Fall Tips for Your Landscape!
Pruning is a great place to begin the process of getting that landscape back on track. Prune back struggling and heat stressed perennials. Then fertilize perennials (by early September) with a natural slow release fertilizer like Espoma Plant-Tone or Milorganite. Shrubs and trees will also benefit from a slow release fertilizer application.
Rain and frequent watering means your last fertilizer application was used up long ago and fungus has also been a big issue this year. To insure that your lawn greens up nice and healthy next spring, treat fungus now with Bonide’s Infuse or Hi-Yield F-Stop, and add nutrients back by applying slow release fertilizer such as Milorganite (by mid-September). Spray existing weeds with Ferti-Lome Weed Out and prevent weeds by applying weed preventer every 60-90 days in both lawns and landscape beds. Use Good Earth brand Grass & Weed Preventer with Slow Release Nitrogen Fertilizer in early fall. As the grass begins to go dormant, switch to Hi-Yield Turf and Ornamental Weed & Grass Stopper.
As temperatures cool down and we get more natural rainfall, sprinkler water times can be reduced. Watch your landscape carefully to make sure you aren’t over or under watering.
It’s time to get rid of summer annuals! If you wait until temperatures are much cooler to plant, the soil will be cooler as well, resulting in less root establishment before winter arrives. Bring on the pansies and mums! Prep your color areas by removing the summer annuals, and breaking up the existing soil. Breaking up the soil adds oxygen to the soil, increases water percolation, and increases nutrient levels, all of which will help the roots of your fall plantings grow and get established quickly. Next, it’s time to do some soil amending. For perennial and annual color areas, we suggest using what we professionals use; Good Earth Brand Professional Growing Mix. Its mix of organic matter, perlite, pH adjusters and Actino root protection provide an optimum growing environment. Now you are ready to shop, plant, fertilize and mulch!
Speaking of shopping and planting, now is the best of year to plant trees and shrubs! The warm soil temperatures encourage root establishment, which means you get an extra season of growth. Use Good Earth brand Jump Start at planting to further increase root development. Jump Start contains mycorrhizae, beneficial fungi that form a symbiotic relationship with plant roots, and increasing the root system surface area exponentially. Bottom line, mycorrhizae can increase the absorption of water and nutrients by up to 1,000 times. The stronger root system means that the plants will be able to withstand environmental stress, such as summer heat, with more success.
