General Tips
Before winter hits, make sure that your climbing roses and vines are surely fastened.
Winter winds can whip the plant around and severly damage unprotected plants. When tying the
plant, make sure the plant is secure but no so tight that it will cut into the plant.
Mound 5-6 inches of soil or mulch around the base of your roses and other hardy plants
and water thouroughly before the ground freezes. Dry roots can cause more damage from cold
temperatures then frozen root. Use soil from another part of the garden, rather than risking
damage to the roots by digging around the base of the plant.
Cut Chrysanthemum stems to 2-3 inches from the soil once they have begun to die back.
Until the ground freezes, you can continue to transplant your perennials as long as
they remain dormant.
Tulips can still be planted until the ground freezezs
If you haven't already, dig up all bulbs that aren't winter hardy and store in a cool
dark place after first frost.
Shrubs and Trees
Trees and Shrubs can be planted until the ground is frozen. Make sure tree is staked
to keep the plant anchored to keep them from being damaged from winter winds.
As soon as the leaves fall from fruit trees, shade and flowering trees, raspberries
and other deciduous plants, they can be sprayed for the first time with a dormant spray.
This spraying helps control over-wintering insect and diseases. Apply according to label
instructions.
Make sure all perennials, trees, shrubs and bulbs are mulched in the fall. Mulch insulates
the soil, keeping it warmer longer so root growth can occur. If MARGINALLY
HARDY bulbs are heavily mulched to survive winter, pull back the mulch toward the end
of winter. This prevents premature growth as the sun warms the soil.
Fruit and Veggies
Cut off the tops of your asparagus plants, and add a winter dressing of aged manure to the bed.
Once the temperatures turn cold and stay cold, cover strawberries two inches deep with hay or straw.
Tie up and secure your raspberry canes to stakes to protect them from wind whipping.
Lawns
If you haven't already, apply a fall or winter type of lawn fertilizer now. This encourages
good root development and helps improve the color of the lawn.
If you need to lime your yard to adjust the PH or add Gypsum to help break up clay,
they can be applied with the fertilize on your lawn all in the same day.
Give your yard a good raking to lift away extra debris and leaves.
Keep leaves and debris raked from the lawn. It is best to mulch the leaves, which adds
important nutrients back to the lawn.
House Plants
With winter here, the heat in your home dries out the air, so make sure you mist your houseplants
or place the pots on a pebble filled tray of water to ensure adequate humidity and moisture.
Pot up some spring flowering bulbs for indoor color during the winter. Store the pots in a cool, dry,
dark place until new growth emerges from the soil, and then move to a bright window.
Continue to watch houseplants for disease and pests, and treat immediately with proper insecicides or
fungicides.
Stop feeding your houseplants until February.
Other Stuff
Remove all hoses from faucets and make sure they are drained to keep them from bursting
Make sure your outdoor faucets are covered to protect them from freezing.
Mark spring bulbs with markers so you know where to look for them once the snow starts melting
Clean and oil your garden tools for winter storage. Place some sand and some oil in a large
bucket, then slide your garden tools in and out of the sand. This will do an excellent job of cleaning
them, as well as applying a light coat of oil to prevent rusting. This is also a good month to restock
any tools that have seen better days, while the prices are lower.
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Nov 7, 2011
Still working on it, but continue to have e-mail issues. So, if I don't answer your questions withing a few days, please resend in your questions.
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Since 2010
