End of summer in the Southern California garden doesn’t mean
everything is brown and tired. Some flowering plants continue to bloom. Roses
are one of them. If roses are deadheaded
properly and watered enough they will continue to give out blooms although not
as big as blooms in the spring.
I pruned my Bonica rose middle of summer and it is full of
blooms although not as many and big as the blooms in the spring. The number of
petals are also not as many as the spring bloom.
The Mexican sage is also in full bloom a few weeks after I
cut it down in early summer. I cut it back to at least a foot and it came back beautifully.
End of summer is also the time to plant mums, asters pansy and
petunia. I bought these flowering annuals at the local big box home center as
they are all discounted. This is the best time to buy bargain perennials. They may not be looking at their best but that's because they are getting ready for fall and winter. They would come back beautifully in spring.
