What passes for Winter

Hello again from the Santa Clara Valley, commonly referred to these days as Silicon Valley.

We experience a mild Mediterranean climate here, and seasons..... well, some would say we have just two, the wet season and the dry season. The native plants are adapted to that cycle, some going nearly dormant in the summer months... but more about that in a future post.

It's not feeling all that wintry yet, but the leaves on the Chinese Pistache in the front yard have finished turning. They vary from fiery orange to deep red, and half have blown down already. Ginkgos I saw on a jobsite yesterday were not done turning yellow.

Here's a nice Fall foliage shot of Chinese Tallow or Sapium sebiferum. It does well here.


Funny how all the trees with impressive fall color seem to be transplants to California. In fact the only native tree I can think of around here with decent fall color is the Big Leaf Maple, Acer macrophylla. No photo of that one either, but I'll try to post one soon. Some nice examples can be seen up Highway 9 above Saratoga until the rain knocks the leaves off, or take a hike through parts of Sanborn or Castle Rock parks.

So, the beginning of the local wet season means the end of our watering season, and as more rain appears, it's time to reduce or shut down sprinklers. I tend to run my sprinklers through the winter for a short time once per week, at least until I'm convinced that the wet season has really arrived, and especially in areas like under the eaves where plants don't get a "direct hit" from the rain.

Rain sensors can do a good job of cutting water waste. They are essentially electronic rain gauges that connect to your sprinkler timer and shut it down when after a rainstorm. There are even wireless models. I've found no difference in the reliability of rain sensors from Hunter or Rainbird. Both seem to work well.

Rain sensors are especially useful in the Fall and Spring, as temperatures begin to change and rainfall is still intermittent. Set the sprinklers expecting no rain, and if and when it rain falls, the sensor takes over and prevents watering until it dries out again.

BTW, check out the links to the right of this page. I added them yesterday. One each to my website, Nightscaping outdoor lighting, Rainbird and Hunter sprinklers, and the California Contractors State License Board.

I hope you find them useful.