California Gardener's August Checklist
Pick up some great ideas from these travel-inspired plantings, even if your vacation is in your own backyard
From the sparkling beaches to the craggy mountaintops, Northern California’s magnificent scenery and activities beckon summer vacationers. Those same places also vividly display the area’s wildly contrasting plant climates that make gardening here so diverse and so interesting.
While you’re traveling, keep your eyes open for planting ideas you can use at home. I’ve collected some for you already below, from the foggy California coast to the steamy valleys to the cool, high Sierra.
While you’re traveling, keep your eyes open for planting ideas you can use at home. I’ve collected some for you already below, from the foggy California coast to the steamy valleys to the cool, high Sierra.
Even beyond the beach, Pride of Madeira may work for you. With its oversize vivid blue blooms in spring and summer, Pride of Madeira is hard to miss near the beach, but it's also pretty easy to grow a bit inland. It is a big, tall shrub with gray, felty leaves. Use it for bold looks in the background or in a semiwild setting. Warning: It can spread by seeds in favorable situations.
Common name: Pride of Madeira
Botanical name: Echium fastuosum
USDA zones: 9 to 11
Water requirement: Light
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 6 feet tall or more and up to 10 feet wide
Growing tips: Prune back the branch tips for bushier growth. Cut off dried blooms to control reseeding.
Read more about Pride of Madeira
Common name: Pride of Madeira
Botanical name: Echium fastuosum
USDA zones: 9 to 11
Water requirement: Light
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 6 feet tall or more and up to 10 feet wide
Growing tips: Prune back the branch tips for bushier growth. Cut off dried blooms to control reseeding.
Read more about Pride of Madeira
Ready for a challenge? Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, once an area of windswept sand dunes, is now a showcase of plants from all over the world. Few are more eye catching than nodding pincushion, one of many proteas from South Africa. Proteas are notoriously difficult to grow, which explains their high cost as cut blooms. They are worth a try if you can provide what they need: perfectly drained soil and the perfect climate — coastal, not too hot.
Common name: Nodding pincushion
Botanical name: Leucospermum cordifolium
USDA zone: 9
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and wide
Growing tips: Needs perfect drainage. It grows best near the coast, on a slope with fast drainage. There's an art and a science to growing this and other proteas; read up on them here.
Common name: Nodding pincushion
Botanical name: Leucospermum cordifolium
USDA zone: 9
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 4 feet tall and wide
Growing tips: Needs perfect drainage. It grows best near the coast, on a slope with fast drainage. There's an art and a science to growing this and other proteas; read up on them here.
Create a quick tropical look. Australian tree fern, which also thrives in Golden Gate Park, is easier to grow, up and down the state, than a protea such as Leucospermum. It offers an instant tropical look, especially planted in a small grove of at least three. It will grow tall and palm-like in favorable locations. In hotter climates plant it in the shade of tall trees.
Common name: Australian tree fern
Botanical name: Cyathea cooperi
USDA zones: 10 to 11
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Partial shade at least, except in the coolest coastal climates
Mature size: Up to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide
Growing tips: It needs shade and frost protection away from the immediate coast. Make sure the planting soil is rich in organic matter.
Common name: Australian tree fern
Botanical name: Cyathea cooperi
USDA zones: 10 to 11
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Partial shade at least, except in the coolest coastal climates
Mature size: Up to 20 feet tall and 15 feet wide
Growing tips: It needs shade and frost protection away from the immediate coast. Make sure the planting soil is rich in organic matter.
Find the early California look. Around the old mission of San Juan Bautista, which dates back to 1797, this young vignette combines the kinds of plants typically used by early settlers in our warm inland areas. Mission plantings had to be functional and drought resistant — sounds like today, don't you think?
The simple, gray look is also one we appreciate today — and well worth emulating in your garden. The little tree is a young olive. The ground cover is gazania. In the background are an agave (a succulent) and an opuntia (a cactus), both of which which will grow to a substantial size.
The simple, gray look is also one we appreciate today — and well worth emulating in your garden. The little tree is a young olive. The ground cover is gazania. In the background are an agave (a succulent) and an opuntia (a cactus), both of which which will grow to a substantial size.
What about redwoods? Cuddly when young (the ones in this photo were planted just a couple of years previously), redwoods grow into towering giants. The tallest tree in the world is 379 feet, in Redwood National Park, on the far northern coast of California. Redwoods also make great landscape trees in the right situation — as screens or background plants. Be sure to keep in mind their full size.
Common name: Redwood
Botanical name: Sequoia sempervirens
USDA zones: 8 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Full sun (light shade is OK)
Mature size: 70 feet tall or more and up to 30 feet wide
Growing tips: Start with 15-gallon or larger nursery plants if you're in a big hurry. Dig a huge planting hole, at least 6 inches wider and deeper than the root ball, and incorporate plenty of soil amendments.
Common name: Redwood
Botanical name: Sequoia sempervirens
USDA zones: 8 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Full sun (light shade is OK)
Mature size: 70 feet tall or more and up to 30 feet wide
Growing tips: Start with 15-gallon or larger nursery plants if you're in a big hurry. Dig a huge planting hole, at least 6 inches wider and deeper than the root ball, and incorporate plenty of soil amendments.
Take inspiration from the forest. In the redwood forest, look at what grows under the trees for ground cover inspiration. Redwood sorrel is a pretty, clover-like perennial for shady spots, especially in cooler coastal climates. Its leaves are a bright green, and the spring flowers are white or pink. Naturally, it's great under redwoods, but it also does well under other tall trees or shade makers.
Common name: Redwood sorrel
Botanical name: Oxalis oregana
USDA zones: 7 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Partial shade
Mature size: Up to 1 foot tall; spreads widely by creeping rhizomes
Growing tips: Make sure the soil is high in organic matter. Cut back to the ground to renew growth. Redwood sorrel can become invasive in favorable situations.
Common name: Redwood sorrel
Botanical name: Oxalis oregana
USDA zones: 7 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate or more
Light requirement: Partial shade
Mature size: Up to 1 foot tall; spreads widely by creeping rhizomes
Growing tips: Make sure the soil is high in organic matter. Cut back to the ground to renew growth. Redwood sorrel can become invasive in favorable situations.
These love the valley heat. The long, hot summers of the Central Valley produce luscious peaches, plums and melons — and magnificent trees. In August in tree-rich cities like Sacramento, few plants stand out more than crape myrtle, with its clusters of blooms like big scoops of richly colored gelato. Crape myrtle also has bright fall color and even looks good leafless in winter. It's a great small tree for a patio or garden, or even for the street.
Common name: Crape myrtle
Botanical name: Lagerstroemia indica
USDA zones: 7 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: Up to 25 feet tall and wide; pruning keeps it much smaller
Growing tip: In cool coastal climates, mildew often strikes the foliage and flowers. It's best to avoid planting this tree if you notice similar damage in your area.
More about growing crape myrtle
Common name: Crape myrtle
Botanical name: Lagerstroemia indica
USDA zones: 7 to 9
Water requirement: Moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: Up to 25 feet tall and wide; pruning keeps it much smaller
Growing tip: In cool coastal climates, mildew often strikes the foliage and flowers. It's best to avoid planting this tree if you notice similar damage in your area.
More about growing crape myrtle
Capture the look of Tahoe. At an elevation of 6,225 feet in the Sierra Nevada, Lake Tahoe's natural plant palette is limited to the hardy survivors of cold winters and growing seasons sometimes measured in weeks. But look around in midsummer and you'll see wildflowers, lush grasses, white-trunked aspen — with a backdrop of deep green forest, glistening granite and gray sage.
If you want to capture the Sierra look at home, think about substitute plants: white birch instead of aspen, lavender instead of sage, creeping juniper instead of tall pine. Keep things simple and elemental: a single clump of grass in front of a boulder, a few wildflowers scattered under a conifer.
If you want to capture the Sierra look at home, think about substitute plants: white birch instead of aspen, lavender instead of sage, creeping juniper instead of tall pine. Keep things simple and elemental: a single clump of grass in front of a boulder, a few wildflowers scattered under a conifer.
This Sierra wildflower grows in the flatland. Foothill penstemon is one striking Sierra wildflower that thrives at lower elevations. In midsummer you can see it blooming in Tahoe as well as in Davis in the Sacramento Valley. It's a perennial with rich, deep blue flowers, and it's great mixed with other wildflowers, such as the wispy red gilia shown here. Look for the outstanding variety 'Margarita BOP', with sky-blue flowers that fade to purple.
Common name: Foothill penstemon
Botanical name: Penstemon heterophyllus
USDA zones: 6 to 10
Water requirement: Light to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: Up to 2 feet tall and equally wide
Growing tips: Plant it in fast-draining soil. Don't expect more than a few years from it.
Common name: Foothill penstemon
Botanical name: Penstemon heterophyllus
USDA zones: 6 to 10
Water requirement: Light to moderate
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: Up to 2 feet tall and equally wide
Growing tips: Plant it in fast-draining soil. Don't expect more than a few years from it.
What Else to Do in August in Your California Garden
Help summer flowers and vegetable finish strong. Keep blooms coming by pinching off faded flowers of annuals such as marigolds and zinnias. Pick squash and beans before they get overly large. Never let the soil dry out. Fertilize monthly or every two weeks with a complete flower or vegetable food. Stake top-heavy tomato plants, as shown.
Fertilize warm-season lawns. Grasses such as Bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine need monthly feeding through early fall. No need to feed cool-season grasses such as bluegrass until the warm weather lets up. Mow cool-season grasses on the tall side to provide extra shade for roots.
Conserve moisture with mulch. If you haven't already, lay down mulch around flowers, shrubs and trees. Use 2 or 3 inches of organic matter or gravel.
Get a head start on fall planting. If you're feeling ambitious, prepare your beds for fall planting. Dig at least 10 to 12 inches deep and mix in a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic matter, such as ground bark.
Add last-minute summer color. Look for annuals and perennials already blooming in 4-inch and larger pots. These reliably have a long bloom season ahead: asters, marigolds, petunias, zinnias and other heat lovers.
Pamper roses. To keep blooms coming well into fall, cut off faded flowers; fertilize and water your roses deeply after each bloom cycle.
Pay special attention to container plants. They seem to dry out instantly as this time of year. Check the soil moisture daily. Maybe you need a drip system with emitters to each plant?
Show us your California garden! We'd love to see your photos in the Comments.
Help summer flowers and vegetable finish strong. Keep blooms coming by pinching off faded flowers of annuals such as marigolds and zinnias. Pick squash and beans before they get overly large. Never let the soil dry out. Fertilize monthly or every two weeks with a complete flower or vegetable food. Stake top-heavy tomato plants, as shown.
Fertilize warm-season lawns. Grasses such as Bermuda, zoysia and St. Augustine need monthly feeding through early fall. No need to feed cool-season grasses such as bluegrass until the warm weather lets up. Mow cool-season grasses on the tall side to provide extra shade for roots.
Conserve moisture with mulch. If you haven't already, lay down mulch around flowers, shrubs and trees. Use 2 or 3 inches of organic matter or gravel.
Get a head start on fall planting. If you're feeling ambitious, prepare your beds for fall planting. Dig at least 10 to 12 inches deep and mix in a 2- to 3-inch layer of organic matter, such as ground bark.
Add last-minute summer color. Look for annuals and perennials already blooming in 4-inch and larger pots. These reliably have a long bloom season ahead: asters, marigolds, petunias, zinnias and other heat lovers.
Pamper roses. To keep blooms coming well into fall, cut off faded flowers; fertilize and water your roses deeply after each bloom cycle.
Pay special attention to container plants. They seem to dry out instantly as this time of year. Check the soil moisture daily. Maybe you need a drip system with emitters to each plant?
Show us your California garden! We'd love to see your photos in the Comments.
Common name: Monterey cypress
Botanical name: Cupressus macrocarpa
USDA zones: 7 to 10 (find your zone)
Water requirement: Light; needs little irrigation once established
Light requirement: Full sun
Mature size: 40 feet tall; narrow when young and spreads with age
Growing tips: Watch for signs of canker fungus: foliage turning yellow and then brown, then falling off. Remove any infected plants.