Part 2 of my series on Fall Garden Cleanup – if you missed part 1, read about fall lawncare, readying perennials, fertilizing and mulching in the fall garden before continuing!
Pruning: Many people let the garden go late into the summer and then do their pruning of summer growth during their fall cleanup. Fall is not a good time to prune. There are a small host of plants that can be pruned in the fall but, in general, you don’t want to do any big pruning in the Fall. All your Spring or Summer flowering shrubs should have been pruned by now. Your deciduous trees and shrubs will be running sap as they go dormant for the Winter so Fall is a very detrimental time to prune them. (Maples especially! their sap runs fast – why do you think we use them to make syrup?!) Wait until winter for the deciduous plants.
If you prune any of your Spring flowering shrubs in fall you will be pruning off where the buds have set up for the coming Springs bloom. If you have to make some cuts then just cut what is really in the way (e.g. if you have a few branches that grew over the phone line this summer and your worried a winter snow on those branches might put undue weight on the lines), finishing the rest when Winter sets in.
Weeding: Fall is one of the best times of the year to weed! Weed control is all about getting to the weeds before they set seed. Summer blooming weeds are full of seeds that are drying on the vine – the next wind or rain will scatter them far and wide. So concentrate on getting those weeds in the Fall! And get to any that are in bloom or done blooming as soon as you can so they don’t scatter seeds. Learning when certain trouble weeds bloom and eradicating them before they do is a great way to substantially reduce weed problems.
Plant bulbs: Wait until Oct., at the earliest, to plant bulbs – especially for an El Nino Winter (which is predicted for winter 2009). Bulbs need to be kept chilled until you plant them, in a garage or a shady spot that gets no sun at all. Then they should not be put in the ground until the soil temps are constantly low enough to keep the bulbs from warming and thinking it is time to grow.
One good rule of thumb for proper planting depth to follow is to plant the bulb half as deep as the height of the flower that bulb will produce. So a short little 3 inch Crocus should only be planted 1.5 inches deep and a tall 1 foot tulip should be planted 6 inches deep.
Enjoy: If you have been working on achieving diversity in your garden, then you’ll have a large array of plants that will be putting on their best show this time of year as they change into winter outfits. Color changes, berries from summer flowers, seed pods with dew and scents all have their best moments in the fall.
Here’s a tip for a great tree to plant if you like scents in the garden and gorgeous fall color; The dried fallen leaves of the Katsura tree ( Cercidiphyllum japonicum) smell like cotton candy when shuffled through! I kid you not – and it is strong, not one of those “oh I kinda smell it” smells! The fall leaf colors of this tree are also amazing!
Box of Rain Landscape on HelpHive
Lawn: If you read my earlier post on 
Leaves: Once all the leaves have come down you can either use them for mulch thru the winter or compost them. Be sure to rake them off of the tops of plants and shake them off of the shrubs. To use as mulch, spread the leaves to a depth of no more than 2-3 inches on the bare soil areas of your garden. Leaves do an excellent job of protecting your soil from harsh winter rains and protecting the shallow root zone of perennials and bulbs. But don’t smother your perennials with leaves. Rather just apply them as mulch right up to the perennials base. In severe cold weather save a pile of leaves in a compost heap that you can place on top of perennials (and remove when the worst has passed!). In the Spring, when the first bulbs start to come up, rake up all the leaves and pile them to compost and mix into the soil when you do future planting or transplanting.
