Garden Questions of the Week

“Is it too late to prune my boxwood and burning bushes?”  -No, you can prune them late fall, but I like to wait for spring, especially with the boxwood, and prune just before they leaf out.  That way they re-grow and cover where you cut them back.  Also allows us to see what if any winter dieback occurred, and the prune accordingly. Granted I will do some pruning now for branches of both to use for holiday decorating, but will save the regular / major pruning for the spring.

“I would like to expand my vegetable garden for next year.  Can I still spray Roundup to kill the grass, and then cover with leaves and compost?”   -Roundup works best at 60-85 degrees, but if the grass is still growing, it will be slow but should work (getting late!).  BUT, I might suggest you do this – lay cardboard (or couple layers of newspaper) over the grassy area, and then lay a light layer of compost / finely ground leaves on top to hold it down.  That will smother the grass over the winter, and earthworms will work under the cardboard.  When you’re ready to till in the spring, the cardboard will be mushy enough to till right in to the soil along with the light layer of compost.

“I’ve had a lot of winter burn on my evergreens over the past couple winters.  Any suggestions how to help them out thru the winter?”  -Sure!  One – get out the garden hose and water if needed.  Reason being, it’s key to make sure the evergreens have good moisture in the soil and in the plant going into the winter.  The past two year’s summer and fall droughts really took a toll on many evergreens.  Water until Christmas as needed.  Second, give the evergreens a late fall spraying of WiltStop to help seal in the moisture in the needles or leaves.  In high wind situations, you can even go the next step and build a burlap screen on the sides of the plants to help reduce the winds blowing on the plants.  (Wind and sun accelerate moisture loss over the winter.)  For newly planted evergreens, I may even suggest watering them once a month over the winter to keep moisture in the immediate root ball.

“I was cutting a tomato today and there were sprouts inside one of the pieces.  How rare is this?”  Rare, but will happen every now and then.  I personally have seen it in peppers and pumpkins, but not tomatoes.  The gelatin around the tomato seeds actually contains a germinating inhibitor, so chances are the tomato was drying out, or the gelatin hadn’t formed properly.  Rare, but does happen, and is very cool if you happen to be the one to see it! 

“What’s the deal?  Moles have all of a sudden started digging up my yard!  There are mole hills everywhere.  When do they hibernate?”   -They don’t; they’re active year-round.  And this time of the year those male moles are digging new subsurface highways to cover the females in their territory.  We have a tip sheet on mole control (www.natorp.com).  If you don’t want to deal with them, just give The Mole Man Tom Schmidt a call or visit www.themoleman.com.  It’s like calling in Clint Eastwood to clean out the bad guys who took over the town!  Unless you’re lucky enough to have his daughter come out – certainly the best looking mole trapper you’ll ever find!  (Thank goodness she doesn’t look like Tom.)

Garden Questions of the Week

“My Endless Summer Hydrangeas are finished blooming.  Do I need to prune them back now?”  -No.  All I would do is deadhead the spent flowers just below the flower, and leave the rest of the plant alone.  Unlike other macrophylla hydrangeas that flower on past years growth, the Endless Summer hydrangea series flowers on both old and new growth.  So leaving the stems alone, you’ll have earlier flowering next year on the ‘old’ wood.  Remember, how and when hydrangeas are pruned depends on the type of hydrangea.

“When is the best time to cut back my ornamental grasses?”  -Personally, I like to leave them be and enjoy their wonderful foliage, plumes and seed heads over the winter, and then cut them back late winter / early spring.  If you don’t like the look over the winter, then feel free to cut back your ornamental grasses once they’ve turned brown this fall.

“My crepe myrtle flowered nicely this year.  When should I cut it back?”  -Crepe myrtles are doing nicely in our area and we’re planting them more and more.  Just leave them alone for the winter – leave those round seed heads alone and let them sit.  Then next spring, go ahead and remove the old seed heads and cut back if / as needed, basically only if there is deadwood from the winter.  Remember, your crepe myrtle will be one of the last plants to leaf out late next spring, so give it plenty of time.

“I have a few weeds that I would like spray with Roundup.  How late in the year can I spray Roundup?”  -Roundup works best between 60 and 85 degrees.  But as long as the weeds are still actively growing, it’s much slower to work, but can still be affective mid fall.  After that, it’s back to the old fashioned hand pulling.

“Time is going by quickly!  I almost need a checklist to make sure I’m getting the right things taken care of!”  -Well, here you go – a special “Turkey Weekend Checklist”! 

__ Continue to remove all dead foliage from perennials and clean up left over annuals and veggie plants.  Cut them off and leave the roots.  They break down and add organic matter back to the soil.

__ Still time to till the garden; exposed soils freeze and thaw over the winter.  Don’t be hesitant to add a layer of compost or finely ground leaves and grass clippings before tilling the garden.

__ Still time to feed the trees.  Vertical mulching or soil injection with a Ross Root Feeder works great.  It’s also a great way to water if the trees are dry (especially those evergreens).

__ Still time to plant spring flowering bulbs like tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths, anemones, alliums and lychoris (who flower in late summer).  Plant a few in pots for bringing indoors next spring.

__ At this point, keep those leaves from accumulating on the lawn, especially newly seeded lawns. 

__ Keep mowing the lawn on a regular basis (change directions each time you mow) until the lawn has completely stopped growing.  The time has come for the last feeding with a high N fertilizer, so feed the lawn.  Once the lawn has stopped growing, take the mower in for servicing.

__ Do not let your plants go into the winter under a drought stress.  Water as needed.

__ Clean, oil and properly store all garden tools when the season is over.

__ Drain and coil hoses / store where they won’t freeze.  Keep one handy for any winter watering that needs to be done.

__ Properly store all liquid chemicals and protect them from freezing.

__ Brighten your holidays by planting amaryllis and paperwhite bulbs.  Buy extras and plant on staggered times to enjoy their flowers all winter long.

__ Empty or properly store containers and planters to prevent freezing and damages to the pots.

__ Cover water gardens with nylon mesh or netting to keep leaves and other debris out.

__ Make sure you protect your evergreens from winter damages by providing good soil moisture, mulching their roots, spraying with an anti-desiccant such and ‘Wilt Stop’ by Bonide, and in severe cases, build burlap screens to reduce wind and salt spray.

__ Pot up small containers of herbs for growing indoors over the winter.

__ Feed the birds.  Clean your feeders if you haven’t already, and do make sure your birds have a source of water over the winter.  Okay, there’s plenty more that can be done, but this should help you keep on pace.

[The first American Thanksgiving was celebrated in 1621, and was celebrated thereafter following fall harvests – although the 13 colonies did not celebrate it on the same day.  In 1789 President George Washington declared it a holiday, but it was Abraham Lincoln (in 1863) who officially declared the last Thursday of November as the day of Thanksgiving.  Then, in 1939, 1940, and 1941, F.D.R. (looking to lengthen the Christmas shopping season) proclaimed Thanksgiving to be the third Thursday in November.  Controversy ensued, and in 1941, Congress passed a joint resolution decreeing that Thanksgiving should fall on the fourth Thursday of November, where it remains.]

Garden Questions of the Week

“Should I deadhead the spent flowers on my garden mums, and when do I cut the plants back to the ground?”  -Yes deadhead those spent mum flowers, but it won’t make them bloom again this fall.  Deadheading mums sends energy that would have been wasted on trying to produce seed heads back to the plant and roots for a stronger mum plant…and…it just makes them look better!  When to cut them back?  Personally, I suggest you leave the foliage on the mums thru the winter, and cut them back in the spring just before they start to re-grow.

“My neighbor has what she said is a holly bush (red berries and all), but it loses its leaves in the fall.  I thought hollies were evergreens.”  -Guess what?  There are both deciduous (loses it leaves) and evergreen hollies!  And this time of the year, both types really start to show off their berries on the female plants.  But as far as I’m concerned, it’s the deciduous female hollies that have the best of show when it comes to those bright red berries, perfect for holiday decorations. 

“How do I know when it’s safe to cut back my perennials?”  -Once we get to late October, or the leaves are more than 50% yellow or brown, you’re good to go.  At this stage, you’re good to cut back any foliage needing to be removed.

“My Knock Out rose is still blooming.  When do I cut it back for the winter?” -Knock Outs look really good right now with their late flush of colors. And have been known to flower until mid December depending on the weather.  For the most part, no pruning will be done on the knock out roses until next spring.  By the way, we’ll let you know what to do with knock outs and all the other roses for the winter, in about another month or so.

“When is the best time to cut back my Butterfly Bush, spring, or fall?”  – Either way works.  If you like what you see now, leave it alone for the winter and cut it back in the spring.  If you don’t want that look over the winter, cut it back later on this fall.  Not now, it’s too early.  (I like to cut them back in the spring.)

“When can I dig my cannas and dahlias up for the winter?”   -Let the frosts take out the foliage, then dig them up, clean them up, and store them in a dark, dry, cool place 45-50 degrees.  This hold true with summer bulbs except caladiums – store 50 – 55 degrees.

“I have many leaves from a Southern magnolia.  Can these big things be composted?”  – They can, but just like oak leaves or pine needles or twigs and branches, they are slow to break down.  So, grind them up before you put them in the compost pile.  Some folks will actually have a separate pile for the ‘slower’ composting materials.

”My hydrangeas still have flowers.  Should I cut them off or leave them on over the winter?”  – You can enjoy them over the winter if you’d like, but sometimes ice or heavy snows will collect on the old flowers and cause the branches to bend down and possibly snap.  I prefer to remove these spent flowers before winter so this won’t happen.  And remember – if the hydrangea is a macrophylla type, be sure to remove the flower head just below the flower.  These hydrangeas bloom buds for next year have already formed on the existing branches, so you need to leave the rest of the branch alone, or you’ll be removing next year’s flowers.  By the way, I’ve been noticing over the past couple years just how late in the season those Endless Summer Hydrangeas keep blooming!  They’re still showing good colors and I see more bloom buds getting ready to open!  Not bad for late fall colors – definitely giving Knock Out roses a run for their money.  But I have seen Knock Outs blooming as late as the second week of December.

“Is now a good time to feed my trees?”  – Right now, the tree’s tops may be shutting down, but the roots are firing up!  More roots are developed in the fall than any other time.  And those developing roots are collecting and storing away nutrients for next year,   which makes mid to late fall one of the best times for feeding your trees.  And if you’d like to do it yourself, here are 3 easy ways to get ‘er done!

1.) If your trees are newly planted this year or this fall, use a root stimulant such as Bonide’s Plant Starter.  It’s a light and easy feed for new trees, and helps promote early strong root development.  Mix this with water and pour around the base of the tree.  If using a tree bag to water, pour your diluted solution directly into the bag for a slow drip feeding.

2.) If your trees have been planted for 1-2 years, still use a water soluble fertilizer like Plant Starter, or move to something stronger, like Miracle Gro.  Again, mix with water and pour around the base of the tree.  You also have another option, which is the Ross Root Feeder.  This unique tool injects water soluble fertilizer right into the soil, watering the tree at the same time.

3.) If your trees have been planted longer than 2-3 years or are mature trees, you have several options for feeding.

-Fertilizer spikes driven into the ground, although not one of my favorites, make it pretty easy to feed the trees.  I do suggest you calculate how many are needed, then break them in half and evenly distribute them around the tree.  Be sure they go 6-8 inches down into the ground, to feed the tree more than feeding the grass.  And yes, your trees will also benefit from your regular lawn fall feedings.

-Ross Root Feeder again is one of the easiest ways for homeowners to feed their larger trees, by injecting a water soluble fertilizer directly into the soil.  This is the same process many professional tree care companies will use to feed the mature trees. 

-And then there’s Vertical mulching – drilling holes in the ground around the tree with an auger, and putting granular fertilizer (TreeTone / Plant Tone / Milorganite / 10-10-10, etc, into the holes, followed by a good watering.  This is a great way to feed the trees, and helps improve the flow of air and water into the soil, but takes a lot of time and is labor intense -and may be one to consider having the professional tree care companies take care of for you!   Whichever method you use, fall is an excellent time to feed your trees.