October gardening tips
Plant spring-flowering bulbs now in well-drained soils with good sunlight. Planting depth is two times the bulb diameter. Dig and store tender bulbs and tubers in a cool dry place. Continue planting pansies, kale, cabbage, snapdragons and other cool-season annuals.
Trees: Container-grown shade trees and pines are most successfully planted in the fall. Broadleaf evergreens or bare-root plants are best planted in the spring.
Lawn: At mid-month, fertilize cool-season lawns. Seeding of cool-season grasses for perennial lawns can continue through midOctober. Continue mowing coolseason lawns on a regular basis, even if warm-season grasses have quit growing. Remove leaves from cool-season grasses or mow with mulching mower.
Weed control: October is an excellent time to control broadleaf weeds in well-established warmor cool-season lawns with a postemergent
broadleaf weed killer. DON’T apply to seedling fescue.
Water gardens: Clean up marginal water garden plants after the first frost kills the tops. Place a net over the water garden to prevent leaves from falling in the water.
Overall: Remove diseased plant material from the landscape to reduce disease problems next year.
Planting pansies
Pansies, including Johnnyjump-ups, are the most popular fall flower for many reasons.
Solid-colored pansies are called clear-faced, and pansies with the dark blotches are called monkeyfaced. They come in many vibrant colors and will bloom throughout the fall and winter months and reach their peak in the spring.
They do well in borders, mass plantings and in containers; however, they do have their likes and dislikes.
When selecting pansies, choose compact, not leggy, plants with deep green foliage.
Pansies like a location that receives the morning sun and has rich, well-draining organic soil. When planting, mix a granular slow-release fertilizer into the soil as you are planting. Some gardeners like to add 1 tablespoon of blood meal around each plant.
Pansies do best when they are planted when the soil temperature is between 45 and 70 degrees. If the soil temperature is below 45 degrees, they won’t grow; if it is above 70 degrees they may become leggy. Planting in October will give your plants a chance to be well established before the weather gets colder.
In extremely cold weather pansies will wilt, but if properly mulched with about 2 inches of mulch they will not be damaged by the cold weather and will recover when warmer temperatures arrive.
Always water your flower beds and container plants thoroughly, and protect them before a prolonged cold spell. In extreme weather a protective garden blanket can be placed over the pansies.
Keep planting those pansies and you will have a bright spot in the garden or patio to brighten your life. Pansies make me smile!