Expert Tips for Autumn Garden Care
Before you know it, the ground will be frozen and you won’t feel like hanging out in your backyard for a while; in the meantime, there are some things you can be doing to help your garden put its best foot forward next spring. We asked Susanne Kongoy, the owner of Boerum Hill’s GRDN, for…
Before you know it, the ground will be frozen and you won’t feel like hanging out in your backyard for a while; in the meantime, there are some things you can be doing to help your garden put its best foot forward next spring. We asked Susanne Kongoy, the owner of Boerum Hill’s GRDN, for some tips on tending to gardens and backyards during the fall. Here’s what she told us:
-Fall is still a great time to plant or transplant, perennials, trees,and shrubs. Water until the ground freezes and mulch.
-You’ll find plenty of perennials, trees, and shrubs on sale now at your favorite garden shop or local nursery. It’s a great time to find bargains and fill in those holes in the garden.
-Plant hardy bulbs now! It’s finally cooling off, which means it’s time to think about planting tulips, narcissus, crocus, allium, etc. Bulbs are so easy, and squirrels don’t like narcissus!
-Indoor gardeners should consider planting paperwhites and amaryliss for December blooms.
-It’s time to redo that tired stoop pot! Switch out summer annuals for fall color or dwarf evergreens that’ll get you through the winter.
-Mulch with free compost from the Department of Sanitation. The last compost giveaway is this weekend at Fish Kills on Staten Island, and it’s definitely worth the trip. Check out www.nyccompost.org for more info.
Any other suggestions you can think of?
Photo by xmarcus
What do I do to the grass?
You can absolutely plant bulbs now, its much better for them than keeping them around on a shelf.
Also, a good thing to do in fall before you turn off the water for the winter is make sure you get lots of water to the trees and shrubs. Once the ground freezes they have a hard time getting water, and its this, not the cold, that often puts the most stress on the plants in the winter season.
Bulbs frequently send up some shoots in the fall. I’ve got some in my garden now. I’ve heard that as long as they’re not flowering, you’re fine. They’ll adjust to the temperature and right themselves.
I’ve also read that it’s not good to keep bulbs sitting around (even in a dark place). Be bold! Plant them now. They’ll be fine.
Thanks, 12:09 that’s what I was thinking! I’ve got the bulbs stashed in a dark corner indoors near the air conditioner.
I’ve got bulbs to plant also, but I’m going to wait until it really cools off once and for all. Planting them now might trick the bulbs into thinking it’s spring, and they might begin to sprout prematurely. I’d play it safe and wait. You can plant bulbs into November before the ground freezes which is what I did two years ago. Just keep them in a cool, dry place, and they should be fine.
Before planting certain bulbs for indoor blooming, look on lists of poisonous plants for cats to make sure they aren’t on there. Unfortunately a lot of flowers grown from bulbs are.
When it got chilly this week I thought I’d have to make sure I planted my bulbs outside really soon, but then it was so hot yesterday it seemed it’s still too warm now, right?