9 minute read
Tidewater Gardening: K. Marc Teff eau
TIDEWATER GARDENING
by K. Marc Teffeau, Ph.D.
Turf Tips and September Gardening
Is your lawn looking a little worse for wear, so to speak, after the rather brutal summer heat? Fall is the best time to renovate or reestablish lawns on the Eastern Shore. The window for lawn seeding is August 15 through October 15, but September is the best time to do it.
It’s hard to maintain a good lawn on the Eastern Shore. We are what is called the “transition zone” between cool season grasses like bluegrass and turf-type tall fescues and warm season grasses like Bermuda and Zoysia. It gets too hot for the cool season grasses and too cold for the warm season ones.
There is even a difference between the Eastern and western shores. When I was the Talbot County Extension agent, I would get calls from former residents of Pennsylvania, New Jersey and western shore counties like Frederick, Carroll and Montgomery who moved here and wanted to know why their bluegrass lawns were so bad. They did not have problems back where they lived. Well, welcome to the Eastern Shore. The hotter temperatures and lower elevation make it tough to grow bluegrass lawns.
There are three reasons why early fall is the best time for patching bare spots, reseeding the entire lawn and feeding the turf. First, summer’s heat is abating, and the approaching warm days and cool nights are just right to stimulate the germination and growth of grass plants. In addition, the fall rains that come after a summer dry spell help with the germination process.
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The second reason for fall seeding is that weed competition is starting to lessen. Many of our weed problems in turf are caused by annual weeds such as crabgrass. At this time of year, they are completing their life cycle and going to seed. The third reason is that grass seed spread now will sprout soon enough to provide lawn enjoyment this fall, and the newly established turf will have a head start against the weeds next spring. If you want to do some lawn maintenance this fall, I recommend the University of Maryland Extension website on lawn establishment and maintenance (https://extension.umd. edu/resource/challenge-growinglawn-maryland). It has all the information you will need regarding lawn care and lawn alternatives.
September’s cooler temperatures mean this month is a great time to tend to the landscape you neglected in summer because of the heat and humidity. Colorful caladiums have become very popular landscape plants over the last few years. If you have caladiums, they will begin to lose leaves as the nights become cool. Dig them up, allow them to dry and store them in a warm, dry place. Replace them with fall mums to add another source of color to the landscape.
As the leaves of gladiolus yellow, it is time to dig the corms. Carefully dig up the corms with a spading fork to avoid damaging them. Cut the long leaves back to about one-half inch above the corm immediately after digging. Then dry the corms for 10 to 20 days, separate the large ones from the small ones and store them in damp peat moss at 40° to 45°F in an area with good air circulation. To make sure
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the mice don’t get into them, cover them with some rat wire and scatter some mouse bait about.
Plant the tubers of both herbaceous and tree peonies in September or early October so they will have time to become established in the soil before winter. Dig a hole 18 inches across and 18 inches deep for each tuber. Space the holes so the plants will be at least 3 feet apart. Make sure the roots are buried only 1 ½ to 3 inches below ground level, as planting too deeply will prevent the plants from blooming in spring. Be prepared to stake the peonies in spring, as their large flowers will result in the plants being top heavy.
September is also the month that we plant spring-flowering bulbs in the landscape. They are easy to plant, require minimal care and reward us with beautiful displays of spring color. Good drainage is absolutely essential for spring bulbs. Sandy soils are best, but don’t lose heart if you have heavy clay soil. Amend heavy soils with organic matter like compost, peat moss or aged pine bark to improve drainage. Bulbs are heavy feeders of phosphorus and potash, so use a fertilizer that is higher in these two elements as compared to nitrogen. The standard 5-10-5 and 5-10-10 chemical fertilizers work well.
As you plant your spring bulbs,
remember that a mass planting of one flower type or color will produce a better effect than a mixture of many colors. Flowers of bulbs stand out more vividly if displayed against a contrasting background. For example, white hyacinths among English ivy, yellow daffodils against a ‘Burford’ holly hedge or red tulips towering over a carpet of yellow pansies.
Plant the bulbs as soon as possible after bringing them home from the garden center or receiving them in the mail. If you can’t plant them right away, store them in a cool, dry place. Bulbs are not dormant like seeds. They are living plants, and too much heat can kill them. Too much moisture can cause rot or fungus problems. They should be planted before the first hard frost. But if you find yourself with unplanted bulbs after the cold weather has arrived, plant them anyway. They won’t keep indoors, but in the ground they’ll probably surprise you and flower come spring.
Sowing seeds of hardy annuals, such as sweet alyssum, pinks and sweet peas, now will give the seedlings time to get established and develop good root systems before the coldest part of winter. This gives them a head start on growth and flowering next spring.
September is an excellent time to establish new perennial flowerbeds. Dig, divide and replant overcrowded beds of cannas, daylilies, violets and Shasta daisies. Spread a liberal amount of organic matter, such as compost and bulb fertilizer, evenly over the area. Mix this into the soil at least 6 to 8 inches deep. Space divisions at least 1 foot apart in all directions so that root competition will not be a problem for several years.
Don’t forget to add lilies to the
plants in the perennial beds for many years of beautiful flowering. Modern hybrids are available in many colors and grow from 2 to 6 feet tall. American-grown hybrid varieties have less trouble with virus disease than the old species types. Your existing daylily plantings should be divided, cut back and fertilized now to promote root growth for next year’s flowers.
For established deciduous trees and shrubs, wait for the leaves to begin dropping before fertilizing. This signals dormancy, a period when no new growth will be stimulated that might not have a chance harden off prior to cold temperatures. Fall fertilization of deciduous trees and shrubs is usually recommended because even though the upper part of the plant has gone dormant, the roots are active until soil temperature drops below 40°F. Nutrients will thus be taken up and used by the plants to develop a stronger root system.
Do not do any pruning this month. Excessive pruning at this time will quickly delay the hardening process that has already begun in anticipation of winter several months ahead. New growth that results from pruning can easily be injured by an early freeze. And remember, spring-flowering shrubs like azaleas, lilacs and forsythia have already formed their flower buds for next spring. If you prune these plants now, you will be pruning out next spring’s flower display.
During September, be sure to water vegetables adequately if there is not sufficient rainfall. Crops such as corn, peppers, squash and tomatoes won’t mature correctly if they are stressed due to lack of water.
It’s also important to do a good job of cleaning up the vegetable garden for fall. Remove and dispose of diseased and insect-infected plants and vines that have finished producing. Dispose of these in the trash ~ not in the compost pile. A number of insect pests like cucumber beetles, squash bugs, Colorado potato beetles and European corn borers pass the winter in debris left in the garden. Disease organisms like early blight also overwinter in leftover vegetation. Good sanitation in fall is the best way to reduce disease and insect pressure in next year’s vegetable garden.
Near the end of the growing season, pick off all tomato blossoms that won’t have time to bear fruit so that plant nutrients go into existing
tomatoes. In your herb garden, you can keep basil, parsley, garlic, mint and sage continuing to produce by pinching off the flowers. Herbs can be used fresh, frozen or dried. When the dew dries, cut a few stems, tie a strong cord around this little bouquet and hang in a cool, dry place until fully dry. Place in a jar for use during the winter.
If you grew winter-type pumpkins and squash, such as acorn, butternut and spaghetti squash, they will keep well for several months in a cool, medium-dry basement, garage or toolshed. If the floor is damp where you are storing, elevate the produce to reduce the possibility of rot. The best storage temperature is about 60°F. Before harvesting, allow the fruit to ripen fully on the vine, and cure in the sun to form a hard rind. Harvest before frost and leave a piece of stem on each when they are cut from the vine.
Don’t forget the fall vegetable garden. Early to mid-September is a good time to plant beets, carrots, collards, mustard greens, onions, parsley, radishes, spinach and turnips seeds for a nice fall crop. Happy Gardening!
Marc Teffeau retired as Director of Research and Regulatory Affairs at the American Nursery and Landscape Association in Washington, D.C. He now lives in Georgia with his wife, Linda.
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