Fall Transition: Summer Heat Holding, Prime Seed-Starting Window (Western — TX, AZ, NV, CA, NM, OK)

Field Note, this week's forecast: Houston is under an air quality alert with highs near 95–96°F through midweek, easing only into the upper 80s by next Tuesday. The Dallas–Fort Worth area is similar — low-to-mid 90s most of the week, also under an air quality advisory, with a real cooldown into the low 80s and a 55% rain chance arriving by next Tuesday. San Antonio holds in the mid-90s with little rain relief all week. Santa Monica, CA is far milder by comparison — 75–82°F with rain chances at 5–20% throughout.

Texas and inland Southwest growers are still weeks, not days, from anything dormancy-related. That makes this the best seed-starting window of the fall for the region — you're not racing a frost date, and you're not fighting the rain and humidity that Gulf Coast growers are managing this week.

Air quality matters for tray work. On alert days in Houston and Dallas–Fort Worth, reduce the time seed trays sit uncovered outdoors. It's a minor adjustment, not a reason to delay sowing.

Heat is still the variable to manage. Even with air quality aside, ambient temperatures in the 90s are well above the 85–90°F target for germination media — seed sown in open trays outdoors in this heat is often running hotter than optimal, not cooler. A controlled indoor or shaded setup gets you to the right number rather than overshooting it.

Coastal California is a different story. Santa Monica's milder range this week is closer to ideal ambient conditions, but even there, a dedicated heat source still holds germination temperature more consistently than relying on room temperature alone.

What's coming: Dallas–Fort Worth's forecast cooldown into next week is the first real signal of the season turning — worth watching if you're timing when mature plants will need to come in later this fall. For now, the priority across the region is the same: get seed started while conditions are otherwise stable.

What We're Growing With

• Desert Oasis Germination Media
• Adenium arabicum and obesum seed — sow now, ahead of any Texas dormancy transition
• American Adenium Modular Germination System + Expansion Kits — provides consistent bottom heat to help maintain the 85–90°F germination target in a controlled indoor or shaded setup

Full protocol: Seed Germination — Start to Transplant