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Landscape Services
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Helpful Tips
FALL CLEAN UP AND WINTER PROTECTION
Falling leaves, cool nights and crisp days mean winter is not far away. As any gardener knows there is still plenty of work to be done in the yard and garden between now and Thanksgiving. I don’t know about you, but I am a huge football fan and enjoy fall garden work listening to my favorite football teams or classical music. Put on your favorite sweatshirt, grab a portable radio and head outdoors for a good workout.
Annual Flowers: Remove annual flowers and soil from pots and planters. Rinse and store planters in a protected area; this helps limit freeze thaw cracks to terra cotta, concrete, plastic or poly foam planters and pots.
Perennial Flowers: This is a whole article in itself, but for now I’ll just run down the basics. Depending on the perennial, cut and discard top growth after it dies back. You may be wondering why not cut back all perennials? Some perennials such as Autumn Joy Sedum or ornamental grasses have wonderful winter interest when covered with ice or snow. Experiment and see which perennials you like for winter interest and cut back the remainder of the garden.
Fall is the best time to divide and transplant spring and summer perennials. Plants are stressed anytime they are moved; with cooler weather there is less stress on the tender root systems. Large perennials, such as hosta, Black Eyed Susan’s, daylilies and iris tend to grow in clumps. If left to their own device, after several seasons they will become more vegetative with less flowering. To encourage more flower growth next season divide and transplant now. How do you divide? Loosen the soil around the plant, digging as much of the root system as possible. Lift the plant out of its hole, set aside and divide with a sharp shovel, spade or your hands in two to three equal parts. Don’t be squeamish, you really can’t hurt them. Transplant to the intended area of your garden, lightly tamp soil around the crown and be sure to water. Use garden markers to identify transplanted species or make a sketch with plant inventory for quick identification in the spring. Prepare existing beds and areas for new plants next season. And be sure to clean and sharpen garden tools before storing for the winter.
Watering: Do not stop watering just because the days and nights are cooler. Perennials and shrubs, and especially evergreens need to go into the winter with adequate moisture. This prevents winter damage. Evergreens are especially susceptible as moisture is lost through their needles during the windy and dry Midwestern winters. Water until the ground freezes and on warmer winter days.
Mulch: The final step in preparing perennial beds for winter is applying a thick layer of organic mulch to protect the alternating freeze-thaw cycles that tend to force plants out of the soil.
Leaves: Removing excess leaves from lawn and plant beds are not just for aesthetes-doing so actually helps reduce potential winter disease. Rake, blow or mechanically mulch leaves. Newer mowers come equipped with mulching blades which makes it a snap to mow and perform leaf cleanup at the same time. Your community or waste hauler may have special bagging or containment requirements for organic waste disposal. If you are tempted to burn leaves check local ordinances first as leaf burning is prohibited in many communities.
Final Cut: You probably have heard or read the final mowing of the season should be a lower height than normal but do you know why? Again, it’s to limit potential winter or spring lawn disease from ice and snow. Oh, and be sure to clean and winterize your lawn mower, leaf blower and mechanical edger before storing for the winter.
Fall Turf Fertilizer & Weed Killer: An early fall fertilizer application with higher phosphorus and potassium helps strengthen root structure and distribute the fertilizer through the root zone. In late fall, when turf has stopped growing, apply a fertilizer with readily available nitrogen at 1 lb. per 1000 sq. ft for a faster spring green-up. Fall is also an ideal time to kill actively growing broadleaf weeds. We have had good results with early and late fall broadleaf weed kill over spring and summer applications. In fall weeds are once again actively growing which is necessary for good weed kill. Morning dew aides plant uptake of granular weed and feed products.
Roses: Cut dead wood and discard. Shape as desired for maximum growth next season. For hybrid tea, grandiflora, climbers, tea, floribunda, and shrub roses I have better luck with a heavy layer of mulch several inches up the crown area over rose cones as winter protection. Rose cones are great plant protection if they are anchored well against winter winds, and the biggy; if they are properly vented to limit the hothouse effect from sun during sunny winter days.
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