October Landscape Tips

It is now officially fall, even if it might not seem like it. Trees will start to drop leaves as they prepare for dormancy. Make sure you stay on top of raking to reduce fire danger in the windy Santa Ana season.  We can now do any final hard pruning on the heartiest of plants, but do not prune tender plants at this time.  We can lower our mowing height to 2.5”.

The demand for water by your lawn has lessened, and the cooler damp evenings could breed some fungus. Keeping the turf shorter will help prevent this and may reduce thatch buildup.  Now is a great time to replenish any mulch that has depleted from summer.  

October is the best time to plant native shrubs, such as California wild lilac (Ceanothus), lemonade berry (Rhus integrifolia), and manzanita (Arctostaphylos), to your garden.  As the weather continues to cool, add days between watering, but always irrigate for that same 7 minutes. We may only be watering 3 days a week now, adding an additional day if the temperature spikes, or the dry winds whip up.

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