Gardening Essentials for Fall
10 Fall Gardening Essentials.Fall is the time to start preparing your garden for winter. These 10 essential tasks, once completed, are virtually guaranteed to get your greenery through the cold winter nights ahead. 1 Plant Perennially.If you live where you still have a few weeks left before hard frosts hit, you can still put in some flowering plants.For a final splash of color, plant dianthus, hardy asters, hardy chrysanthemum, ornamental peppers, primrose, ornamental kale, pansies and Indian summer rudbeckia. In areas with mild, wet winters, this is a prime time to plant perennials, shrubs and trees as well as fall veggie gardens, lettuce, spinach, root crops. 2 Clean Up.Clean up flower and vegetable beds. Weed. Cut back yellowing or brown foliage.3 Water Wisely.When the ground freezes, plants can no longer get any moisture.So if you live in a cold climate, water lawn, plants and trees well for the next couple of months. It may be the last drink they get for a while. 4 Prune Perennially.Cut back late-flowering perennials and shrubs such as hydrangea and buddleia.Cut peonies to the ground and mulch. Prune rambler roses now but wait until late winter or early spring to prune other varieties. Do not prune spring-flowering shrubs such as lilacs or forsynthia whose buds have already formed. 5 Mulch Much?You don't mulch to keep the ground warm all winter but to keep the ground temperature uniform. When ground freezes and thaws, plants are often heaved up, exposing their roots, so you want to avoid that cycle.In cold areas, wait till the ground is partially frozen to mulch around plants. Otherwise, the plants are lulled into thinking that it's still summer and they will keep growing. This tender new growth makes the plant very vulnerable when a hard freeze hits. It's the same reason why you don't fertilize in late fall. Mulch must be six- to eight-inches deep to keep the temperature constant. However, do not mulch more than two inches deep over tree roots as they need air and moisture. If you live in one of the warmer climes? Mulching is still a good idea. If you mulch with organic material such as compost your flowerbeds will self-fertilize and be ready to plant next spring. Also, a layer of mulch at least four inches deep will discourage weeds and erosion. 6 Lawn Leisurely.Fertilize lawns with a slow-release nitrogen fertilizer. Water well. Reseed if necessary.7 Don't Leave Leaves.Rake leaves and compost; or use for mulch. To help them decompose faster, run over them a few times with the lawn mower to chop them up.8 Tool Time.Drain and put away garden hoses that you won't be using.Clean and sharpen gardening tools. Wipe blades with a thin coating of oil. Varnish or seal wood handles. Check owner's manuals for directions on storing power tools such as lawn mowers and leaf blowers. 9 Tree Time.Use trunk collars to protect fruit trees and trees with think bark from rodents over the winter.10 Bulbs Blooming Year-Round?If you're loathe to enter winter without color of some sort, you can plant year-round bulbs.Otherwise, in cold climes, dig up summer-flowering bulbs and tubers and store in a cool, dry place. Plant spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodils and tulips. Peruse those catalogs and prop your feet up.  Custom Search Essential Gardening Tools
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