Gardening This Weekend: November 3, 2016

My hope is that you’ll at least scroll through these time-sensitive tasks to stay ahead of the gardening game.

PLANT:

• Pansies into raised beds or large patio pots. Use loose, highly organic planting soil to ensure perfect drainage. Smaller-flowering types such as violas give the best bed display.
• Pinks, ornamental cabbage and kale, snapdragons, stocks and other cold-hardy annuals.
• Finish digging and dividing spring-blooming perennials immediately.
• Daffodils and grape hyacinths directly into garden. Tulips and Dutch hyacinths must have 45 days at 45 degrees, then must be planted into garden by last two weeks of December. That “pre-chilling” must begin soon in order for bulbs to be ready for planting on time.

PRUNE:

• Dead or damaged branches from trees while they can be identified from healthy limbs. As leaves drop the differences become less obvious. Hire a certified arborist if you’re unsure or if the job is too difficult.
• Dead stubble from perennial gardens to keep them tidy.
• Mow lawn at recommended height until frost. Collect fallen leaves as you mow. Use them in the compost pile or as mulch around your perennials.

FERTILIZE:

• Cool-season annual color with dilute solution of high-nitrogen, water-soluble plant food. Repeat each time that you water.
• Ryegrass and fescue with high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen granular food. Water immediately after feeding.

 

ON THE LOOKOUT:

• Brown patch is rampant. It causes unusual circular patches in St. Augustine turf. Grass blades pull loose easily from runners. Treat with labeled turf fungicide as soon as you see it.
• Watch for stinging caterpillars on leaves this time of year. Be alert when working with fallen tree leaves. Snakes may have crawled into them. (That’s another good reason for running the leaves through the mower and bagging the clippings to use as mulch or in the compost.)
• Last call for applying a glyphosate-only herbicide to kill grass and weeds in areas where you want to establish a garden or landscape bed over the winter. Let your local nursery professional show you the product options.