Smart Tips for Fall Blooms

To bring your garden to its peak of autumn beauty, there are just a few simple grooming tasks to do as summer draws to a close. It won't take long and offers great rewards. Your plants will fill out with new foliage and flowers.

Plan to groom your garden at least eight weeks before the first average frost date for your area. Late August and early September are good for most of the South. Peak bloom should occur about five or six weeks after you clip and fertilize.

* Give them a quick snip. First, lightly cut back fall-blooming roses, late asters, salvias, lantanas, and leggy herbs such as artemisia-plus any other plants that need a little shaping. (Don't give a fall trimming to plants that bloom only in the spring, or you might cut off their developing flowers. Clip those that keep blooming through the fall.) Cut just enough to stimulate new growth for a thicker, more flower-laden plant. If you're worried about how much to clip off, you'll get fair results if you simply remove any spent flowers.

* Feed them now. Add a mild, slow-release organic fertilizer. Look for a product that won't overstimulate or burn your plants, such as composted cow manure or fish meal. Work the fertilizer lightly into the soil so that it won't run off when watered.

* Top it off. Cover the ground with a fresh layer of mulch. If this is the only mulch you'll put down before next spring, add at least a 1-inch-deep layer to help insulate the soil through winter. If you're a frequent mulcher, half of that will do.

* Above all else, water. Hydration is critical for a fall bloom bonanza. Water slowly and thoroughly until the ground is saturated throughout the plants' root zones. Do this once each week until winter rains begin to take over the job.

None of these tasks will require a lot of effort, but your garden will really love you for doing them.

Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Aug 2006
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