• It is time to seed California Native Annuals and Perennials such as: California poppy, godetia, larkspur, lupine, tidy tip, etc. Follow the planting instructions on the seed packets...Don't just throw the seeds on the ground unless you plan to feed the birds. Mix in some Joe Pye Weed or Butterfly Weed to attract butterflies.

• Apply Monterey Garden Insect Spray, BT, Nature's Pest Fighter, or Malathion to control caterpillars on petunias and geraniums. we are particularly enthused with the Monterey product which contains Spinosad which is accepted for organic production. One pair of gardeners reported good luck using it for white flies though not listed for them. Let us know if it works for you.

BULBS

• Spring-blooming bulbs are here! Shop now for the best selections of  tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, freesias, narcissus, iris, anemone, and ranunculus. We also carry a select handful of unusual bulbs. Don't delay. Leucojum will bloom and naturalize under trees in your semi-wild areas.

• Special tip from Ed: For a different touch -- Plant a couple of dozen (or more) Spring Starflower (Ipheion) bulbs (2 inches deep) in the lawn and forget about them. They will come up and bloom each spring. The leaves will blend with the lawn grass the remainder of the year. When you mow the flowers off, more will spring up.

• Plant bulbs in a cluster of 12 or more, 4 to 6 inches apart. Dutch Iris and Narcissus (all kinds) are deer and gopher proof. Plant two dozen daffodils in a cluster and another two dozen Dutch Iris in between for about 2 to 4 months of spring bloom. If you plant 6 to 8 inches deep, you can plant annuals or low ground covers over the top of them and forget about them for 10 or 12 years.

• Remember to refrigerate tulips, crocus, and hyacinths for 6-8 weeks before planting. Store in paper bags in the refrigerator away from ripe fruits. Be sure bulbs stay dry.

• Bulbs that don’t need refrigeration can be planted now. However, if you want to hold them for later planting and/or later bloom they can be stored in the refrigerator or another cool dry place. Remember to amend soil with Master Nursery Gold Rush and to broadcast Master Nursery Bulb Food when planting. You can also add Master Nursery Bulb Food to individual bulb holes. The general rule of thumb for the depth of the hole is 3 times the length of the bulb. Discard bulbs left over from last year. See our Care Guide on Spring Bulbs.

• Dig gladiolus bulbs this month. Dry bulbs on a tarp or in paper bags, then rinse in a solution of 9 parts water to 1 part bleach. When dry, dust with sulfur, then store in paper bags in a cool spot away from moisture until next spring.

• If your dahlia roots are multiplying like rabbits, or if they have not been dug up for the last two years, dig them up now, leave soil on the roots, and store them in very slightly moist sawdust or Master Forest Blend. In the spring, separate them and replant. See our Care Guide on Dahlias.

• For those last minute or emergency Christmas gifts: Get two or three dozen jumbo daffodil or tulip bulbs, store them in your refrigerator. Then when you need them--wrap a dozen in a box or egg carton for a Christmas or hostess gift. If you don't need them. . .plant them in your own garden! You can plant these bulbs until mid-January.

Order and pay for your bare-root fruit trees before November 30th, you will receive a 10% discount on your order.  Click here to go to the 2010 Bare Root Fruit, Nut, and Flowering Tree list or the Bare Root Rose list.  A picture catalogue of our 2010 Bare Root Roses is available at our Cashier's area. Also available are gourmet and hard to find varieties of Fruit Trees available on Wegman's First Pick Program (sorry the discount does not apply).

• If you didn't prune your apricots in September, wait until January or February. Apricots are susceptible to Eutypa, a disease whose spores are most infective after the first rains. Pruning in August or early September allows pruning wounds to callous before the rains start. Do not prune trees again in winter. If trees are infected with brown rot, be sure to remove dead or diseased wood showing signs of oozing sap and cankers. See our Care Guide on Apricot Trees.

• Cut back caneberries, such as blackberries and raspberries, now. Prune to the ground canes which fruited this summer and tie up new canes. These new canes will fruit next summer.

• Do not fertilize or water deciduous fruit trees after the end of October. 

• Fireblight appears as blackened stems and scorched tips of new growth. It most commonly affects pears but also loquat pyracantha, apples, photinia, and some other plants in the rose family. To control, cut 9 to 12 inches below affected tissue, sterilizing pruning tools between each cut with rubbing alcohol, a bleach solution or Lysol.

• Peach leaf curl is best controlled by three dormant sprays with Microcop or Lime-Sulfur, one each at the end of November, December and January. Research at UC Davis supports that the most effective controls are applied when trees are dormant and  that growing season controls, such as picking off infected leaves, spraying with kelp, or blasting leaves with water is not effective.  See our Care Guide on Peaches ane Nectarines.

• Brown rot of apricots, peaches, nectarines,  plums and cherries, manifests as dieback of and/or oozing from short fruiting spurs or branch tips and a decrease or absence of fruit production. While it is too late to spray for this disease this year, next year apply two additional sprays of Daconil (Ortho Garden Disease Control) at pink bud and full bloom. When pruning this fall or winter, you should remove dead wood, oozing wood and any wood with cankers. Remember: never spray apricots with a sulfur spray.

• Check apple and pear trees for woolly apple aphids, which appear as a white cottony substance, usually in crevices, pruning cuts and on the roots at the base of the tree.  Spray now with Malathion or Sevin if present.

• Apple and pear scab have appeared more frequently this year than in the past.  There is nothing to be done now.  If your trees were infected this year, next year spray at the delayed dormant stage of flower bud development and with a second spray at the pre-pink stage, using Lime-Sulfur.

• Select and plant citrus now.

• Check citrus for snail damage and for scale, a sucking insect that usually clusters along fruit stems, new growth and the undersides of leaves. If scale is found, UC  recommends spraying the trees with a mixture of horticultural oil and malathion or Sevin. Repeat after two weeks.  Do not use Sevin or Malathion when trees are in bloom. Don’t use horticultural oil more than 4 times during the growing season and never within one month of a sulfur spray. Wait at least 2 weeks between applications. Ants running up and down the citrus trunk indicate a scale, aphid or mealy bug infestation.

GROUNDCOVERS

• If you forgot to fertilize newly planted groundcovers in September, do it this month. We recommend Formula 49.

• Be sure to water new plantings to a moisture level of about 6 inches deep, for plants in full sun, every 4-5 days or when the top 2 to 3 inches is dry. 

• Erigeron, Convolvulus, Creeping Rosemary, Ceanothus and Manzanita are excellent groundcovers for hot, dry locations  (though they do need water while becoming established).

• Blue Star Creeper, Woolly Thyme and Creeping Chamomile fill in nicely between stepping stones in full to part sun and are able to withstand some foot traffic. For the shade, try Campanula, Sweet Woodruff, Vinca minor, and Lamium.

• Now is the ideal time to install drought tolerant ground covers over large non-traffic areas. Use low growing manzanita (e.g. Emerald Carpet), cotoneaster (e.g. Lowfast), coyotebrush, myoporum, or trailing rosemary. Do not mix the plants.

• To ward off slugs and snails, bait with Sluggo (safe for pets and people) or  Cooke's Slug-N-Snail Granules available in powder or pellet form.

LAWNS

• Overseed Bermuda lawns with annual ryegrass now for a green lawn through the winter.

• If lawns show raccoon damage, apply Grub Control to kill ground-dwelling grubs and cutworms. Lawn moth damage appears as scattered dead spots throughout the lawn, and raccoon damage appears as large torn spots in the lawn. Although it is too late to use Beneficial Nematodes, consider applying them next April and July.  Beneficial nematodes are microscopic organisms which consume various destructive soil-dwelling insects, such as cutworms. They do not harm earthworms and are safe around pets and people.

• If you have had problems with weedy grasses in your lawn, now is the time to apply Easy Livin' Pre-Emergent Weed Preventer & Lawn Food, or Amaze Grass & Weed Preventer which  contain a pre-emergent that targets weedy seed producing grasses.  Pre-emergent herbicides kill only sprouting seeds and have no effect on established perennials (oxalis, clover, dandelions, Bermuda grass, etc.). For an all purpose organic pre-emergent, use Concern Weed Prevention Plus.  Whichever you choose, apply again in early February.

• Otherwise, continue feeding lawns with Master Green Lawn Food or Master Green Fall & Winter Lawn Feed. For organic products use Dr. Earth Lawn Fertilizer.

• Reset mowers to 2 inches for fescue and bluegrass lawns and 1 to 1.5 inches for Bermuda grass lawns. Special tip from Ed: Consider leaving lawn clippings on the lawn. As clippings break down, they provide the lawn with nutrients, reducing the need for fertilizers by 30-50%. Clippings will not cause thatch.

• If you haven't aerated or dethatched your lawn this year, now is a good time to do it.

• Lawns seeded through October may need moisture up to 2 times a day so that germinating plants do not dry out. See our Care Guide on Lawn Preparation.

• You may consider laying sod instead of seeding. Again, you may need to run irrigation systems 3-5 times a week during hot weather to prevent the roots from drying. Sod orders placed with Wegman’s usually take 2-3 days for delivery. Call us for details! Remember: You cannot use pre-emergent products for 3-4 months prior to seeding a lawn or laying sod. You can, however, use Bonide Weed Beater or Roundup 3-4 days before seeding or laying sod.

• If you have had problems with Bermuda grass in your lawn, apply Turflon Ester, which also controls annual and perennial broadleaf weeds in established lawns. For crabgrass and some other weed grasses, as well as a host of other tenacious broadleaf weeds, use Trimec Plus which does not permanently harm lawn grass.

• For oxalis (the plant that looks like clover) and broadleaf weeds, use Bonide Weed Beater, a liquid that can be sprayed over entire lawns. Because oxalis is so tenacious, several applications will be needed. Turflon Ester is particularly effective against oxalis and will not harm lawn grasses.

PERENNIALS

• Special tip from Ed for Fall Color: Check out Butterfly Weed, the asters, and garden mums. Many of the summer bloomers such as the salvias, penstemon and verbena will also stay in color through fall. To brighten up the rainy months, plant marguerites now. These short-lived (2-3 years) perennials offer year-round pink, white or yellow blooms and generally withstand colder spells in our winters.

 • Most of the ornamental grasses are in flower. Special tip from Ed: Check out Blue Oat Grass, Mexican Feather Grass, Rattlesnake Grass, Feather Reed Grass, and Bamboo Muhly. Grasses lend an architecture and texture to the landscape unmatched by other plants. They are also drought-tolerant and deer-resistant.  Grasses are in bloom now so don't cut them back until November or December.

• Be sure to deadhead as blooms fade to ensure bloom throughout fall.

• It's not too early to divide perennials if they are getting tired looking, have small flowers or dead centers.

• Apply Monterey Garden Insect Spray, BT, Nature's Pest Fighter, Safer Yard & Garden or Malathion as directed to control caterpillars on pelargoniums (geraniums) and petunias. (See more information in the Annuals section above.)

• A nice handful of sun-loving perennials double as both deer-resistant and drought-tolerant plants: lavender, yarrow, the Salvias, Echinacea, sea lavender, society garlic, Penstemon, and Brachycome all provide excellent fall color in addition to these practical attributes.

• To control Bermuda grass and crabgrass and other weedy grasses in ornamental beds, try Grass-Getter or  Weed Stopper. 

• Bait perennials with Sluggo or Cooke's Slug-N-Snail Granules.

ROSES

• Aphids can be controlled by blasting off with water or by spraying with Safer Yard & Garden Insect Killer. You can also use Malathion or Sevin.

• Watch for katydids and cucumber beetles, both of which chew on flower buds, leaving holes in flower petals. Treat with sprays listed above.

• Powdery Mildew appears as whitish splotches on the surface of leaves and on buds and stems. To control, use Safer Garden Fungicide or wettable sulphur. If these measures aren’t satisfactory,  use Chlorothalonil or Triforine (Ortho Garden Disease Control, Ortho Rose Pride)or since the plants will soon lose their leaves, anyway, forget the spray for this year and start your preventive sprays earlier (April) next year.

• Rust appears as small yellow to black spots on the upper surface of leaves, which, when flipped, show rust-colored pustules. Use the Chlorothalonil or Triforine (Ortho Garden Disease Control, Ortho Rose Pride--described above).

SHRUBS & VINES

• If you didn't fertilize in September, fertilize conifers, evergreen shrubs and evergreen vines with Master Nursery Formula 49 (8-4-4) as soon as possible.

• Some Camellia growers recommend a light feeding of  both Master Nursery Bloom and Blood Meal at this time to produce larger blooms on Camellias, Rhododendrons, and Azaleas. If Azaleas have started to bloom or they are Sasanqua Camellias, it is too late.

• Azaleas--If your azaleas developed petal blight (flowers slowly turn brown all over and spreads over all flowers on the plant) last year, spray them with Chlorothalonil or Triforine (Ortho Garden Disease Control, Ortho Rose Pride) while they are in the bud stage. Do so at two week intervals until the flowers appear.

• If your gardenias show brown buds which drop off before opening, the cause is probably thrips. Use Spinosad (Monterey Garden Insect Spray) to control. Keep in mind that gardenias need an acid soil. Mulch yearly with Master Nursery Gold Rush and apply Iron Plus every other month. See our Gardenia Care Guide.

• Special tip from Ed: Four of the fastest growing shrubs for hedges and screens are Black-twig Pittosporum, Red-tip Photinia, Eugenoides Pittosporum and purple hopseed bush. Left unpruned, each will reach approximately 20 feet tall and half as wide but each can be maintained at 6 to 8 feet if desired. Remember to prune newly planted hedges twice yearly, even if lightly. This will encourage plants to be bushy and dense.

• Watch for evidence of thrips and black vine weevil on rhododendrons. Thrips damage appears as a mottling or bleaching of the upper surfaces of leaves and small, glossy black dots on the undersides of leaves. Weevils leave distinctive notches along leaf margins as they feed. Both can be controlled with Spinosad (Monterey Garden Insect Spray). Bayer Tree and Shrub Insect Control can also be used. It should be diluted,  poured on the ground and taken up by the plant's roots thus protecting the plant up to 12 months.

TREES

• If you didn't fertilize in September, fertilize conifers and evergreen trees now with Master Nursery Formula 49. You can also use the Ross Root Feeder  with the 25-10-10 cartridges for established trees that are isolated in the landscape.

• In both San Mateo and Santa Clara counties, the olive fruit fly has rendered olives unusable for home curing. If you’re thinking of home curing olives, be sure to have fruit checked for grub and maggot larvae. Finally, there is a treatment for this pest; Monterey Garden Insect Spray with Spinosad used in conjunction with olive fruit fly traps will kill the maggot before it enters the olive. 

•Special tip from Ed:  If you are considering having specimen trees pruned, we strongly encourage you to seek certified or experienced arborists. While you will pay more for their work, you can be assured that the longevity of your trees will not be compromised by poor practices such as topping.   Nancy Garrison, a Master Gardener, has stated, "If need be, it is better to remove a tree that has outgrown its space and replant, with a more appropriately sized tree, than to top an existing tree that you feel is too large!"  A list of Arborists is on their web site.

VEGETABLES

• Tomatoes, squash, cucumbers, and green beans should be essentially finished during October. Tear out plants this month and plant your winter garden.  If these plants were infested with white flies or other insects, do not compost.

• To plant the winter garden: Prepare soil by covering it with 1to 2 inches of Master Nursery Gold Rush, scattering Master Nursery Master Start at the rate of 2 pounds per 100 square feet. Dig or till in to 6 to 8 inches.  Fertilize after one month with Master Nursery Tomato and Vegetable Food. See our article-Winter Vegetables-from our weekly e-newsletter and our Care Guide on Winter Vegetable Gardening.

• Plant onion and garlic transplants. Prepare beds as above and plant onion sets and garlic cloves now. See our Care Guide on Garlic and Onions.

• Plant cool season greens, such as lettuce, spinach, cilantro, chard, and mustard by seed or from starts at this time.

• Plant cabbage, broccoli, cauliflower, and the rest of the cole crops from starts. All will do well in our area. Be sure to space plants 12 to 18 inches apart. Try kohlrabi and bok choy for deliciously different tastes. Rutabaga, parsnips and the other root vegetables can also be planted now from seed.

• When string beans have finished, replace them with your favorite peas from seed. Plant 2 to 3 seeds in each hole, about 12 inches apart. Bush peas will bear sooner but pole peas will bear more pods for  a longer time.

• If you have small potatoes (1 to 2 inches in diameter) left from your summer crop, they can be planted now for early potatoes next year.  See our Care Guide on Potatoes.

• Cole crops, especially Brussel Sprouts, are very susceptible to aphids and cabbage butterfly caterpillars. Control with Safer Yard and Insect Killer or Master Nursery Nature's Pest Fighter. Also, try the Monterey Garden Insect Spray which is great for caterpillars and leaf miners., but not for aphids.

• It you are a do it yourselfer, we've read that Murphy's Soap at 2 Tablespoons per gallon of water is a good insecticide for aphids.

• Special tip from Ed: If you are not planting winter flowers or crops in an area, clean it out and plant it with Fava Beans, Alfalfa, mustard or other cover crop to let Mother Nature enrich your soil over the winter.  Get seeds in the ground by the end of October. To double your results, plant bush peas for the cover crop and enjoy the pods and plow the tops next spring.

Ideas for special situations . . .

• Liquid Fence has proved to be extremely effective in deterring deer from yards and gardens. The trick is to use it exactly as instructed.

• Likewise, Mole & Gopher Med has proved to be effective in ridding yards and gardens of gophers and moles. The secret, again, is to follow the instructions exactly as instructed. Mole &  Gopher Med will not kill the pests but chases them someplace else.

• Critter Ridder is made by Hav-A-Heart and works very well in keeping raccoons off lawns.  However, if the raccoons have been chasing grubs, you will have to get rid of the grubs (see above under LAWNS).

• As stated earlier, mildew is common at this time of year, especially on dahlias, zinnias, cosmos, lilacs, roses, and even apples. These plants will soon lose their leaves which should be collected and disposed of. Do not compost. Don't bother spraying at this late date. 

•Grafting services are available, if you want to preserve a special tree or mix two varieties on one tree. Check with us to determine if we can help you!

• Container plants must be fertilized with an appropriate granular fertilizer monthly from March through October. If you are a fan of liquid fertilizers, apply monthly or a more dilute solution twice a month.

• Consider watering indoor plants with a solution of 2 tablespoons of vinegar to 1 gallon water once a month in order to reduce salt build-up and soil alkalinity.

• Have you remembered to provide water for the birds visiting your garden? They eat up to their weight in bugs each week if they become permanent residents.

• Special tip from Ed: Sharp pruning tools make clean cuts that heal quickly. Check out our Pruning Tool Renovation service, which includes cleaning and sharpening and replacing missing parts for pruners. If you’re unsure whether we can service your tool, bring it in for assessment.