Dan West Garden Center

October 2007 Newsletter©

"Fall is for planting!"

And doing other stuff!

"Fall is for planting" ...It sounds like an advertising gimmick for nurseryman to sell plants in the Fall doesn't it?  Well it's not. (At least, not totally.)  Fall really is the best time to plant trees and shrubs and here's why.  As the air temperature rises in the spring, plants leaf out but the ground temperature is still cold, so there is slow root development.  As summer comes, the "top growth" slows and root development explodes in the warm soil as the plant seeks out moisture and nutrients.  Once heated, the soil is slow to cool, so as the air temperature drops in the Fall, the soil remains warm and root growth continues well after the leaves have fallen. 

In soils that freeze and remain frozen through most of the winter, root development comes to a virtual stop.  But in our soil here, which freezes and thaws throughout the winter, some root development continues almost year round.  By planting in the fall, your plant has a chance to establish some roots into the surrounding soil to help it through next summer.  It will not be well enough established to fend for itself.  You'll still need to closely monitor it's water needs, but it will be much easier to care for than if it's planted in the Spring.

Since we're talking about planting, let's recap how to plant.  Years ago, we told people to put a $5.00 plant in a $10.00 hole.  Well, it turns out, that's not the best thing to do in our wonderful clay soil.  To illustrate the point, think about a bowl of cereal.  The bowl is the clay.  Fill the bowl with cereal  (bagged top or potting soil) and then fill with milk (water).  Let it sit.  Net results...soggy cereal (soil).  Water is absorbed very slowly by the packed clay, so if plants sit in this water logged soil long enough, the roots die. 

Scenario 1...If enough roots die, the plant dies.  But before it dies, it wilts, and everybody knows what you should do to a wilted plant!

Scenario 2...Elevate the plant slightly and only some roots die. Remember..."NO PLANT WANTS TO DIE."  So the plant begins to balance top to bottom.  It appears to struggle. The leaves often yellow because water makes iron unavailable to the plant. The leaves become smaller, and the internal foliage drops.  Some limbs die.

Scenario 3...Some plants like the soggy cereal. They quickly fill the loose soil.  But...roots like to take the path of least resistance, so the roots circle and never leave their cereal, I mean soil.  After a few seasons, you have a root bound plant and even when you fertilize, it just looks puny. 

Once upon a time, in a city up north, maple trees started to die.                                               

They were all in the medians and along the roads and they called it Maple Decline.                      

It must be exhaust from the cars they said, because other trees were not ill.                             

But then they found, one guy planted them all, a landscaper we'll call Bill                       

Bill dug those holes, as he'd been told, and removed all the soil at hand.                                   

Then he planted the trees, with a carefully planned mix, of top soil, peat moss and sand.         

Their "cereal bowl" filled as the years went by and then they started to die.                

Strangulation the cause, but the question remains, was it murder...or suicide?

The story you just heard is true. The names have been changed to protect the guilty.

Your planting hole for trees and shrubs should look more like a soup bowl.  Very wide, sloping rough sides, to the deepest part which should be no deeper than the rootball. Your soil mix should be mostly loosened existing soil (60%-70%) and the balance organic matter.  Loosening the existing soil IS THE SECOND MOST IMPORTANT PART OF PLANTING.  (Second only to putting the right plant in the right place.)   Everything should be elevated slightly above the existing soil line because most will settle some.  Some plants should be 2"-3" above ground level and some plants, like rhododendrons, should be set on top the ground and a soil hill built around them.  You need to know a little about your plant to determine how it should be planted.  Plants native to lowlands (soil that contains more water than air, like ours) can be planted near ground level.  Plants from the hill country (soil that contains about as much water as air) should be planted a little higher.  Plants native to mountainous areas (soils that contain more air than water) should be very high.

Organic matter added at planting does a couple of things.  It gives microbes (10 million to over a billion per gram of soil) something to eat and it provides a more hospitable home for all the other living things in your soil.  It also supplies that "path of least resistance" we talked about earlier.

Fall is also the time to protect or "winterize" your plants for the upcoming cold temperatures.  If you need to mulch, be sure to rake out any decomposed mulch before adding new.  If you leave it, a layer of fine particles builds up and this slows your air movement and drainage.  Then add about 2" of coarse mulch.  Spray broadleaf evergreens with a dormant oil.  It kills insects and insect eggs and helps prevent water loss.  It's especially helpful on plants easily damaged by winter wind like gardenias and some southern indica azaleas.

Any questions?

"Should we fertilize the lawn with a winterizer?"

Yes.  On warm season grasses like bermuda and zoysia, a fall application of nitrogen keeps your grass greener about two weeks longer in the Fall and greens it up about two weeks earlier in the Spring.  Shade grasses like fescue are entering their growing season, so they need to be fertilized now."

"How low should I cut my lawn for winter?"

Warm season grasses should be left around 2 inches tall.  Although it appears brown, there is green tissue inside the stems.  The plant will use the stored carbs to start Spring growth.  Cool season grasses should be cut taller, about 3"-4" tall.

"What about leaves.  Should I rake and bag, or chop them up?"

Don't let them accumulate in the center of multi-stemmed plants, mat down on the crowns of perennials or become too deep on shallow rooted plants like azaleas, but leaves make a fair mulch.  I chop them up on my lawn.  It usually takes about 4 passes with a mulching mower to chop them small enough, but you don't want them to shade the grass, so bagging may be necessary if your house is the one that leaves tend to come to.  I don't like leaves to fall into large areas of groundcovers, so in mid October; I cover them with bird netting.  Pull it off once a week. dump the leaves, and then put it back on.  I cover water gardens the same way.  Use caution not to let the net touch the water.

"When do I plant fall bulbs?"

Buy now while the selection is good and store them in the refrigerator.   Plant them after Thanksgiving.  Chilling an extra 6-8 weeks produces a better flower and more uniform stem height. Do not store bulbs in the same refrigerator with fresh fruit.  The ethylene gas produced by the ripening fruit will destroy your flowers.

"When can I start transplanting?"

I'd wait until we have a frost.  Because you're doing minimal root damage, container plants can be planted anytime, but cutting roots off an existing plant, especially with this unusual heat,  is best saved until the plant has gone dormant.  Normally, that's around the end of October, but who knows this year.

Any of you working on leaf collections for school are welcomed to come collect specimens at Dan West.  You might call before you come to make sure we have the ones you need.

Got a problem or a question?  You can email us at questions@danwestonline.com.

DAN WEST GARDEN CENTERS

4763 POPLAR            12061 HWY 64

MEMPHIS, TN 38117    EADS, TN 38028

901-767-6743            901-867-2283

KENNETH MABRY - MANAGER          JIM CROWDER - MANAGER