Click below to listen to my 2 min. Garden Bite radio show: Last chance to plant
The kids are back in school, the sweatshirts are out of storage and we’re gearing up for Fall.
I love this time of year. The crisp air, great sleeping weather, the color changes of leaves… and the last opportunity to plant some trees, shrubs and perennials!
- If you plant through this month, water the plants well, they still have time to establish their roots.
- Always work in some compost when planting
- Never plant too deep
- You can put a two inch layer of mulch but no more than that. AFTER the ground has frozen , you can add a few more inches of mulch to help control any heaving from frost. What that means is when temperatures fluctuate, the soil tends to move, sometimes, your newly planted purchases can then be lifted out of the ground and their roots can be injured. So, you wait until the ground has frozen, which is generally in early December and then add about 3 more inches of mulch.
When the soil starts to warm up, usually in early April, lift some of that mulch to allow the sun to get to the plants.
Shredded leaves work well for mulch as does grass clippings, pine needles, wood chips and shredded newspaper. If you have a paper shredder, you can use that as well. Be sure to wet down the shredded paper and put down some heavier material to hold down the paper.
I’m excited because I planted a new Elderberry called Black Tower to replace a vine that attracted WAY too many Japanese Beetles.
Check out my new video on Perennial Planting tips. I’ll link you to it from gardenbite dot com. Please subscribe, like, share and comment on the video!
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