Yes indeed, now is THE time for planting stuff if you live in a warm climate-and I see that you do-zone 8b. Here in Tuscany we are supposed to be about that zone ,and I have learned the hard way that roses, trees, shrubs, etc must be planted out in the autumn or even winter,because here the killer season is summer, with it's extreme heat and drought. Ideally everything should be planted out by Christmas,so that plants have several months to work on their root systems. I myself am already in the process of planting out my potted roses. It's been way, way too hot,so I have had to keep on watering them,but at least the days are shorter and the sun intensity is not as bad . My hope is to give them the maximum possible amount of time to establish before next summer. For bare-rooted roses, one has to wait until it is decidedly cooler and rainier, but these are potted, so hopefully it'll be OK.
