Fall is for planting! Get shrubs, perennials and trees into the ground this month. Winter rains will help develop a strong root system.
Look to plant cyclamen in early November. It’s also a great time to plant ground covers and sweet peas.
Think fall & winter color: Violas and pansies are perfect for creating mass color in containers or flowerbeds. Available in a variety of hues, they are a terrific ground cover to plant over bulbs in pots or in the ground. For a hardy alternative, consider planting ornamental cabbage and kale.
Prepare planting beds for winter. Clear weeds and rocks. Till soil and add soil amendments.
Wreaths and garlands will arrive at our stores soon. Cut trees and Poinsettias arrive the week of Thanksgiving.
Harvest your vegetables.
Top-dress perennial beds, azaleas, camellias, and rhododendrons with Sloat Forest Mulch Plus and feed with E.B. Stone Ultra Bloom fertilizer monthly until bloom.
Store away and clean any unused pots and containers that can be used as hiding places by overwintering insects, slugs and spiders.
It’s time to fill your bird feeders for winter. Try a suet feeder!
Clean up dead leaves, deadhead flowering plants; diseased leaves should go in the garbage, the rest can go in the compost pile.
Mulch with compost or Sloat Forest Mulch to amend the soil and keep down weeds.
Pull weeds before they have a chance to drop seeds. After it rains, weed seeds, (including grass weeds), will germinate in 5 to 10 days. Applying Preen Natural Weed Control (composed of corn gluten) is a safe and non-toxic way to prevent weeds from sprouting. Apply after rain in your planting beds and other areas where weeds are not wanted.
If you need to move perennials and shrubs between now and January. Prune back lightly first to prevent shock and account for lost roots.
Bait for slugs and snails with Sluggo or Sluggo Plus.
Fertilize cymbidiums with Grow More Orchid Bloom Food.
Fertilize blue hydrangeas with E.B. Stone True Blue or Espoma Soil Acidifier now for bluer blooms. Treat with Agricultural Lime to turn hydrangeas pink.
Fertilize winter color with a blooming plant food (primrose, cyclamen) such as Maxsea 3-20-20.
Continue to fertilize citrus with E.B. Stone Organics Citrus Food or Down To Earth Citrus Mix.
Clean and store tools; rub down with alcohol after each use. Grease with white lithium grease to prevent rust. Store shovels and saws in a bucket of sand with a little oil (5 parts sand to 1 part oil).
If frost is imminent, be sure to water your garden (if it hasn’t rained recently).
Kill overwintering insects and their eggs and prevent disease. Use Bonide All Seasons Oil and Monterey Liqui-Cop when roses and fruit trees have lost their leaves.
Ensure houseplants are not exposed to heat sources. Increase humidity by placing on pebble filled saucers.
