Growing Points

This is also the time to bring in your favorite annuals and perennial herbs for overwintering. Your herbs can be dug up and repotted for inside use all winter. Keep them in a high light environment but avoid drafts from heaters.

You can get the jump on next spring by taking cuttings from some of your favorite plants. Root them in soil, not water, in a low light environment. They will be ample size by next spring, with a well-established root system. Cuttings work especially well with ivy geranium, heliotrope, coleus and lantana.

If you have planned correctly, your garden displayed continuous bloom through out the growing season. If your garden missed this mark, you still have the fall to rearrange, rethink and improve your perennial garden. Autumn is not as busy in the garden in the springtime, but what is done or not done in the fall will have a great effect in the next growing season.

Transplanting and dividing perennials can be done successfully due to the cool days. The cooler days with less intense sunlight reduce stress on the plant, while the warm soils promote root growth. All types of perennials can be transplanted this time of year, but those that bloom in spring are the best ones to divide in the fall. Fall blooming perennials are best divided in the spring to avoid stressing the plant during its bloom cycle. September is the best time to complete this task for two reasons. Most importantly, transplanting in September gives the plant ample opportunity to establish new roots to anchor it in the ground and for access to winter moisture. Secondly, replanting in September after the annuals have died back from the first frost gives you more room to work in the garden. You are better able to see the lay out and distribution of your perennials.

September is also a good time to remove ailing plants, thin out aggressive plants and remove those plants you just plain don t like. Plants with good architectural form or interesting seed heads can be left to add winter interest in the garden.

To transplant perennials, use a shovel or a spading fork. Dig around the plant, outside the root zone and under the entire plant. Lift the plant out of the soil, retaining as much of the root system as possible. Keep the plants in cool, shaded area, with the roots covered if you are not ready to replant right away. To divide a perennial, use a sharp shovel or knife. Make a clean cut in the center of the clump. Larger clumps can be divided repeatedly as long as each division has 2 to 5 growing points and ample roots to support the foliage. Clumping perennials like daylilies may separate by merely pulling them apart.

Dig new holes larger than the root ball and backfill so that the crown of the plant (the area where the stem meets the root) is at soil levels. Gently tamp the soil after backfilling, just enough to set the plant. Keep the transplants watered until they are established. Water periodically through the winter in areas of low precipitation and sparse snow cover to avoid root desiccation and death.

When transplanting, remember that your rearrangement of plants in the garden should have a plan behind it. These plans might include, coordinating bloom times or bloom colors, creating complimentary texture or height schemes, or moving plants to a more favorable situation regarding light or water. Nurseries usually have perennials and shrubs on sale in the fall. For a reasonable price you can fill in those missing elements or consider adding something new to your garden just for fun.

Spring flowering bulbs are also available at local nurseries starting in September. Use bulbs to extend the bloom in your perennial garden, or to bring a bit of the garden indoors for winter.

The last step in preparing the garden for winter is the addition of mulch. Mulch is organic matter, such as chopped leaves, wood chips, or partially decomposed plant material, that is left on the soil surface. The purpose of fall mulching is to increase soil moisture retention, and reduce soil temperature fluctuations during the winter. The crowns of most perennials should not be buried under mulch, as this can promote crown rot. It also provides an overwintering site for insect and mammalian pests, which can then feed on the crowns of plants. Mulch should be applied after there have been several hard frosts and the plants are completely dormant for the winter. Monthly winter watering is very important. Apply water when the ground is not frozen, and pay special attention to microclimates in your landscape such as southern exposures, which can become very desiccated during bright winter days.

Sigh. Now, just relax and anticipate the coming of spring and your new improved garden display.

Good lawn care creates conditions that attract worms. Leaving grass clippings on the lawn after mowing is recommended by CSU because they break down quickly and encourage microorganisms and worms. The clippings also provide a free source of nitrogen, and recycling them rather than sending them off to a landfill is good for the environment. (See SIA 7.007 Eliminate grass clipping collection for EASY lawn mowing for more information.)

Having earthworms in your lawn is REALLY beneficial. People with lumpy lawn syndrome rarely have a problem with thatch in their lawns. Their lawns usually accept water well too, due to the natural aerification effect of the worms. Because of this, getting rid of the worms is not really desirable.

Using pesticides is not a good option as there are no labeled pesticides for earthworm control. Even the ones that are somewhat effective are short-lived in their effect. It seems that the worms may sense them and just go deeper into the soil until the insecticide is degraded.

Allow your lawn to dry between waterings. A consistently moist soil surface encourages worms to cast upon the surface. Dry surface conditions are not favored by worms.

Heavy rolling of a moist lawn in the spring, when the soil is more easily compacted, can result in significant smoothing. This is a good option, despite the potential for compaction. Rolling should be followed by core cultivation to relieve excessive compaction.

Vertical mowing is another option. Set the vertical mower (dethatcher) low enough to shave off the tops of earthworm mounds. This is more effective if the soil is slightly on the dry side, but not completely dry.

It is to your advantage to work with your worms rather than try to eliminate them.

To force spring blooming bulbs you will need to expose them to winter-like temperatures between 33F and 45F for up to 15 weeks. An unheated garage or garden shed provides the right temperatures. Protect bulbs from temperature fluctuation by covering the pots with straw or newspaper. Modern houses are too warm for cooling bulbs, but if you are lucky enough to live in a drafty old house you might be able to find an enclosed porch, cold attic or root cellar to use. The refrigerator works well, it keeps the temperature right at 40F but the air is dry. I put my pots inside a large resealable plastic bag and close it part way. I check on it once a week to make sure that it hasn't dried out.

Each bulb contains the flower bud and enough food to produce the flower, so they don t need to be planted in soil when forced. Bulbs are traditionally planted in gravel or sand for forcing, as all they really need is support for their roots and sun and water to produce a bloom. Planted this way, they exhaust their energy and must be thrown away after flowering, they will not bloom another year. When planted in potting soil and fertilized lightly, many bulbs can be planted out in the garden after flowering. It will take a year or two but they can recover and bloom again. This is worth trying with all but tulips and hyacinths.

Any spring blooming bulb can be forced, but the easiest are tulips, daffodils, crocus, hyacinths, grape hyacinths and the small rock garden iris, Iris reticulata (not to be confused with the tall blooming border iris). Blooms of the smaller bulbs will last longer if they are kept in a cool location.

When purchasing bulbs, look for varieties marked good for forcing . Tall tulips and daffodils get too floppy, look for more compact cultivars. You will have the best luck with high quality bulbs. Rather than buying prepackaged bulbs, look in garden centers that carry bulbs in bulk, displayed in large bins. Buy large, firm bulbs that are free of mold and damage. Buy your bulbs early in the season for the best selection and quality. Plant bulbs in shallow pots, at least 3-4 inches deep. Use good quality commercial potting soil, clean gravel, marbles, perlite or sand. Plant with the pointy end up, the tips just sticking up out of the soil. Tulips have a flat side, plant this facing the sides of the pot. A large leaf grows out of the flat side of the bulb and this way it will gracefully hang over the side of the pot.

Cold-conditioned hyacinths can be forced in an hourglass-shaped glass filled with water. Several local nurseries carry conditioned bulbs. Hyacinths have such a strong sweet scent that a single bulb in flower will perfume your entire house.

If after forcing you want to plant your bulbs outside for more years of bloom, you will need to let the foliage ripen, which means letting it dry out. It will turn brown and ugly, but this must happen to allow the bulb to restore its energy. Leave it in bright, cool light as it ripens and gradually taper off the amount of water it receives.

I plant a pot of tulip Princess Irene every fall and enjoy the streaky orange and purple blooms in the spring. Apricot Beauty tulips also force beautifully. Some of the smaller daffodils like Hawera and Tete a Tete force well and can then be planted in the garden for later bloom. Try planting several small pots of 6-8 bulbs and when they bloom, combine them in a larger basket for a striking arrangement.

With only a little forethought and preparation, you can enjoy bright spring bulbs blooming safely indoors next winter and spring.