Overview:

Summers seem to last forever here in Arizona! Picking out plants that can take the heat, while also providing beautiful autumnal colors is important when planning your fall garden. Believe it or not, there are many flowers we can grow here in the South to help us achieve that autumn front porch look. There are three main colors that I look for when picking an autumnal pallet, there colors are red, purple, and orange. There is some variation to these colors, but when they are combined they are pure magic.

Planning:

I like to have an idea of what I like to plant in my fall garden during the early summer months so that I can start prepping my garden in late summer for the fall plants. Sometimes planters can look a little tired towards the end of the summer, and this is a perfect excuse to switch the plants out for fall. Scope out garden centers, they should start to carry these items when they become seasonally available.

My go-to Fall plants:

Angelonia (spring planted)

Celosia

Coleus (shade)

Mahogony Splendors Hibiscus (Spring planted)

Marigolds

Millet

Mums

Sweet potato vine

Sunflowers

Pentas

Peppers ornamental

Purple fountain grass

Verbena

Zinnias (dwarf)

I like to pair a variety of different textures and colors. Typically stick to oranges, burgundy, gold, and purples to bring out the fall colors. All of the fall flowers are summer planted typically except for the Mahogony splendors Hibiscus ( Spring planted). I typically start seeds in June or July indoors and transplants outdoors in July and August. If you are buying from the nursery, check them out in July or August for monsoon plantings.

NOTE* some varieties that we grow are not grown from seed, they are grown from tissure culture or cutting, so seeds may not be available depending on varieties.

Protecting seedlings:

Since the best time to plant most of the fall seedlings is in the middle of the summer, extra protection is helpful when planning your garden. If you can move your pots, place them on the east side of your home until your plants get established. This will give your plants nice morning sun, and shade during the hottest parts of your day. This is especially important here in Arizona.

If you are planting in the ground, give give your seedlings a 30 perfect shade cloth until they are established. This typically takes 2-4 weeks.

Protecting your seedlings helps to encourage them to grow lots of foliar growth. We want out plants to be as big as possible before they start to bloom. Bigger the plant = more blooms! When a plant is stressed, it can trigger them to bloom early, typically on short stems, with small blooms which is not ideal.

Favorite shade cloth here

Watering:

Because we are planting in the middle of the summer, these plants are going to need extra TLC when it comes to watering. I water my containers 2x per day, usually morning and late afternoon. If in the ground I would have the irrigation go off everyday, and hand water them a second time just until they are established which usually takes about 2 weeks.

favorite watering wand click here

Fertilizing:

Since we are watering our seedlings a lot in the summer time, we are going to need to fertilize a more frequently. Fertilizer is leached out of the soil evertime we water, with more watering, we need to replenish the minerals in the soil.

Fertlizer we use (links included)

Proven winners slow release fertilizer - use at time of planting for containers

Proven winners water soluble fertilizer - we use this in all of our containers. This does NOT smell, nor stains our concreate ( some fertilizers with fish emulshion can leave a brown residue on concrete after watering)

Tony’s magic mix - great for an organic approach, in mixed beds with vegtables.

Maxsea water soluble - this is a hydroponic fertilizer that ive used in the past with my cut flower field. Has had a great results in my field when we grew cut flowers.

Inspiration: