Falling into Fall gardening

Wed. Sep. 11, 2019

Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Falling into Fall gardening

It’s a week of changes as the kids are back in school, the air has turned a bit crisper and our summer flowers are spent. I’ve got a maple tree that’s already mostly turned – however it IS a stressed tree that I’ll be losing next year, and that adds to the quick change.

9-8-19
This is why this tree is stressed. It was planted too deep and is rotting inside…
Red maple 9-8-19 – this is 25 ft from the other maple

My container plantings that looked so wonderful are now kinda wilting, the petunias are pooped and the other annuals needed freshening. Which meant out they go!

 

I purchased a few more mums (these will then be placed in my nursery bed for next year) I also bought a beautiful celosia and some other varied annuals to update my containers.

My porch mum
Always buy the plant that has lots of buds and few flowers… you’ll get longer enjoyment out of it
This is one that I overwintered in my vegetable garden

On an earlier video I did with my intern, Gracie, I told you about my gorgeous bougainvillea from a nearby nursery and how it looked spent. I had never tried pruning and renovating this beautiful plant, but I gave it a whirl

9-5-19 bougainvillea new growth after I pruned it!

The part about the bougainvillea starts at about 1:01….

As mentioned earlier, now is a good time to plant trees and shrubs and not just because they’re on sale! The soil is still warm but the air is cooler making it easier for those larger plants to take transplanting.

I replaced a dogwood shrub with this new Hydrangea Seaside Serenade  ‘Martha’s Vineyard’

This hydrangea will grow to 3 1/2 ft with a width of 3 ft.

Hydrangea Seaside Serenade ‘Martha’s Vineyard’

Now is also a good time to journal. Think about the things that worked, the things that didn’t, what diseases you’ve seen, like me, my tomatoes got septoria leaf spot. It’s unfortunately a common malady, especially with all the damp weather we’ve had. 

Septoria leafspot

I happily noticed fewer Japanese Beetles, at least in my yard, but I did take action last Fall. But still, I had some. They LOVE roses…

This is a good time to put down grub control. If you’re going to use this method, don’t wait…