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  • From: "Tradingpost" <tradingpost@gilanet.com>
  • To: livingontheland@lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [Livingontheland] Fwd: High Country Gardens-Fall Gardening Tasks-Oct04
  • Date: Tue, 05 Oct 2004 00:24:56 -0600


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On 10/4/2004 at 7:00 PM Xeriscape Gardening News
<newsletter@highcountrygardens.com wrote:

Xeriscape Gardening News
from
High Country Gardens
Issue #59 - October 2004
David Salman, Chief Horticulturist

--------------------------------------------------------------
Welcome to our Monthly E-Zine.

For live links to plants and products mentioned in the articles,
use the web version of this newsletter found at:
http://highcountrygardens.com/nl/nl59.html

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In this Issue:

Tasks in the Fall Garden
Dead-heading and Cutting Back
Plant Combination
Garden Glossary
Our Flowering Bulbs Story

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Tasks in the Fall Garden
by Mary Ann Walz and Cindy Bellinger

It's amazing how cluttered a garden can look this time of year.
Flowers are spent. Stalks are brown. Stems are bare, and leaves
are falling everywhere. Gardens are closing up now, and it's a
time to get ready for winter. And this year it could be sooner
than usual.

Fall Clean-up
** After a hard freeze, perennials and deciduous tree typically
drop their leaves. These should be cleaned up if you've had insect
problems.

** Don't be too hasty in cutting off the stems of perennials and
shrubs. Many plants over-winter more successfully with stems left
intact. They provide energy reserves for the root system and also
catch blowing snow that helps insulate a plant. Wait until spring
to cut back.

Taking a Look
** With leaves and flowers gone autumn presents us with a skeletal
garden. Are there bare spots that need some attention? If so,
now is a good time to plant perennials. Planted in the fall, they
have a chance to get their roots going and come spring that bare
spot is teeming with green. Or maybe that bare spot is perfect
for a birdbath or some whimsical statue.

Repairs
** Does a planting bed need repair? Now is a good time to get out
the mortar and chink up stone walls. Or level out wooden beds
that have settled a bit. With the maroon leaves of the Virginia
Creeper gone now you can see indeed the gate it was crawling on is
sagging a bit. Now is the time to make things right.


Preparing for Winter
Gardeners living in colder areas should be winterizing
now—preparing gardens for cold temperatures, heavy snows and
drying winds. If you live in warmer climates, you might be able to
wait as late as December. Following are some simple guidelines
for wrapping up this season's garden.

** Bring houseplants inside that have summered in the garden or
patio. Repot any that have outgrown their containers.

** Drain garden pools and birdbaths if you don't keep a heater in
them. Remove water plants; seal root ball in garbage bag and store
in a cool garage. Also, drain and store garden hoses.

** Install simple windbreaks to protect new plantings from winter
weather. Anything that encourages snow accumulation will help
provide excellent protection against low temperature or drying
winds.

** Clean garden tools so they will be ready for next season. There
is nothing like starting out with clean trowels. A good solution
is 3 parts sand to 1 part oil; the sand cleans, the oil prevents
rust.

** Store seeds, fertilizer and garden chemicals in a place they
will not freeze.

Other Fall Tasks
** Mulching—this is used to enhance appearance, conserve moisture
and maintain warm soil temperatures longer in the fall to allow
for increased root growth. It also reduces frost heave and delays
early spring growth that could be damaged by late spring freezes.

** Fertilizing—winterizing fertilizers promote root development.
Recommended products are Yum Yum Mix, Planters II, and for newly
planted perennials use Superthrive root stimulator.

** Watering—deep soakings up until the soil freezes should be
continued every 3-4 weeks.

** Pruning—most pruning is best done in late winter or early
spring. You can start pruning when trees go dormant and lose their
leaves. Do not prune evergreens or spring-flowering shrubs during
the fall.


Tasks done during the fall help your garden come back healthier
and happier next spring.

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Dead-heading and Cutting Back
By Mary Ann Walz

Deadheading and cutting back are two pruning methods most
frequently applied to perennials and annuals. They are also
applicable to shrubs and vines, especially those that are
flowering.

Dead-heading
Depending on the hardness of the stem, dead-heading is the removal
of declining flowers from a plant with:
** fingers
** scissors
** hand pruners

Dead-heading prevents a plant from setting seed or producing
fruit, and in many cases encourages the plant to produce more
flowers. As an added benefit, deadheading makes plants appear
tidier.

The most straightforward way to deadhead is to remove only the
faded flowers. Once all the flowers on a stem have been removed,
then cut the stem back to a bud or leaf or to its base if it's
leafless like a daylily. A variation of deadheading is
disbudding, which is the removal of smaller flower buds. This
concentrates a plant's energy on the remaining flowers. There
won't be as many flowers but those that remain will be larger.

Exceptions to dead-heading are when you want to produce fruit or
seed or even leave an attractive seedhead to remain for winter
interest. Some of the more interesting seedheads belong to the
Echinaceas and some of the hips of some roses. Also, seeds left
on plants are often used as food by birds and small critters.

Cutting Back
This term refers to the removal of part of a plant's top growth.
The amount removed depends on the type of plant, time of year, and
intended result.

** In spring, cutting back is done to remove the dead growth from
the previous season. Generally, a perennial is cut back to a few
inches above the ground. Shrubs may be cut back by about 1/3 if
they have summer blooms. Spring blooming shrubs would have blooms
on the growth from the previous season so they should not be cut
back until the bloom is finished.

** In summer, perennials and annuals are often cut back to
encourage a more dense bloom and less height in the plant. For
example, the chrysanthemums in nurseries have very dense blooms
because they have been cut back; contrast these to many
chrysanthemums in the garden which were not cut back.

** In the fall, some perennials are cut back in preparation for
winter. Other perennials can wait for cutting back until next
spring. As a general rule, if a plant has interesting or strong
enough stems that will not collapse or be damaged under the weight
of snow, they could be left intact until next spring. If the
plant has weak stems, then it may be best to cut it back in the
fall.

Almost all plants benefit from some type of pruning so don't be
afraid to venture out with your garden clippers. Your plants will
benefit and your garden will be prettier as a result.

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Plant Combination
This month we're featuring a spring blooming tulip that goes
perfectly with a groundcover.

Veronica oltensis Thyme-leaf Speedwell is a favorite in rock
gardens, between flagstones in the patio or as a slow growing but
long-lived groundcover. It has tiny dark green leaves like a
creeping thyme, but when this Speedwell comes into bloom it bursts
into hundreds of small azure blue flowers. A tough plant with
evergreen foliage, it is native to the high altitudes in the
rugged mountains of Turkey. Zones 4-9.

Tulipa batalinii 'Bright Gem' is a stunning tulip that blooms
mid-spring and grows from 4-6" tall. This fragrant beauty, with
its softly colored sulfur yellow flowers is a vigorous grower,
quickly forming small colonies in just a few years. Zones 3-8.

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Garden Glossary — Terms defined for the beginning gardener.

Pruning: This is the removal of dead, damaged or unwanted
branches on trees, shrubs and vines. On large trees, trim limbs
back to the main trunk or large branch. Late winter is when most
pruning is done or when the sap isn't moving. Pruning helps shape
plants and helps direct growth as in fruit trees.

Deep watering: This is thoroughly soaking a plant so the roots
get a good watering.

Inflorescence: This is the arrangement of blossoms on a stem and
can refer to flowers growing in clusters or individually.

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Our Flowering Bulbs Story

Our gardening philosophy of "less fuss, more flowers" continues to
guide our selection of bulbs. The varieties we offer continue to
bloom and spread year after year.

After carefully selecting bulbs for our catalog, our brokers in
Holland secure the crops from the farmers. At harvest time, the
bulbs are graded by size and the largest bulbs (most floriferous)
are sent to fulfill our order. Then a lengthy process of
cleaning, crating, and rigorous agricultural inspection begins.
Finally, the bulbs are shipped to us in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

The growing conditions were exceptional in Holland for this year's
crop. The bulbs are now stored in our temperature controlled
warehouses, and they are fabulous—firm, healthy, and ready to
package. This is the year to integrate beautiful spring flowering
bulbs into your home landscape.

View Our Bulb Selections
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/shop/index.html
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Fall Planting

There is still time to get a jump-start on your spring garden in
USDA zones 5-10 by planting our high quality, fully rooted
perennials and shrubs from High Country Gardens.

Fall is an ideal time to get a big head start on next year's
growing season! It is a proven fact that fall planting gets
perennial flowers, shrubs and trees off to a faster, more vigorous
start the following spring.

Read our online article
"Growing the Roots is What Fall Planting is All About"
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/articles/growtheroots.html

Browse our catalog
http://www.highcountrygardens.com/shop/index.html


---
To send this newsletter to a friend, just forward this issue
to your fellow gardeners and they can subscribe by visiting
our website at http://www.highcountrygardens.com

Send comments, questions and reprint requests to the editor at:
feedback@highcountrygardens.com

Copyright 1998 - 2004
Santa Fe Greenhouses, Inc DBA
High Country Gardens

2902 Rufina Street
Santa Fe, NM 87507-2929
1-800-925-9387
plants@highcountrygardens.com

---
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  • [Livingontheland] Fwd: High Country Gardens-Fall Gardening Tasks-Oct04, Tradingpost, 10/05/2004

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