Tips for the Season
Landscapes
In the month of October it is time to think about preparing your lawns and landscapes for the upcoming Winter months. It is also the last chance you have to plant any last minute perennials and shrubs.
Once the leaves have fallen remove them all and add them to your compost piles or save them and reuse them to fill in the burlap that is wrapped around any delicate plants. Roses, for example, may need that little extra bit of insulation.
Add a fresh layer of mulch to the ground. This helps insulate the root system of your plants and gives your landscapes a nice finished look at the same time.
If you don’t compost or reuse the cleaned leaves paper bags are accepted at your local transfer station, as well as a new cotton based product that does the work of six standard paper leaf bags and is the dumps new preferred used product. Small sticks, twigs and larger branches can be saved and used as kindling in fire pits or indoor fireplaces.
Trees and Shrubs
Fall brings about many different natural occurrences in plant life. Some factors being the deprivation of chlorophyll causing leaves to change color, defoliation making the trees bare, and finally dormancy. Help your plants make it through the winter and get them ready for spring by fertilizing now.
Acidic plants should be given Holly-Tone and non-acidic should be given Plant-Tone; there is a difference and the plants will respond to the correct fertilizers much better. Not sure what type of plants you have? Make a list of the names and come see out expert staff here at The Gardener’s Center and Florist.
Fruit trees such as apples, plums, pears, and peaches should all be pruned now, as well as any other plant that does not flower in the early spring. Plants like forsythia, rhododendron, and azaleas are to be pruned immediately after they flower in the springtime; doing so now will shear off any buds produced this past season. Everything else coniferous or evergreen can be pruned now as well as most deciduous trees and shrubs.
Quick Tip: Do not prune Hydrangeas beyond a third of its current size. The Hydrangea bush produces flowers off of the previous years growth. This means that all the growth from this year cannot be completely removed because that growth turns into the previous year’s growth for next year.
Lawns
With the fall season comes your annual application of lime. Applied very liberally, this natural stone helps balance the Ph of your soil and insures your lawn utilizes ALL fertilizers put down throughout the course of the year. Don’t forget The Gardener’s Center offers FREE Ph soil testing. All you need is a coffee can size amount of soil and in five minutes we will have a Ph reading accurate to within half a decimal.
Fall is the best time of the year to seed your lawn; typically it is also the most necessary time to seed after insect, fungus, and heat damage. We recommend removing as much dead organic matter (weeds, leaves, sticks, stones etc) as possible. Making sure your seed contacts the soil is the 2nd most important step of sewing a new lawn, next to watering. After applying your seed it is beneficial to put down either a salt hay substitute or a seed accelerator pellet. This helps lock in moisture and prevents birds from consuming your seed. One week after you’ve put down your seed, it is highly recommended that you put down a starter fertilizer. This insures that the seed grows and the root systems expand and become established as quickly as possible, before the colder weather. Four weeks after you see that your first seedlings have germinated it is time for the most important step of caring for your lawn. Don’t forget to water your new lawn EVERY DAY from the time you sew your seeds. The most common reason a new lawn is lost is lack of water. Roughly 20 to 30 minutes a day in the morning is ideal, or until you see the first signs of puddles.
Applying a fall fertilizer, this step is crucial because it prepares your established lawn and more importantly your new lawn for the harsh winter months. The fall fertilizer strengthens the root system so your grass comes back vigorously and strong the following spring, as well as giving it one last feeding of Nitrogen to look lush and green during this last season. Water in the fall application of fertilizer to speed up the delivery of nutrients to your lawn.
Bulbs
Autumn is the time to plant your bulbs and The Gardener’s Center offers a huge selection of spring flowering bulbs from Narcissus (Daffodils) to Tulips and everything in between. Planting bulbs now will add bright vibrant colors to your garden immediately after winter passes and will give you the first sign that warmer weather is on the way!
Ideally bulbs should be planted no later than Thanksgiving, although if you are willing to work through the solid frozen ground they can be planted as late as January. Mix a fertilizer into the soil when planting to benefit the plants root development for the upcoming Spring. ‘Bone meal’, ‘Bulb Tone’, or ‘Bulb Booster’ are our recommended fertilizers although there are many others.
Quick Tip: Using an Earth Auger attached to any standard homeowner or commercial drill makes quick work of the soil to plant your bulbs, no more digging or shoveling!! Be sure to check out our Specials Page for your chance to get your own FREE Bulbs.