fall gardening for success - mcgill universityfall plantings: perennials • why? • many actually...
TRANSCRIPT
Fall Gardening for Success
Health and Wellbeing Lecture Series
Christie Lovat
12:15-1:15 MS 2-084
Outline
• Fall plantings:
• perennials, annuals, bulbs, and vegetables.
• Fall care:
• Pruning, transplanting, lawn care and more.
• Putting things to bed:
• Fertilizer, mulches and pest prevention.
• Conclusions
Fall Plantings
Fall Plantings: Annuals
• Why?
• To have flowers when all others may have died.
• Seeding for next year.
• Many species do best when seeds overwinter in the ground.
Fall Plantings: Annuals• Which species:
• Flowers:• Chrysanthemums
• (not actually an annual…)
• Ornamental Kale
• Pansies
• Verbena
• Snapdragons
• Seeds:• Mallow
• Ornamental peas
• Pansies
• Snapdragons
• Ornamental cabbages
Fall Plantings: Perennials
• Why?• Many actually do best when planted in
the fall• Fall: Warm soil and wet conditions.
• Spring: Cold soil and dry summer conditions.
• Spring planting as an artifact of annual planting.
• Exceptions?• Plants which flower in fall.
• Flowering restricts root growth.
• Remove flowers and buds to get around this!
• Species that do well in the fall:• Maple• Astilbe• Daylily• Hosta• Peony• Phlox• Hens and Chicks• Hydrangea
• Species that do well in the spring:• Birch• Helleborus• Magonlia• Rhododendrons
Fall Plantings: Perennials
Fall Plantings: Bulbs
• Why?
• The cold of winter is actually what activates flower production in the bulb!
• When:
• Bulbs actually need time to form roots underground before frost.
• Earlier is better.
• How:
• For best results, use a bulb boosting fertilizer.
More Bulbs
• Pull out tender bulbs in the fall:• Cannas
• Dahlias
• Gladioli
• When frost causes leaves to die, but ground is not frozen.
• Store in a cold location (like a cellar) in dry peat moss in a paper bag.
• Bag: allows bulb to breath.
• Peat moss: keeps bulb dry,
Fall Plantings: Vegetables
• Fall Harvests:
• Many plants actually taste better when grown in cold conditions.
• Plant in August to harvest before frost.
• Some NEED a frost.
• Brussels Sprouts.
• Bulbs for Next Spring:
• Some vegetables need more than one season to develop.
Fall Plantings: Vegetables
• Species for Fall Harvest:
• Lettuce
• Radish
• Rutabaga/Turnip
• Beets
• Cabbage
• Cauliflower
• Bulbs to Sow in the Fall:
• Onion
• Garlic
Fall Care
Cutting Back Perennials
• To cut or not to cut?
• Personal preference.
• Easier to manage.
• May slightly harm plants
• Developing seed heads:
• Always cut.
Transplanting and Dividing
• Good time to move or divide many perennials:
• Only exception: fall blooming plants.
• Why divide?• Root systems of perennials become crowded
over the years.
• How to tell if a plant needs to be divided:
• Doesn’t bloom as well as it used to.• All growth is on outer edges.
• Some perennials should ONLY be moved in fall:
• Peonies• Clematis
Pruning
• Most plants have an optimal pruning time.
• Pruning outside of this time can cause:
• Disease
• No flowers next season
• Death
• When to prune determined by:
• When flowers are formed by plant.
• When disease is most easily spread.
Pruning
• No pruning of perennials should occur within the last 6 weeks of fall before frost.
• Plants pruned after frost:
• Fruit trees
• Deciduous trees
• Butterfly bush
• Berry bushes
• Grapes
Tree Care
• New trees are very vulnerable their first winter:
• Plastic guard to protect winter feeding of animals.
• Paint trunk white.
• Sun reflecting off snow can cause trunks to split!
• Shrubs can also need winter animal protection.
• May need to use a wire cage.
Rose Care
• After frost:
• To prune or not to prune?
• Mulch around the base of the plant.
• 8 inches thick.
• Cover with a Styrofoam container:
• Even better, surround the plants with wire mesh containers and fill the interior with leaves.
• Inverted garbage cans can also work!
Putting Things to Bed
Pest Prevention
• Turn your garden soil:
• Weed seeds overwinter on the soil surface.
• Many insect pests survive the winter just below the soil surface.
Disease Prevention
• Many diseases survive the winter in infected dead leaves on the soil:
• Black spot of roses
• All dead material should be cleaned from the garden.
• Especially if you’ve had disease issues during the year.
Fertilizer
• Summer fertilizers promote flower and leaf growth.
• Have lots of nitrogen and potassium.
• Fall fertilizers:
• Promote root growth.
• Helps plants survive the winter.
• Have lots of phosphorus.
• How can you tell what your fertilizer has?
• N-P-K
• Central number indicates phosphorus.
Lawn Care
• Two different applications of fertilizer in the fall:
• Early September:
• High Nitrogen fertilizer to help grass recover from drought.
• Late October – Early November:
• High phosphorus fertilizer to promote root growth.
• Helps grass tolerate winter.
Mulches
• Help protect the surface of your soil during the winter.
• Don’t need to spend loads of money:
• Fallen tree leaves from the fall make a great mulch!
• In the spring, rake them out or dig them under the soil to compost.
Conclusions
Fall Care
• Excluding these things won’t kill your garden.
• … but practicing them will have a positive effect.
• Use what works for you.
Thank You.