Fall is a good time for light rose pruning, though most recommend you prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring. Trim your roses to about waist high (3 ft). I like to take off the old leaves if they are still on the plant. Prune out any dead or diseased canes. Be sure to wear heavy rose gloves to keep your hands protected and rely on sharp bypass pruners to make the job easy.
Wait until mid February for the severe pruning of cutting canes to about 18 inches. At this time, it also helps to feed plants with a little organic rose & flower fertilizer.
November is a great gardening month here in the Pacific Northwest. While we usually have some rain, we still get rainless days, making it ideal to work outside. This year has been no exception. This kind of weather makes it a perfect time to plant new shrubs and trees and let them get settled before spring. The rain has made it easy to dig and cultivate, and the soil temperature is still relatively warm. The roots have an opportunity to begin growing and will be ready to “spring forward” with new growth next season.
Lion’s Tail
In my November garden, I am surprised at the amount of color that I still have, not only from fall leaves but even some flowers. An outstanding flower blooming now is Leonotis leonurus (Lion’s Tail). This tall late-summer and early-fall-blooming plant has whorls of deep rust-orange flowers appearing on long stems reaching 6 feet. The bloom habit and color are quite striking and unique. This plant is technically a tender perennial, but I consider it an annual, and then if it does not survive the winter I am not disappointed. If it does survive, I am pleasantly surprised. Thus, I am mentally prepared for either scenario.
I planted my Lion’s Tail in early June and worked Black Gold Garden Compost Blendinto the top 6 inches of soil. At this same time, I also added rose & flower fertilizer. This one application of fertilizer is all that I added for the entire season. I placed them in a sunny location behind a mixed border of shrubs and flowers. Lion’s Tail is a rather nondescript plant in early spring. Since it does not come into flowering until late summer or early fall, many gardeners are unaware it exists until later in the season.
This fall, after the first hard frost, I am going to cut the plants back to ground level and mulch the soil with 4-5 inches of Black Gold Garden Compost Blendto see if this will provide enough winter protection for the Lion’s Tail to survive. If not, I will happily buy new plants in the spring!
Transplanting Perennials
When we do have those sunny days, this is also a perfect time for some general garden maintenance. If your garden is anything like mine, I often put plants in the wrong place. It seems that I plant short ones in back and tall ones behind! So, this is the time when I walk through the garden and sort out what needs to be changed.
In the Pacific Northwest, November is also an ideal time to transplant hardy perennials like phlox, hostas, and peonies. Of these, peonies are one of my favorite, I have many in my garden, but extra attention must be given when transplanting them.
If your peony flower production has declined in recent years and the plants have been in their location for several years, they might need to be divided. Fall is the time to do it.
These herbaceous peony flowers (Paeonia lactiflora ‘Sarah Bernhardt’) are beginning to flop in the rain and should have been staked. (photo by Jessie Keith)
Peonies have large, fleshy roots with “eyes” or growing points towards the top. When dividing them, make certain to have one eye on each piece and do not plant them more than about 3 inches below the soil surface. One to two inches is ideal for these exceptionally hardy perennials. If planted too deep, peonies will not bloom.
Herbaceous peonies (Paeonia lactiflora) are winter hardy in most areas, and have been known to return annually for well over 100 years. Once established, they require little care, other than having good drainage and a sunny location. In November, I cut my herbaceous peonies to the ground, and add a light mulching layer of Black Gold Garden Compost Blend as winter protection.
In spring, most standard herbaceous peonies (Paeonia lactiflora) need to be staked because their large flowers are supported by weak stems that immediately flop in rain. I have seen gardeners use tomato cages as support them, and this seems to work. Just be sure to place the cages over plants as soon as they begin to grow in spring. There are also special peony supports that do a good job of holding up the stems.
Itoh Peonies
New introductions to the plant world are Itoh peonies, or intersectional hybrids. These are crosses between tree peonies and herbaceous peonies. The result is outstanding new plants. The flowers tend to look like tree peony blooms while the plant grows like the herbaceous peony. To me, their big advantage is the very sturdy stems that do not need staking.
The picture shown was taken in November, and while my herbaceous peonies have been cut to the ground, this Itoh peony ‘Bartzella’ looks almost as good as it did in the spring. ‘Bartzella’ has clear yellow, fragrant flowers that continue blooming over an extended period of time in the spring. I have had it for three years, and it is an outstanding plant in my garden.
Check out your local garden center as there are new colors being introduced. This might be November, but that does not mean you should halt work in your garden. Flowering plants, like Lion’s Tail and Itoh peonies, make great additions to any garden. I actually find this time of year ideal for contemplating what I want to change and add for next year. Enjoy the season!
The fall leaf color this year is truly outstanding. A good example is Acer palmatum ‘Sango Kaku’ (Coral Bark Maple) which is a four season plant. Coral colored branches in winter, bright green leaves in summer which turn to golden yellow and make a striking contrast against the red bark. A good tree for a small garden; plant Coral Bark Maple where you can see it in winter. And for good health feed it in fall with Black Gold Earthworm Castings!
Lily of the Nile produces huge plants that are among the easiest to divide in fall for many new plants for free.
Planting a perennial in spring is a lot like moving from Maine to Florida in May. You’d have to adjust to the heat and humidity at the worst time of year. Bring a Maine resident to Florida in November, and that snowbird will relish every day of welcome sunshine. When you plant spring blooming perennials in early fall, they root actively into the still-warm soil. Roots will form quickly and help it become established before the short days of winter force dormancy.
Top dressing plantings with a little Black Gold Garden Compost Blend also helps with establishment and winter protection. After that perennial’s dormancy breaks in spring, it will be well rooted to flourish compared to one newly planted from greenhouse into cold spring soil.
Leather leaf bergenia with its thick succulent leaves are quite frost hardy with an intense spring show.
Early Blooming Perennials
Perennials are the workhorses of a fabulous landscape. The early bloomers include bergenia, columbine, heuchera, geum, anemone, primrose and thrift. They flower along with many of our spring bulbs for a beautiful display at winter’s end.
Potted Perennials
In fall, container-grown plants will be at their largest for this growing season, so shop to your heart’s content, but don’t leave the garden center without doing your best to make the soil richer too. Increased fertility enhances the spring show immeasurably. Even the best plant forced into poor soil will fail to thrive at any time of year.
Geraniums require lots of rich organic matter when planted to simulate a forest environment.
Perennial Beds
To flesh out your beds and borders with perennials for a big spring show, enrich the ground with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend. Both add fine organic matter to worn out soil when distributed evenly, then turned deeply with a spading fork. Go over the area in one direction, then do the same the opposite way to ensure full integration of your amendments into native soil.
When you dig the planting holes, there’s another opportunity to give your perennials an extra push in the spring with slow release organic fertilizer. Dig the planting hole a few inches deeper than you would normally. Sprinkle a few tablespoons of fertilizer into the bottom of the hole and work it in. Then cover this with a few inches of your excavated soil and gently press it down. The new perennial goes on top of all this, then backfill and water in deeply. This deep down source of macro and micronutrients from slow-release organic sources offers your plant a boost later on. The roots are rewarded for going deep enough to access the nutrients, which also makes them able to reach moisture deeper underground during the growing season. Deep rooting is the best way to make any plant more drought resistant.
Bleeding heart blooms while many trees are still bear, so planting in fall offers many months of establishment before flowering.
While late fall planting can be problematic in the far north, throughout the south and west it is the best time for most perennials. The dry climate of the West is a big stressor for spring-planted perennials.
Do your homework in the fall, apply the fall perennial strategies mentioned above and your plants won’t have to struggle through late spring frosts. They won’t face rooting into hard, dense soils either. Best of all, they’ll be fully established by spring and well-fed to double in size before the end of season arrives.
Indian corn now in the supermarket isn’t just a Thanksgiving decoration. It’s viable seed ready to plant in your garden next year. Select colors and sizes of small popcorn, strawberry flint corn and the big boldly colored ears for decorations. When the holidays are over, simply pry the kernels off the cob and store in a cool dry place. Come planting time, fortify the soil with nitrogen rich blood meal. This all-organic fertilizer contains a whopping 13 percent nitrogen! Use it with confidence – knowing corn is a grass and grasses love nitrogen!
Here in the Pacific Northwest, autumn is certainly here. Temperatures are cooler, rains have begun (hopefully not continuously), and plants are beginning to show signs that their season is over. This is a wonderful time to visit an arboretum, if you have one, and absorb some of the fall colors. It is also an opportunity to visit your local garden center and see what is still looking good. You might be surprised at the color awaiting you even at this late date.
Salvia
In my own garden, several plants are putting on a wonderful show of color. I am always interested in trying new plants and a new Salvia for me this year was ‘Wendy’s Wish’. With a flower color that is hard to describe, I would call it a deep rose (see photo), this has been in bloom in my garden all summer and has shown no signs of stopping. I have it growing in a pot in almost full sun and it is a hummingbird magnet.
Lion’s Tail
A plant that is usually treated as an annual here and does not come into flower until late August or September is Leonotis leonurus (Lion’s Tail). As I am writing this (October), it is in full bloom with more flower buds ready to open. The flowers appear on long stems in whorls with the lower whorls opening first and then continuing upward. The flowers are covered in a sort of furry coat of fine hairs and are a rusty orange. Because of the color, this is a great flower for fall Halloween arrangements. Give it sun and plant toward the back of a flower bed since plants can reach 6 feet in height.
Spindle Tree
For autumn color from a tree, I was recently given a spindle tree (Euonymus planipes) and the leaf color is astounding (see photo). In addition to the spectacular leaves, there are deep rose-colored fruits opening to reveal orange seeds. Quite often the leaves will drop leaving the fruits against the bare branches. This is a small tree/large shrub, very easy to grow, and I would suggest planting it where you can enjoy the fall colors as the spring flowers are not particularly showy and the real beauty is this time of year.
Potted Spring Bulbs
In addition to enjoying what is around us, we should be thinking ahead to spring. A great idea is to plant bulbs in a pot and ‘layer’ them, then plant winter blooming pansies on the surface. While this might sound difficult, it is not. What you will need:
Outdoor pot
Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil
Bulbs (tulips, daffodils, hyacinths, crocus)
Black Gold Bone Meal
Pansies
When purchasing bulbs, be sure to buy a large size and press each one before planting to make sure it is firm and not soft. Bulbs can be placed quite close together; just do not let them in direct contact with each other. This is in case one would rot and by not having them in contact, the rot would not spread to the others. Most of the spring blooming bulbs; tulips, hyacinths, daffodils, crocus, etc. are quite winter hardy and will survive being outdoors in a container. Make sure the pot is in a location where it will get rain.
Start by adding 5-6 inches of Black Gold Natural & Organic Potting Soil. Add bone meal and mix together with the soil. Then add tulips. In the example shown, I used red tulips. Then cover with soil and mix this new soil with bone meal. Then I added white daffodils. Cover these and then plant something that will give color during the winter. In my example, I used winter pansies. As you can see from the photo, they are in bloom and will continue flowering all winter. Then around the inside rim of the pot, I planted a circle of crocus.
The combination of bulbs to use is endless. You could easily add a layer of hyacinths or multiple layers of tulips. If using tulips, check the package information and get several different blooming dates. For example, the package should indicate if the particular tulip is early, mid-season, or late. Having some of all three will extend the blooming season in the spring. If pansies are not your choice, ornamental winter kale and/or ornamental cabbage are other options for providing color during the fall season.
This idea of ‘layering’ is also a great project to do with children. They can help mix the soil, plant the bulbs (and learn that flowers come from bulbs) and then plant the pansies.
Do not wait too long before checking out your local garden center for fall color, or tending to your fall planting. Once we have a frost and cold weather, many plants will lose their leaves and you will not be able to see them in all their autumn glory will be lost for another year.
October is a fine time to dig and divide clumps of perennials that are so old they fail to bloom like they should. Lift the plant with a fork, wash it off to see the stem and root structure, then divide perennials at the natural points with a sharp knife. Soften the soil at the new planting locations with Black Gold Garden Compost Blend to make it easier for the divisions to strike new roots for bountiful displays come spring.
Rich in organics, Black Gold® Garden Compost Blend is a quality amendment that will fortify any garden. Not only will it build soil health and structure, but gardeners can be assured plants will be supplied with needed fertility for top performance.
Once September arrives and school starts, I consider summer over. I realize it is not “officially” over yet, but September is a time to relax, enjoy the garden, and scale back.
Cuphea micropetala
As I walk through my September garden, it is bursting with color. The fuchsias, salvias, and abutilons are in full bloom, and all are hummingbird magnets. A relatively new plant in my garden is Cuphea micropetala. While it is technically a tender perennial, I do not think it would be winter hardy here, so I am growing it as an annual. If it survives the winter, I will be pleasantly surprised next spring.
This Cuphea has been in full bloom since mid July and shows no signs of stopping. My plant is in a large pot and gets hot afternoon sun which it seems to love. With its tubular flowers, it is also a great hummingbird attractant. This is a plant I would suggest adding to your list for planting next spring.
The Beal Burns outdoor seating area.
Outdoor Rooms
Outdoor living spaces have become very popular, so I have added a small “outdoor room” to my garden. Just having a quiet space with a table and chairs tucked away in the garden can create a feeling of relaxation. Sitting in the shade on a sunny day is very welcome and enjoyable.
More elaborate outdoor seating areas are also becoming more and more popular. I recently enjoyed seeing one at the home of Portland Garden Designer, JJ DeSousa. Her outdoor living space consists of a poured concrete patio fitted with appealing patio furniture surrounded by fenced garden. It is very inviting for conversations. When I have been at functions in her garden, this is the place people gravitate to. The photo of her patio garden might look large, but it is not. Her home and garden are on a small city lot, but she makes great use of the space.
The patio garden of JJ DeSousa.
Fall Garden Redesign
September is also a good time to walk through your garden and look at areas that could be improved. Consider places where plants can be taken out, added, or re-arranged.We all make garden mistakes, and this is a good time to correct them. In my own garden, I have plants that have grown too tall for their space and require transplanting to a new location. I also have bare spaces to fill with plants that will look good late in the season.
This is also a great time of year to consider adding garden art. A feature that I have seen in other gardens and have incorporated into my own is the use of large pots. At one time, I thought having a pot meant that it needed to be filled and planted. This is not the case. Many beautiful pots I consider to be standalone pieces of garden art that I strategically place throughout my garden.
Many beautiful pots I consider to be standalone pieces of garden art that I strategically place throughout my garden.
As I write this column in early September, we are having temperatures in the 80’s. It is what I consider perfect fall weather with warm days and cool nights. However along with the warm days, there have been some drying winds. With hot sun and drying winds, exposed container plantings quickly dry out, so I maintain a rigorous watering schedule and use Black Gold Natural and Organic Potting Soil to help roots hold moisture.
As I look at the soil in my garden beds, there is a big difference in the areas where I worked in Black Gold Garden Compost Blend. Those without compost are hard, dry, and cracked. The areas where compost was look great and require much less water.
Consider September as the month to review what was good in your garden and what was not so good. Take pictures to make a record of your successes. I am going to do that as I continue to improve and make changes in my own garden.
Fall is a wonderful time to garden. You can look over this year’s accomplishments and start developing your plans for next year, but it is also the perfect time for working in your garden.
Moving your outdoor herbs inside can be a very worthwhile fall activity. All you need to do is repot them in an indoor container and place them on a window sill that gets about 6 hours of sunlight. Those fresh herbs will be particularly flavorful, and it can be as easy as planting your favorite herbs in a container with Black Gold® Natural & Organic or Black Gold® All Purpose Potting Soil.
Fall is the best time of year to over-seed an existing lawn or start a new lawn from seed because the temperatures are cooler and the rain patterns are more consistent. Black Gold® Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss is a crucial ingredient in the lawn enhancement process. When you spread the peat moss on top of the lawn seed, it will keep the seeds moist and you will have quicker and more uniform grass seed germination.
Tree and shrub planting in the fall is natural for most plants. At this time of year the plants are starting to go dormant while the soil temperatures are still warm in comparison with the air. Both of these factors promote root development. After you start with the appropriate Black Gold® fertilizer, add your choice of Black Gold® Garden Compost, Soil Conditioner and garden amendment or planting mix to amend the soil. Simply follow the instructions on the back of the fertilizer box and amendment bag to add a new tree or shrub to your garden.
Planting spring-blooming bulbs in the fall can be a wonderfully rewarding activity. Black Gold® Garden Compost, Soil Conditioner and Garden Amendment or Planting Mix are great choices to improve the soil structure and enrich the soil with organic matter. Try using Black Gold Bone Meal to fertilize your bulbs so they will develop a good strong root system before they appear next spring.
Summer bulbs need to be dug up and stored in the fall after frost has blackened their foliage. Dry Black Gold® Peat Moss is a great choice for storage of most bulbs. However, a pre-moistened Black Gold® Peat Moss is the right choice for dahlias. Black Gold® Perlite can also be used to store bulbs that need to stay dry.
After raking up your garden’s leaves and plants, why don’t you put them in your compost pile instead of having them hauled away to either a landfill or a commercial composting site? If your compost pile becomes overwhelmed with the leaves, bag or pile them up separately and gradually add them over the winter as you add kitchen waste to your compost pile. Be sure to add Black Gold® Fertilizers to start the composting process.
And last but not least, be sure to add Black Gold® Garden Compost , Soil Conditioner and Garden Amendment or Planting Mix to any open location in the garden in preparation for planting next spring. May your fall gardening be full of joy and satisfaction when you garden with Black Gold® potting soils, amendments and fertilizers.
Fall is a good time for light rose pruning, though most recommend you prune these shrubs in late winter or early spring. Trim your roses to about waist high (3 ft). I like to take off the old leaves if they are still on the plant. Prune out any dead or diseased canes. Be sure to wear heavy rose gloves to keep your hands protected and rely on sharp bypass pruners to make the job easy.
As I look at the soil in my garden beds, there is a big difference in the areas where I worked in 