October Planting and Maintenance Tips for San Diego Gardens
October Landscaping Tips
It’s October in San Diego, and the weather’s nice. We can hang out and enjoy our garden, and there’s nothing spooky about planting and maintaining your garden in the fall. In fact, you can plant a cool season lawn like tall fescue. And if you love onions, scallions, and cipollini, they will thrive in cool-season gardens, too. Fall is an excellent time to enjoy your garden!
What to Plant in an October Garden in San Diego
Landscape trees, including water-wise varieties such as Blue Palo Verde, Strawberry trees, Carrotwood, and Crape Myrtle, among others.- Shrubs for privacy hedges include many varieties of Boxwoods, Italian Cypress, and Indian Laurel Columns.
- Add color to your garden by planting cool-season flowers that will bloom in spring: wildflowers, pansies, calendula, delphiniums, and snapdragon.
- Plant autumn-blooming sages like ‘Purple Majesty’ and ‘Waverly’ varieties.
Why Plant in the Fall
- Soil is still warm, which promotes good root growth.
- Cooler weather removes the threat of heat stress on new plants
- Pests and diseases that afflict your garden in spring and summer are a more minor threat in fall
- We may get more rain, which can help plants establish more robust root systems before winter.
Lawns: Feeding and Maintenance
Aerate your lawn: Aerating softens compact soil to make it easier for air and water to reach the roots. Westturf Landscape has specialized aerating tools and the expertise to do the job right the first time.- Warm-season lawns can benefit from overseeding. If you are uncomfortable doing this, contact Vista, CA’s commercial landscaping experts—Westturf Landscape.
- Feed your cool-season lawn with a cool-season fertilizer.
Plants, Trees, and Shrubs: Feeding and Maintenance
- Trim back overgrown plants
- Add mulch around everything
- Thin out heavy shade trees
- Prune summer-blooming shrubs. Hold off on pruning spring-blooming shrubs until after their blooming period ends.
- Do a complete and thorough clean-up of the vegetable garden. Prepare your garden to plant beds of cool-season vegetables. Were you growing strawberries? If so, cut off runners from strawberries and gather them in bunches.
- Plant cool-season herbs like dill, cilantro, parsley, and fennel.
- Use strong water spray over the entire rose bush to remove spider mites. Your roses will try to go dormant after they bloom in October, so it’s a good time to give them their last feed.
- Inspect and, if needed, repair your irrigation system. Contact us for professional irrigation work you can depend on in San Diego County.
Watering Needs
The days are shorter, but we do get occasional heat waves. So, since our microclimate changes from warm to cold in the blink of an eye, pay attention to how much water you’re using. Santa Ana winds are also common at this time of the year, so prepare for the wind.
Continue irrigating your fruit trees. Periodic and thorough irrigation will help maintain adequate soil moisture until the rainy winter season.
October and the next few months are the best times to establish native plants in your landscape. Prepare and plant local San Diego favorites such as California Lilac, Coffeeberry, California Holly, California Tree Mallow, and Monkeyflower. If you’re looking for a great, low-growing groundcover, Manzanita is an excellent option.
Observe your local watering restrictions and guidelines.
Pay Attention to Pests
Pests can ruin your lawn and garden. An integrated pest management plan can help control pests such as:
- Gophers
- Common lawn pests such as grubs and spiders.
- Squirrels
- Rats and Mice
- Caterpillars
- Common South and North County San Diego fruit tree pests include Western Pine Bark Beetle, Asian Citrus Psyllid, Wood-Boring Caterpillars, Spider Tree Mites, Thrips, and Scale insects.
- Ants
- Weeds! Hand-pull weeds, or if you have a large commercial property, contact Westturf Landscape Management for professional weed abatement services in Carlsbad, San Marcos, Vista, and San Diego County.
Experience Quality Service. The Difference...Is Growing
If you're looking for a commercial landscaping company in San Diego that offers cost-effective solutions, look no further than Westturf Landscape Management, Inc. Our experts take pride in providing diligent landscaping services for HOAs, apartment communities, resorts, shopping centers, medical complexes, and more. If you're ready to upgrade your landscaping services, call us at 760-650-3120 or message us online.
Let's work together
If you have a creative project in mind or are looking to make your HOA or commercial property job more manageable, get in contact with Westturf Landscape Management. When it comes to quality efficient landscaping services, we have you covered. We are looking forward to hearing from you.
Westturf Landscape Management
701 Mercantile Street
Vista, CA 92083
Phone: 760.650.3120