FALL IS FOR PLANTING – here are some gardening tips to be done this month.
ChrysantheMUM – No other plant represents the fall season any more than the garden mum because of its array of color from yellow, bronze, pink, red purple and white. Many of these mums have been purchased with no intention of being planted as a perennial that they are but are purchased for their color only to be tossed when finished for the season.
The sense of autumn is in the air. The evenings are cooler and leaves are beginning to change colors. This makes for a great time to enjoy being outside and gardening. Do you know why leaves change color in the fall? In the fall, as the nights grow longer and cooler, chlorophyll starts to die off and lets the less dominant pigments of oranges, reds, and yellows to become more visible.
A current gardening trend is to create more flowering garden beds using hardy perennials and using more native plants. Homeowners are expanding their landscape beds in order to reduce the size of the lawn. People are realizing that to maintain a good looking lawn is very costly with all the seed, fertilizing and chemicals needs for maintenance.
The average date for our first frost of the season is around the 20th of October. Now, the recent Old Farmer’s Almanac predicts our first frost to be on October 31. Let’s see if the Almanac is correct this year.
ALERT – If you haven’t done so already – it is time to prep your tropical houseplants for coming inside. Prepping means to clean them. Check them for any insects. Tropical plants need to be inside before our temperatures fall into the low 50’s.
HERE ARE A FEW GARDENING CHORES FOR OCTOBER
BULBS
It’s bulb planting time. Most bulbs require at least 6 hours of direct sunlight. Daffodils with red and pink cups keep their color best in a little shade. Buy your tulip bulbs now but wait until closer to Thanksgiving to plant them. Tulip bulbs need our soil to be cooler than it is now.
HUMMINGBIRD FEEDER
I did a blog on hummingbirds recently. Keep your feeders up and full of nectar until you notice the food not emptying. This is the sign that the hummingbirds have left and are migrating south.
LAWN FERTILIZATION
October is the month to give your lawn its second feeding of lawn fertilizer. The cool season lawn ( fescue lawns) grow and take in nutrients during the cooler months of the year. The 3rd and final feeding will be in late November or in December.
PINE TREES
Pine trees are shedding their older needles noq. Take advantage of this natural, FREE, bounty by using the pine needles as mulch around your azaleas, rhododendrons, camellias, and hollies.
WATERING
It is very important to continue watering all newly planted shrubs and trees. You do not want plants to be dry going into colder temperatures.
ENJOY OCTOBER – IT IS A BEAUTIFUL MONTH TO BE LIVING IN VIRGINIA!!!