Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

Dear Friends of La Costa,

We all seemed to survive the time change and Halloween, and we are already into our first full week of November. Thanksgiving will be here before you know it! Now is a great time to get your fall garden, entryways, and indoor houseplants into tip-top shape before your guests arrive. We are here to help.

Our first batch of paperwhite bulbs are in, which means that poinsettias, wreaths, tillandsia ornaments, and other seasonal holiday items are soon to follow. This year we have a nice selection of native evergreen trees available in stock that will make gorgeous living Christmas trees. We love the holidays and the transformation of the nursery, along with crisp, sunny days and cozy nights. It is no surprise that annual decorating and tree lighting take place during the darkest days of the year - a little extra cheer goes a long way.

This time of year also happens to be our best planting season, especially for trees, shrubs, and natives. Please enjoy our November sale...

20% Off

Grevillea &

Leucadendron

Showy Grevillea and Leucadendron make awesome Mediterranean-style additions to any yard, any time of the year.

Grevillea, with its gorgeous pollinator-attracting airy blooms, grows well in our mild climate. Leucadendron rely on sky-climbing branches and colorful foliage to show off. Both are drought-tolerant once established.

Don’t miss Steven's write up in the next section, and then November Gardening Tips is up after that.

Wishing you a beautiful, sunny November as we lead up to Thanksgiving and the holidays. We look forward to seeing you very soon.

Best wishes,

Your Anderson's La Costa Team ~ (from left, below) Marc, Mariah, Julie, Tandy, June, Courtney, Manny, Steven, Madeline, Hanna and Devon (not pictured)

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What's New at the Nursery

...by Steven Froess

Hello everyone!

It is that time again, our monthly newsletter! November is upon us and the days just keep getting shorter and shorter. As the time falls back early this month, we start the days of early darkness at 5 o'clock. Luckily, I have a portable light in my greenhouse so at least I can be busy when it’s already dark.

As for planting, I'm finally ready to remove my summer vegetables and begin my cool-season crops. This year I'm going to try some root vegetables (beets, carrots), brassicas (broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, Brussel sprouts), peas (sugar snaps are my fav but I'm going to try snow peas this year, too), and of course onions because they are easy to grow and I use them frequently. I'm hesitant to try all the good leafy plants (arugula, lettuces, spinach, kale, bok choy, tatsoi, etc.) because inevitably I lose most of them to snails. Maybe I’ll still try a few though since we still seem to have some warm dry days ahead.

As you can see in this last pic below, some hungry critter really got to our nursery garden this week. Who could it have been? A skunk? A squirrel? Really, who can blame him?

Proteaceae family plants are growing in popularity for several reasons. They offer a wide variety of exotic-looking plants that do well in our Mediterranean climate. The flowers of Grevillea, Leucospermum, and Banksia are very showy and long-lasting (in most cases), and/or they have colorful foliage like Leucadendron. Enjoy our 20% off sale this month of all in-stock Leucadendrons and Grevilleas!

Once established these plants require a significantly lower amount of water (although will look best when watered moderately throughout drier months). The maintenance for these types of plants is also very minimal. The occasional pruning back of foliage and flowers to use for arrangements or to control growth is typically all that is needed. They require little to no fertilizer (especially phosphorus) but can be fertilized sporadically with a slow-release kind for the best-looking plants (please check with us and we will advise you). We have a great selection, let's begin with Grevilleas...

Everything from ground cover Grevilleas ('Mt. Tamboritha' and 'Coastal gem'), to shrub types ('Peaches and cream', 'Robyn Gordon', 'Deua flame', and 'Superb') and also good screening types ('Moonlight', 'Firesprite', and 'Long Jon'). These are great plants for pollinators, especially hummingbirds and bees.

Leucadendon tends to be planted more for foliage color but some also turn brilliant colors when they begin to bloom (such as 'Safari sunset' and 'Safari goldstrike'). There are so many great varieties to choose from. 'Little bit' is a compact grower with colorful cones when in bloom, 'Red gem' is a more compact version of 'Safari sunset', 'Jester' has variegated leaves as well as tones of red, and 'Ebony' has completely dark foliage with red at the tips of the branches when in bloom.

Protea and Leucospermum (pincushion protea) tend to be among the favorites due to their incredible flowers in the spring. In stock, we currently have king and mini-king Protea. Leucospermums include 'Blanche Ito' (my favorite red), 'Rainbow' (thinner leaf with orange flower), 'High gold', 'Cinnabar', and a few others.

Some noteworthy plants for November include a great selection of citrus trees, California native plants that are prime for planting, and fall blooming plants for shorter days are in.

Citrus have been difficult to come by this year but we’ve already started to receive a steady supply as our growers are adapting to the citrus psyllid (by building top-of-the-line approved growing houses). I'm excited to have a good variety of oranges, lemons, limes, and mandarins/tangerines for the foreseeable future.

Many California native plants are beginning to wake up from their summer dormancy cycle and begin their winter growing season. Now through the spring will be an ideal time to plant.

Some of my favorites include Quercus tomentella (Island oak, we have one planted here at the nursery and it's amazing!), Romneya coulteri 'white cloud' (more compact growth habit and larger flowers), Rhamnus 'Leatherleaf' (evergreen and great for partial shade), and Trichostema lanatum (wooly blue curls).

Also, stunning orange Sphaeralcea ambigua (desert mallow), Abutilon palmeri (Indian mallow), Eriophyllum 'Horseshoe cove' (a great flowering groundcover), and Epilobium 'Marin's pink' (new color).

Don’t miss Fremontodendron 'California glory,' (flannel bush), and Mexican-Native Tagetes Lemmonii 'Copper canyon' (Mexican marigold- in foreground, below).

Many of the other short-day blooming plants are showing color such as many of our bedding plants (cyclamen, Icelandic poppies, snapdragons, pansies, violas, and nemesia), Camellia sasanquas ('Kanjiro', 'Setsugekka', and 'Koto-no-kaori'), Hemizygia 'Candy kisses' and Plectranthus 'Mona magic' (pic at the end of this section in the white pot). We also received a small shipment of fall-blooming hibiscus with perfect flowers. These won't last at the nursery for long.

The indoor greenhouse is still looking solid even as we begin to make space for poinsettias. Hanna continues to find the best indoor tropical houseplants on a weekly basis, from the classic beauties to rare and unusual plants.

The end of the year and the holiday season are quickly approaching, but let's not forget Mariah's and my mom’s birthday (November 13th), and one of the best months in Southern California for the weather- at least compared to other parts of the country as the sun keeps on shining.

Thank you, all and I look forward to seeing you at the nursery soon.

Your Local Horticulturalist,

Steven

November Gardening Tips

November can bring glorious weather for gardening in the San Diego area. Warm but mild days and cool nights are ideal growing conditions for cool-season plants. Working in the garden is usually a very pleasant and rewarding experience this month.

If you haven't already done so, November is a particularly good time to add trees, shrubs, and ground covers to your landscape. November can sometimes deliver much-needed rain in Southern California as it is possible to receive up to 10% of our rainfall in November or early December. It's a great time to prune dense trees and make sure newly planted trees are well-staked before the winter arrives.

Here in California, we have an amazing selection of native and drought tolerant plants that are often still under-utilized in landscapes. If you want to add some low-water beauty to your garden, now is a great time to plant natives. Remember, even drought-tolerant plants need watering when getting established so don’t neglect them thinking they are good to go once you plant them!

To continue reading November Gardening Tips, click here.