Gold Coast Gardener

September 24, 2006

By Gene Joyner, Extension Agent
Palm Beach County Cooperative Extension Service

There are many things in the landscape one does in the fall to get ready for the upcoming winter season and one of the most important is to make sure plants go into the winter months in a healthy situation. At the end of this month or next month it will be time for the last major fall feeding of the year and with all the wet conditions we’ve had during the summer and heavy rains much of the nutrients around plants have been leached out and need to be replenished.

Use good quality fertilizers appropriate for your type plant material and make sure that it is watered in following application if it’s a dry granular product. Liquid fertilizers can be used, too, but remember they are very short lasting and need to be applied frequently to keep plants in top condition.

Some people are doing pruning back now because of the rapid growth on many landscapes and it’s alright to do any type of pruning all the way up probably until mid to late November. After that plants will begin their drastic slowdown for the winter season and replacement foliage will not come out as quickly. For most people pruning this time of year should be more cosmetic and final shaping on the plant getting them ready for the coming fall and winter season.

If you want to add new plants to the landscape, there’s no reason not to do it this time of year either. Area nurseries and garden centers have good inventories of all types of plant material and they will establish quickly with our good growing conditions. If you put the plants in yourself make sure that you plant the plant no deeper than it was in the nursery container and if it’s a tall enough plant that requires a stake, temporarily put a stake by it and secure it so it grows nice and straight.

Check plants this time of year, too, for uninvited pests. With the rapid growth coming out on many plants scales, aphids, mealybugs and chewing insects can be found in most landscapes.

If they are not around in large numbers, probably natural controls will be sufficient to keep them down to acceptable levels. If you have a high population though that’s doing considerable damage, some pesticide applications might be warranted and you can either buy products at your local stores and do it yourself or have it done by local pest control services.

In lawn areas you might see increased problems with disease from our wet weather in the region. Diseases can set back grass considerably or even kill out large patches requiring replacement. If you suspect diseases, treat those areas promptly and do not allow sprinklers to irrigate the areas more than once every two to three days if we are not having regular rainfall.

If you’re thinking about putting in fall bedding plants, you can get ready and prepare the areas, but don’t do the actual installation until about the middle part of October when we have a little bit less rainfall that might create disease problems. Various stores are filled with flowers now, but hold off a little bit longer and you’ll probably be glad you did.

If you want to get a fall garden started, now is the time that you can put in vegetables of all types and if you’re into herbs they can be added as well. Either outside traditional gardens can be installed or if you only want a few plants garden in containers on a porch, screen room, or even around pool areas.

If you have questions about activities in your landscape this time of year or have problems showing up you’re not quite sure how to handle, contact the Palm Beach County Extension office for some free advice. Dial 233-1750 in the north and central county area or 276-1260 in the south county area.