October has its winners and losers

Usually temperatures start to come down in October and, even when we still get some toasty days now and again, we feel a crispness in the air that signals the arrival of fall.  However, this year is different.  It's only the shorter days that have marked the seasonal change as it's been unspeakably hot more often than not.  We got a brief break when Tropical Storm Rachel moved through the area last week but it remained relatively warm even then, and the humidity level rose.  And now we understand that we're likely to see ninety degree temperatures again this weekend.

But as I evaluate the damage the high temperatures have done to my garden during the last two heatwaves, I note that some plants fared surprisingly well despite the heat.  I expected the remaining dahlias to quickly wither and die but many did not.  They deserve a final bow to applause as I expect I'll be pulling them out by next month, if only to clear the way to install cool season bulbs and plants in my cutting garden.

This is Dahlia 'Admiral Rawlings' which, after generally delivering just a couple of flowers at a time, went for broke with a flurry of them this month.  The plant has an ungainly habit of producing especially tall stems that flop over but its blooms are a luscious dark red.

After a 2-month hiatus, 'Break Out' returned with a parade of new flowers.  It was my top performer earlier in the season too.

'Good Day' has been a solid performer for most of the season, regardless of weather conditions.  It was said to develop an orangish tone later in the season and has recently begun to do so.

One of my 2 'Labyrinth' dahlias threw in the towel last month after a very generous showing but this one is still producing a few new flowers

'Mikayla Miranda' has been sparse with its blooms but it continued flowering throughout the heatwaves so it gets a plus for that

'Omega' is a star, which keeps pumping out big beautiful flowers while most of the other dahlias have gradually shrunken in size

'Snowball' is a good overall bloomer, if somewhat slower with its production than I'd like

'Table Dancer' is still generous with its flowers, however they've gotten smaller in size over time.  I haven't fertilized any of of the dahlias during the past 2 months, though, which may be a factor there.

While the zinnias I seeded in June never took off in great numbers, they did eventually make an acceptable showing.

Clockwise from the upper left, the Zinnias include 'Oklahoma White', 'Benary's Giant Salmon Rose', a noID pink variety, and 'Benary's Giant Wine'

Unthwarted by the heat, some new blooms arrived on their usual schedule elsewhere in the garden too.

Barleria obtusa, aka bush violets, are putting on their usual show with their small blue flowers

Clematis terniflora, aka sweet autumn clematis, has been relatively shy with its flowers thus far

When my asters went amok several years ago, I tried to rid my garden of them altogether; however, they've returned since, albeit in small but manageable numbers.  I believe this one is Symphyotrichum x frikartii 'Monch'.  It'll be interesting to see if El Niño causes it to go crazy again next year.

Other plants simply ignored the heat.

Grevilleas 'Peaches & Cream' and 'Superb', both which flower year-round

These 2 daylilies bloom in both late spring and late summer/early fall here.  They are Hemerocallis 'For Pete's Sake' and 'Spanish Harlem'.

Some of the Leucadendrons that imitate flowers are still going strong.  They include Leucadendron 'Blush', 'Summer Red' and 'Safari Sunset'.

 Looking to fill vacancies, I planted several new plants in late September.  Unfortunately, even with close attention to my watering, many succumbed to the recent heatwaves.  Two Salvia 'Mystic Spires' are among the few survivors. 

And then there was this:

I usually welcome blooms of all kinds.  The exception are flowers on agaves, as the blooms inevitably mean their eventual demise.  I'm not looking forward to the loss of the variegated Agave 'Joe Hoak' on the left, a pass-along gift from a blogger friend many years ago, even if that event may still be months away.

I'll close this Bloom Day collection with a collage featuring miscellaneous honorable mentions.

Clockwise from the upper left are: Duranta 'Sapphire Skies', noID Gazania, Helianthus 'Astra Rose', Lantana camara 'Irene', Leonotis leonurus and Tanacetum parthenium 'Aureum'

That's a wrap for my Bloom Day post.  Carol of May Dreams is still hosting her mid-month line-up through the end of this year.  You can find her post here.

All material © 2012-2026 by Kris Peterson for Late to the Garden Party