Chores to do now for a beautiful garden next year
As the gardening season winds down, so does the amount of time we spend in our beds and borders. There are, however, chores to do now that will help your landscape get off to a great start next spring.
A common question gardeners ask themselves in the fall is whether or not to cut back perennials. It's always advisable to remove any plants that showed signs of pests or disease. Plants like phlox, bee balm, and peonies are especially susceptible to fungal diseases so check these carefully and remove any affected stems, stalks and leaves. Do not add this plant material to your compost pile.
It is best not to cut back plants with basal foliage like coral bells, penstemon, lady's mantle and lamb's ears. Their low, mounded foliage acts as a warm blanket. Spare the pruners on plants with evergreen foliage, too, like dianthus, ajuga, sedges, and candytuft. In spring, you can remove any damaged or unattractive foliage to clear the way for new growth.
Houseplants should come in before nighttime temperatures are consistently below 50 degrees. Inspect all plants for pests trying to hitch a ride inside. Consider hosing plants down with water before bringing them in, or if you see signs of insects, use insecticidal soap. Don't worry if your plants lose some leaves as they adjust to their new environment of lower light and humidity.
Annual plants like marigolds, zinnias, and impatiens should be removed after the first hard frost has blackened their foliage. Leaving them in the garden will invite pests and disease to overwinter in their remains.
Look around the garden and note which plants appear straggly, tired, or otherwise unattractive. If the matted day lily or daisy foliage looks pathetic, cut them down to the ground. It's all a matter of aesthetics and each gardener's need for tidiness.
Stand back and assess what might be interesting to look at in the winter and leave it be. If, while you're looking, you don't see anything interesting, make a note of spaces you'd like to improve and spend some time in winter planning. We should all aim for four seasons of interest in our landscapes.
Ornamental grasses, black-eyed Susans and sedum are just a few of the perennials that are beautiful all winter long. The seed heads of coneflowers provide food for the birds.
Cleaning up some of that messy foliage will make it easier to tackle another fall chore — weeding. Removing as many weeds as possible now will greatly reduce this tedious task in the spring. Afterward, water well and add a couple inches of mulch.
To give plants like roses, new transplants, or marginally hardy perennials some extra winter protection, wait until the ground freezes to apply a mulch of shredded leaves or evergreen boughs to blanket them. Roses benefit from a mound of soil — 8 to 12 inches deep — around their base. Wait to prune until spring.
Continue to water evergreens and newly planted specimens until the ground freezes if Mother Nature doesn't provide it. They will fare much better through their first winter in your landscape when well watered.
The roots of dahlias, cannas and begonias can be lifted for winter storage after the first hard frost and stored for winter. Cut back the foliage from the tuberous roots, brush off excess soil, allow them to dry for a couple of days, then store in a cool, dark, frost-free place in peat moss or vermiculite.
Once your fall chores are completed, do your tools a favor by cleaning, sharpening and storing them properly. Store hoses and fragile pots that may succumb to winter's freeze and thaw cycles.
Dig in, enjoy fall crisp cool temperatures, and get a head start of a beautiful garden next spring.
Ÿ Diana Stoll is a horticulturist and the retail manager at The Planter's Palette, 28W571 Roosevelt Road, Winfield. Call (630) 293-1040 or visit planterspalette.com.