In the November garden, create a base plan to help you dive into peak planting season

For The Union-Tribune

The cool days of November are our signal to get out our trowels and spades and start digging. We are full on into our best planting season of the year. The air is cool, the soil is still warm and — hopefully — we’ll get some rain.

Plan first

Find inspiration from photos of beautiful waterwise gardens and plants in my latest book, “Hot Color, Dry Garden,” at waterwisegardener.com/books.

Before you plant, it’s important to plan. Your plan doesn’t have to be fancy. It can be a rough drawing, just a map of your gardens’ pathways, pools and patios along with circles for plants to fit the space. That list becomes your shopping list.

Why make a plan? It helps you save time, money and ensures your most successful garden.

If you aren’t ready to dive in, hire a professional landscape designer to make your plan. Landscape designers know which plants work best in our climate. These professionals work with you to understand your property, tastes, dreams, budget, etc. That information goes into a design that includes features like pathways, patios and pergolas, along with plants and more. Find local professional landscape designers at apldca.org, the website for the Association of Professional Landscape Designers.

What’s in a plan?

First, you need a “base plan,” which is a bird’s-eye view of your property, drawn to scale and including basic features such as:

• Property lines and setbacks.

• The footprint of all buildings and outdoor structures.

• Paved spaces that will be retained: driveways, sidewalks, retaining walls, etc.

• The configuration of any planting beds to be retained.

• Locations of any plants to be preserved.

• A “north” arrow to indicate the orientation of the property.

• Property lines.

• Elevation lines to indicate slopes.

• The locations of windows and doors.

• And more.

The base plan is the starting point the designer uses to “build” your new garden design.

Before you hire a designer, take some time to evaluate the existing garden and dream about the new one:

• What existing features do/don’t you like? What pleases or displeases you about the space?

• Look at garden spaces you like. What is it that makes them appealing to you?

• What are your family’s needs: play spaces, outdoor dining, a vegetable garden, quiet sitting spots, etc.

• What colors do you like? What shapes? What textures?

• Where does the garden need visual screening? Protection from the neighbors’ views? A sound buffer?

• Which wildlife would you like to support? Butterflies? Birds? Lizards? What others?

• Where are your trash cans and what’s the best route to the curb?

• Where do you store tools and supplies? How do you move them to/through your garden?

These are just a few of the many questions your designer might ask you.

Whether you work with a pro or do it yourself, avoid these common mistakes:

• Putting a plant in a space that isn’t tall enough. A 12-foot-tall plant will block the view and light through a low window. Instead, measure the space between the ground and where the window starts. Match that height to the mature plant height.

• Putting a plant in a space that isn’t wide enough. A 10-foot-wide plant in a 3-foot-wide space means you are doomed to forever pruning. It’s a waste of time, money, effort — and results in a plant that always looks stunted and ugly.

• Planting trees in lawn. The two kinds of plants have completely different water needs. Trees planted in lawns develop shallow, weak roots and can fall over after a good rainstorm. Trees also shade out and crowd out the grass planted beneath them.

• Planting trees too close to underground pipes, sidewalks, foundations, driveways, etc. Find the sweet spot where the tree is close enough to shade your home, yet far enough so roots won’t cause problems. Find ratings of root damage potential at selectree.calpoly.edu.

• Planting too many plants in too small a space. I recently saw a new landscape where three ‘Forest Pansy’ redbud trees were planted in a space big enough for just one. Within a few years, two of those trees will need to be removed at considerable cost. It’s a waste of time and resources.

• Mixing plants with different water needs on the same irrigation zone. Some of those plants will always be overwatered and some underwatered. You’ll never find a “happy medium.”

For every plant that you consider, make sure your garden matches the plant’s need for:

• Sun/shade

• Soil

• Irrigation

Have a slope? Think of it as a garden at an angle. Plant with a combination of trees, shrubs and low-growing plants. Bigger, woody plants grow the deep roots that hold slopes in place.

DON’T use artificial turf. Artificial turf does not mix well with living plants. It heats up hotter than asphalt, requires regular washing, releases microplastics into the environment, sprouts weeds, and it has none of the advantages of living plants. Artificial turf wears out quickly and ends up in the landfill, even if it is labeled as “recyclable.” Landscape rebate programs do not permit artificial turf installations, and concerns about “forever chemicals” have cities across California banning installation.

DON’T use landscape fabric/weedcloth.

• Adds unnecessary costs to your project.

• Doesn’t stop weeds.

• Stops water from penetrating into the soil. Soil, then, turns hard as concrete, killing the critically important beneficial organisms that help your plants stay healthy and strong.

• Causes plants installed through the fabric to struggle rather than thrive.

• Breaks down within a few years, shredding to the point where you have to remove it. (more costs).

• Releases microplastics into the environment.

Do:

• Install the infrastructure before you start to plant — just like you build your home before purchasing art and furniture.

• Start small. The smallest plants grow fastest, strongest and outpace larger plants of the same kind within just a few years. And smaller plants are more affordable.

• Shop your local independent nursery. If they don’t have your plants in stock, ask for the plants to be ordered.

Ornamentals

For roses, dispose of this year’s fallen leaves. Prepare to prune and spray in December and January.

If a seed mix says it’s a “wildflower” mix, that doesn’t mean the seeds are native to our region. Check the list to make sure the wildflowers are California wildflowers like California poppies, elegant clarkia (Clarkia unguiculata), large flowered phacelia (Phacelia grandiflora), tidy tips (Laia platyglossa), baby blue eyes (Nemophila menziesii), California goldfields (Lasthenia californica), blue field gilia (Gilia capitata) and others.

How to plant annual wildflower seeds:

• Choose a large area in full sun.

• Rake soil smooth, then water to saturate the soil.

• Put the seeds into a one-pint plastic container, then mix in construction sand.  Add 10 parts sand to one part seeds.

• Sprinkle the seed/sand mix over the seedbed.

• Rake soil gently so seeds are just barely buried.

• Water again, with a very soft spray so the soil is wet enough to settle it around seeds.

• Continue to water every few days (unless it rains) to keep the soil, seeds and young seedlings damp until they sprout and have two sets of true leaves.

Plant every kind of permanent plant now, including trees, shrubs, perennials, vines and more. Consider the following:

Waterwise ornamental grasses, including:

• Pink muhly grass (Muhlenbergia capillaris) has been blooming since mid-October. Native to the Southeastern U.S., this 2- to 3-foot-tall and wide mounding grass takes on a purple haze when it “blooms.” Easy care, very drought tolerant, very versatile. Reseeds a bit.

• Deer grass (Muhlenbergia rigens) is an evergreen California native that forms fountain mounds, each 4 or 5 feet across. In summer, silvery brown flower stalks erupt just in time for the 4th of July fireworks they resemble. Easy care, very drought tolerant, very versatile.

• Wild rye grass (Leymus condensatus) is an evergreen California native with gorgeous, upright, silver blue blades that develop along creeping stems. This grass forms large clumps, 2 to 3 feet tall and 4, 5, maybe 6 feet long.

Perennials, including:

• Germander sage (Salvia chamaedryoides) is a low-growing (not quite a foot tall) spreading sage, native to the high Chihuahuan desert of Mexico, making it extremely drought tolerant. Germander sage is sun and shade tolerant, though plants make many more vibrant blue flowers with more sun.

• Red-hot poker (Kniphofia species) plants have long, narrow, grasslike leaves in a wide range of species and cultivars. The result is a red-hot poker for nearly every climate and garden condition that is sunny and dry. I am partial to ‘Christmas Cheer,’ which grows to 4 feet tall and wide, with orange/yellow blooms in winter.

• Red buckwheat (Eriogonum var grande rubescens) is a mounding native that reaches 10 inches tall and several feet across when happy. Leaves are deep blue-green, almost turquoise, and spoon-shaped, arranged in a rosette. Springtime flower stalks stand above the leaves, topped in vibrant rose-pink flowers. Stunning.

Prune

• Prune ornamental trees in the cooler weather. Hire an insured, licensed, certified arborist who is on site with the crew while they work.

• Never, EVER top a tree. Topped trees grow weak wood, have distorted shapes and are unattractive. If a tree grows too tall, replace it with one that matures shorter.

• Prune summer and spring flowering shrubs now, before new flower buds form. If you wait too long, you’ll cut off the buds and lose next season’s flowers.

• Prune fig trees. Their wood is surprisingly soft and easy to cut.  Keep trees short so fruits are in easy reach.

• Cut back geraniums, starting with long, scrambly growth. Cut branches back to where you see new leaves forming. Plants will soon form flower buds that will open in spring.

Prepare for winter rains

• Clean out rain gutters. Add the stuff that comes out of the gutter to your compost pile or use it to mulch ornamental (not edible) garden beds.

• Protect bare hillsides from erosion by covering in jute netting (aka “erosion control cloth”) and/or stretching straw-filled wattles horizontally across slopes. Plant through the jute. While jute and straw decompose after a year or so, wattle mesh is usually plastic, so it eventually needs to be retrieved.

• Cover Plumeria with frost cloth or move them under the eaves when nighttime temperatures drop below 35 degrees. Stop watering Plumeria once the leaves fall off. Resume watering only once new leaves appear in spring.

• Move containers of cold-sensitive succulents and tropical plants under the eaves or under a patio cover to protect them from cold.

• Cover cold-sensitive in-ground plants with floating row cover. Hold the fabric in place with small clamps or clothespins. Local farm and irrigation supply stores sell floating row cover by the roll or by lengths.

• Refresh mulch to maintain a 3- to 4-inch-thick layer — rock mulch for succulents, woody mulches for all nonsucculent ornamentals.

Irrigate

• Now that the weather is cool, the sun is low in the sky and days are shorter, plants need less irrigation, which means reducing the frequency, not the run time. Water half as often as in summer or even less often (don’t water for a week or two after rain). Keep your current irrigation run time and always water for the same number of minutes, no matter how often you water.

• Figure out how often to irrigate using my Irrigation Canary Test. Download it at bit.ly/44xM5Wv

• Once rains start, turn off irrigation altogether. If we get normal, regular rains, leave your irrigation off until March.

• Install a Wi-Fi “smart” weather-based irrigation controller. These controllers calculate watering schedules for each garden irrigation zone based on the type of soil, type of plants, etc.  Set up and monitor the controller with an app on your smartphone and/or computer. Learn about controller rebates at socalwatersmart.com/en/residential.

Fruit trees

• Fertilize citrus and avocado just as the rains begin. Use organic, granular citrus and avocado food. Follow label directions

• Wonder why your oranges are sour? With citrus, color is misleading. Oranges turn orange before they sweeten up. Limes ripen yellow. Do regular taste tests to figure out when in the year each kind of citrus tastes best.

• Strip lingering leaves off deciduous fruit trees (those that go dormant in winter) by month’s end. Collect all fallen leaves and put them in the greenwaste unless you hot compost.

• Get ready to prune and spray stone fruit, apple and pear trees in December and January. My favorite sprayer is the Ryobi 2-gallon battery-powered sprayer. It is easy to use and makes a many-hour task into one that takes only an hour or two. The convenience is 100% worth the investment.

• Plan now for new bare root fruit trees along with grapes, berries and other fruits you’ll want to buy at your local independent nursery in January.

• Plant subtropical fruit trees like citrus and avocado. Inland, wait for spring for to plant bananas, mango and other cold-sensitive fruits.

• Keep all fruit trees at least 15 feet away from vegetable beds. Fruit tree roots seek out moisture and quickly invade vegetable beds, leaving no room for vegetable seedlings.

Vegetable gardens

• This is a great time to build a new vegetable garden.  The best location is in a flat area close to your kitchen, in full day sun, and with a close-by source of water.

• Harvest sweet potatoes early in the month and let them cure in a hot, dry spot so they are ready for Thanksgiving.

• Remove summer vegetable plants (eggplant, tomato, pepper, etc.). Dispose of plants in greenwaste (don’t compost). Commercial green waste processing heats up to destroy residual pests and diseases.

• Amend existing planting beds with compost, worm castings and all-purpose vegetable fertilizer. Mix in leftover straw mulch from last season.

• Plant now, from seed or seedlings, leafy greens like lettuce, spinach and chard; cabbage family plants including broccoli, cauliflower, kohlrabi, Brussels sprouts; legumes like peas, edamame, fava beans; and onion family plants like chives, garlic, leeks, shallots and onions, of course!

• Direct seed root crops into garden beds: radishes, beets, carrots, rutabaga and turnips.

• If you don’t plant winter vegetables, plant cover crops. Cover crops are “green manure” that grow through winter. Some improve soil texture, others add nitrogen, and so on. Six weeks before you plant your spring garden, turn the cover crop plants into the soil so their roots, stems and leaves can break down and amend the soil.

Events

• Nov. 8: Native West Nursery Fall Festival, nativewest.com/events

• Nov. 21: San Diego Zoo Plant Day and Orchid Odyssey, which includes a plant sale and an open house for the orchid greenhouse and carnivorous plant greenhouse (bit.ly/SDZooPlantDay)

• Nov. 14 to Jan. 4: San Diego Botanic Garden’s annual Lightscape event (sdbg.org/lightscape)

Learn more

• Learn about growing Californian natives, winter garden care, tips for fall planting and more by watching my on-demand classes at waterwisegardener.com/shop.

• It’s not too early to plan your spring garden. Watch for the announcement of my 2026 springtime vegetable gardening course in January, or sign up now for my monthly newsletter at waterwisegardener.com.

• Want tips like these and more delivered directly to your inbox each month? Sign up for GardenWise, my monthly list of garden tasks plus plant-of-the-month at bit.ly/Gardenwise.

Sterman is a garden designer, journalist and the host of “A Growing Passion” on public television. She runs Nan Sterman’s Garden School at waterwisegardener.com.