Gardening Tips from Sunshine Garden Center

October Green Ideas

For Your Lawn

• Fertilize one last time. A 13-25-12, or something similar, is what it is hungry for now (the higher middle number feeds the root.)  Fall feeding is the most important action to take against next year’s weeds. 
  

For Your Flower Beds

• Annuals:  Clean the beds and cover with mulch to keep it looking clean.  It is a good idea to use a mulch, like pine fines, that doubles as a healthy soil amendment for spring. 
  
• Perennials:   Last chance to plant or divide for the season.  In our area we should be finished with the perennial beds by mid-month.  The ground is still warm enough to allow root growth before everything freezes.  Take one more daydream walk around the yard.  Start your project list for next year while you still remember where the color is and where it is lacking. 
  
• Fall Bulbs:  Planting bulbs now will bring spring back to your yard early.  Make sure to plant color outside windows where you sit.  Plant fragrant bulbs where they will greet you as you walk into your house.  
  

For Your Trees and Shrubs

• You can plant and transplant until the ground freezes.  Remember to keep watering throughout the fall, especially evergreens to prevent winter burn.  Give your plants one last feeding.  Bone Meal is great for this time of year.  The plants’ root systems are still actively growing and storing nutrients for the winter.   
  
• Roses and Hydrangeas:  It is best to wait to cut them back until spring growth starts.  Feed roses and hydrangeas bone meal along with the rest of your trees and bushes.  Next month you will want to build up mulch around the base of these plants for extra protection.