I’d love to say that there’s nothing to do in October in your garden, so I hope you rested well…but that would be a lie.
Truth is, I got a little overwhelmed with everything we are doing at Alchemy Gardens and Design (designing community centers, a lake house garden, clean ups, maintenance, planting thousands of tulips, and even taking on a job in the Big Easy), that I just didn’t have the bandwidth. Good news, unless the work implodes there will be an October next year and I can write about it then! Is that better? Good.
So I hope everyone is putting the garden to bed, pruning perennials down, and finally settling in to several months of nothing-to-do in the foreseeable future.
THAT WAS A TRAP! (Cue evil laughter.) That is not what you should be doing because in Georgia, fall is not a time for rest. It is a time for sprucing up, making plans, planting plants, and just being super busy…if you want to. You can also just shut everything down and no one will judge you (side eye).
General Notes
November
November typically sees the break in dry weather brought to us by October. Rains become slow and steady and the ground feels less baked and caked.
Our average first frost is November 10th, but it’s been a while since we’ve had one that early. If the soil isn’t frozen, we can still plant.
We are in spring blooming bulb planting season. Daffodils, Hyacinth, tulips, crocus…All those should be going into your garden now. If concerned about slicing into a spring bulb, plant in groupings and mark with sticks where they are. Established and naturalized bulbs can handle a slicing or two.
If you have any plants that have been sitting in pots at the back of your drive or garage, now is a good time to get them in a home.
Power equipment that requires gas need to be drained and stored if not being used. Inspect your other tools while you are at it. Pesticides, herbicides, and other liquids should be moved to a frost/freeze free area.
Cool season annuals like pansies, snapdragons, parsley, poppies, and bachelor buttons can be planted now (poppies and bachelor buttons should be sown).
Transplanting of perennials and woodies can be happening now. Make sure you get a healthy sized root ball if you didn’t root prune.
Perennials
You can start pruning down any perennials that are fading. I personally like a good clean sweep of everything fading despite my more chaotic nature. But if you don’t like a bare look, just cut down what is yellow or brown. I do like to leave seed heads up of echinacea, rudbeckia, and sunflowers for the finches. But you do you.
Roses
Roses can be planted now. I’m excited that I recently bought a Peggy Martin rose (a rose found in the Louisiana garden of one Ms. Peggy Martin still alive and thriving after sitting under 8’ of brackish water for weeks post Katrina) and will be finding her a home in the upcoming days. It will be fun because I am completely maxed out. For anyone from the north, there is no need to mound soil and mulch around roses down here. Watch for any twisted or brambly growth as this may be rosette virus.
Plant any foxglove and delphiniums now for spring blooms. They may die back if we have a hard winter but they will shoot right out of the ground come spring.
Shrubs
Fill in spots where shrubs have failed. Wood plants establish best fall through spring, despite what the big boxes want you to believe.
It is never a bad time to prune out dead wood and branches.
Otherwise hold off on pruning for a few more weeks.
Lawns
If you aren’t overseeding, there isn’t much to do right now. Preorder preemergent for late winter application to deter weeds. Note that preemergent will also inhibit grass seed from germinating so do not use if you are going to be seeding in the spring.
Mow fescue at 3” if the weather is still warm.
Trees
If you want INSTANT GRATIFICATION, now is the time to plant balled and burlap trees (and shrubs). The cooler weather will stimulate roots to grow.
Planting container grown plants if perfect now. Remember to mulch and water if it isn’t raining. Just because trees are losing their leaves doesn’t mean they still don’t need water.
Veggies and Herbs
You probably think you’re off the hook now with veggies. You are not. There is a lot of hook, to be honest.
Continue to plant lettuces, peas, cruciferous veggies, carrots and beets. If frost is in the forecast, cover lettuce with frost cloth and extend your season.
The Take Away
Despite cooling temperatures, there is still a good bit to do.
Make notes of anything you want to move in the spring. Plant woodies now. As long as the ground isn’t frozen you can plant.
Remember to connect with your garden because every time you connect to your garden you’re connecting to nature and to a piece of yourself.
It’s a bad sign when I can recite my credit card number, expiration date, and security code without looking at it. Numbers, unlike words, have often made very little impressions in my head. To this day, I have to run through my entire social security and phone numbers to get to the last four digits. But as I order yet another weird garden plant I ABSOLUTELY do not need, I can type with the utmost confidence my credit card number in its entirety.
And this trend probably won’t abate anytime soon. Because it’s August. And August means so much hot, so much humid, and so much of me complaining and wondering why I got into this occupation.
But then my plants will arrive in September and October and I’ll remember that my connection to plants is (don’t laugh) spiritual and intuitive.
For the record, I have ordered a new rose, a thornless blackberry, a ground orchid, and a Dryopteris I’ve wanted for years and just finally bit my lip and hit “order.” I’ll let you know how they turn out.
So August. If you’re in the south east for any length of time, you know it’s hot and humid now. But the end of August is sort of like May in that it can be unpredictable and weird. The experienced gardener knows this and can be flexible.
General Notes
August is hot and humid so be on the look out for fungal issues. The most prevalent will be powdery mildew. The good news is that powdery mildew is pretty host specific, affecting specific genuses and species rather than the whole garden. Plants like Monarda, sages, species rudbeckia and echinacea can have a lot of powdery mildew and still be healthy. Cut infect plants back and discard the debris in a compost pile or bag. Don’t leave debris lying on the ground as the spores will continue to spread.
Mulch thin areas.
Weeding should be slowing down if you have been vigilant. If you’ve been lax (no judgement, because glass houses and all that), get out early in the day and pull a few weeds while you drink your coffee. It’s better than nothing.
Circulation is still very important, even if you have a cottage style garden. Make sure plants have adequate airflow around them.
Perennials
Deadhead plants you do not wish to go to seed or attract birds with. I leave my rudbeckia and echinacea heads on at the end of the month because goldfinches are some of my favorite birds.
I mean, seriously. Look at this cute little fella.
It’s a weird time, but iris likes to be divided now. Simply lift out of the soil and divide new rhizomes from old ones and replant. Old iris rhizomes won’t rebloom so they can be discarded.
You may (finally) give asters and mums one final haircut before they start setting buds at the end of the month.
Fertilize blooming perennials with a nice organic fertilizer.
Shrubs
Stop trimming evergreens except random shoots. Cut these down below the general shape. Any shaping should be done with regular pruners, not shears.
If you do the whole gibberillin thing with camellias, now is the time. If you don’t know what that is and don’t plan on being a camellia society person, don’t worry about it. If you do want to be a camellia society person, look up gibberellic acid on camellias and see if it is something you want to do. It’s an interesting hobby.
Roses
Continue to feed anything blooming. Mulch is still needed.
You may see random shoots that look slightly different than the roses that were blooming earlier. Follow these down to the base of the rose and you’ll most likely find they are shooting from below the graft union. The graft is where the grower attached the desired rose to a hardier root stock (we’ll get into this later when it is grafting season). If the root is sending out scions, they can easily over run the grafted rose, so remove them at the base.
Keep a watchful eye for rosette disease. This is rampant among “Knock-Out” varieties. If you see weird growth, cut the whole branch out and sterilize your pruners with every cut.
Rosette Disease. Weird and unsightly.
Trees
Keep em watered cuz they are providing share. I don’t believe in panaceas but trees really are. They make everything better, so give them at least 1” of water a week.
Lawns
Mow no less than 3” from root. Watch for fungal diseases.
Veggies and Herbs
It’s that weird time where some warm season veggies are just about to give up. Tomatoes especially. As plants start to succumb to the humidity, remove them and trash. Don’t compost solanacea in working compost piles as they can introduce tomato blights to your finished product. If you have a lazy compost pile (ie you’re just keeping food wastes out of landfills) you may throw them in there.
Make note of where you planted things if you haven’t already so you can practice crop rotation. Do not plant the same plants in the same place year after year. If you had blight in any of your beds, you’ll want to keep those species out of that spot for about 2 warm seasons.
You may sow bush beans, cucumbers, and bush squash for a late season harvest.
Keep harvesting. It seems counterintuitive but harvesting your herbs and veggies keeps the plants healthier and more productive.
The last week of August you may start planting cool season veggies.
If you don’t want to sow your own but are interested in cool season crops for your garden, please contact me no later than 8/19 for a list of cool season crops my friends can provide.
The Take Away
So much rain and humidity helps fungus thrive. Be watchful.
Water if we get less than 1” of rain in the week. We are getting lots of pop-up showers all over the south east, but they might only be a fraction of an inch at a time.
Harvest everything.
Prune with discretion.
Even with this muggy weather, wipe your brow and connect with your garden. Every time you connect with your garden you are connecting to nature and to a piece of yourself.
When we first purchased our Ormewood Park home, I would describe the landscape as…lacking. The previous owners had stripped everything they deemed valuable to transplant in their new home just a few houses up from us, leaving only a few trees and shrubs that were most likely too large to economically move. We inherited a few holly shrubs, a large upright Japanese Maple, a curly willow, Hollywood Juniper, and some deciduous magnolias. Also a collapsed pool that had seen more activity from frogs and mosquitos than human swimmers in the past few years.
Around this time, not only did our new home have new residents, but Georgia did as well. At some point, a hitchhiker from another country found a welcoming home in the red Georgia clay. Maybe it was brought on purpose. Maybe someone found a stray seed clinging to their clothes and tossed it out of the window. Perhaps someone ordered a bag of seed to use as a grain substitute in an effort to reduce their carbs, dropped some on the floor and casually swept it outside. We don’t know how it got here, but Achyranthes japonica wants to make your garden its permanent home. I advise not allowing that to happen.
Achyranthes japonica, or Japanese Chaffe flower showed up the year after we purchased our home. I remember seeing it and being curious as to what it could be. Indeed, it had a very pleasant, I’m-meant-to-be-here look to it, with entire smooth edged and opposite leaves. I let them grow and as they got taller kept trying to figure out what it was.
I confess, it wasn’t until after it had seeded that I came to realize it wasn’t wanted, even before I knew what it was.
Chaffe flower LOOKS like something you want in your garden. It has all the hallmarks of something you may have purchased in a garden center. The leaves start off rather dark green, with strong venation and a pleasing undulation. It maintains a somewhat compact growth habit for a while before it reveals itself to be a weed with rangy and sprawling growth.
Looking all cute and stuff. I was trying to share this knowledge with a fellow hort friend the other day. I told him “wait, I’m sure I can find some in my garden.” After a few minutes of looking around we gave up. Of course, as soon as he left I found this small patch. It had the exact feeling of coming up with a great come back an hour after someone insults you.
A member of the Amaranth family, Japanese Chaffe Flower is named for the small seed heads that cling to clothes, fur, leg hair, and pretty m,ugh anything it can grab onto. After passing by a seeding plant in my super comfy loose fit sweats (I was wearing the sweats, not the seeding plant), it was a matter of just a few steps before the seeds that had grabbed hold of my pants began to grab the fabric as it moved, adhering the folds together until my pant legs were just a matted clump of fabric clinging to my leg.
When the seeds first germinate (seeds are extremely viable, meaning most seeds will germinate), the leaves are slightly oval with a rounded point. The margins are entire, meaning smooth with no cremate, serrate, or dentate edging. To me they almost always look like they are struggling, like a bug or fungus is affected them. They look very similar to other amaranth seedlings like celosia or spinach. Indeed, this plant is edible and medicinal. But I don’t believe these virtues make up for the invasive tenacity this plant possesses. It can push through the thickest of ground covers and will out compete some of the toughest perennials and small shrubs.
Seedlings emerging near the parent plant above
Unlike many Amaranth, the leaves remain opposite.
You can see here how the leaves are opposite one another along the stem.
The stem near the top of the plant has a square feeling, accentuated by small ribs running up the length of the stem. At each node, where the leaves join the stem, the stem is slightly swollen. The stem gradually becomes a pinkish color near the base.
Roots are often fleshy and thick. This specimen shows more root hairs as the thicker stems refused to come up, breaking at one of the submerged nodes. I suggest using a hand trowel or knife to assist in getting the roots.
Then destroy it with fire. Ok, that’s hyperbolic. But definitely do not compost this weed, or it will mock you. Bag it securely and pray it never finds its way back to you. That isn’t hyperbolic.
The infamous seed-heads, ready to grab a hold of you and follow you to the ends of the earth.
It was always too early on one of the first weekends of Summer Break that my mom would joyously bust through the door with a song on her lips (some made up hymn celebrating the many virtues of either physical work, rising early, or the unrivaled joy of doing some forced voluntary task for your mother) to ease my brother and me into the reality that we would be spending the day spreading mulch that would be arriving any moment from a random landscape supply company.
And before you ask, yes, I did lock my door. It wasn’t until I was 17, however, that I discovered the closet doors actually lacked that little hole in the knob, thus thwarting an over zealous mother from sticking a straightened wire hanger into them to unlock, and subsequently harass me whenever she deemed necessary. Which for the record was all the time. Before I switched the door knobs, she basically carried around a wee bit of hanger she had fastened into a skeleton key for all the doors in the house. After I switched the knob, she began to use the door as a drum to keep time for her insane, inane, and irritating ditties. The moral here; don’t try to win against a manic mother. It isn’t possible.
After her triumph was clear, I’d drag myself downstairs and outside where some guy in a truck had left a steaming pile of shredded mulch. Mom would perch herself on the front steps, coffee in one hand, a trowel in the other, a fully formed delusion that she would be working along side us, and begin bossing…I’m sorry…DELIGATING. My brother and I would then spend most of the day moving mulch into the yard beds until she was satisfied. Then she would stand up, brush off her butt and say something like “wasn’t that fun? Who wants pizza?”
Most mothers don’t like to hear objections. Mine was no different. But more than objections, my mom hated to hear that she was wrong about anything. But I can tell you with utmost certainty that she was wrong to make us mulch in June. She should have had us do it in May. May is for mulching. And many other things. So let’s get started.
General Tasks
I may have not made it clear, but you should be mulching. And weeding. Weed first, then mulch. Mulching suppresses weeds, keeps roots cool and moist, maintains soil health, and (this is an increasingly helpful thing) prevents rain compaction. Rain compaction is the phenomenon where bare soil becomes increasingly hard and compacted because of the pressure of rain hitting it over and over again. So yeah…mulch. It’s good for you and your garden.
Let’s talk about mulch, actually.
There’s been a proliferation of homes in my area using dyed mulch. I won’t go into my design snobbiness about these. Not everyone’s aesthetic is the same. I appreciate that. However, when it comes to soil health, I’m downright judgmental, and I’ll explain.
Mulch is harvested in a variety of ways, most of which are by products of lumber milling. A tree is cut, sent to a mill, and made into building material. The off pieces, small branches, and disfigured pieces are stripped, shredded, and made into mulch. Except dyed mulches.
Dyed mulches come from lumber that has outlived it’s usefulness. Warped fence posts, scrap building lumber, and worn out pallets and run through an industrial chipper, screened for nails, and then dyed. The dyes aren’t generally great for soil, but the chemical treatments of the pallets and building lumber are down right toxic. Arsenic, copper, and other chemicals are infused into the wood to prevent decay by insects and fungus. Insects and fungus are actually imperative to healthy soil. Without them, soil becomes sterile, compact, and depleted. Without fungus, the ability of plants to take up nutrients and even water drops dramatically.
I advise using natural mulches, like pine bark, pine fines, oak, and such. I also advise against cypress as it is a slow growing wood and the harvesting of cypress isn’t very sustainable. There is also little evidence that it deters insects like many a nursery espouse.
A great way of making your mulch last longer is to lay your new mulch on top of the old. The microbes in your soil should be continuously breaking down the organic matter on the surface of the soil. Placing new mulch on top of the old keeps these microbes breaking down the old mulch before they start on the new mulch. You can also shred your fall leaves and use this as a layer of mulch as well. I love doing this in the fall. After a few rainfalls, the leaves get stitched together by decomposing lignins and mycorrhiza to form a paper like sheet of protection from both weeds and cold.
Perennials and Annuals
If you haven’t already setup peony cages, do so now. Peony cages are wire grids that allow peonies and other floppy flowering perennials to grow through them and offer extra support for the flowers, many of which have been selectively bred (not genetically engineered) to have large showy flowers, sometimes beyond the ability of the plants to support them. Even plants that can support their flowers can benefit from a cage or a stake when we get our torrential rains in the Spring and Summer.
Cutting back many aster and chrysanthemum perennials now will give you a bigger show in the fall. At each cut site, two or more stems will form. Allow these to grow and then cut those as well in June/July. What we are doing here is creating more auxiliary buds, which create the tissue that will become a flower in the fall. More auxiliary buds means more flowers. More flowers means a better sense of accomplishment, right?
In your annual beds and mixed borders, it is time to sow your warm season flowering annuals. Good choices for our area are zinnias, cosmos, celosia, cleome, morning glory (if you must), nasturtium, coleus, marigold, and sunflowers. There are several annuals that do grow now, but should have been started in fall, such as foxglove, delphinium, and poppies (basically my favorites. I also do better in fall than late spring. So maybe that is why).
Trees
If you planted a new tree within the last two years, continue to monitor rain fall. We want to aim for about 1-2 inches of rain a week while trees are growing. This gives them what they need to create healthy leaves for catching sun and converting it to food. If it is dry, irrigate so your trees grow healthy and strong (and capture the excess carbon in the air).
Trees like persimmons, gingko, crepe myrtle, figs, and a few others may try to sucker right now. Suckering is when a tree sends off a shoot from the base to become a new tree. Go ahead and clip these off. First, a tree that is allowed to sucker will often perform poorly, diverting resources to the sucker, making the tree more of a large bush. Second, some trees are grafted (meaning the top is a more productive or valuable species, and the root is a hardier species, giving us the best of both worlds) and allowing the sucker to grow will actually overtake the upper grafted species. Roses will also do this. Which reminds me…
Roses
During this busy time, I definitely need to remind myself to stop and smell the roses. And then get to fertilizing them.
Roses are needy. Much like natural selection leads plants to create outlandish displays to attract their favorite pollinator/propagator (watch any documentary on orchids), roses appeal to their favorite pollinator through color, scent, and design. It’s us, btw. We are their favorite pollinator. And in the journey to create more elaborate, perfumey, and interesting plants, we created a spoiled brat that will pitch a fit if we neglect them. So here is how we care for our attention seeking roses.
Feed them. While roses are blooming, they need a lot of fertilizer. For simplicity’s sake, I recommend Espoma’s Rose tone. It is well balanced and won’t burn your roses, nor lead to weird nutrient build up like a synthetic 10-10-10. Feeding them will also help their already compromised immune systems (that’s right. Plants have immune systems).
Give them space. Crowding them with other roses or plants in our humid environment will lead to black spot and other blights. Not to mention easy access for pests. Give roses a lot of elbow room for air circulation.
Watch for rose rosette disease. This viral infection was once considered a godsend as it seemed to favor Rosa multiflora, an introduced species that got way out of control and tried to take over the south. Which really irritated the kudzu and it was an all out war. It was basically Godzilla vs King Kong but in slower motion. Until rosette disease turned the tide. Which was cool for a minute. Then the virus decided it wanted more and now it is attacking the codependent pleaser of the rose world, Knock-Out Roses. The virus extensibly turns the new growth into a twisted, red, scraggly mess, and prevents the flower buds from fully forming. Flowers that do form burn immediately in the sun. If you see this growth, follow the stem down to the main stem and remove the entire branch. Then rub your pruners with alcohol so you don’t transfer the virus to other roses.
Lawns
Finish sodding this month if possible. June can sometimes be mild and agreeable for new sod, but I wouldn’t bank on that.
Fertilize regularly during the growing season. Mow only when the grass is dry to prevent many fungus and mold issues. If you do have fungus in your lawn, treat as soon as you see it. If using a mowing service, make sure they are sterilizing their blades between clients so issues are transferred to your yard.
Mowing heights are pretty important. Proper height keeps grass more resilient and disease free. Some common grasses in our region mow heights are:
Height for Warm-Season Grasses
Bermuda: 0.5 to 2.5 inches
Centipede: 1 to 2.5 inches
St. Augustine: 1 to 3 inches
Zoysia: 0.5 to 3 inches
Best Height for Cool-Season Grasses
Fine fescue: 1.5 to 4 inches
Kentucky bluegrass: 0.75 to 3.5 inches
Perennial ryegrass: 0.75 to 2.5 inches
Tall fescue: 1.5 to 4 inches
Veggies
Veggie season is well underway. Your cool season plants should be nearing the end of their time, so harvest and replace with warm season.
Do not neglect the fertilizer here. The energy it takes for your fruiting veggies (any “vegetable” that is a result of a fertilized flower, and thus the ripening ovum) is great, and just compost isn’t going to cut it. Compost is different from fertilizer. You need both for a truly productive garden.
Watch solanacea and basils for blights. If you see a leaf that looks suspicious, take a pic and look it up. It only takes a few days for many blights to spread. A great way to keep your disease issues in check with veggies is to practice crop rotation. Without getting too complicate, don’t plant the same annuals in the same beds year after year. It works best to go 3 or more years before planting the same annual in a bed. Look! I made you an animation!
Animation is clearly not my strength
The Take Away
Weed! Weed as if your life depends on it because the life of your plants does. M
Mulch! Because it will keep the weeds suppressed and make your soil healthier and your garden look cleaner.
Fertilize for success.
Enjoy the emotional and literal fruits of your labor.
Every time you connect with your garden, you are connecting to nature and a piece of yourself.
Alchemy Gardens and Design 