Ornamental Annuals and Perennials

•  Plant spring bulbs as they become available, except tulips, which should be planted in October.
• Divide peonies and other spring-blooming perennials now.
• Prepare new beds now for spring planting. See articles in this issue on soil and soil amendments.
• Take cuttings of annuals for overwintering.

Lawns

• Use a core aerator to loosen compacted lawns. Topdress with compost or Milorganite.
• Apply seed or sod to fill bare patches or renovate thin lawns.
• Apply the first of three fall fertilizer applications to cool-season grasses, using a starter fertilizer if seeding or sodding, or a winterizer formula otherwise.
• Fall is the best time to control perennial broadleaf weeds. Apply herbicide if needed.

Trees and Shrubs

• Watch for spider mite damage on shrubs and apply forceful water spray to control.
• Wait to fertilize trees until leaves begin changing color, probably next month.
• Don’t worry about pine needles browning and dropping. It’s normal.

Fruits and Vegetables

• Dig parsley, rosemary, chives, thyme and marjoram, and place in pots to grow indoors over winter.
• Harvest herbs to freeze or dry for winter.
• Pinch off any tomatoes that are too small to ripen before frost.
• Check peach tree trunks for oozing gummy sap and probe hole with a wire to kill borers.

Miscellaneous

• Begin preparing houseplants for their return indoors. Check for insects and treat if necessary with a systemic insecticide.
• Keeping orchids outdoors as temperature cool in evenings will promote flower bud formation. 

 

For more gardening tips for this month, go to

Kemper Center for Home Gardening Garden Calendar