Gardening This Weekend: October 13, 2022
With delightful weather in the days ahead, here are things you’ll want to get done.
PLANT
• Pansies, violas, snapdragons, pinks and ornamental cabbage and kale for winter color.
• Spring-flowering perennials should be dug and divided now. List includes violets, oxalis, candyturf, thrift, iris, daylilies, Shasta daisies, coneflowers and many more.
• Ryegrass seed can still be sown for green turf in winter (but not if you applied pre-emergent herbicide last month).
• If you are in a cooler part of Texas where you are growing fescue for turf, overseed at half the rate for new lawns. Annual fall overseedings will keep the turf thick and dense.
• Trees and shrubs. Fall planting gives them months to establish new roots before summer.
PRUNE
• Dead and damaged branches from oaks and other trees before they shed their leaves for winter. Those branches are heavy, and they will eventually break from their own weight. They can do substantial damage when they come down.
• Remove spent flower stalks and browned foliage from perennials.
• Mow to remove fallen leaves. Bag to be able to put them into the compost or use as mulch beneath shrubs and around perennials. Do not send them to the landfill.
• Trim and reshape patio plants and hanging baskets before bringing them into the house or greenhouse for the winter.
FERTILIZE
• New pansies and other winter color plants with water-soluble, high-nitrogen food for quickest start.
• Fescue turf with high-nitrogen or all-nitrogen fertilizer. It grows in fall’s cooler weather.
ON THE LOOKOUT
• Inspect houseplants you’ve been keeping on patio or under shade trees closely. Look for insects they may be harboring before you bring the plants indoors for winter.
• Check weatherstripping, vents and other openings to be sure they won’t allow insects and even mice to get into your house. With the drought foundations have shifted and cracks have developed.
• Lay in your supply of frost cloth to have it on hand for the next round of extreme cold. It suddenly becomes very hard to find when you really need it.
• Most tree and shrub pests will not justify spraying this late in the growing season. That’s especially true for deciduous species that are about to lose all their leaves anyway.