Get Ready for Winter
By November first, either we’ve had “it,” or we are waiting for “it.”
“It,” of course, is the first hard freeze. One fact we do know – we never escape November without a freeze. If delayed, it is usually harder than if it comes early.
Now is an excellent time to get ready to:
- Hill up roses
- Add to the compost pile
- Pot up paper-white narcissus for Christmas bloom
- Get winter mulches ready to apply as soon as soil freezes
Fall-Sown Annuals
By sowing seeds of hardy annuals on carefully prepared soil now, you can steal a march on spring. Seeds will sprout long before you can work the soil next spring.
A favorite combination is a deep blue annual larkspur sown with bright red annual poppies.
Lawns
Put away the mower for the winter only if the grass has stopped growing. Better take the power mower to a good mower shop soon; They will have more time to do a good servicing during the winter months. Not sure yet on the best way to winterize electric lawnmowers.
You could do so now except on very sandy soils if you didn’t get a chance to fertilize the grass last month. This late feeding will let you skip the early feeding next spring.
Rabbit Protection
Whether you use sprays or wire collars around the trunks of fruit trees to prevent rabbits from chewing the bark, better apply these soon.
Often, the first heavy snow comes suddenly, and the rabbits may start to eat before you have the plants protected. Also, the job is easier now than when snow is on the ground.
Vegetable Garden
Turning over soil now will expose hibernating insects to winter birds and weather, and you will have far fewer next year. Also, frost and moisture will penetrate the soil better if the ground is left rough.
Spring-Flowering Bulbs
Keep planting tulips, narcissus and hyacinths as long as good bulbs are available. Also, pot a few up for forcing in early spring.
Moving Trees and Shrubs
Prepare any large trees or shrubs to be moved later with a frost ball.
- Dig a trench around the tree and allow the ball to freeze before moving.
- Dig the new holes now
- Fill the the holes with leaves or straw until you are ready to plant.
- Cover the soil removed from the hole, so it doesn’t freeze
This makes late planting easy.
Mulching Perennials
Remember, a mulch is an umbrella, not an overcoat. You can’t keep out frost, but you can keep out sun that will stimulate plants into unseasonably early growth in spring.
Hydrangeas
Florist-grown hydrangeas, planted outdoors, will not be killed over winter, but the flower buds usually are. To protect them, make a cage at least 6″ inches larger all around than the plant and fill it with dried leaves.
This also works well with rhododendrons and azaleas, often killed by our bright winter sunshine.
Questions of the Month
Question: When I order lilies for fall planting, they arrive very late, and soil may be frozen. Should I keep them until spring and plant them?
Answer: Plant them on arrival in the fall but dig holes now before the ground is frozen.
Move the earth from the holes indoors or undercover to prevent freezing and fill holes with straw or dried leaves. When bulbs arrive, usually in late November or early December, remove straw and plant bulbs, cover with the stored soil, and then mulch.
Question: My grandmother always grew freesias, but I’ve failed with them. Why?
Answer: Move back into your grandmother’s house with its cool windows! Modern homes are too warm for this bulb. Pot up as soon as bulbs are available and grow at a temperature of 45° degrees Fahrenheit nights, not over 55° degrees Fahrenheit days.
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