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Hello gardening friends. As I sit to write on this beautiful first day of October, I ponder two things. Where did September go, and will we see scattered frost this coming weekend?!
I’ve just washed and stored away my hummingbird feeders for the season. Many folks are concerned that feeders left up will encourage hummers to stay longer than they should, and the birds may run into cold weather trouble by delaying their migration. Migration is not trigged by lack of food; it is triggered by birds’ circannual rhythms, which go hand in hand with the changing day length. So leave your feeders up, offering fresh nectar every few days, for at least a week or two after your last sighting.
If you have been experiencing fall color in the latter half of September, I would venture to say you’ve been seeing fall color too early and there are possibly other stressors going on that warrant a closer look.
Stressed plants color and drop leaves early. If it’s a new planting and you are certain it’s been receiving adequate moisture, check the way it has been planted. Is it too deep, are the roots girdling? On new plantings you can fix these situations right away if they are evident.
Diseased plants will color and drop leaves early also. You’ll see this often on crab apples in this area and it’s likely caused by apple scab. Treat your crab apple early next spring with a fungicide and see if you don’t notice an improvement.
Will we have a colorful fall? I’m thinking yes! There are three pigments that determine leaf color. Chlorophyll (green), carotenoids (yellow, orange and brown) and anthocyanins (red, crimson and purple). As the nights grow longer, chlorophyll production slows to a halt and as the green fades, this allows the yellow and orange to show through. Reds are mostly produced in autumn when there are many bright sunny warm days and excess sugars are produced and exist in the cells of the leaf. So a lot of warm sunny days and crisp cool nights without freezing will bring about spectacular fall colors.
The caveat to this is soil moisture. A drought in summer can affect the intensity of the color and although I haven’t checked precipitation records, my sense is that this past season was plenty moist!
Basically this month will be one of cutting back and cleanup. Some perennials can be left up for winter interest, but the more you can do now, the easier next spring will be.
Hello gardening friends. As I sit to write on this beautiful first day of October, I ponder two things. Where did September go, and will we see scattered frost this coming weekend?!
I’ve just washed and stored away my hummingbird feeders for the season. Many folks are concerned that feeders left up will encourage hummers to stay longer than they should, and the birds may run into cold weather trouble by delaying their migration. Migration is not trigged by lack of food; it is triggered by birds’ circannual rhythms, which go hand in hand with the changing day length. So leave your feeders up, offering fresh nectar every few days, for at least a week or two after your last sighting.
If you have been experiencing fall color in the latter half of September, I would venture to say you’ve been seeing fall color too early and there are possibly other stressors going on that warrant a closer look.
Stressed plants color and drop leaves early. If it’s a new planting and you are certain it’s been receiving adequate moisture, check the way it has been planted. Is it too deep, are the roots girdling? On new plantings you can fix these situations right away if they are evident.
Diseased plants will color and drop leaves early also. You’ll see this often on crab apples in this area and it’s likely caused by apple scab. Treat your crab apple early next spring with a fungicide and see if you don’t notice an improvement.
Will we have a colorful fall? I’m thinking yes! There are three pigments that determine leaf color. Chlorophyll (green), carotenoids (yellow, orange and brown) and anthocyanins (red, crimson and purple). As the nights grow longer, chlorophyll production slows to a halt and as the green fades, this allows the yellow and orange to show through. Reds are mostly produced in autumn when there are many bright sunny warm days and excess sugars are produced and exist in the cells of the leaf. So a lot of warm sunny days and crisp cool nights without freezing will bring about spectacular fall colors.
The caveat to this is soil moisture. A drought in summer can affect the intensity of the color and although I haven’t checked precipitation records, my sense is that this past season was plenty moist!
Basically this month will be one of cutting back and cleanup. Some perennials can be left up for winter interest, but the more you can do now, the easier next spring will be.
• Sedums can be left up as well as ornamental grasses, but hosta leaves can turn in to a gooey mess when first frost gets them. In general, I would cut back anything that won’t stay upright, as this will eliminate a breeding ground for disease and hiding spots for pests.
• Protect with chicken wire or cones those plants that fall pray to rabbits in the winter months; blueberries, roses, young trees. Don’t cover with cones too early — wait for freeze and then cover.
• Broadleaf and needled evergreens could benefit from an application of Wiltpurf, especially newly planted evergreens and always rhododendron and azaleas that seem particularly vulnerable to our Midwest winters. The leaves on these plants curl in an effort to conserve moisture. Make sure all evergreens go into winter turgid – having been well watered up until the ground freezes.
• After we’ve had a hard freeze (first inch or two of ground freezes), mulch around your roses and new plantings. This will keep your roses protected and will prevent your new plantings from heaving up out of the ground from the many freeze/thaw periods throughout winter.
• Fertilize your lawn after the last mowing around the end of the month.
• Overwinter that favorite geranium by removing soil from roots (shake it off) and put the dry plant into a brown paper bag, roll the bag closed and store in a frost free, cool, dry location.
• Sprays are not effective on bagworms at this time. Hand pick them off your evergreens and dispose of them in the trash.
We’ll talk about houseplants among other things next month. It’s a bittersweet time of year. A much-needed rest is on its way. It will be fun to discover beauty in the winter garden in the coming months.
Happy gardening!
U of I Extension of Tazewell County Master Gardener Tips for October contributed by Vicki Gustafson.
This list provides basic guidelines and certainly may not be complete, depending on individual circumstances. The Extension has a website with further info- http://web.extension.illinois.edu/state/hort.html.
Look for more tips in the Washington Times-Reporter next month.
