Fall Gardening

In the fall, temperatures begin to moderate and the desire to work in the yard returns to most Floridians. For most of us, it's just been too hot to do anything but try to keep the lawn from becoming a hay field. As a result, many hours of hard work will be required to restore our landscapes to what they looked like in the spring. This is not all bad since most of us enjoy working outdoors and we all can used the exercise.

A job of this magnitude can be overwhelming unless you approach it in steps. The logical first step is a general cleanup of the home grounds. Remove those summer annuals which are beginning to look shabby. Weed and remove tree branches and other trash from flower and shrub beds. Edge sidewalks, driveways and beds if you have neglected this task during the summer months.

After the cleanup is accomplished, you are ready to move to more enjoyable tasks. If you want a fall flower garden, start preparing a good planting bed. Locate the bed in an area which receives full sun at least half a day and stay away from large trees. Tree roots are strong competitors for fertilizer and water so plant your flowers in a spot where trees will not compete. Spade or till the planting site six inches deep several weeks before planting. Incorporate two to three inches of organic matter and a complete fertilizer such as 12-4-12 at the rate of one pound per 100 square feet of bed area.

Hardy annuals you can plant in late September include alyssum, calendula, candytuft, dianthus, baby's breath, nasturtium, pansy, petunia, phlox, snapdragons, statice, sweet peas, and viola. These are just a few of the plants which can be started now. Don't forget that September is the month to apply a fall application of fertilizer to St. Augustine and bahiagrass lawns. Centipede lawns should have been fertilized last month. Apply a complete (N-P-K) turf-type, slow-release nitrogen fertilizer (e.g., 16-4-8 or 15-4-15) to provide 1/2 pound of actual nitrogen per 1000 square feet of lawn. Shrubs and trees which do not receive fertilizer when the lawn is fertilized should receive an application at this time.

September and October are the months when gibberellic acid is used on camellias. On many varieties, the flower size may be increased significantly, producing a bloom much earlier than would be the case without treatment.

Select a well developed flower bud. Remove the pointed growth bud adjacent to the flower bud. A small cup will be left where the growth bud has been removed. Fill the cup with one drop of the acid solution. Usually a difference in bud size between treated and untreated camellia buds is apparent in a week. By encouraging earlier flowering in camellias, freeze damage is reduced and flowers become available for holiday decorations.

A compact poinsettia plant may be obtained at flowering time, if the plants are pruned several times during the growing season. The new growth, after it is 12 inches long, should be cut back, leaving 4 leaves on each shoot. This operation should be repeated every time new growth develops until about September 10. Pruning after September 10 may interfere with flowering, as these plants set their buds soon after October 10.

Watch your lawn and ornamental plants for pests. It's still warm enough for insects like scales, white flies, mites, aphids, and caterpillars to be damaging shrubs. Sod webworms and armyworms can ravage lawns and brown patch disease can be a problem. Watch out for these problems and start control measures as soon as you notice damage.

This should keep you busy until it's time to start raking leaves. Remember to take your time and don't try to do everything in one day. Fall gardening can be a very relaxing and enjoyable experience.