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Fall in Colorado is a wonderful time in the garden. Cooler, shorter days bring pleasant mornings with dew on the grass, fresh tomatoes from the vine and fragrant pies baked from the fruit harvest. Cooler days also can mean a riot of color as annuals and perennials put forth a final burst of frantic flowering.
But your enjoyment need not end here! A little extra work in September and October will bring even greater rewards next spring.
Ideally, the flower garden should be easy to maintain, and should supply a succession of colors and textures all season. If this year was disappointing, this is the time to make some changes. It is time to divide and replant spring and early-summer bloomers, such as poppies, peonies and daisies. Expect for those picky peonies to pout next spring, though. They may disappoint you with few blooms because they often take a year or two to re-establish after a move. Still, it may be worthwhile if sun-loving peonies are now shaded by maturing trees.
Overcrowded iris and daylilies often perform poorly. They can be divided now and will recover quickly, rewarding you with vigorous growth and an abundance of flowers next season. A few simple steps will give these transplants a head start.
- Trim back any spindly, dead or damaged stems. With iris, cut the leaves back to about four inches from the ground.
- Use a spade or fork to dig around and under the entire clump and lift it out of the soil. Use your hands to gently remove the soil clinging to the roots or wash it off with a hose.
- Use a sharp knife or pruning shears to divide the clump into fist-sized pieces saving only the healthiest parts of the roots. Discard any mushy, dead or infested parts.
- Replant the divisions several inches apart in soil that has been improved with organic material. If you make your own compost, or have access to well-aged manure, all the better. Otherwise garden centers offer good bargains just now on bagged humus and compost. Canadian sphagnum peat moss is another excellent choice for a soil amendment. Spread a couple of inches of organic material in the area of the planting hole and dig in to a depth of 8 to 12 inches.
Both clay and sandy soils will benefit from organic matter. Clay becomes lighter and drains more easily, while sandy soil will hold more moisture around the roots. Most soils also need a light application of super-phosphate. Read and follow the instructions on the bag. Mix into the soil thoroughly. Phosphorus needs to be deep in the root zone.
- Fill the hole with water and allow it to drain. Replant your new divisions no deeper than the original clump. Cover their roots with the improved soil and settle them in with a gentle trickle of water. Surround your plantings with a couple of inches of bark chip mulch to insulate from extreme temperatures and to retain moisture in the soil. Irrigate every few days throughout the fall season.
The same principles of soil preparation and planting apply when adding new plants to your garden. Plants from end-of-season sales may be pot bound, so when you take them out of their containers, loosen the root ball gently and use your fingers to free up the tangled roots. If you see very little soil and if the roots are circling the inside of the pot, use a sharp knife to score through the outer quarter inch of the root ball in several places. This will free the roots to grow into the surrounding soil.
Later this fall, plan also to give your roses a little extra care. In most areas of Colorado, many roses suffer winter-damage. Protection from drying winds is essential. After the leaves have dropped in late fall, use loose soil to cover the bud union (where the roots join the canes) and the bottom few inches of the canes. If your roses are in an area exposed to wind and sun, insulate them by encircling the bush with a wire cage and packing it with leaves to a depth of 12 to 18 inches above the ground. Roses should not have been fertilized after mid-August. Prune only to remove diseased or broken canes.
Watering plants throughout the winter is essential. Colorado winters are characterized by dry air and low soil moisture. Often we see scant snow cover between October and February. This can severely stress plants, both new and established. To water, use a gentle flow and either a sprinkler or just trickle water from the end of the hose. Water when it's above freezing during the early part of the day. This will allow time for water to soak in. Moisten the soil to a depth of several inches. Unscrew the hose from the spigot when you are done. This allows it to drain so it won't crack in the next freeze.
All this may seem like a lot of unnecessary work but with a little foresight now you can gain a head start with next year's garden.
For more information on Gardening, contact your
local Colorado State University Extension office.
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