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November 2026
Monthly Meeting
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: Tales From a Plant Explorer and Breeder, With Jeremy Spath, November 21, In-Person, Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, 1:30p -3:30p
Jeremy Spath with a tormented Agave shawii in Baja California Driven by a passion for discovering exceptional, rare, and new agave species, Jeremy Spath has spent the past 20 years exploring the natural habitats of agaves across the Americas. His journey began with a deep fascination for seeing these remarkable plants in their native environments, inspiring countless expeditions to uncover the beauty of agave habitats. His expertise extends to cultivating these plants, with a
3 hours ago
Articles
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: Tales From a Plant Explorer and Breeder, With Jeremy Spath, November 21, In-Person, Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, 1:30p -3:30p
Jeremy Spath with a tormented Agave shawii in Baja California Driven by a passion for discovering exceptional, rare, and new agave species, Jeremy Spath has spent the past 20 years exploring the natural habitats of agaves across the Americas. His journey began with a deep fascination for seeing these remarkable plants in their native environments, inspiring countless expeditions to uncover the beauty of agave habitats. His expertise extends to cultivating these plants, with a
3 hours ago
MY LIFE WITH PLANTS: We’re Having a Heatwave
Words and pictures by Jim Bishop, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2026. It kicked off in July with a never-ending tropical stretch—lots of heat, humidity, and muggy warm nights. August turned up the warmth and stickiness even more, while the ocean stayed an unusual 70°F plus for weeks. We were hoping September would cool things down, but instead we got a surprise late-season blast: an unusual six-day run of 90°F-plus weather (topping out at 105°F) that broke old records. On t
3 hours ago
WOMEN IN HORTICULTURE: Lee Somerville: Two Lives in Horticulture
By Nancy Carol Carter, for California Garden Magazine and shared with Let’s Talk Plants! November 2026. While traveling in England with her sisters, Lee visited the Chelsea Physic Garden in London. Lee Somerville: Two Lives in Horticulture When Wisconsin resident Lee Somerville began spending her winters in San Diego more than fifteen years ago, she soon integrated herself into a welcoming community that shared her interests in gardening, historic sites, and landscape and gar
3 hours ago
NEWS: Call For Volunteers!
By Laura McCullough, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2026 Passiflora caerulea flower Greetings fellow garden enthusiasts! Do you love the Shared Gardens? Do you love being out in the San Diego sun? Do you want to guarantee your spot on the garden tour? Volunteer! It's easy, it's fun, and gives you a reason to get out of bed! 1- Select the volunteer ticket for the sharing garden when you register, or 2- Email me at botanicalbiochemist@gmail.com, subject: Volunteer I will con
3 hours ago
TREES, PLEASE! Protection Racket
By Tim Clancy, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2026. An example of Tree Protection Zone signage used in Australia. Protection racket: is a criminal extortion scheme where a group or individual forces people, store owners, or companies to pay regular money in exchange for a promise not to harm them or damage their property. The world of arboriculture also has a protection component. We call it a “Tree Protection Plan”. It is not a forced program foisted on unsuspecting tree ow
3 hours ago
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Needed - North County Native Gardens for the CNPS Native Garden Tour, Plus Some Rare Coastal Plants
By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2026. Showy Sea Dahlia Blossom. Photo by Keir Morse. Needed - North County Native Gardens for the CNPS Native Garden Tour, Plus Some Rare Coastal Plants Would you like to help promote biodiversity and encourage the use of our wonderful native plants? The California Native Plant Society San Diego Chapter’s native garden tour will be April 10 and 11, 2027 and we are looking forward to including your garden in this special event.
3 hours ago
SHARING SECRETS: Has this Summer's Weather Affected Your Plans for Fall Planting?
by Cathy Tylka, for Let's Talk Plants! November 2026. Sharing Secrets graphic made by Karen England using Canva. Question of the month – Has this summer's weather affected your plans for fall planting? How? Gerald D. Sewart of 92084 replied… The high heatwaves killed a few rare, difficult to find, colorfully-foliaged plants destined for the front yard re-landscape, so the effect is I have less work to do this fall! Carol Cornelius states… I’m delayed fall planting due to he
3 hours ago
GARDEN SURROUNDINGS: Making Changes in the Garden
By Francesca Filanc, for Let’s Talk Plants! November 2026. All photos by Francesa Filanc. Zinnia flowers. Here we are in November 2026. This month marks my six-year anniversary writing for SDHS. I’m forever grateful to Karen England for asking me to write an article for the magazine every month. Writing about gardens and gardening gives me such joy. November is a perfect month to write about changes in the garden as we come deep into Autumn. Seasons of the year signify change
3 hours ago
MEETING REPORT: Jon Rebman's Ferns and Lycophytes of San Diego County, October 2026
Jon P. Rebman, Ph.D., Curator and Chair of Botany, San Diego Natural History Museum. Many thanks are in order for Jon Rebman's ongoing generosity with his profound expertise related to the flora of San Diego County and Baja California! At our October meeting, Jon toured us through the natural history and rich current diversity of plants native to our region which grow from spores rather than seeds. There was a time when plants had not yet developed seeds, which, as we learned
3 hours ago
EDITOR'S ARMCHAIR: Considerate Horticulture Empowered by iNaturalist
By Tony Gurnoe, for Let's Talk Plants November 2026. All photos by Tony Gurnoe. Thousands of monkey flowers as part of a large study on the importance of source populations in restoration planting. Considerate Horticulture Empowered by iNaturalist This article is meant to stoke an important conversation brought up almost in passing by our recent presenter and iNaturalist identification champion, Jon Rebman. As described in the MEETING REPORT article, Jon provided a rich, educ
3 hours ago
NEXT GENERAL MEETING: Ferns and Lycophytes of San Diego County, With Jon Rebman, October 17, In-Person, Oasis, Rancho Bernardo, 1:30p -3:30p
Jon P. Rebman, Ph.D., Curator and Chair of Botany, San Diego Natural History Museum. Jon P. Rebman, Ph.D., is Curator/Chair of Botany at the San Diego Natural History Museum (since 1996) and a plant taxonomist who conducts extensive floristic research in Baja California and in San Diego and Imperial counties. He leads field classes and botanical expeditions and directs the San Diego County Plant Atlas project (sdplantatlas.org). Personal scientific collections: 37,000+ plant
Oct 1
NEXT SHARING GARDEN: Vista Sharing Garden: Saturday, November 7, 2026, With Group Tours From 10:00 AM - 3:30 PM
By Susi Torre-Bueno, for Let's Talk Plants! October 2026. Photo credit: Member Sherry Simmons, used with permission. Registration for members to open soon: https://sdhort.org/FeaturedGarden Saturday, November 7, 2026, Group 1 – 10 AM to 11:30 AM Group 2 – 12:00 PM to 1:30 PM Group 3 – 2 PM – 3:30 PM Julian Duval (the SDHS Horticulturist of the Year in 2014) was the first President/CEO of Quail Botanical Gardens (now San Diego Botanic Garden) from 1995 until 2019,
Oct 1
FROM THE MASTER GARDENERS: A Case for California Native Plants
By Lucy Warren, UCCE Master Gardener of San Diego County, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2026. A Case for California Native Plants As gardeners, we are drawn to the latest, brightest varieties of exotic species for our gardens, always chasing the new and unusual. But as our world heats up with climate change, more and more water-thirsty lawns are being sacrificed for moonscapes of rocks and cactus, or spiky, heat-intensive green plastic “lawns.” Neither of these alternatives
Oct 1
GROW IN ABUNDANCE: Beat the Heat: Smart Fall Gardening in San Diego
By Sommer Cartier, for Lets Talk Plants! October 2026 Shade cloth example. Photo Credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/joeyz51/ Jo Zimny Photos. Beat the Heat: Smart Fall Gardening in San Diego Fall always gets me excited about the garden. I'm ready to start pulling out tired summer plants, refreshing beds and making room for lettuce, broccoli, carrots and all the other cool- season vegetables I love to grow. But if you've gardened in San Diego for any length of time, you kno
Oct 1
TREES, PLEASE! Ten Common Myths of Trees – Need a Reminder?
By Robin Y Rivet, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2026. Myth #1: “Topping” and “Lacing” are valid arboricultural pruning terms… They are not. DO NOT TOP YOUR TREES! Topping is destructive tree mutilation. You won’t find either term in the older ANSI A300 tree care standards or the 2023 updates. Although heavy crown-reduction in orchards may appear to ease fruit harvesting, the wounds increase risk of disease, sun scald and incur yearly high-maintenance - assumed by a grower
Oct 1
GOING WILD WITH NATIVES: Bonsai - The Art of Making the Mighty into ‘Miniatures’ Even with Native Plants!
By Susan Lewitt, for Let’s Talk Plants! October 2026. This Coast Live Oak is approximately 100 years old and has small leaves. Typically, bonsais have leaves that are smaller than full size trees of the same species. Photo by Susan Lewitt. Bonsai - The Art of Making the Mighty into ‘Miniatures’ Even with Native Plants! Do you want more native trees, but you have no space for them? How about having ‘miniature’ trees, or Bonsais, instead. There are many native plants that may d
Oct 1
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