The time to plant is, NOW!
Or at least the time to plan on planting is now! Early spring and fall are the best time to plant perennials. It may be surprising to many but fall may just be even BETTER than spring as it encourages plants to develop stronger roots as opposed to focusing on establishing vegetation and flowers. While above ground things may seem slow at work, with adequate moisture and a cool start, your perennial roots will be prepped and ready to take off running next spring!
If you haven’t started to think about fall planting yet, no worries! We have a few tips and suggestions for you.
KEEP perennial plants past the frost. Dead-head diseased perennials that appear to be covered in mildew or disease. This year especially, you may have noticed a larger amount of mildew or disease on some of your perennial leaves as a result of our excessive summer rain. If plants look healthy- leave them! Yep, this fall task is easy- STOP DEADHEADING EVERYTHING! Garden friends like song birds, pollinators, bees and other wildlife use the stems of plants throughout the winter to forage and live. Keeping your plants stalks around helps the native wildlife overwinter.
Divide spring and summer perennials. I LOVE a plant that keeps on giving. In fact, that is pretty much how I began gardening- divide, share with others, reposition a few things, and enjoy even more green space the next year.
Clean beds by removing weeds. Leaving the season clean of weeds will be a big help come next spring!
Plant bulbs in late fall. October and November are great times to plant bulbs such as tulips and daffodils. From experience I would highly recommend planting them the suggested depth AND possibly keeping them covered with mesh to keep them from being feasted on by squirrels. (I once planted tulips only to find half of them scattered throughout my yard thanks to a lovely little squirrel! Now I cover them!) If you are wanting to add fall bulbs to your landscape for early spring blooms, see below!
Keep flower beds moist. Newly planted bulbs and plants need adequate moisture levels to keep their roots growing. If you encounter an extended period of dry weather it may be a good idea to water them a little until that first frost.
