|
September marks the beginning of the end of summer. In fact, this year we saw traces of fall at our annual Employee golf tournament in early August – though we didn’t want to admit it.
Pockets of Aspens in the Pine Creek valley south of Spruce Meadows were already starting to yellow then, and that sad truth is spreading. Plants everywhere, especially those that flower in the Spring and early Summer, have peaked, and are letting their seeds ripen to perfection before pulling valuable nutrients and carbohydrates from the leafy green tissues into roots and woody stems. It’s this process that causes leaves to change colour in the Fall: they’ve produced all the energy that they’re going to this summer, so as the plant draws that energy into roots and stems, the chlorophyll that keeps leaves green is no longer needed - thus, the strong visual clues that we are not warming up anymore.
So – how do we prepare our parks, yards, and gardens for the impending frosty nights and – gulp – snow? With trees, as I’ve said before, water heavily when the nights dip regularly below freezing, but before the ground freezes. Building up a reserve of water now will dramatically improve your trees’ chances of having a great season next year by making sure that water is immediately available just as soon as the ground thaws in April. As a bonus, that reserved water frozen around the root ball keeps trees from jumping into action when a Chinook blows through. The sudden rise in temperature in a January Chinook can trick trees into moving fluids within the stems and roots – which then refreezes when the Chinook is over, causing severe damage to internal tissues.
For lawns, fertilizing now will give a quick boost of growth as the days and nights get cooler, but watch that your grass isn’t too tall when the snow does finally arrive. Last Spring we saw vole damage in a lot of areas, largely because the snow stayed in place all winter, giving the little critters shelter from predators and hiding them from homeowner’s watchful eyes. Keep your grass short, and if we get persistent snow again, trample it as much as possible, especially around the foundation, sheds, and garages.
Annuals are dead easy. When they brown off – yank them. There’s no benefit to leaving decaying vegetation trapped in beds covered in snow. Perennials can be cut back once the foliage has gone brown and droopy, though some species like Clematis and ornamental grasses can be left standing to offer some winter landscape interest. Just be sure to cut back to just above ground level as green starts to appear at the plant’s crown. Lifting bulbs and dividing perennials – which should be done every three to five years as plants mature – is best done as soon as the plants can be cut back, generally after the first frost. You certainly can wait until Spring, but dividing when the soil is still warm gives plants more time to grow new roots in the fall to be ready for new growth next year.
|
