More Fall Work

November 1, 2011

The local weekend paper was similar to my last blog listing several items that should be done in the garden this fall.  I commented on vegetables, and now need to write about ornamentals. The Gannett Media writer Bill Cary wrote that now is the time to control weeds.  He is very correct.  Fall is the best time to kill broadleaf weeds in lawns, gardens anywhere you want them controlled.  The herbicide will be taken down into the roots where it will kill the roots.  Most perennials store sugars in the roots to stay alive during their dormant period over winter.  When they have the herbicide in the roots they are more easily killed as well as winter being a help for weed control.    

 

Fall cleanup is a time to make life easier in the spring.  The plants don’t care whether the dead tops are removed in the spring or fall.  The garden may look neater clean than leaving old dead vegetation through out the winter.  Bill Cary suggests that many of perennial plants should be left because they have seeds that will feed the birds through the winter.  I haven’t specialized in feeding birds, but Bill is correct that leaving vegetation will attract wildlife.  The neighborhood deer make regular stops though the winter at all the spots where vegetation is showing.   

Fall is the best time to plant perennial plants.  November in the northern states may be a little late but in the southern states is a perfect time.  The roots have time to get well established before the hot summer months.  Perennial bulbs should be planted in the fall.  Those are daffodils, tulips, crocuses, and hyacinths.  A year ago in the fall I thinned out some miniature irises that were very crowded.  The harvested irises roots planted in new locations were no longer quite as miniature when they were not crowded. 

 

Tender bulb perennials should be removed before fall freeze-up to replant in spring.  Those would be cannas, dahlias, gladiolas, and begonias.  For 20 years in Ohio I had gladiolas that were able to survive year to year along a retaining wall that faced south.  The sun on the retaining wall protected the soil from freezing.  Year after year they required no more care than to occasionally thin the bulbs that multiplied profusely.   The small new bulbs generally didn’t have enough strength to produce a good gladiola flower stalk. 

One flower, from a bulb, I have never tried, but should is amaryllis.  It appears this should be planted in the spring in northern climates.  Any information you have would be appreciated. This is from the website:  http://www.amaryllis.com/pac.htm

Amaryllis-One of a Kind

Of all flowering bulbs, amaryllis are the easiest to bring to bloom.  This can be accomplished indoors or out, and over an extended period of time.  The amaryllis originated in South America's tropical regions and has the botanical name Hippeastrum.  The large flowers and ease with which they can be brought to bloom make amaryllis popular and in demand worldwide.  The amaryllis comes in many beautiful varieties including various shades of red, white, pink, salmon and orange.  There are also many striped and multicolored varieties, usually combining shades of pink or red with white.

The Garden Doc