As soon as the night temps begin to cool, we get anxious for a change to the fall season. We’re fortunate in Southern Oregon to have a mild enough climate that allows us to have a fall and winter season for vegetable and flower gardens. Each year we always have our fall crop of perennials, chrysanthemums, pansies, flowering kale, winter vegetables, and more ready to change over your gardens from summer to fall.
Establishing a new crop in your flower beds and vegetable gardens can often be tricky in the fall because of the varying day and night temperatures. We can often have stretches of hot days mixed with cool nights which can make watering challenging, especially when you have established plants mixed with newly planted ones. Typically plants will not need as much water now as they did in the summer months. Even when the days are hot remember that the nights are longer and tend to be much cooler which allows the soil to retain the moisture better. For freshly planted material make sure to water it in thoroughly after transplanting and then water as needed until they’re established. For your beds or garden areas that still have summer plants in them, you can likely cut back on your watering for the same reason in that the soil is retaining the water more now than it was just a few weeks prior.
We’ve added more pony pack annuals to our fall line up to go with the pansies and violas this season. We also have Alyssum, Celosia, Dianthus, Gazanias, Snapdragons, and Verbena. These bloom all thru fall and for a spectacular show of color.
Happy Gardening,
Kelly Brainard
