By Pat Dray
The Garden Spot
Pat Dray.
Early fall is the perfect time to take care of projects that will improve your landscape next year. The time between the end of the summer heat and the frost of late fall allows new plantings the time to grow roots with minimal extra care. The trick is to plant the right specimen in the right spot.
Many times I see beautiful foundation plants and trees planted in the wrong spots. We all want instant landscapes, but site planning should begin by understanding the mature size of any plants. Specimens planted too close to the house means that the they will not be watered by Mother Nature and will need extensive pruning to keep them away from windows and outer walls.
Trees and shrubs should be planted understanding the root spread as well as the mature height so that roots don’t grow into walkways, driveways or the buried water and sewer lines and create expensive problems in the future.
A general rule of thumb is that the root zone of a tree will be twice the area of the foliage canopy. However, pruning can lead to underestimation of the root zone. A more accurate method is to measure the diameter of the trunk and multiply by 38. For example, a tree with a 6-inch diameter trunk can have a root zone of 19 feet. Even those trees or shrubs labeled dwarf will eventually grow taller and have a greater spread than labeled.
It also makes good sense to plant native plants and trees since they will be better suited to your site and support more pollinators than non-natives. Don’t mulch in “mounds” around your trees – this encourages the voles to come and nibble.
Fall is also a good time to assess your current plantings and hard prune your summer bloomers. Prune about a third of the branches at the base of the plant so that more air gets to the remaining branches. There have been times I’ve pruned a sickly shrub entirely to the ground in the fall and had a completely new shrubby late spring. If you must prune any spring blooming shrubs or trees understand that the specimen will have few or no blooms in the spring.
Fall is also when you want to plant any of your spring blooming bulbs. The soil temperature should be below 55 degrees for optimal planting, which is generally the case from October through November. In our area, it’s best to consider tulips as annuals since they don’t tend to re-bloom as well as other bulbs like daffodils and are also favorite foods for voles and chipmunks. Many bulbs are labeled deer and rodent resistant, although in a severe enough winter all bets are off.
Just as with trees and shrubs, be aware of the recommended depth and spacing for bulbs.
One of my favorite places to purchase bulbs is Colorblends, a wholesaler in Bridgeport. You’re able to preorder your bulbs and have them shipped or picked up when they’re ready for planting.
Pat Dray is a past president of the Orange Garden Club.