Top Tips for Fall Gardening

Posted by Katie Elzer-Peters
September 25th, 2008
Filed in Garden Maintenance
Tags: container plants, fall, fall bulbs, garden planning, perennials

In the last post, we gave you all kinds of advice about what NOT to do to put your garden to bed in the fall. I figured that it was only fair to follow that post with a list of things you SHOULD do at this time of year to tuck your garden in for the winter. If you follow this advice, your garden should be nice and cozy for the winter!

Fall Gardening Tasks

1) Divide perennials. Early fall is a perfect time to do this. Again, if you live where the ground is frozen solid by now – hello, Yukon – you are already out of luck. If you live in the rest of North America, now is the time to dig up and divide your perennials. Make sure you keep them well watered so that they can re-establish their root systems and survive the winter.

2) Do some lawn maintenance. If you tend to focus more on your garden than your lawn (and I know I do), the fall is a great time to give your yard some TLC. Aerate your lawn and water it thoroughly. If you need to overseed with winter rye, September is the time to do that. If you would like to establish some cool season perennial grasses, now is a good time to topdress with some good organic topsoil and overseed to establish before spring.

3) Build your winter containers. Before it is cold enough to be unpleasant outside, put together some fall and winter containers. We have another great post about cool season containers that can transition from fall to winter and provide some color and interest during drabby, cloudy winter months.

4) Plant your spring flowering bulbs. If you are planting bulbs such as crocus, daffodils, tulips or other bulbs that need a cold treatment, now is the time to plant. If you plant your bulbs in September, they will have a chance to establish roots which will give them a head start in the spring. Do not plant summer flowering bulbs that are cold-tender such as dahlias or gladiolus unless you live within their perennial growing zone.

5) Let your perennials go to seed. Unless you are trying to control a weedy or invasive plant (which you probably should not be growing anyway), stop deadheading and let your perennials go to seed. This is the fastest way to help your garden grow. Plus, next spring, you will have perennial plant starts to share with your gardening friends. A plant swap is a fun event to coordinate between friends.

6) Plant new trees and shrubs. Trees establish well in the fall because the crown, or top of the tree, is dormant, allowing the tree to put all of its energy into growing and establishing a healthy root system. Water your tree until the first frost to help it get going.

Follow these tips to have a beautiful garden year-round!