By Cindy Watter, UC Master Gardener of Napa County.  

We recently had our first rain of the fall season, followed by a cold morning.  Sure enough, when I walked outside later that day, all my soft-stemmed herbs were dead.  Fare thee well, basil, thyme and stevia.  Even the sage looked exhausted.

What could I have done to prevent this? I could have moved the plants closer to the south side of my house, which gets lots of sun. Or I could have covered them. We all seem to accumulate cardboard boxes. Now is the time to put them to use. Invert them over the plant at night and remove them in the daytime—your plants still need daylight.

You can also cover your larger plants with a homemade tent, using old sheets, tablecloths, whatever you have. The important thing is for the cloth not to touch the plant. The cloth gets cold and can give the plant “freezer burn.” 

Make a frame for your tent using a laundry rack, outdoor furniture or leftover trellises or beanpoles. Or you can buy synthetic “frost cloth” from a garden center. This lightweight, translucent polyester fabric can be wrapped around a plant without harming it. I put it on my lemon tree and brugmansias.

If you have cold-sensitive plants in containers, consider moving them to whatever side of your house gets the most sun. For me, that’s the south side. The sun will warm up the wall of your house, which will protect your plants. 

If these precautions sound like a lot of trouble, just be happy you live in California. I have
friends on the East Coast who have to bundle their roses in burlap for the winter. Late fall is also a good time to plant California natives. Although our native plants don’t need a lot of water, autumn rains soften the ground, making it easier to dig a planting hole twice as big as the root ball. Native plants do need to be watered until they are established, so let nature do the work for you. They don’t need fertilizer but appreciate a top dressing of compost and mulch. If you have automatic irrigation, think about turning it off during the rainy season. I often see automatic sprinklers watering lawns during winter rainstorms.

Some people like to mulch their plants in winter to save time in spring. It’s good practice to at least cover any bare ground around plants. Mulch will keep the roots warm and inhibit weed growth. Do not let mulch touch your plants. Leave a margin of bare ground around the plant trunk or stem, whether it is a tree or a shrub. 

Fallen leaves make great mulch. I always keep a pile of leaves from my walnut and apple trees. They are useful for compost as well as mulch, and birds dig around in them in winter looking for insects and worms.

Check your trees for any fragile-looking branches that need to be removed. They could be dangerous if we have another windstorm. If you have any obviously diseased or dead branches on smaller plants, you might as well remove them now. 

Take a moment to review your gardening outcomes this year. Which plants were successful? Did you have any spectacular tomatoes or vegetables? Were your fruit trees productive? What did you do that influenced that success?

I was happy with the progress my new apple trees made. They were planted in the right place—lots of sun—and were properly hydrated. I even remembered to prune them.

We all have gardening mishaps, but we can learn from them. I neglected my garden this year because I was engrossed with my new grandchild. I kept everything alive, with one exception—a Cécile Brünner rose that an enthusiastic helper pruned to the point that it died. I told everyone I was developing a wildlife corridor, and I certainly have had raccoons, opossums and the occasional skunk come by to check out the figs and apples. Three cats—who ostensibly have other homes—have taken up residence under the Mexican marigold, which has turned into a thicket. They don’t chase birds, but their mere presence has lessened the avian population. After looking at pictures of my yard in 2022, its good- management peak, I know I need to tidy up this winter.

As for the dead rose, it is now a trellis covered by a volunteer passionflower, which had a few late gulf fritillaria butterflies fluttering around it recently. In California, we always seem to have a little bit of spring in our winters, so gardening year-round isn’t really too much of a chore. 

Help Desk: The Master Gardener Help Desk is available to answer your garden questions.  Use our online Plant Problem Help Form or email us at mastergardeners@countyofnapa.org. Include your name, address, phone number and a brief description of the problem.  You can also visit us in person on Mondays and Fridays from 10 am until 1 pm at the University of California Cooperative Extension Office, 1710 Soscol Avenue, Suite 4, Napa.

Photo courtesy of the author