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Gardening Calendar

Trees and Shrubs

We have finally gotten a taste of cool weather and fall is officially on the horizon. I am sure we are all ready for cool weather to stay. With most shrubs and trees, your main duty now is water when dry. If you had plants that were plagued by insects or diseases, clean them up now, remove the old mulch and apply a fresh layer. Avoid the "volcano" method of mulching. We want a two to three inch layer of mulch on the ground, not piled up against the trunk of the plant. Leave a slight air pocket next to the stems. No more pruning or fertilization this late in the season. If you have plants that need moving, hold off another month if you can. Remember the lessons learned from last year’s dry season—even though the temperatures are cooling off, you still need to water if we don’t have natural rainfall. You should be seeing signs of fall color. We tend to have our best color displays when days are warm and nights are cool, and we have ample soil moisture.

Perennials and Annuals

When your perennials begin to yellow or experience leaf die back, start cleaning them up. You do not have to wait for a killing frost to cut them back. They have completed their growing cycle when they begin to die back and should be all set for next season. Good sanitation now can start your season off on a better footing next spring. IF you have spring blooming perennials or those that bloom in the summer, now is a great time to divide them, if needed. From peonies to hostas, Shasta daisies to baptisia, if they are too crowded, dig and divide now. Fall is also an excellent time to plant new perennials. Fall planting ensure ample time for the roots to get established, and you often have a stronger, sturdier plant the first growing season.

October is also the prime month to sow wildflower seeds. Make sure the site is weed-free and enrich with organic matter if possible. Sow the seed, roll it for good contact, water and you should have a nice mix next spring. Many perennials will not bloom the first year they are grown from seed, but fall planting can help you overcome that with a few perennials. Add a few annuals into the mix like larkspur, bachelor’s buttons and Shirley poppy so you are guaranteed color the first year.

Most of our summer annuals are still blooming. It is hard to pull up plants that are still so showy. If you don’t have the heart to do it, start inter-planting some winter color. While pansies and violas can be planted well into December, for the best display from flowering kale and cabbage, Swiss chard and other winter leafy crops, they need time to get established before the first frost.

In addition to annuals and perennials, this is the starting season for planting of spring blooming bulbs. From crocus and daffodils to hyacinths and tulips, start planting when the temperatures cool off. If you want to try having perennial tulips, plant them as deep as you can. The deeper they are planted, the drier they stay in the summer following bloom, and the less daughter bulbs they produce after bloom. Tulips are not great re-bloomers though, so you can simply plant new bulbs each fall.

Container Gardening

I saw some of the most spectacular container gardens this summer! The combinations are endless, and folks are trying all kinds of plants. Don’t stop just because the summer gardening season is ending. Be creative for fall and winter, and don’t forget bulbs in the mix. They will do quite nicely. If you have tropical houseplants outdoors, now is the time to move them inside. I know we are nowhere near a frost, but the best time to move them indoors is when inside and outside conditions are almost the same. If you wait too late, the plants will start to get used to the cooler temperatures and the shock of transplant can cause major leaf shed. Clean them up, check for insects and move them inside. The same holds true for any flowering tropical plants that you plan to use as houseplants for the winter. If you simply are going to store them in your garage or storage area, you can wait until closer to a frost, but don’t wait too long, or you will be buying new plants like I do every spring. In my opinion, unless you have a greenhouse, you often get stronger results from new tropical’s each spring anyway, plus you know you will want to buy new plants even if you do keep some over, so don’t try to save every plant!