Landscapes in the Late Fall

Dormant Feeding of Shrubs, Small Trees, Perennials and Bulbs – Landscape plants should be fed twice a year: when growth begins in the spring, and after the growing season has ended in the fall.  It is now safe for feeding any and all landscape plants.  Lawn Depot has many types, sizes, analyses, and forms of fertilizers for your landscapes.  We have lots of foods for small shrubs in granular form; we have formed fertilizer spikes for trees and large shrubs.  We have organic and synthetic fertilizers, fertilizers for acid-loving or neutral soil plants.  Dormant fall fertilizing is important and entirely safe for the plants.  New growth will not be stimulated and there’s no chance of burning plants.  Apply granules and/or inject formed spikes liberally in the plants’ root zones, scarify surface for granules, and water in thoroughly.

Cutting Back Perennials/Pruning Shrubs – Perennials must be cut back to the ground before next year’s growth begins.  It can be done now or next spring, whichever you prefer.  I like a clean looking landscape over the winter and I’ve got too much other stuff to do in the lawn and landscape in the spring, so I try and get all perennials cut back now.  I’m still working on mine.  Pruning of overgrown shrubs and trees can also be done at this time.  Bear in mind that if you prune some blooming shrubs (azaleas, rhododendrons, etc.) now, you’ll greatly reduce next spring’s bloom, but the plants won’t suffer and they’ll grow thicker next spring.

Winter Protection of Hybrid Roses and Broadleaf Evergreen Shrubs – Hybrid roses are grafted plants; the grafts (swollen areas near the ground on the trunks) are susceptible to winter damage if not protected against the freeze-thaw cycle of our winters.  Mound mulch around the bases of the roses, or construct a burlap wind barrier around the beds, or both.  Other tender shrubs that will benefit from mulch and burlap are crape myrtle, hydrangea and camellia. With broadleaf evergreen shrubs, spray every 6 weeks with anti-desiccant sprays (WILT STOP) and/or construct wind barriers, or both.

Protection From Damage from Deer, Rabbits, and Other Rodents – Food isn’t easy for these wildlife neighbors of ours in the winter, so they love to chew on the leaves and tender shoots of our valuable shrubs and small trees.  We can fight them off without doing any harm to them by spraying every 2 weeks or sprinkling around the bases every 4-6 weeks with one of the many repellent products sold at the Lawn Depot.  Stay abreast of these creatures; they’re relentless.

Everything for the Birds – We love the birds all year long.  Some of us feed and enjoy them all year long.  But the birds NEED our help in the winter, when snow covers much of their natural food sources.  Lawn Depot has a complete birding department all year long; lots of mixes and straight feeds, suet cakes, window-mounted, pole-mounted, or hanging feeders, with or without squirrel deterrents, mounting stakes, bird houses (for next spring) and lots more.  We’d love to have you come in and look around, for gifts for others or for yourselves.  Feeding the birds is fun and it’s worthwhile too.

As I mentioned in my introduction, this will be our last Newsletter for 2018.  We’ll be back at it in March of 2019.  Again, we thank all of you for your patronage over the years, you make it fun to be in business.  The entire staff at Lawn Depot wishes every one of you a happy and healthy holiday season, a happy 2019, and we look forward to seeing you all, not only before the holidays get here, but into next year as well.

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