Greetings,



Happy belated Autumn Equinox! We’ve been noticing the signs of this seasonal shift more and more the past few days, with the sun setting earlier, our deciduous species losing leaves, and even a sprinkling of rain this past week to mark the change of seasons. While many of California’s native plants and animals are beginning to wind down for dormancy and hibernation this time of year, October through December is a bustling time for the California native gardener and can be a bit of a plant-selling fall frenzy for us here at the nursery, so let’s ‘dig in’ to the important considerations for the fall season in the garden 😉

The next few months are ideal for planting, as shorter days and cooler soil temperatures trigger plants to divert their energy from producing leaves, flowers, and berries to fleshing out their root systems underground, gaining stability and resilience for the next growing season.

This is also a preferred time of year for pruning in the native garden for a few different reasons… 

1. Pruning is stressful for plants, so it’s wise to wait until temperatures are cool enough to avoid traumatizing the plants by waiting until they are no longer under heat and/or drought stress
2. Particularly for summer deciduous species, pruning is best done before their yearly growth spurt, so it should be completed before winter rains hit (usually late November or December, depending on the year)
3. It is especially important for California native woody shrubs and trees to prune while it is still dry to avoid leaving open wounds under damp/wet conditions to reduce the risk of infection and spread of plant pathogens. 

By the end of summer, some plants begin to look a bit raggedy, so there is an understandable urge to “tidy up” in the California native garden this time of year. Many native plants have completed their flowering or are finishing up in early fall, so there is much temptation to dead-head spent flowers. Many folks also feel pressure to prune unruly branches, clean up leaf litter, and cut back their native grasses and perennials in the interest of garden aesthetics and appeasing neighbors– and who doesn’t want a somewhat neat and tidy garden?

With all of this in mind, we feel it prudent to emphasize another important consideration for fall pruning, which is preserving habitat!

Birds, insects, lizards, and a variety of small mammals rely on fruits (fresh and dried), seeds, and insects found on many native plants in fall. With climatic extremes becoming more and more frequent across our wildlands, our gardens play an increasingly important role in providing food, water, and shelter. Because of this, it is paramount that we prune responsibly and factor in the habitat/ecosystem services that our gardens provide into our fall tidying efforts.

So, what actions can we take to meet the considerations mentioned above while managing our gardens? Here are some suggestions:

• Wait to begin fall pruning until a bit later in the season. Instead of knocking it all out in early October, wait until November if possible, as there are usually some dry periods later in fall, even in years with above average rainfall. 
• Stagger your pruning! Don’t prune all of your plants at once to ensure you are not getting rid of all the food sources in one fell swoop.
• For species that are particularly important sources of fall food, wait until the seeds are mostly gone before pruning them– if you must prune earlier, save the seed heads to put out on your bird feeder.
• Consider this for buckwheats (Eriogonum sp.), sunflowers (Helianthus sp.), California Sagebrush (Artemisia californica), summer blooming Asters (Symphyotrichum chilense, Corethrogyne filaginifolia), fall-blooming shrubs with fluffy seeds like Pluchea odorata, Goldenrods (Solidago sp.), and Baccharis sp., and any other summer-blooming or fruiting plant that still has food value.
• Birds may also visit plants to eat insects, so observe which ones they keep coming back to and postpone pruning those as well.
• Prune selectively! We understand that some plants need to be pruned to keep neighbors happy, particularly those in public places, so we encourage you to strike a balance, keeping both tidiness and food in mind. Be methodical– prune the most visible plants first, and wait to prune less visible plants later. You might even use this strategy on a single plant, pruning the outward facing half first and coming back to clean up the backside another time toward the end of fall.
• Educate and encourage your neighbors to reframe how they view gardens with native plants. Simple signs explaining why you are waiting to prune some plants and what they are providing for birds and insects during this season can go a long way, and may even inspire them to change their own practices!

We know it can be a lot to manage, so we’re here to help provide guidance and resources!

There are so very many California native plants that provide sources of nectar, seeds, and cover for birds, butterflies, insects, and more, so below we’ve highlighted some of our favorites that are especially valuable this time of year. Thanks for doing your part to support the animals that we share this beautiful state with by planting native plants and letting them shine this fall, providing the food and cover that they’ve evolved to so well <3

Black Sage

Salvia mellifera

Available in D40 pots for $9.90 each!

• Many small birds and quail like to eat the seeds and the light blue to lavender flowers provide nectar that attracts hummingbirds, butterflies, & native bees.
• A spring-flowering evergreen shrub with a fresh and spicy scent.
• Reaches 3-6′ high x 6-8′ wide.
• Drought tolerant when established; needs no summer water in most areas, but better looking and a lower fire hazard with once-a-month water.
• An excellent plant for quickly covering dry sunny slopes & providing erosion control.
• Black sage is said by bee keepers to be one of the best nectar sources for honeybees.

Cleveland Sage

Salvia clevelandii

Available in D40 pots for $9.90 each!

• Provides nectar for butterflies, bees and hummingbirds
• A semi-evergreen rounded shrub that grows 3′ tall and 4′ wide.
• Cleveland sage provides rich violet blue flowers from spring to summer. On warm days Cleveland’s sage will fill the air with the sweetest scent.
• Leaves can be used as a substitute for culinary sage.
• After the birds have gobbled up all of its seeds in fall, cut back in the winter by about a third or more when young to keep a dense, more attractive plant– once mature with woody stems, only tip prune.
• Needs good draining soil if giving supplemental summer water.

Sonoma Sage

Salvia sonomensis

Available in D16 pots for $7.70 each!

• This is a prostrate, semi-woody, herbaceous perennial ground cover 8-12″ high x 3-4′ wide.
• Fragrant, elliptical, dull green leaves and short spikes of blue-purple flowers are attractive to bees.
• Creeping Sage commonly grows in clay that is very wet in winter, but dry in summer, so be careful not to over water during the hot, dry months.
• Mix with other sages for a moderately fast-growing, textured, aromatic ground cover or watch Sonoma Sage cascade beautifully over a garden wall.

Hillside Gooseberry

Ribes californicum

Available in D40 pots for $9.90 each!

• This attractive and deciduous shrub grows to 3′-5′ tall.
• An excellent plant to attract birds, which like to eat the berries. This is an excellent background plant in a bird garden, wildlife habitat,or woodland garden. The plant does have spines, so plant where it won’t be disturbed.
• The flowers are white-purple and bloom in February-March.
• Hillside Gooseberry is native to the coast ranges and it thrives in part shade with moderate water

Stay Safe, ‘Bee’ Well, and Go Natives!

Happy planting from all of us at The Watershed Nursery <3