As the temperatures drop and the gardening season fades….. wait, WHAT?!?!?
Remind me, what is the date? What season is this? It’s October… in Minnesota… and it was 80 degrees yesterday, its supposed to be 85 degrees today, 80 degrees tomorrow, the day after tomorrow and the day after that. It’s pretty odd to have gorgeous fall color and 80 degree temps in Minnesota right now, but I’ll tell ya what, I’ll take it!
Honestly, when the cool weather hit a couple of weeks ago I was totally ready for fall. I absolutely love fall, but I also know what follows it, so if Mother Nature offers a few extra days of summer you won’t hear me complaining! I’ll be honest though, it’s kind of confusing. Ummm… what now? Should I be planting or doing fall clean-up? The answer would be BOTH!
Now is an ideal time to plant spring blooming bulbs like tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, grape hyacinths, scilla, crocus…. you get the picture. It’s also the perfect time to plant garlic!
Okay, so what if you’re really not into either of those and nice weather or not, you’re done gardening for the season? Then what? It’s really easy to call it quits this time of the year. A lot of people are just worn out and their gardens are “done”. As much as it is tempting to let things go, it’s incredibly important to continue watering trees, shrubs and perennials to help them prepare for winter.
Remember the Water, water, water! post back in June? Well, here we are again!
Trees, shrubs and perennials are the backbone of our yards. They provide structure, shade, protection from winter winds and “winter interest” and yet they also tend to blend into the background and get forgotten. I, for one, am guilty of taking them for granted and almost forget that they need attention, especially in the fall.
The past few weeks have been really dry and dry plants get stressed. Stressed plants have less of a chance of surviving the winter and a better chance of experiencing winter die-back. Water gives them strength, helps them better survive frost and winter temps.
So how late in the season should you water? Water until the ground is frozen (typically some time in November).
Seriously. Water until you can’t water any more, then put away the hoses and shut off the faucets. You’re plants will thank you.
Kate
Walnuts n Pears 