Season Ending Tips for the Lawn,

Landscape and Garden

Allan Storjohann
 

For many gardeners Labor Day is the light at the end of the tunnel. After a long, hot summer the temperatures have finally cooled and a little rain has fallen, giving plants some new vitality. For the next eight weeks—right up to the first frost in late October—we should experience some delightful weather. Good growing conditions will bring a healthy growth spurt in many trees, shrubs and perennials. Fall blooms and new leaves on trees that defoliated during the drought will be a welcome surprise.

Almost every year I am tempted to kick back and relax after a summer of hard work, but that would be a major mistake since much of next season’s success will depend upon how I finish up this one. So, are there some specific things that gardeners can do now—before the rush is on to winterize—that will help the garden and landscape be ready for the next growing season? Absolutely! Here are several suggestions for end-of-season activities around the home and garden.

One of the most important things to accomplish before winter sets in is to clean out the weeds from all your flower beds and vegetable gardens. Perennial weeds like bermuda grass, johnson grass and field bindweed can develop a strong hold in the late season. You get rid of these noxious weeds in a number of ways. Hand weeding is the most time consuming and generally does not get all of the roots and stems of the pesky perennial grasses. We now have a number of products labeled for grass control that will not harm the ground covers, perennials and shrubs in your planting beds. Look for products with the active ingredient Sethoxydim.  If you want to clear an area for a future garden or flower bed you can use products that contain glyphosate. Remember this will kill any green plant that it is sprayed upon, so be careful. Neither of these herbicides are persistent in the soil, so don’t worry about planting into treated areas after the weeds are gone. If you are averse to chemical use, simply smother them out with a commercially available weed barrier, black plastic, old carpet or very thick mulch.

Every couple years your perennials will let you know that they need to be divided. Flowers will be fewer and plants will appear stunted and crowded. This is a great time to dig up and divide plants like irises, daylilies and Shasta daisies. Gently lift them from the flower bed, pull them apart and, after removing bad leaves and roots, replant them with generous spacing, between 18 and 24 inches.

Many ask if they can prune back their shrubs in the fall. Perennials can be cut back with no negative affect; however, pruning shrubs too heavily can stimulate branches to sprout at a time when the plant really needs to save energy prior to winter. Your plants will need sufficient reserves of carbohydrates and nutrients t to make it through the long, cold winter ahead. If you must prune, just remove seed pods, straggly shoots and damaged branches.

September is a great month to plant colorful annuals, such as pansies and ornamental cabbage and kale. The pansies will bloom all winter when temperatures are up and the kale is a colorful decoration until we get down in the single digits. Garden mums can be planted or set around in pots for decorations. I always buy the mums that are not in full bloom yet, so I can enjoy them longer in the garden.

This is also the time of year to spray for nuisance bugs. I always spray around the foundation of the house and outbuildings, up and down tree trunks and in areas that I have noticed ants, roaches, spiders and caterpillars.

As the growing season ends, an opportunity to save money arrives. Many of your plants can easily be propagated by taking stem cuttings and rooting them in water. Coleus, sweet potato vine, verbena, and begonia are examples of some of the plants you can carry over as small rooted cuttings and save a bundle of money next spring when it’s time to plant the flower garden again.

For all the gardeners who like to mow year-round, this is the time to over-seed your bermuda grass lawn with perennial rye for winter color. It is also the time to seed fescue in shady areas of your lawn. A number of great blends of cool-season grasses are on the shelves at your local lawn and garden store. For full-sun areas I would encourage you to use perennial rye as your seed, as it will die back next June when it gets hot and the bermuda will take over again. Fescue is a bit more persistent and will look spotty in the lawn; it is best-suited as a permanent grass in shady areas.

If you would like to ask a question about your lawn, landscape or gardens, email me at algardens@cox.net