Reported by SCOTT CALHOUN & MIKE IRVINE

Learn what to plant when with our year-round checklists: sunset.com/checklists.

PL ANT
Add winter greens, includ-
ing arugula, bok choy, cabbage,
kale, and mustards, to your veg-
etable patch. For lettuce, sow a
succession of seeds over several
weeks to keep a steady supply
of leaves ready for cutting.

Early this month in low-desert
areas, site young columnar cac-
tus such as saguaro. Take care
to orient your specimen so it’s
facing the same direction as it
was in the nursery. During trans-
port, wrap the cactus in a piece
of old carpet to protect yourself
from its sharp spines.

Start penstemon, a beloved tall
spring-blooming wildflower, by
seed now. In Las Vegas, Phoe-
nix, and Tucson, try ‘Canyon’,
‘Firecracker’, ‘Parry’s Penste-
mon’, and ‘Superb’. In Albu-
querque, Flagstaff, Santa Fe,
and Sedona, consider ‘Palmer’s
Penstemon’, ‘Rocky Mountain’,
and ‘Scarlet Bugler’.

Look to ornamental grasses for
fall color, like tawny-flowered
‘Blond Ambition’ blue grama
(Bouteloua gracilis) or rose-hued
bloomers such as ‘Pink Fla-
mingo’ muhly (Muhlenbergia x

‘Pink Flamingo’) or gulf muhly

(M. capill aris).

MAINTAIN

Reduce your watering

frequency and adjust irrigation

timers. In autumn, when high

temperatures sink below 90°,

desert-adapted trees can be

deep-watered every 14 to

30 days, while thirstier

IDEA WE LOVE

Tunnel vision

Look to a supporting cast to pick up the slack as plants settle into dormancy. “As we transition into

colder months, the trellis becomes a piece of sculpture,” says artist Jennifer Asher , co-owner of

Los Angeles’ TerraTrellis. Here in the Sunset Test Garden, one of her steel arbors with a weather-

resistant finish becomes an elegant focal point sourrounded by the cloudlike seedheads of Muhlen-

bergia rigens and the vibrant fall foliage of ‘Navah o’ thornless blackberry. It’s autumn’s last call , but

the arbor will glisten with hints of morning frost and cast long shadows along the path throughout

the winter. Landscape by Homestead Design Collective; homesteaddesigncollective.com.

species—even citrus—need a

drink every 7 to 14 days.

Later this month, cut back over-

grown woody Mediterranean

plants like germander, lavender,

rosemary, and thyme. Older

specimens that have become

unwieldy can be given a rejuve-

nation pruning to as low as 12

to 18 inches above the ground.

READ

See the work of Steve

Martino, an influential South-

west landscape architect, in

author Caren Yglesias and pho-

tographer Steve Gunther’s

Desert Gardens of Steve Martino

(The Monacelli Press, April

2018; $50). It’s ideal reading

for the home gardener and

professional alike.

“Use archways to

frame a favorite

moment.”

MIKE IRVINE, GARDEN EDITOR

42 OCTOBER 2018 ❖ SUNSET

Home & Garden

CHECKLIST

SOUTHWEST

SAMANTHA BROWN