One of the reasons California weather is so desirable is the (mostly) mild temperatures coupled with low humidity. Most other southern states that have mild winters have high humidity during the warm summer months. That high humidity is, unfortunately, very favorable for all of the icky insects that we usually don’t see here. Flies, cockroaches/palmetto bugs, mosquitoes, and other bitey things thrive in warm humid environments. Although the unexpected storms we experienced this summer were nice for our lawns, they had some unpleasant side effects.

Mosquitos and flies enjoy humidity. Flies are attracted to bare soil and are especially attracted to bare soil that is moist. When we removed our builder-installed turfgrass, we noticed that the fly population greatly increased until our buffalo grass lawn was established.

Mosquitos need standing water to multiply. Many people don’t realize how little water is needed for the mosquito population to explode.  Neglected swimming pools, bird baths, and inactive fountains are the first suspects when trying to determine the source of a mosquito population explosion. Our unusually heavy rainfall may have produced other, less obvious, breeding sites. A forgotten bucket, a recycling receptacle containing cans or bottles, a shovel left out in the garden, or anything capable of holding even a small amount of water can provide an ideal location for mosquitos to breed.

Check around your property for any standing water. Inspect your window screens for any tears or holes. Use a mosquito repellent that has DEET as an active ingredient, since this is the most effective way to avoid bites. Some plants, such as citronella-scented geraniums, are advertised as mosquito repellent. This may be the case, but after you’ve been bitten several dozen times, you’re probably more interested in just killing the darned things.

If you’ve been bitten, the sometimes intense itching can be relieved by applying cortisone cream or Benadryl lotion. I’ve discovered that battery-powered heat treatment devices are very effective in stopping the itch, so I highly recommend them. Just hold the heated disc against the bite and press the button. The disc heats up to 140 degrees for 3-5 seconds, which reportedly neutralizes the protein that causes the itch. The temporary discomfort results in immediate itch relief.

Q. I keep finding these weird, bumpy brown things on my outdoor pots and walls. Could they be praying mantis egg cases?

Female praying mantises (or mantids) will deposit their eggs, often on vertical surfaces, in the fall. Mantids live throughout the lower-elevation areas of California and, although they are common, it’s always a thrill to me to encounter one in my garden. I think that’s because they are so superbly camouflaged that I don’t see them unless they start moving. 

Although females sometimes kill and eat their mates, this is not always the case and is certainly not a necessary step for successful reproduction. Remember, “take out” can mean food, dating, or murder and, if you’re a praying mantis, it can mean all three.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

This species, which can serve as a ground cover or a low shrub as long as it is regularly trimmed back, will grow six feet tall when left to its own devices. One of the common names given to this beauty is cape lilac due to the color of its flowers and its Cape of South Africa habitat, where it grows as an understory plant in a subtropical, coastal forest. Kiddoo’s plant faces north so it does not see direct sun and gets about the same amount of light as his azaleas. 

Cape lilac is one of those plants that grows effortlessly in any soil type and is easily propagated; detach a six-inch cutting and, after removal of the bottom leaves, insert it directly into the soil at this time of year or in early spring. It can also be propagated from stem cuttings placed in potting soil in a container. Finally, all Plectranthus species, in the manner of their closely related Coleus cousins, will sprout roots along stems submerged in water before your very eyes. Just be aware that rooting happens fastest during the growing season and will take considerably longer as daylight hours become scarcer with the approach of winter.

In truth, there are many horticulturally desirable Plectranthus species, although they seem to be something of a mystery. We seldom see them in the nursery, but there are 85 Plectranthus species altogether, and another 600 hybrids and varieties. All are perennial. Among my favorites is Mona Lavender, which thrives in shady locations. In the manner of cape lilac, it blooms most heavily in the fall. It grows two feet tall and has leaves that are sea green on top and purple underneath. Since it could die in a hard freeze, you would be wise to propagate it and grow some of its clonal offspring as indoor plants. Bear in mind, however, that when plants that flower in the shade outdoors are situated indoors, they will require lots more light to bloom, probably as much as you can provide. If your indoor environment is less than bright, you will need to utilize artificial light in order to get flowers, regardless of how little light was needed for blooming outdoors.

The malodorous Plectranthus neochilus has the common names of dog gone and scaredy cat due to its capacity to discourage trespassing on the part of canine and feline creatures. In its native South Africa, it is even promoted for its ability to deter snakes. Due to its leaf texture, it is also sometimes labeled Fuzzy Wuzzy.  In any case, this is a ground cover that is nearly always in bloom. On the northern coast of Israel opposite the Mediterranean Sea, it is planted in sandy soil adjacent to the beach. Once established, as long as there is a little winter rain, it does not need any summer irrigation. 

The Plectranthus genus of plants belongs to the mint family, and some are pleasantly aromatic, including mentholato (Plectranthus cylindricus) and Cuban oregano (Plectranthus oregano), also known as Mexican mint, whose leaves – both fresh and dry – may be used in cooking. 

No discussion of this genus would be complete without mentioning Swedish ivy (Plectranthus verticillatus). Its common name is a misnomer since it is not Swedish (it was popularized there but is indigenous to South Africa) and does not produce roots that cling and allow it to climb like ivy, although its bright green, one-inch leaves do trail along the ground. Swedish ivy once adorned the mantle above the fireplace in the Oval Office, where it was designated as “the most photographeed plant in the world” since it – or plants propagated from its cuttings – grew there from 1961 into the Obama presidency, only to finally be replaced by grape ivy (Cissus rhombifolia), which remains there until today. Grape ivy, incidentally, although also without clinging roots, is actually related to the grape we cultivate for eating and for wine and, like the grape plant, is possessed of tendrils that allow it to wrap its way around and up trees and trellises.

Incidentally, Rex Kiddoo’s cape lilac may be ordered from Annie’s Annuals (anniesannuala.com), along with three other members of the Plectranthus genus, while San Marcos Growers (smgrowers.com) has a dozen species in production. Most notable among the San Marcos selections is silver Plectranthus (Plectranthus argentatus), which grows up to six feet tall. In addition to foot-long wands of pinkish-white flowers at this time of year, stems of its silvery leaves will last for two weeks when placed in vase arrangements.

California native of the week: Western meadow rue (Thalictrum orientale) has daintily laced foliage as decorous as any you will ever see. Plants are dioecious, meaning they are either male or female. Male flowers are produced in huge numbers. They are alluring and arresting to behold with long reddish stamens tipped in purple. Female flowers are collections of little white clubs. This is a plant that self-sows and has the potential to become weedy, although it seems like it would be a nice weed to have around. It is called rue because its foliage resembles that of the herb known simply as rue (Ruta graveolens) in two distinctive ways. First, the blue-gray foliage of rue, like that of Western meadow rue, is delicate, blue-gray, and highly aesthetic; second, both plants emit a strong, unpleasant smell. Ordinary rue, native to the Balkan peninsula, was used in the Middle Ages as a strewing herb that was spread on the floor of churches since it was thought that its repellent odor would keep away the devil. 

For more information about area plants and gardens, go to Joshua Siskin’s website, thesmartergardener.com. Send questions and photos to Joshua@perfectplants.com.

1. Propagate your willow. Willow trees and willow bushes are among the easiest plants to propagate. Weeping willow (Salix babylonica) and corkscrew willow (Salix matsudana var. Tortuosa) have distinctive foliage, with the former famously pendant and the latter consistently twisted or contorted, with stems twisted as well. You can root foot-long stems of these species in water or in the earth. In truth, willow stems and branches are so eager to root that they will do so at any time of the year. Back in May, I received a four-foot pussy willow (Salix discolor) stem in a flower arrangement. I stuck it in the ground to serve as a stake for a dwarf pepper plant. Within a couple of months, it had produced a solid clump of roots and now it is primed to grow into a tree. At the recent close of the Jewish holiday known as Sukkot, which includes three willow shoots that are waved ceremoniously along with three other plant species, I took those shoots and, after removing their bottom leaves, placed them in vase. Two weeks later, roots had already begun to form.The particular willow species involved here is dwarf blue Arctic willow (Salix purpurea var. Nana) that grows five feet tall and five feet wide in shady locations.

2. Plant turban ranunculus (Ranunculus asiaticus). Plants grow out of underground bulbous structures known as corms and stand up well as cut flowers. A corm resembles a bulb except that, instead of being composed of layers of scales, it consists of solid tissue. Ranunculus flowers appear in red, orange, yellow, pink, cream, and white and have the form of tightly wrapped turbans or multi-layered roses, complemented by exquisitely ferny foliage. The claw-like ranunculus corms require a pre-planting treatment that begins with soaking them for three to four hours in a shallow bowl of water, preferably distilled, which will hydrate and plump the claws. Afterward, place them in a shallow tray covered with an inch or two of potting soil, and put them in a cool place such as a garage for 10-14 days. Make sure the soil does not dry out but does not stay too moist since the corms are susceptible to rot. After around two weeks, you should see shoots begin to emerge, at which time the corms may be planted two inches deep in rich, humusy soil. Similar to daffodils and cyclamen, ranunculus will come back again each year as long as the soil in which they reside goes bone dry until next fall. If you like the familiar Ranunculus asiaticus, you will love “Ranunuculus” (GIbbs and Smith, 2023), by Naomi Slade and Georgiana Lane. This is a wonderfully illustrated volume that includes a diversity of Ranunculus species – which number more than 1,800 – many of which are garden-worthy. 

3. Keep planting vegetables, whether from seeds, transplants, or bulbs. Thes include: garlic, cabbage, peas, fava beans, beets, celery, artichokes, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, spinach, kale, onions, cilantro, chives, carrots, cauliflower, lettuce, turnip, arugula, and shallots. I must confess that I have planted garlic and potatoes – garlic from store-bought cloves and potatoes from store-bought tubers which I cut into pieces, each having at least two eyes – in all seasons and eventually get a crop. After all, in their habitat bulbs stay in the ground in one form or another throughout the year, so why wouldn’t they do that in our gardens too? 

4. After writing about our “worst weeds,” I received an email from Susan Savolainen who wanted to include puncture vine (Tribulus terrestris) in this category. “With its goathead stickers puncturing bike tires, dogs’ paws and tennis shoe soles,” she wrote, “it is literally a pain. It quickly takes over any bare soil.” This weed can be controlled on otherwise bare soil with vinegar in a spray bottle. While young plants can be killed with a 10 percent vinegar solution, mature plants may require an 80 percent vinegar solution to succumb. Be aware, however, that vinegar lowers soil pH so that, unless you plan on growing blueberries where vinegar is sprayed, you may want to find another solution, e.g. after donning gloves, spraying herbicide on a sponge and then rubbing it on the puncture vine. Puncture vine is attractive with its ferny foliage and yellow flowers, rivaled in beauty by only one other weed: scarlet pimpernel (Anagallis arvensis), whose flowers are actually salmon, not scarlet, and whose attractive, oppositely-paired miniature leaves creep along the ground; it’s one weed that you can hardly bear to pull.

5. If you haven’t done so by now, you can still divide clumps of your daylilies, Agapanthus, Shasta daisies, black-eyed Susans, Arctotis, Gaillardia, bearded iris, and ornamental grasses. It’s a good idea to mulch the ground around divisions after they are planted so that water will be retained in the soil and transplant shock to the traumatized roots will be minimized.

For more information about area plants and gardens, go to Joshua Siskin’s website, thesmartergardener.com. Send questions and photos to Joshua@perfectplants.com.

“I’ve implemented them into my own business and my own home,” says Reese, a Houston, Texas-based designer who launched her own firm, House of June Interiors, four years ago.

Part of a larger project of the same name launched by the Black Interior Designers Network, the “Iconic Home” book was published earlier this month by Abrams. The founder of Black Interior Designers Network and Iconic Home, the late Kimberly Ward, was a mentor to Reese before passing away in 2017.

“Iconic Home was another one of her babies,” says Reese of the brand best known for its show house collaboration with Architectural Digest. “It’s evolved into this celebration or place to promote Black designers.”

From the lush, colorful interiors of Jungalow founder Justina Blakeney to the chic minimalism of Adair Curtis, the designers featured in “Iconic Home” offer a wealth of insight no matter what one’s ideal home aesthetic is. “Even though there are different design styles,” says Reese, “there are design principles that, when executed well, make a space a good space no matter what aesthetic it falls within.”

Reese recalls a nugget of wisdom shared by the late Nike Onile, the founder of Studio Ode in Toronto.

“She said that she designed spaces that fill your senses,” Reese says. “I don’t think we think about that enough. We think about the aesthetic, but to think about all of the different senses in your work is really profound. It’s another way to approach it than I think most of us do.”

“Iconic Home” also offers a look into the varied philosophies and processes of interior designers. Reese mentions David Quarles as an example. The Memphis-based designer leans into his synesthesia, a condition that causes one’s senses to cross over; in Quarles’ case, he associates colors with music, so he finds inspiration in his clients’ favorite songs or playlists they would like to hear in the specific space.

There are plenty of inspiring stories in the book, but the list of designers was tough to whittle down. Reese surmises that the initial list included about 300 designers. To winnow the contenders down to a workable number, she looked at factors like location, experience and visibility as well as aiming to represent a variety of styles.

“There are a lot of major designers in this book, but there are also a lot of smaller designers or younger designers or people who aren’t as advanced in their career, like myself,” says Reese.

“I’m still developing my style,” she says. “But I think that the overall ethos and the way that I approach interiors definitely contributes to the book.”

Although Reese didn’t set out to become an interior designer, she dabbled in the subject via a class that her then-boyfriend, now-husband was taking in high school. When it came time to apply for college, she wanted to go to school for journalism.

“That didn’t work out,” Reese says, so she looked for a different career path, which led her to study interior design. “In 2013, I started taking my own clients and doing internships and it developed into this firm and career,” she says.

Reese has her own advice for those looking to hire an interior designer. “If you are looking for a designer, I think that the biggest question is how they work with clients,” she says. “Everybody is different. Clients aren’t always the same. All of us aren’t the same. We operate differently.”

Some, like Reese, work in close collaboration with clients. Others might take note of what the client does and doesn’t like and run with it.

While she says that looking at budgets is a “no-brainer,” there are some specific questions you should ask, like what a designer’s minimum is for a retainer. “A lot of us do have minimums of what our retainer is,” she notes.

You should also inquire about the designer’s process and time frames. “A lot of people come to us and think that we’ll start now and I’ll have finished home in four weeks. You might have a finished concept in four weeks with the way that we work,” she says.

No matter where you are and what you’re looking for, those are some of the key questions that can help you find an interior designer who is the right fit for your project. “Figuring out how the designer operates, what their process is like and how they charge and what they charge is a really important way to figure out who the designer is for you,” says Reese.

And if you need some inspiration, “Iconic Home” is a good place to start.

Mick Boersma, who gardens in La Mirada, wrote me as follows:

“Nocturnal visitors are a problem we have faced. Aside from a family of raccoons wandering the streets at night, we have a healthy and curious family of squirrels in the park nearby.

I recall with horror the first time I saw the emitters on our system nipped off. At 50 cents a piece, I was not amused. After realizing it was probably not a criminal gang bent on plasticide (is that a word?), I wondered if baby squirrels were using them as a teething opportunity. The actual culprits were, I suspect, the same critters who seem to think there are fish in my fountain – raccoons.

After combing the internet for ideas, the one that worked for me was simple. I brewed up a batch of pepper tea, throwing in chili powder and every other hot pepper product in my house.  After a nice long steep, I let it cool down, strained it, loaded it into a spray bottle, and shot the emitters liberally with the concoction. It was applied every few days for a while, as our watering cycle would dilute the effect, but eventually, the problem was solved. I have not had to reapply in months. But to hedge my bets, I’m buying cheaper emitters now at our local big box hardware store. Live and learn.”

Jonathan Zimmerman eliminated chewing on his drip lines with some innovative thinking, as described below:

“I managed a 600-tree drip-irrigated orange orchard in Moorpark and spent many mornings repairing chewed irrigation lines. I thought perhaps the critters were thirsty and chewing the lines for water so I put an emitter that dripped into a pie tin at the end of each line and it worked, mostly. The big chew problem was solved but I still had occasional pinprick leaks caused by what looked like tiny little teeth. I thought perhaps the young critters were chewing on the lines for fun so I chopped some old plastic irrigation lines into 4″ sections and scattered them throughout the orchard. Problem solved. No more leaks and lots of presumably happy coyote pups.”

The picture that emerges from these recommendations is that wildlife is particularly interested in chewing on emitters, as opposed to the drip line itself, since this is where the water is most available to drink. Thus, drip tubing like mine whose emitters are embedded inline will require the most extensive repairs where wildlife roam; in order to get at the emitters, the main line itself must be chewed. 

Enter Gene Goldstein. He has extensive experience in drip irrigation and has settled on 1/4″ spaghetti tubing that you connect to the main line wherever an emitter is needed. While most of us think of emitters as being at ground level, he stakes his DIG Micro Spray (or Spray Jet) emitters four inches up in the air, although 13″ inch stakes from the same manufacturer are typically utilized for staking these emitters.  You screw the threaded emitter into the spaghetti tubing prior to attaching it to a stake. To protect the tubing and emitter from chewing animals, Goldstein encases them (along with the stake) in “pet screen,” a thin metal mesh available at home improvement centers. He cuts the screen with metal shears, crafting a cylinder that fits over the spaghetti tubing, emitter, and stake; zip ties hold the cylinder in place.

Goldstein’s emitters spray to a distance of three feet and are available in full, half, or quarter-circle configurations, as well as for narrow strip applications. It must be said that an advantage of placing spraying emitters on stakes is that you can instantly see if they are working. When emitters leak water directly into the ground, it is a chore to make sure they are working and not clogged and, to be sure, clogging of emitters often occurs.

In Banning, Susan Savolainen suggested that those faced with this problem should “try putting out buckets of water so the critters can get water without damaging your drip lines. After learning that coyote pups like to chew the sprinkler heads and risers, putting out chew bones has helped.” She also offers this: “If you have drip tubing being chewed you can enclose it in hardware cloth (thick woven metal fabric). Yes, it’s expensive, but so is replacing dead plants and repairing drip line.”

Jenny Iyer, who works at the Land Use Learning Center demonstration garden in Riverside, has similarly deterred coyotes, squirrels, and opossums from chewing on drip lines by placing bowls next to emitters, providing the critters with readily accessible water whenever the irrigation system is running. She cautions that bowls should be cleaned and emptied regularly to prevent disease and keep mosquitos away. Also, pets should be kept from drinking out of such bowls, which could make them sick.

California native of the week: Cape Mendocino reedgrass (Calamagrostis foliosa) is a stunning, fountainesque beauty that forms a mound one foot tall and two feet wide. Although it does best growing along the coast in full sun, where it tolerates wind and ocean spray, it can also thrive in hotter inland locations when given some shade. Leaves are blue-green with purple streaks. “In mid-spring through early summer appear the attractive, short, arching silvery-purple heads of flowers that age to a golden wheat color and are attractive into fall.” The preceding words are a description of its reproductive growth from San Marcos Growers (smgrowers.com), a nursery that grows it. This species is not meant to be cut back since that practice will hasten its demise. Instead, unsightly dead growth can be removed with a bow rake. In any case, this is a grass that does not live for more than seven years, and often less. However, during this time, you can divide it into small clumps which can then be planted in appropriate spots throughout the garden.

Do you have any money-saving gardening tips? If so, send them to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions, comments, and recommendations are always welcome. Photos of unusual plants, taken with horizontal orientation that are at least 1 MB (1000 KB) in size, are also invited for possible publication in the column.

Good luck with that. Raccoons are very smart and, once they’ve figured out how to score an easy meal, are very difficult to deter. We tried growing popcorn a few years ago and the raccoons discovered it. They knocked down every stalk and stripped them clean. What’s especially stupid is that popcorn tastes terrible unless it’s been popped and doused with butter. Go figure.

Depending on your garden’s configuration, an electric fence may work. Motion-activated sprinklers don’t seem to bother them, and any foul-smelling repellents will probably attract more of them. I don’t recommend direct confrontation (the “Hey, you – Get off of my lawn!” approach) since they can be mean and they have very good memories.

Q. How can I preserve fresh herbs? I have a couple of basil plants that are 3 feet tall (including Thai basil). They start to lose their flavor when the weather gets cooler.

Basil is most flavorful before cold weather sets in, so early fall is the best time to harvest it. I recommend clipping it to about a foot tall instead of removing it right away because it may keep producing leaves until the frost comes. These late leaves won’t be as good as the early leaves, but they’ll still be pretty good.

I like to make pesto and freeze it in ice cube trays for use in soups, sauces, and pasta. Once it’s frozen you can pop the cubes into a zip-lock bag (don’t forget to label it!). It can also be used to make flavored vinegars or dried for extended storage. Inspect the leaves carefully after harvest because they may harbor little green caterpillars that are very well-camouflaged. If you miss one, your flavored vinegar may end up looking like tequila with a curled-up worm at the bottom of the bottle. This can be awkward if you’re giving them out as gifts.

Other herbs can be made into pesto as well. Rosemary, thyme, oregano, and other stronger herbs can be used, but I recommend diluting them with fresh parsley (3 or 4 parts parsley to 1 part herb). These herbs can impart a bitter, unpleasant flavor if used in greater quantity, so the parsley will mellow things out.

If your appetite (or freezer space) for pesto is limited, dehydration is always a good option, since drying will reduce the volume of your herbs up to 90%.

Q. I made a dish using pine nuts and after eating it everything tasted weird. Could the pine nuts have caused my tastebuds to malfunction?

Yes. Consuming pine nuts can sometimes cause a bitter, metallic taste that can persist for several weeks. This phenomenon, known as “pine nut syndrome,” has been linked to a species of pine nut grown in China (Pinus armandii). Symptoms appear several days after consuming pine nuts and disappear within a few weeks. There’s no known remedy for it – you have to wait it out. Not everyone is susceptible to it, so scientists suspect genetics may be a factor.

Los Angeles County

mglosangeleshelpline@ucdavis.edu; 626-586-1988; http://celosangeles.ucanr.edu/UC_Master_Gardener_Program/

Orange County

ucceocmghotline@ucanr.edu; http://mgorange.ucanr.edu/

Riverside County

anrmgriverside@ucanr.edu; https://ucanr.edu/sites/RiversideMG/

San Bernardino County

mgsanbern@ucanr.edu; 909-387-2182; http://mgsb.ucanr.edu

1. A while ago, I featured Sedum Harvest Moon (Sedum spathulifoium) as the California native of the week, lamenting that I could not find it in the nursery trade. John Lewallen sent me two online sources for this species. One is Earth and Jungle (earthandjungle.com) and the other is Bluestone Perennials, The succulent Sedum genus is replete with species showing off a variety of leaf forms. Foliage is often colorful and may be variegated, too, and the species in question has leaves that show off a captivating blend of silvery gray and and purple. Sedum flowers may appear in white, yellow, pink, or red, depending on the species. 

2. At Bluestone Perennials (bluestone perennials.com), three species of Bergenia, also known as “pigsqueak,” are available for fall planting. This is probably the toughest flowering perennial you can find for partial sun to shady locations. It can grow in virtually any kind of soil and most species are extremely hardy, capable of withstanding Alaska winters. Its large, cabbage leaves are an instant attraction. Flower color is a mix of pink, rose, and magenta although a type with red flowers is also available. The name “pigsqueak” refers to the sound made when rubbing a leaf between two fingers after a rain, a phenomenon which invariably endears this plant to kids.

3. Fran and Bill Arrowsmith, horticulturists in the South Bay, saw a toyon in their garden (Heteromeles arbutifolia) die from fireblight. This is a disease caused by bacteria that enter a plant through the nectaries at the base of its flower petals during wet weather in late winter or early spring. Leaves turn a fiery orange or red before wilt begins and the plant slowly dies. The question was raised as to what would be a good alternative plant for “front and center in our front yard.” Plants susceptible to fireblight are confined to the rose family, including apple, quince, and pear trees, pyracantha, toyon, and photinia shrubs, and others. So long as long as the replacement plant is not in the rose family, there is no concern that this disease will be a problem. I suggested a Howard McMinn arctostaphylos, commonly known as manzanita, variety. I have one that is nearly 20 years old and is almost a perfect sphere with a diameter of eight feet. It is a slow grower so you will want to plant the biggest specimen you can find. The flower display of pinkish-white urn-shaped flowers during winter to early spring is unmatched.

4. Although fall is generally regarded as the best month to prune, the four D’s, or guiding principles of pruning, apply throughout the year. The first of these is “Dead,” and concerns the removal of dead stems and branches, which can be done in any season and rightfully so, since dead wood is a source of interest to certain pathogens and insect borers that may be passing by and could cause further damage. The second D is “Diseased” growth which, as in the case of Dead, can seriously endanger the life of a tree or plant by being left in place. The third D is for “Damaged.” A branch that spits away from the trunk of a tree, for example, but is still attached to it, is a problem. Insects and/or fungi may use the area that opens up between branch and trunk, where water is likely to collect, as a safe haven, causing havoc as they later proliferate throughout the tree. The last D is for “Deranged” and refers to growth that is not healthy, especially for a tree. Such growth includes two branches rubbing together, one of which must go since the point of contact is also likely to be visited by fungi or insects. Suckers that come up from the base of a plant and water sprouts – the vertical shoots that you see on fruit trees in particular – are also considered to be Deranged, having no useful purpose and divert energy that could otherwise be used for flowering and fruit production.

5. Orchard floor management, which anyone with a few fruit trees should consider, is necessary to ensure the health of your trees. Never allow rotting fruit, leaves, or branches to remain on the ground since these can harbor fungi and insect eggs that can lead to the establishment of the pest in question when growth resumes next spring. Weeds around trees should also be removed since they can attract insects that carry pathogens in their saliva which, injected into the leaves of trees, and can bring about disease. Consider planting a cover crop among your trees. An aggressive grower like tansy leaf Phacelia (Phacelia tancetifolia) will not allow weeds to develop and will serve as green manure, enriching the soil around your trees when it matures and is turned under. 

Send questions and comments to joshua@perfectplants.com.

But October is not just a time that garlic makes its pop culture appearances, it’s also when this crop is planted in the garden in Southern California. Its cousins, onion and shallot, can also be planted in the fall.

To avoid tricks and to have the treat of a completed harvest, there are some rules experts recommend following. 

Garlic 

Garlic is typically planted in the fall and harvested in the early summer. There are two main types of garlic: Softneck and hardneck. 

Softneck garlic tends to have a softer stalk that’s easy to braid and doesn’t typically bolt. It also has larger bulbs that contain cloves of variable size. The bulbs have a longer shelf life but are hard to peel. 

Hardneck garlic has a hard stalk that can’t be braided (called a garlic scape), is more likely to bolt and has smaller bulbs but larger individual cloves. The bulbs have a shorter shelf life but are easier to peel. 

Shannie McCabe, a horticultural expert, said she likes to eat the scapes as a secondary vegetable and enjoys them in a variety of ways: pickled, canned in olive oil, sauteed and ground into pesto. 

“Garlic scapes have a texture similar to a crunchy green bean, and they have a mild garlicky flavor,” she said. “So they’re incredibly versatile in a gourmet sense.” 

Both hardneck and softneck will grow without issue here, McCabe said. 

“Typically hardneck garlic does like a colder winter, but I have heard so many times that hardneck garlic is just fine in Southern California,” she said. 

San Diego Seed Company owner Brijette Peña said that while garlic can be planted starting in late October it can also be planted as late as January or February for some parts of Southern California depending on how malleable the ground is at that time. However, she notes that the later gardeners start, the smaller their bulbs will be by harvest time. 

Peña said that because Southern California is warmer and has milder winters than other places, it’s a good idea to throw garlic bulbs in the fridge for 30-40 days before planting to replicate a process called vernalization.

“You trick it into thinking it’s been exposed to cold temperatures,” she said. 

When it’s time to plant the garlic, bulbs should be broken into individual cloves for planting and placed in well-draining soil. Peña recommends applying fertilizer in the hole at the time of planting and continual fertilization throughout the season, as this will allow the garlic to thrive and fight off pests and diseases. 

Peña said it’s important to continue watering throughout the growing season for garlic but that gardeners can stop about 4-6 weeks before harvest, as this will improve the flavor of the garlic.

Onions 

Onions can also be planted beginning now and can be harvested around June. There are three main types: Long day, short day and intermediate day. 

“Basically anywhere south of San Francisco, you need to plant short-day, or at the very least, intermediate-day onions,” Peña 

She explained that long-day onions are accustomed to places such as Alaska, where the number of daylight hours in the summer tends to be much higher than in Southern California. 

Planting a long-day onion in a place with shorter days means that it will not get the necessary amount of light to be able to form its bulb. 

Like garlic, onion bulbs are best planted in well-draining soil. Peña said they can be given granular fertilizer at planting time and liquid fertilizer throughout the season thereafter. 

Making sure onions are regularly irrigated is also important. Peña recommends monitoring weather patterns and watering accordingly. 

“If we’re not getting seasonal rains, then we need to irrigate,” Peña said. 

Shallots 

Like its allium relatives, the humble shallot likes well-draining soil, regular fertilization and regular watering. 

A shallot produces a much smaller bulb than an onion, but that means it also matures more quickly. It takes about 120 days to have ready shallots, Peña said. 

She said shallots can be planted now through at least February, and she recommends succession planting by planting a new crop every month so that gardeners can have a steady supply of shallots throughout the season. 

1. This is prime time for planting your fall vegetable garden. Plant the following vegetables from seed: bulb onions, shallots, leeks, chives, garlic, peas, radishes, beets, spinach, lettuce, chard, fava beans, celery, cabbage, kohlrabi and kale. This is also the time to transplant baby specimens of the following, many of which you will find in the nursery at this time or can receive through online vendors: artichokes, asparagus, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, cauliflower, parsley, and a large variety of herbs. 

2. When it comes to winter squash, whether you grew it for edible or decorative purposes, cut with two inches of stem when you harvest each squash. This will prevent deterioration during storage which would be a shame since these squash can stay fresh for up to six months. Before harvest, make sure the squash is fully ripe, which is indicated when the rind is hard enough to resist penetration by your fingernail. Winter squash got its name not from the season it’s harvested since that happens in the fall but rather from the fact that, at one time, people had so-called root cellars where they would store these squash – along with root crops such as potatoes and onions – throughout the winter.

3. At the website of Tree of Life Nursery (Californianativeplants.com) in San Juan Capistrano, there is a chart where native plants are associated with specific months of the year, based on when they flower. Thus, by planting the species recommended for each of the 12 months, you can have some native flowers blooming at all times. For October, certain species and cultivars of California lilac (Ceanothus) and monkeyflower (Mimulus), as well as western redbud (Cercis occidentalis) and Cleveland sage (Salvia clevelandii) are the monthly bloomers listed. Bear in mind that microclimate, soil type, sun exposure, and other factors can influence the bloom time of any plant.

4. This is the time to plant ground covers for refurbishing your soil, especially where you may have harvested abundant vegetable crops this summer and fall and wish to replenish the soil for spring planting. Choose from legumes such as clover, vetch, and fava beans which, after being plowed into the ground next spring – and allowing a month for decomposition – will add an abundance of nitrogen to the soil. And don’t forget lady or tansy leaf Phacelia (Phacelia tanacetifolia), a California native that is an excellent pollinator plant, grows quickly up to four feet and scavenges nitrogen and calcium for soil enrichment when it’s dug into the earth – as soon as six weeks after germination – prior to planting the crop of your choice. It has highly attractive purplish flowers as well.

5. Small trees make excellent focal points or accents in the garden and there is no better time to plant trees of any kind of tree than in the fall. Among the small trees you will want to consider are river birch (Betula occidentalis), a California native with highly attractive reddish bark, Little Gem Magnolia, Japanese maples (Acer palmatum), dwarf conifers, Chocolate Summer mimosa (Albizia julibrissin) with bronze foliage, smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria) and, last but not least, Chinese fringe tree (Chionanthus retusus), a species only 20 feet tall at maturity that is covered with the most delightful wedding white, fragrant flowers each spring. 

Upon closer examination of the literature on this subject, the evidence is not conclusive as to Esperanza’s toxicity. Still, I would not recommend eating any part of any plant that you are not entirely sure about; check with an expert to ensure that it’s edible. As for pet cats and dogs, I would not allow them to consume any plant, including those eaten by us, since these are carnivorous animals and vegetation of any kind should not be part of their diet.

Addressing the dilemma of plants that look good enough to eat, but shouldn’t be eaten, “How to Forage for Wild Food Without Dying” (Storey Publishing, 2023), by Ellen Zachos, forays into the recent craze of foraging. Whether it’s the movement to simplify our lives by relying more on mother nature for our sustenance, or merely an interest in saving money on groceries, foraging has more adherents every day. Yet the author issues this warning at the outset: “Never put anything in your mouth that you’re not 100 percent sure what it is.” Exactly.

You don’t have to go into the wild to forage, however. Many of our common weeds, including dandelion, pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexus), and lamb’s quarter (Chenopodium album) have edible foliage. The only caveat is that the foliage of these three plants should not be consumed in large quantities due to the oxalates they contain. Yet spinach, chard, endive, and French sorrel are also rich in oxalates and so caution is advised in their consumption as well.

I learned from this book that flowers of our two most widely planted magnolia species are edible and “ginger, cardamom, and clove” are among the flavors that may be experienced when chewing on the flowers of these trees. The species in question are bull magnolia (Magnolia grandiflora), an evergreen possessing huge white flowers and leathery sea-green leaves with cinnamon undersides, and saucer or tulip magnolia (Magnolia x soulangeana), a deciduous tree that blooms in late winter with pink to purplish to burgundy flowers  

If you have an oak tree in your backyard, consider it a free source of nutty flour for baking purposes. Acorn flour is coming into favor as a comestible product of sustainable gardens and landscapes since oak trees yield abundant crops yet require no inputs of water or fertilizer. Whether driving north as you approach Santa Clarita or west on the way to Thousand Oaks, the dominant tree on the hills is coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia), an evergreen. However, another oak native to this same area, although less commonly seen, is the deciduous valley oak (Quercus lobata), whose acorns are meatier than those of coast live oak. 

First, check that you’re following the proper safety guidelines and know that you have edible acorns in hand. If you have done your safety check, the first step in turning acorns into flour is to remove their shells with a rubber mallet; place the acorns in the folds of a towel before striking them. After you have the acorn meats separated from their shells, cold leaching to remove tannins is recommended. You may have to repeat this cold water treatment three or four times – tasting the acorns after each treatment – until bitterness caused by their tannins disappears. You can leach acorns in hot water, too. However, hot water removes acorn gluten so, in this case, you will have to combine regular flour with your acorn flour for baking purposes. Once your acorn meats have been leached, pound them with a mortar and pestle or grind them with a coffee bean grinder until they turn to flour from which you can make acorn pancakes, for example, for breakfast.

Banana yucca (Yucca baccata) is another California native that is worth foraging, and it is a candidate for garden growing as well. The fruit is sweet and a mature plant yields dozens of them, but to be fully enjoyed they are best frozen and then roasted. Yucca moths that pollinate yucca flowers lay eggs that hatch into larvae which feed on the fruit before tunneling through, dropping to the ground, and spinning their cocoons. So your harvested fresh fruit is likely to contain larvae, yet when you freeze it, the larvae burrow out of it before they die, leaving the worm-free fruit behind. Having killed the larvae, you still have an issue with the multitude of seeds found in each fruit. Roast the fruit at 400 degrees for 30 minutes to soften it, slice it in two, and strip out the seeds before you indulge in the sweet pulpy treat. Yucca baccata flowers are edible too.

California native of the week: Although I have never planted a redwood tree and don’t have enough room to do it justice on my lot, I have long been searching for the ground cover that grows in California’s redwood forests. It’s called redwood sorrel (Oxalis oregana) and, in the words of Carol Bornstein in her book “California Native Plants for the Garden,” it possesses “tenacious character.” It’s “a plant that will thrive in mature gardens with deep shade and plenty of root competition from established trees.” It is one of the few species that will grow under oaks and pines as well as redwoods. Three-leaflet leaves have the appearance of clover although individual leaflets are heart-shaped. Redwood sorrel grows four to eight inches tall and carries one-inch flowers in white or pink during the spring. Stems and leaf undersides are burgundy. This plant is native to northern California and will not grow in the desert. It is most suited to coastal climates but I think it would grow in shady spots in the greater Los Angeles area. If anyone knows where this plant or its seeds are available from local or online vendors, please advise.

If you have foraged successfully and have a wild plant or two to recommend, please send your experience to joshua@perfectplants.com. Your questions and comments regarding any gardening practice or problem, as well as your photos (taken horizontally for possible publication) are always welcome.