Summer may be in the rear view mirror but show-stopping color doesn't have to be! Fall can be the most rewarding season of all as plants make one final encore in an explosion of colors. Here are just a few surprises you might want to plant in your landscape.

Remember the blueberries you planted this spring? Well, stand back and enjoy their fall color display treat as well. Earliblue, Toro, and Bluetta provide red colors to the landscape. Duke, Berkeley and Jersey adorn the yard with yellow leaves while Darrow, Elliott and Brigitta offer burgundy leaves.

Fragrant Sumac (Rhus aromatica): A deciduous shrub producing green aromatic foliage sparkling brilliant scarlet or orange in the fall. Great for covering banks or slightly sloping areas. This sun or part shade plant has yellow flowers in the spring and red berries in the summer.

Dwarf Fothergilla (fothergilla gardenia): Plant dwarf fothergillas in every nook and cranny. They give so much in both summer and fall color yet ask for little of the gardener. Dense, round native shrub growing 2-3 feet tall, produces orange to scarlet fall color in sun. Enjoy creamy white, honey scented flowers in the spring.

American Sweetgum (Liquidambar styraciflua): Often mistaken as a maple, this tree is a must have. Cultivated specifically for its fall color, the glossy green summer leaves hanging on late into the fall turn to tones of rich yellow, purple, red in the fall. The American Sweetgum grows tall and relatively narrow (15'-20' spread) Great urban tree.

Make sure citrus trees are adequately and evenly watered during September. If their roots go dry now the result can be fruit that splits. (Fluctuations in fertilizer levels can also cause fruit to split.)

Treat Lemon Trees for Brown Rot

Commercial growers pick lemons all at once, but home gardeners leave lemons hanging on the tree until needed. If you do this you'll have fresh ones year-round whenever you want them. The only problem is that fruit left hanging on the tree after it's turned golden ripe sometimes develops brown blotches or turns brown all over. Brown skins can be caused by leaving the fruit on the tree so long that it becomes overmature. If the tree looks generally healthy and the brown fruit occurs here and there all over the tree, then discoloration is most likely caused by leaving fruit on the tree too long. Pick the overripe fruit and leave the rest on the tree.

However, brown blotches on the rinds of lemons (or fruit that turns brown all over) may also result from a condition called brown rot, which is caused by several fungi that live in the soil under the tree. You can tell if fungus is the culprit because, in this case, fruit of all sizes will be affected but the discoloration will occur primarily on fruit that's closest to the ground. Sometimes a white mold will appear on the fruit, and sap may ooze from the trunk of the tree, near the ground. Branches may also die back. Brown rot is at its worst in wet weather, when the fungi splash up onto the tree from the ground.

If your fruit has ever been affected this way you have a chance to clear up the problem by spraying now with a garden fungicide (we recommend Green Light Neem Spray). Unfortunately, you have to pick all the ripe fruit before spraying. Then clean up the ground under the tree and prune off any tips of branches that are brushing the earth. It's a good idea to cut out any diseased or dead growth while you're at it — and make sure there aren't any mummified fruits hanging around in the tree. Then spray the fungicide all over the ground under the tree and up into the branches, paying particular attention to the lowest 3 feet of growth. Spray in the early morning or evening to prevent burn. Water the trees well before spraying; oil can cause leaf-drop on trees that are under water stress.

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.

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.