TIMELY GARDEN TIPS FROM
OVER THE GARDEN FENCE

October 2, 2004

This autumn we have enjoyed more great gardening days than most green thumbers can remember. Day after day of sunny, clear weather extended the growing season and allowed for more ripe tomatoes and time for tending our gardens. But earlier sundown and cooler nights are signs enough that Southwest Michigan's growing season is about over. As the annual bedding plants begin to decline and the burning bush in the side yard begins to turn red, we see the warning signs that we had better be about completing our autumn garden projects.

Since this is our last visit Over the Garden Fence for 2004, I'll spend extra time sharing with you tips that will make your garden and landscape excel next spring.

First, let's discuss perennial gardens. Now is the time to cut down all dormant perennial flower and leaf stems that have turned from their normal green. Leave stems six inches tall to help catch and hold snow. Next, and most important, feed perennial plants now. A great fertilizer mix that works very well in Joyce's perennial garden is as follows; mix well in a half bushel size container, ten pounds of composted cow manure, one cup of bone meal, and five cups of Plant Tone. Apply one cup of the mix around each medium size plant. Scratch in three inches deep. This is a sure formula for healthy, strong blooming perennial plants next year.

Now is the best time of year to fertilize deciduous shade trees. In October and November before the soil freezes, trees expand their root systems and store up energy for next spring's growth. Homeowners who value their trees should give them some care this autumn. I recommend using Tree Tone fertilizer around every tree. This is my proven method; pour one-half cup of Tree Tone in holes two feet apart under the tree. Drill feeding holes in three circles, one at the dripline, one five feet beyond, and another five feet inside the dripline. Use a tree feeding auger attached to a cordless drill to speed up the task. After feeding trees, irrigate them with two inches of water.

Feeding rose bushes in the late autumn is the secret for more vigorous plants and blooms next season. Fertilize rose bushes the first week in November with one-third cup Super Phosphate and five pounds of composted cow manure. Cultivate this mixture in three inches deep around each rosebush.

There is still time to make lawn improvements. If you suspect your lawn soil is too compact, bring samples into Wedel's Lawn Turf Experts for testing. Compact lawn soil will be greatly improved by running a coring machine over the turf and then applying gypsum and Clay Soil Conditioner. Be sure to irrigate lawn with 2 to 2 1/2 inches of water 24 to 36 hours before coring.

Lawn owners who haven't applied a grub control yet this fall should do so very soon. Grubs have hatched and are now munching on grass roots. Heavy feeding will result in thin and bare spots next spring. Get complete grub control within two days with Dylox. Dylox Grub Control is easy to apply with a spreader and should be watered in immediately.

When the snow finally disappears from the lawn in March, many homeowners are dismayed by the mole damage to their lawns. When the ground is not frozen under the security of deep snow, moles begin to plow up your favorite turf. To avoid winter mole damage to lawns and flower gardens, I suggest applying Repellex Mole Repellent soon. I have found one application of Repellex to give me four to five months of mole relief in our yard.

Want a weed-free lawn next spring? If so, kill perennial and bi-annual broadleaf weeds now. One spray of Weed-Out broadleaf weed killer in October will assure you of a dandelion-free lawn next spring.

As the tree leaves fall on lawns, be sure to remove them quickly or pulverize them with a mulching lawn mower before they smother grass and cause bare spots. MSU research show that tree leaves, when chopped fine, may be left on the lawn. Sharpening the mower blades will help to grind the leaves finer. Take care that the pulverized leaves do not cover the grass blades entirely.

Homeowners that experienced snow mold damage last winter in their lawn should be ready to take preventative measures. Both pink and gray snow mold can damage turf when temperatures range from 32 to 50 degrees and the grass is damp, usually from November through April. Prevention of snow mold is the best way to control it. First, ferilize turf with Scotts Super Winterizer. Mow the lawn late into the fall if it is still growing; never allow the grass blades to remain long going into the winter. Tall grass will mat under snow loads, which encourages snow mold. Set your mower for the last autumn mowing in November at 1 1/4 to 1 1/2 inches.

Two fungicides applied alternately whenever thawing conditions allow will prevent snow mold damage. The first spray should be Halt Systemic Fungicide applied in mid-November. The second should be Banner sprayed on turf in December. Repeat these sprays in late February or early March.

One last thing about lawn care, remember the most important feeding of the year is to fertilize in the autumn. If Super Winterizer hasn't been applied, do it now!

This week's MSU Landscape Alert has a great reminder that all homeowners should note. Our late summer drought has created a critical need for irrigation for landscape trees and shrubs. Soil moisture is decreasing each day we go without rain. Late season moisture stress can impact the ability of trees and shrubs to reabsorb mineral nutrients and translocate photosynthates to storage before leaf fall. One or two good, long soakings can help your trees and shrubs to better acclimate for winter. This is especially true for plants planted this year and have not established their root systems as well as older plantings. Other plants around your landscape can serve as an indicator of when trees and shrubs could use a drink. If you notice perennials such as hostas beginning to wilt, your trees are likely under stress as well.

For conifers, drooping leaders are an indicator they need water. Lastly, don't underestimate the importance of mulch in conserving soil moisture. Mulch helps insulate the soil and protects roots during early cold snaps.

A great project today would be to remove most all vegetables from the garden. Squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplant, and melons will all deteriorate quickly if left out much longer. Cool, damp weather spells the end for these tender fruits. Potatoes can rot if soil becomes moisture laden. After harvesting, I recommend going over the garden with a rotary mower to shred the vines. Next, rototill in any compost that is ready along with composted cow manure, gypsum, and lime, if needed. After rototilling, overseed the vegetable garden with field rye. The field rye will protect the soil all winter, and when worked into the soil next spring, will increase the organic content of the soil.

We have discussed this year the danger that the alien Garlic Mustard plant invasion poses to our Michigan native landscape and gardens. In some woodlands, dense stands of garlic mustard in the spring threaten showy spring blooming wildflowers like spring beauty, trillium, and trout lilies. Other research points toward negative impacts on timber species and forest health. Many homeowners and managers consider it to be one of the most potentially harmful and difficult to control invasive plants in the region.

Garlic mustard reproduces only by seed. Most seeds germinate within the first or second year after being produced, but can remain viable in the soil seed bank for up to five years.

Individual plants produce from 350 to 7,900 seeds and grow to three to four feet in height. Once garlic mustard has established an invasion front -- several years of flowering plants -- the goal is to prevent further seed set until the seed bank is exhausted, a period of up to five years. Depending on the site characteristics and infestation level, pulling, cutting, and applying herbicide will be required.

Because garlic mustard plants grow well in autumn, it can be controlled with sprays of Kill-Zall at this time. Every gardener and landowner should be able to identify garlic mustard and do all they can to control this pest.

Now is the time to begin applying rabbit and deer repellents to plants susceptible to winter feeding. Laws banning hunting in some localities have increased deer damage to landscape and native plants tremendously. Both deer and rabbits begin to browse on woody plants after the first hard frost. I recommend Repellex Deer and Rabbit Repellent to protect valuable plants. Repellex can be purchased as a concentrate and applied with any compression hand sprayer or mixed in a ready-to-use sprayer. For best protection, spray now, in mid-December, and again in February.

For gardeners, autumn is best known as the season to plant spring flowering bulbs. Hyacinths, crocus, scillas, tulips, daffodils, alliums, grape hyacinths, anemone, narcissus, chiondoxa, iris reticulata, and so many more are all planted in the fall for spring enjoyment. Nearly everyone plants some tulip and daffodil bulbs every year and are always rewarded with great spring color. This year, increase and extend the spring show of blooms in your garden with some of the lesser-known flower bulbs available at Wedel's Garden Center.

Some of my favorite bulbs include:

* Narcissus Tete a' Tete is featured at Wedel's along with other popular miniature daffodils including February Gold, Jenny, Jetfire, Minnow, and Jack Snipe.

* Every autumn I plant a few Actea narcissus because they remind me of one of my mother's favorite flowers. Actea, along with Pheasant's Eye and Recurvus are Poeticus Narcissus. They are a bit of blooming history and are great for naturalizing.

* Chiondoxa, or Glory-of-the-Snow, is one of the first flowers to bloom each spring. Each stem of the chiondoxa has gentle blue flowers, each with a tiny white center.

* Iris Reticulata is another early bloomer. This miniature iris grows to about six inches and features blue or yellow flowers, creating a butterfly effect in the early spring garden, even blooming between drifts of snow.

* Some mid-season flowering bulbs include Scilla Siberica. These species grow four to six inches tall and produce and abundance of blue, star shaped flowers. They reproduce by seed, so scilla will eventually cover a large area.

* There are many crocus cultivars including seven colors of the giant-flowering crocus and eight varieties of dwarf early blooming botanical crocus. Early blooming, low-growing crocus offer many design possibilities.

* Narcissus Thalia is a great snow-white, multi-flowering daffodil. This cultivar grows ten to twelve inches high and flowers in mid-season. Medium height Thalia narcissus make a nice combination with blue grape hyacinths or scilla. Thalia will return every year to grace any garden spot.

* Dutch Iris blooms are favorite picking flowers. For florist quality bouquets in late May, plant some Dutch Iris bulbs now. The long-stemmed beauties bloom in a wide range of colors including blue, gold, white, purple, and two-tones.

* At one time, they were counted among the lesser-known bulb flowers, but not any longer! Alliums are now one of Southwest Michigan's favorite bloomers. Catching everyone's attention with quarter size to golf ball size to softball size blooms on strong, slender stems twelve inches to three and one-half feet tall, alliums have become real show-stoppers. A few of the seventeen named varieties of alliums Wedel's is now selling are Globemaster, Lucy Ball, Giganteum, Mount Everest, Gladiator, Purple Sensation, and Molly.

Spring bulbs are easy to plant and so dependable. Just provide a well-drained soil, plant at the required depth (that's usually between two and six inches deep), add a pinch of Bulb Booster at the bottom of the hole, cover up, and soak well.

For a spring garden that blooms for months on end, be sure to select flower bulbs that will bloom at different times of the season -- not all at once. Check with the Master Gardeners at Wedel's for bloom times. Next spring, enjoy the "greatest show on earth" when Dutch flower bulbs planted in your garden this autumn begin to bloom. Oh, what a sight it will be!

It's time to prepare to lift up summer bulbs that will not take the cold weather. One of these evenings soon we will experience a killing frost. Be sure to have begonias, cannas, and other tender bulbs dug before the cold soil or frost injures the tubers, rhizomes, and bulbs. If these roots become too cold, they won't store well over the winter. It is very important to be weather wise right now. On Thursday this week, Joyce and I dug our cannas, dahlias, and begonia tubers. I will winter store these tubers in large pots packed in potting soil placed in a cool corner. Stop in to Wedel's for a complete bulb and tuber storage instruction sheet.

It has been a pleasure for me, and I hope for you folks, sharing with each other Over the Garden Fence this year. I want to thank the fine staff at WKZO, especially Tim Abranowski, my co-host, and Tom Stermer, our WKZO account representative. A special thank you to you fine folks out there Over the Garden Fence for listening and calling in with questions and suggestions.

I would also like to thank God for the great growing season this year and for all the beautiful flowers and bountiful harvest of vegetables and fruits from our gardens that He has blessed us with. I'm grateful for the many enjoyable hours in our gardens that He provided. I hope God blesses each one of you with an enjoyable winter and the peace that only He can provide.

Thanks again, and I hope to see you all next spring Over the Garden Fence.