THE COASTAL GARDENER: Prepare now for the gardening season

Get ready!

The next three months are the most important and active time in our local gardens. Even though it has been hot and dry over the past couple of months, all of that is about to change.

You live in southern California, not Virginia or Illinois or even Oregon. Our gardening season is nearly upon us. Hurry, there’s no time to waste.

Plan, design, remove, order, repair and prepare. The gardening season is about to begin in Orange County.

You may be used to planting in the spring — most people are. That is because, even in Southern California, you have been unknowingly subjected to a well-healed tradition of gardens revolving around spring. A tradition that is somewhat out of place here in southern California.

Over the next month or two, I and several other good local horticulturists, will try to remove the “spring is for planting” brainwashing to which you have been subjected. We will attempt to replace this misguided conviction with the more accurate “fall is for planting.” But we are a small voice, almost unheard among the much-louder message of “springtime gardening.”

In Orange County we enjoy a Mediterranean climate, providing rain in the winter and drought in the summer. Winters are also rather mild.

So here we plant in the fall to give our plants the advantage of winter and spring rainfall.

That allows the roots to penetrate deeply and puts less stress on young, unrooted plants.

Instead of counting on a gardener to nurse new plants for the first few months, we do it the way nature does it.

Fall planted shrubs, vines, trees or perennials often need only minimal attention from the gardener.

Besides enjoying the rain, plants put in during the shorter days of fall or winter can focus on root development rather than aboveground growth.

Although they may look as though they’re doing nothing, they’re actually establishing roots, the key to future vigor.

If my colleagues and I have convinced you that fall is your big planting season, then there’s plenty to do.

What areas of your garden do you want to plant or re-landscape this fall?

What about that side yard that you’ve wanted to get to, the new vegetable garden, the perennial border or the new screening plants? Maybe you have wanted to start over completely in part of your garden.

Now, just before the meat of the planting season begins, is the time to begin removing old, overgrown and unhealthy plants, getting ready for new ones.

If you are planting a lot of plants or a large space you may need to place your plant order a month in advance so that all of the plants can be coordinated, staged and delivered on schedule, ready for your big planting day.

Along with new plantings, your irrigation system may need an overhaul.

Maybe you want to convert to water conserving drip irrigation, MP Rotators or micro-sprinklers. Perhaps you want to install, upgrade, expand or repair your landscape lighting. How about new hardscape, walkways, patio covers or water features?

In anticipation of the planting season, soil preparation may be the most obvious chore to tackle.

Incorporating organic amendments, organic nutrients, gypsum and humic acid and blending them thoroughly into your soil now will ensure a healthy environment for the new plants you will soon be adding.

There’s so much to do. In a couple of weeks more, local gardeners will be digging and planting with the same fury that the rest of the country reserves for spring.

But the fall planting season has really already begun. By planning and preparing now, smart gardeners will be ready for our planting season.

ASK RON

Question: I’m shopping to a large olive tree for my garden, but I want one that doesn’t produce olives. Any suggestions?

Newport Beach

Answer: There are several hybrids of olive trees that are fruitless or nearly so. A few have odd leaves or growth habits and should be avoided. The best, in my opinion are the selections ‘Wilsoni,’ ‘Majestic Beauty’ and ‘Swan Hill.’ I would suggest any of these three and make my final decision only based upon the quality of the tree and the best structure. One advantage of ‘Swan Hill’ is that it produces little, if any, pollen — a benefit to those with certain allergies.

ASK RON your toughest gardening questions, and the expert nursery staff at Roger’s Gardens will come up with an answer. Please include your name, phone number and city, and limit queries to 30 words or fewer. E-mail stumpthegardener@rogersgardens.com, or write to Plant Talk at Roger’s Gardens, 2301 San Joaquin Hills Road, Corona del Mar, CA 92625.