Plant California natives this month

By: TENAYA GROFF - For the North County Times | Thursday, October 27, 2005 8:37 PM PDT ∞

Thirty days hath November ---- in the garden. Let us be thankful that we live in such a perfect climate for gardening year round. Happy Thanksgiving!

Plant: Begin to plant California natives this month. Winter is the growing season for this specific group of plants and our rainy season versus dry season dictates their growing patterns. Plant wildflower meadows to naturalize an open space.

This is a great month to plant the groundcover that is needed to cover a difficult landscaping area, such as a slope, or to replace lawn areas and create a low-maintenance landscape. A wide selection is available, so take your specific needs (and even a picture of the area you wish to plant) to a good nursery supply store, or research the possibilities yourself. A good way to do this would be many of the demonstration gardens at our area horticultural schools or botanic gardens. Or take a drive around a well-landscaped neighborhood and see what has been successful that may apply to your needs.

Continue to plant flower beds with perennials and bulbs and cool-season annuals. Try flowering kale in groupings for a strong garden accent, but make sure the plants are young and not wobbly when you buy them.

For the vegetable garden, add garlic, globe onions from seed and bare-root strawberries.

November is just about the only time to relocate young shrubs and trees that may not be in the right place. Dig a deep trench around the drip line, and then cut under the root ball, trying to take as many roots as possible. Before lifting the plant out of the hole, wrap the root ball in chicken wire or burlap or a strong plastic garbage bag. This will keep the root ball intact while you move the plant and minimize root shock. Replant the plant in its new location right away. Place it in a prepared hole, and then remove the bag or wire and backfill the hole. To encourage new root growth, water in a root stimulant, available at garden centers.

Maintain: Scout out potential weakened trees and shrub branches that may damage property in high wind and stormy weather. Open up branching of overgrown trees to balance weight and allow wind to pass through. A tree that creates too much wind resistance can be blown over. Remove dead and damaged branches. Top-heavy shrubs can be pruned this month to encourage vigor and new growth. A good example would be acacias. A severe cutback of shrub and groundcover acacias will actually increase the plant's life span.

Now you can divide that agapanthus that is overgrown and weakened. Dig out the whole plant, separate the pups and replant. Divide larger plants with a spade, ensuring that each clump has roots, and replant.

Prune cane berries now. Cut out old canes and train new ones on a support for fruit next year. When chrysanthemums are finished blooming, cut back severely, or pull out and replace with winter color. Fertilize cool season lawns and bedding flowers, but not roses. Stop feeding warm-season lawn and allow to go dormant.

Uninvited guests: If you have stone fruit trees, remember to plan a winter spraying schedule for disease control. One big problem is control of peach leaf curl on nectarines and peaches. This disease is caused by an airborne fungus. To control the spread of this disease, clean up all fallen leaves, fruit and debris. Spray the entire tree, including trunk and surrounding ground area. Use a multipurpose fungicide containing Daconil or lime sulfur, and follow the directions carefully. Spray when all leaves have fallen, again when buds begin to swell in the spring. Watch carefully for buds because this is hard to predict with our short winter season.

Water wisdom: OK. So it looks like it's going to rain, but it never really shows up, or the rain is sparse and just dampens the ground. This is not the time to turn off your watering schedule. These overcast days and drizzle are not enough to reach the roots of large established trees and shrubs, and certainly not enough to encourage new growth in the flower beds. Continue your watering schedule the same as last month, when it was advised to apply the same amount of water, but to increase the intervals between watering. For example, instead of watering every other day, water every third or fourth day and see how the plants' needs are met.

Tenaya Groff is a freelance garden writer. Contact her at hmsgardens@yahoo.com.