Our first frost is upon us.
November 15th is our nominal frost date or the date when a first frost is becoming
likely. Usually we get our first chill by mid-month sometimes a
little later.
Tender plants in pots need to be protected. The rain can bring up
an abundant crop of weed seeds. A thick dose of mulch or light
cultivation now will go a long ways later. The rain makes digging
easier for the gopher's, fortunately it also makes it easy to see where they
are working. New holes mean lots of new dirt piles. It is a
good time to trap or bait. The soil is still warm enough to
plant. This is probably the best time of year for dividing and
transplanting perennials. I am starting to go through my fruit trees
and remove dead wood. It is easy to see while there are still a few
leaves on the branches. I will start winter pruning in a by the end
of the month.
Iris cleanup has been on my short list this
week. They are pushing out their new year's growth. Many of
the bulbs from last year are doing the same. My calla lily's,
narcissus and watsonia are looking very promising.
It is still in the heart of the Fall planting season. Plants are
growing roots at this time and will give a wonderful spring response if
planted now. If pots full of blooming bulbs are going to be
desired during the holidays now is the time to plant them. Narcissus
and daffodils can be set at various levels in the pot so the flowers don't
all come out quite the same. Paperwhites are pretty dependable about
being ready for the new year and can be forced for indoor displays.
There are an increasing number of plants that are
starting into their winter dormancy. I have been cutting back
Dahlias and Shasta Daisy's. Care should be taken in pruning
hedges. A hard prune at this time may leave a bare spot all winter.
The garden is starting to look like it is resting. I am not.
The cold has damaged a lot of plants. The coldest days are usually still in front
of us. I will not cut off the damaged material of tender shrubs until late
January. What little is left will protect the crown. Perennial herbs are
different. I am cutting off the spent bloom stalks by the bushel basket. I am
leaving the old fashioned roses flowers on to put on a show of hips. It makes for a
festive season with all of those red hips. The roses start to go dormant a bit if
they go to seed. If you are going to spray dormant oil now is the time. I
do not. I want the beneficials to survive. They do an adequate job for me.
If you can interrupt the cycle of the insects by cleaning up the
fruit as it falls much insect population can't get going. If the
fruit is left on the ground for long the insects move on into the
soil.
My persimmons are at their peak. I pulp and freeze some, I make bread and
cookies, there can never be too many persimmon cookies at my house.
This is the best time of year for making divisions of perennials.
You can lift them and gently shake them apart. One clump of Coreopsis 'nana' can make as many as
50 new plants all complete with a set of roots.
I spread wildflower seed just before
an impending shower. Poppies and Lupine are the most successful for me.
The narcissus and
daffodils are in bloom. The early cold weather brings out the fall color in a big way.
Early
pruning of trees and shrubs
should be limited to removing deadwood. Cutting more will stimulate fresh growth
that can be damaged by frost.
It is a great time for starting plants from
cuttings. The plants are in a root growth mode and the transpiration rate is very
low. I am thinning out old canes on my rose bushes. This is a great season to
get new canes to break out. I am trying to stay ahead of the bermuda grass. If
I get it now the remnants that escape me often rot before they can grow back. I am
checking and cleaning gutters and drains. The pond is going to sleep for the winter.
I am put out birdseed to keep the local finches and sparrows happy and well fed.
Feeders are kept away from deciduous fruit trees at blooming time. The birds will knock off
lots of flowers if they are in the habit of being in the fruit trees.
So I don't feed once things start to warm up. The birds can find
plenty of stuff at that time anyways.
I clean
out the lower branches of my bamboo's. I like the way they look when you can see a
forest of canes. I don't rake the leaves. The extra debris turns to mulch.
(Garden Tasks 11/1)
I have been taking advantage of the soft soil to dig out those most
tenacious clumps of bermuda grass, the ones that have tangled their roots
around rocks and will just not let go. I have also been a planting
demon. It is such a joy to get soil that is so workable this early
in the season. Now that it has soaked in a bit I am digging some of
those trenches that I have been putting off. Procrastination paid
off this time. It is a good time to look at the amount of weight
accumulating in those vines. I failed to adequately gauge how
much weight was on an arbor and found it collapsed due to the additional
water weight from the last storms. It took way too much work to get
it all back together. I would have been much happier if I had
checked before.
