Botanically speaking, violas, pansies, and violets are all perennials belonging to the genus Viola. However, pansies and violas are generally treated as annuals in this area, as they tend to die back in the heat of summer. Violas and pansies are invaluable for winter and spring color. They provide mass color in borders and edgings, and work well as as ground covers for spring-flowering bulbs. Pansies also give a colorful display in pots and boxes.

1. Start planting cool-season flowers to bloom during winter and spring, such as alyssum, stock, snapdragon, and foxgloves.
2. Plant sweet peas from seed for Christmas bloom.
3. Start planting winter vegetables
4. Cut back petunias in late September
5. Continue to feed your tuberous begonias and fuchsias
6. Resume picking, deadheading, and fertilizing your roses.
7. Fertilize your ferns with fish emulsion, or a houseplant or flowering plant complete formula. Also MAKE SURE that the soil is thoroughly moist before you fertilize to avoid burning.
8. Feed all container-grown succulents with a well-diluted complete liquid fertilizer.
9. Don’t let fall-planted tropicals dry out.
10. Keep citrus evenly watered to help prevent fruit from splitting.
11. Don’t let camellias dry out now, or buds will fall off later.
12. Continue to control rose pests and diseases.
13. Start new winter vegetable gardens.
14. Start cleaning out flower beds and prepare the ground for fall planting.

This Week's Question:   Almost everyone knows that the California State Flower is the the California golden poppy, but did you know we also have a State Insect?  What is it?

This Week's Prize:   Any $17.95 hanging basket of the winner's choice.

One of September's most important and exciting jobs is to start buying and planting spring-flowering bulbs. Bulbs are easy plants to grow. They have a mystique bordering on the miraculous, but growing them here in Southern California is different from growing them in the East or Middle West. Many bulbs need to undergo a cold winter in order to bloom. Some will bloom without cold weather but tend to rot during our hot, dry summers. Countering these drawbacks, we're able to grow a huge number of charming and fascinating bulbs that are little known and rarely grown back East. Many of these naturalize readily, are drought resistant, and are unbelievably easy to grow.

Buy Bulbs Now to Plant Later

Begin purchasing spring-flowering bulbs as soon as possible. They soon get picked over and sometimes put back in the wrong bins. A reliable local nursery is the best source of varieties that will do well in your climate zone, though some rare varieties can only be bought from catalogues or online. Choose the largest and fattest bulbs, because they produce the biggest blooms.

Among hardy bulbs (the kind grown in winter climates) the best choices for Southern California are daffodils (Narcissus), hyacinths, Dutch irises (Iris xiphium hybrids), and tulips. In inland gardens add grape hyacinths — muscari. Crocuses are difficult to grow in Southern California, though Crocus vernus may succeed in inland valleys. Italian species crocuses, such as C. niveus, are rare but can naturalize in some gardens.

Look for daffodils with three or more divisions. Don't pull them apart. If they're still connected, each point will produce a bloom. Feel them gently to make sure they're firm to the touch; softness means rot. Hyacinths perform best and give the most bloom if you buy large bulbs. Tulips have to be bought yearly. Don't buy 'naked' tulip bulbs, ones that have lost their tunics (the brown papery skin); they might be dried out.

Take daffodils, hyacinths, tulips, crocuses, anemones, grape hyacinths, and ranunculus home but don't plant the bulbs yet. Getting them in the ground too early is a big mistake. Keep them cool and dry. The garage is usually a good place. Hyacinths, crocuses and tulips other than the lady tulip (Tulipa clusiana) need to be chilled beginning next month or in November for six to eight weeks, prior to planting, but you don't have to put them in the refrigerator just yet. Grape hyacinths, or muscari, don't need prechilling, but they usually don't grow well in coastal gardens. In interior zones muscari sometimes come back year after year. Narcissus, ranunculus, anemones, and Dutch irises need no prechilling.

Buy Bulbs to Plant NOW

Some bulbs can and should be planted in September as soon as you buy them. Among these are some superb choices from the daffodil (Narcissus) family, various oxalis from the Western Hemisphere and many bulbs and corms from South Africa, such as freesia, ixia, sparaxis, streptanthera, babiana, watsonia, lapeirousia, tritonia, montbretia, Chasmanthe aethiopica, and crocosmia. When purchasing your bulbs jot down the directions for planting as to depth and spacing.