates like southern California, but I want to be sure that my meadow is blooming in late September, not too early or late. Any suggestions on the best time to plant or flower types that will grow/bloom in that time frame? Thanks!
I am so sorry to have to tell you that if you wanted to plant a wildflowers the best time to do this was early November, in fall. Most wildflowers need the cold winter temperatures to sprout their seeds followed by our winter rains to make them grow. In many cases later planting does not work as well, but there may be enough time. When you say “wildflower meadow” do you mean to plant grasses as well? I suggest not to do that. I once planted one of my terraces in my garden for the entire year including seeds for fall flowers. It worked wonderfully well but I planted all these seeds in November.
The way to get wildflowers to bloom in fall for your wedding is usually not by planting the same varieties later since spring wildflowers bloom in spring, not in summer or fall. The way to have plants bloom later is in most cases, to plant just as early but plant the species that naturally bloom in late summer or autumn. Here is how I did it. I planted all the species of flowers I usually plant for winter and spring bloom. Then as each one died after bloom, I pulled out the plants and composted the remains. Meanwhile other plants that bloom later had been slowly growing beneath the shade of the spring flowers. As I pulled out the spring flowers—Voila!—I found small plants growing down close to the ground. These were the young plants that would eventually grow into mature summer-and-fall flowering plants. Among these were several varieties of yarrow (Achillea) that would later bear colorful flowers on long stems. Also there were blanket flowers (Gaillardia x grandiflora). These will bloom a long time from spring until fall. These are tall perennial plants that bloom the first year from seed and can take heat. They are easy to grow and you should be able to plant them now in January. ‘Indian Yellow’ is a variety with pure yellow flowers. Also plant G x. grandiflora, also a perennial but a hybrid of G.aristata and G. pulchella. There are many varieties to choose from. These are your best bet since they will begin to bloom in summer but keep going until frost. If you plant G. pulchella you have to wait until all danger of frost is past to put in the seeds. I think you can plant the others now.
The other thing I would plant is Gloriosa daisy (Rudbeckia hirta) which is a biennial or short-lived perennial. If you plant it in early spring it will bloom the first year. there are many varieties. I planted the one called ‘Indian Summer’ in fall. By June I had many large plants, 10 or 12 inches across in the ground and in full bloom that I saw for $7.00 each in pots at Home Depot and mine all came from one packet of seeds! I don’t think this particular variety did not have really long stems. However it was stunning and a huge success of summer and fall bloom from seeds for me. There are a bunch of good varieties. Other ideas to throw into your seed mix and hope for the best for cut flowers later include Gypsophila, tall varieties of Gomphrena, Limonium, blue Scabiosa, Mexican hat (Ratibida columnifera) another easy one and very heat resistant and Verbena bonariensis if you can find the seeds to give you some blue. Seed racks might give you some other thoughts. So go look now and plant soon. Good luck. I hope this is fun and do have a great wedding!
I’d like some recommendations for easy to grow cutting flowers for fall in San Diego. I’m currently having great success with my zinnias and would like to start some seeds for fall cutting flowers. What are your suggestions for some fall flowers? I will probably grow them in Earth Boxes, if that matters to your recommendation. The zinnias are doing very well in them.
The best cut flower that can be counted on for fall is chrysanthemum, but these have to be started from cuttings months ago or from plants of garden varieties now in late July. You could plant seeds of Iceland poppies now but must freeze the seeds overnight or two nights so they germinate and plant in flats to set out in the garden in October. These will bloom in late fall and winter non-stop and be sure to burn the stems prior to putting in water. Keep them fed and cut so they keep blooming. Wildflowers can be planted in November. I strongly suggest however that you plant ‘Winter Elegance’ sweet peas (must be this variety for this to work!) on the first of September. They will begin blooming in early December and give you armloads of cut flowers for Christmas. See the fall chapters in my month-by month garden books for details of how to plant etc.
Dear Pat,
I live in San Diego and have a large, southern facing planter near my front door. I continually try different things that last for a while, but they get direct sunlight and it gets hot there. I have agapanthus in some of the surrounding planters that provide green and flower when in season, which is fine. I would like the one by the door to have color and flowers. After reading some of the questions you answered, I am thinking of planting Iceland Poppies and/or Winter Elegance. The area is rather large, about 3″ x 15″. What do you think would be best at this time of the year? Can I do both? Do I need to prepare the Iceland Poppy seeds in a special way? Your input would be appreciated.
A south-facing planter in winter is a fine place for Iceland poppies, but it is too late to plant seeds. Next time plant the seeds for Iceland poppies in late August and if you feed and care for them properly you will have transplants of the right size to put into the planters now in October. Yes, you need to freeze seeds of Iceland poppies prior to planting or they will not germinate. If I were you, I would look for transplants and ask for them at Home Depot or Armstrong or any other good nursery. Ask when they will have them. It does not matter if they are not yet in bloom. With winter flowers it is important to fertilize often for growth and bloom. Either use a complete liquid fertilizer for flowers or use slow-release Osmocote 14-14-14 placed on top of the soil mix. This will fertilize your flowers every time you water.
You also ask about Winter Elegance sweet peas. Once again, you are a bit too late. You should have planted Winter Elegance sweet peas into the ground right where you want them to grow on September 1 and you could have had armloads of sweet peas for Christmas. Do it next year and don’t for get to install a trellis on which they can grow. On the other hand you could still plant these and they will just bloom a bit later. Don’t choose an English variety since they don’t bloom until May and by then the sun will have gone south and left your planters in the shade.
Other cool-season or winter-and-spring flowers that would do well in your planters are pansies and violas, or primroses—either fairy primrose, (Primula malacoides) or English primrose (Primula polyanthus). Once again it is much too late now to begin with seeds. So look for and ask for the plants. Either of these selections can be planted from transplants now and will bloom all winter into spring. Next spring after the sun has moved north again, I suggest you plant those beds with succulents since they will be in shade all summer long—far too much shade for warm-season flowers, such as marigolds.
Hello
I have purchased your book and am having trouble coming up with a game plan for my particular situation. I’m in San Gabriel Valley (East Pasadena) and am hoping to plant a cutting garden to have flowers for my mid-November wedding. When looking at your book (and other’s books), it almost appears in between two seasons, so I’m not sure if I can time things to have flowers blooming at that time. I’m interested in growing both flowers and various types of greenery for the arrangements. (Dusty Miller, Wax Flower, for example). As far as flowers I’m open. Of course I realize they’ll need to be annuals for the flowers. Do you have any recommendations of what I can do that will bloom at that time? Or is there a way to “force bloom” annuals?
I read your question this morning and thought about it during the day. Unfortunatley we think of November as a time to continue fall planting for winter and spring. Sweet peas for winter bloom need to be planted in September. I also plant most winter vegetables in September or October. We plant globe onions in November and strawberries. It’s also a good time to plant wildflowers and native plants, but I can’t think of any flowers that one can count on to be in bloom. Can you? Even Chrysanthemums, a fine choice for fall bloom are usually through blooming by November and it’s time to cut them back and remove faded ad dead blooms. Usually I have fewer flowers in my garden in November than at any other time of year. Please think or your own garden and others where you live. Can you think of any long-stemmed annual or perennial flowers that you admire at that time of year because they are always in bloom then? If you can, great! Grow that, but I would be hard pressed to guess what it might be.
Climate change also makes the task of choosing flowers to grow and bloom at a particular time more difficult and tricky. Due to strange swings in temperature, many plants are blooming at the wrong times of year and some are failing to bloom altogether. This happens if they do not get subjected to the temperatures they need in order to set buds and bloom.
But here’s an idea, best illustrated by a story: Many years ago when my youngest daughter was married they chose a winter date half way between Christmas and New Years. My fear was that it might rain. Thus we tented our whole upper patio. In those days it was surrounded on the side opposite the house by a green hedge. We rolled up the sides of the tent so the green hedge became the wall of the tent and we rented tables, chairs and white tablecloths. The day before the wedding I went to the local flower market and bought masses of pink cut carnations with long stems and kept them fresh in buckets of water. On the afternoon before the 4:00 pm wedding I stuck the carnations into the hedge so the long stems held them safely in place and the flowers were evenly distributed all over the hedges The effect was stunning and fragrant, as if the hedges were in bloom. I had bought enough flowers for the tables also and made those arrangements earlier. This cost far less in time, labor and money than trying to grow my own at the wrong time of year.