2016 October - Don't Stop Yet—Fall Tasks

2016 October  -  Don't Stop Yet—Fall Tasks
* Notes From the Old Ottawa South Garden Club - By Colin Ashford

The Old Ottawa South Garden Club welcomed the return of an old friend, Mary Reid, of Green Thumb Garden Centre (www.greenthumbgarden.ca) to talk about fall gardening.  Mary is a Certified Landscape Professional and, in addition to running her garden centre, she volunteers at Master Gardeners and teaches at local schools and garden clubs like ours.

The continuing warm fall has lengthened the growing season and allowed us to put off traditional fall jobs in the garden until later in the season.  The meeting was held in the middle of October and Mary noted that it was not too late to plant either container-grown plants (such as perennials, deciduous shrubs, vines, or roses) or transplants, but to make sure to water them in—every day for two weeks, then once a week until the ground is frozen. Spring- or earlier-blooming perennials can be divided now but fall- or late-summer-blooming perennials are better divided earlier in the season; ornamental grasses are best divided in the spring.  Again, Mary noted that it was not too late to plant bulbs outdoors—for as long as the ground is workable.  Mary recommended buying healthy bulbs: firm and fat; damage- and disease-free; and preferably in bulk.  Tulips can be planted up until the ground is frozen (and, in fact, the later the better).  As a rule of thumb, Mary recommended planting bulbs in small clumps (small bulbs—9-13 in a clump; large bulbs—5-7 in a clump) at a depth of three times the height of the bulb in well-drained soil. Burying a piece of chicken wire over the bulbs, applying blood meal, or planting fritillaria nearby can help to deter squirrels.  Placing a board over the plantings until freeze-up will also help.  Bulbs for forcing indoors should be kept in the beer fridge (away from apples and pears) until ready for planting in pots in November.

Mary recommended that herbaceous perennials, such as iris and phlox, can be cut back to two inches above the soil to reduce overwintering pests and diseases; there is no need to cut back evergreen perennials such as candy-tuft and Japanese spurge or those prone to heaving such as coral bells. If the cuttings are not diseased, they can go into the compost heap else they should be put out as yard waste (commercial composting kills most diseases and pests). Ornamental grasses provide interest in the garden during the winter, but need to be cleared after heavy falls of snow (or tied up to avoid being flattened by snow).

Once plants have been cut back, compost can be easily applied (making sure to remove any thick layer of mulch first) and letting the winter pull the compost into the soil.  Mary noted that it’s too late to fertilize or over-seed a lawn—wait until spring.

Mary next turned her attention to deciduous shrubs with the perplexing comment that it was both too early and too late to prune.  However, she explained that pruning spurs new growth and that tender new growth is susceptible to frost damage at this time of year. Mary recommended, in general, pruning shrubs just after flowering, for example: lilac in the spring and coralberry in late fall.  Trees can be protected from damage by rabbits with tree wrap or a foul-smelling compound such as Skoot.  Mary noted that vines should be firmly affixed to their trellis and vines such as Jackmani clematis (that blooms on new wood) should be pruned, next spring, to six to twelve inches above the soil and to include three buds.

Finally Mary gave some advice on wrapping evergreens to protect them from desiccation.  She recommended not to fully wrap evergreens since this can cause them to overheat on a sunny winter’s day, but to rather build a frame with stakes around the plant, wrapping burlap around the stakes and leaving the top open for good air circulation.


The next meeting of the Old Ottawa South Garden Club will be on Monday 14 November when Jill Hopkins, an avid gardener, will focus on the potting and forcing of spring bulbs to deliver a burst of blooms in the spring.