Your Independent Neighborhood Garden Nursery

Beautiful Plants and Inspired Designs since 1954

Dear Friends of Anderson's La Costa,

Happy Autumn!

We hope you are enjoying our gentle and wonderful shift into the fall season. I love how the days stay nice and warm, but there is a coolness to the night that is refreshing. Our weather has been nearly perfect, and it appears there's still more to come.

This month, we are offering an awesome selection of outdoor and indoor plants for our newsletter specials...

20% Off

All Outdoor Tropical Plants

& Indoor Pothos

What a great sale this month! So many plants to choose from, many in bloom and showing off their beautiful colors and foliage right as we head into the best season of the year. Steven writes more about this in the next section, including a brief list of some of the plants that are included in the sale and additional images to pique your interest.

We are proud to highlight Ashley Falls Elementary School in the Del Mar School District. Fifth- and sixth-grade students, along with a pair of innovative teachers, have successfully designed and planted a beautiful native Butterfly Garden on school grounds. We've included some photos of their garden here, showcasing their informative, custom signage.

We are grateful for two teachers in particular, Caitlin Fallon-Knight and Thalia Ormsby, for their dedication to providing outdoor education for their students, while guiding them in the creation of an amazing local, native garden that serves as a vital stopping ground for Monarch butterflies and many other pollinators. Awesome job, Ashley Falls!

Please read on for Steven's awesome monthly update, followed by October Gardening Tips. We hope you have a fun and safe Halloween, and we look forward to welcoming you to the nursery as we head into the best planting season of the year.

Warm wishes,

Your Anderson's La Costa Team ~ Steven, Manny, Hanna, Tandy, Julie, Courtney, June, Madeline, Josh, Zoe, Mo, Marc, and Mariah

Visit Our Website

What's New at the Nursery

...by Steven Froess

Hello Newsletter Subscribers,

It's time for the October newsletter, marking the official start of the fall season. The daylight hours are getting shorter, and deciduous plants are beginning to go dormant.

Many plants shed leaves this time of year, even the evergreen ones. There's nothing to worry about—it's just plants doing what they always do. I've noticed that the first trees in our area to start this process are peaches, nectarines, and pomegranate trees, so I usually use those as benchmarks. I would avoid fertilizing now, as most plants are entering their dormancy growth phases. Slow-release fertilizer is still okay, but in smaller amounts. I'm still trimming back spring and summer growth, weeding, watering (we desperately need rain!), and enjoying the changing season.

This month's sale is a big one—20% off all our outdoor tropical plants. Most tropical plants feature bold, lush, colorful foliage or vibrant, plentiful flowers. Regular fertilizing and healthy soil keep these plants looking happy and healthy all year round. Tropical plants at the nursery include Plumeria, Hibiscus, Alocasia, Colocasia, Philodendrons, outdoor bromeliads, Mandevilla, Pentas, Stephanotis, bananas (both ornamental and edible), Acalypha, and more.

The cool-season flowers and vegetables are starting to pour in as well. Flowering plants such as cyclamen, pansies, violas, snapdragons, and sasanqua camellias are beginning their short-day flowering season, with lots of colors and varieties available starting now.

Cool-season vegetables are finally coming in full force. Beginning now, you can start planting edibles such as broccoli, cauliflower, winter squash, winter tomatoes, peas, onions and shallots, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage. Lots of greens are also ideal for this time of year such as many types of lettuce, kale, spinach, and Asian greens like bok choi, tatsoi, komatsuna, and mizuna which will thrive during the cooler months. There are also root vegetables, although much better results are obtained when they are grown directly from seed into the raised bed (such as carrots, beets, and radishes).

I recommend adding this combination of amendments to replenish the soil: Agrowinn worm castings, soil booster, and Recipe 420 soil, and to top it off, some slow-release Agrowinn 4-4-6 fertilizer. I'm also a fan of Agrowinn volcanic rock dust. I add this to my garden beds once a year. This is an excellent source of minerals and will improve soil health over time.

There is a great selection of unique plants in stock right now, thanks to a recent road trip Marc and I took up the Central Coast to visit San Marcos Growers and a small Australian plant nursery. The trip was quick but productive, as we were able to see and purchase plants that we usually wouldn't be able to.

Although limited in quantities, we managed to secure some excellent Banksias and Hakeas. A few but not all of them include: Banksia baueri (more bushy with showy flowers), Banksia menziesii (a tree banksia with serrated leaves like the B. baueri and very showy flowers), Banksia grandis (a tree banksia with broad foliage), Banksia prionotes (a tree banksia with a large flower), Banksia ericifolia 'compact' (long cylindrical flowers on a tall shrub), and more.

Many Hakeas, also in the Proteaceae family, make great tall shrubs or small trees that can serve as a privacy screen. Hakea buxifolia (more of a shrub with small foliage and unusual-looking flowers), Hakea pandanicarpa (great white flowers, tall shrub), Hakea brownii (ginkgo-like foliage!), Hakea francisiana (great flowers!) I must also mention this great new Grevillea 'Wakiti Sunrise' (a sprawling shrub with a mini superb-like flower).

We currently have a nice selection of one-gallon Leucospermum (High Gold, Sunrise, and California Sunshine), as well as Protea 'Mini King' (compact growth habit).

One plant we selected that isn't in the Proteaceae family is Callistemon 'Red Rover' (last image in this section). This sprawling shrub can tolerate full sun or dry shade and has attractive foliage with reddish new growth. One benefit of this plant is that it doesn't produce flowers, making it a great choice for those who are allergic to bees.

This month, all pothos housed in the indoor greenhouse are 20% off. Pothos are one of the hardier, more forgiving indoor plants - they can withstand lower light and less frequent watering, making them a great choice for new plant owners or for people who love plants but also enjoy traveling or spending time away from their homes. Scindapsis plants are also included in the sale, providing more variety for you to choose from.

The first batch of seasonal plants and decor are arriving, starting with ceramic pumpkins, Dia de los Muertos figurines, marigolds, blooming grasses, purple-leafed plants, new pottery, and so many other eye-catching things for autumn.

All this and more as we enter the cooler season. Hope to see you at the nursery soon!

Your Local Horticulturalist,

Steven

October Gardening Tips

October marks the beginning of our first genuine days of autumn. We have already felt some cooler temperatures at night and in the mornings between our summer-like hot spells.

In Southern California, our mild Mediterranean climate allows for year-round planting, but fall is one of the best times to garden. The soil remains warm, and the cooler season is approaching. As the temperatures begin to drop, gardening becomes even more enjoyable.

October is the prime month for planting cool-season flowers and vegetables. While you won't see their colors until next spring, October is also an ideal time to plant perennials. By planting now, they will build a strong root system during the cool weather and then bloom with vibrant color in the spring.

To continue reading October Gardening Tips, click here.