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September 22, 2004

Falling For Fun...
Fall has arrived! I am excited. There are so many great things that happen this time of year. The color of the landscape changes from bright showy colors to warm, deeper hues. The smell in the air changes from a hot, humid "ugh" to cool, crisp and wonderful. Surrounding communities throw fall festivals so that neighbors can come together to enjoy the change of the season. Many families will share in special traditions such as apple picking, pumpkin hunting, and jack-o-lantern carving. A new season has arrived so enjoy, my friends.

Kevin and I have a lot work ahead of us. We typically plant close to 500 bulbs in the fall. Daffodils, tulips and crocus are some of our favorites. This is not an easy task. I remember last year when we were planting all of those bulbs. I kept looking at all of those bags and saying to myself "Where am I going to put all of these?" We seem to have managed and planted all but a few. The leftovers were stuck in the garage for later planting. I found them this spring and had to toss them. I guess that's one way to avoid planting them.

Randy's Lakeview Nursery & Bulk Supercenter is having their Oktoberfest Saturday October 2nd. I will be there from 12:00 PM to 3:00 PM so join me in the festivities. There will be free hot dogs, soda, popcorn, face painting, balloons and a train ride through the nursery for children. Now that sounds like a great time! Hope to see you there.

~ Shelly  

Totally Tulips (Part III)...
If you enjoy the thought of continuously blooming tulips in your spring garden you will need to round out the early and middle bloomers (discussed in the previous two issues) with some of these later blooming varieties:

  • Single Late Tulips incorporate the former Darwin, cottage, and breeder tulips.  Along with the Darwin hybrid tulips, they are some of the tallest tulips.  Flowers are borne on stems up to 30 inches tall and available in a wide range of colors.
  • Double Late Tulips are often referred to as peony-flowered tulips.  The many-petaled flowers are borne on 12 to 20 inch stems.  Plant double late tulips in protected locations as the large flowers can be damaged by rain and strong winds.
  • Viridiflora Tulips produce long-lasting flowers which have prominent green markings on their petals.  The unusual flower characteristics make it a novelty item in the garden.
  • Lily-flowering Tulips have long pointed petals which arch outward, the flowers somewhat resembling a lily.  Flower colors include white, pink, red, yellow, and purple. Several varieties have petals edged or feathered in contrasting colors.  Plants grow to a height of 20 to 30 inches.
  • Fringed Tulips have flowers with elegant fringed petals. Many varieties are mutants of single late tulips.  Also known as "crispa tulips."
  • Rembrandt Tulips produce striped or "broken" blooms. The white, yellow, or red petals are striped with red, bronze, or purple.  These types were bought for huge sums during the "tulip mania" in Holland in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries.  The unusual markings were actually caused by a virus.  Due to the virus, the original Rembrandt tulips are no longer sold.  However, there are several modern, virus-free Rembrandt tulips available.
  • Multi-flowering Tulips produce 3 to 7 blooms per stem.  The main stem of multi-flowering tulips branches into secondary stems.  Each secondary stem produces a flower.  The flower on the main stem is slightly larger than those on the secondary stems.  Many of the multi-flowering cultivars belong to the single late tulip class.  These tulips are 14- to 20-inch-tall plants which bloom late in the season.  Several varieties are multi-flowering Greigii tulips which are 8 to 12 inches tall and early blooming.

Next week, Species Tulips...

Source

Chilly Change In The Air...
Looking at the forecasts I'd say there are some chilly mornings in store for us soon!  There's no frost on the horizon (yet) but keep in mind that our first frost is due in mid-October.  Remember that Mother Nature has her own agenda and doesn't have much time for statistics and averages.  Surprise early frosts can be a problem if you're not prepared.

For those of you new to Savvygardener.com we hope you will enjoy our timely frost alerts.  We send these e-mail alerts to all subscribers when we believe an untimely frost is likely.  Hopefully we are still several weeks from our first frosty scare.  Cross your fingers!

Dig This...
Fall is the preferred time to plant many trees and shrubs.  Warm soil, moderate air temperatures and autumn rains all help a tree adjust to its new environment and set down roots with a minimum of stress and shock.  If you are transplanting deciduous trees and shrubs, wait until their leaves have dropped or at least changed color.  Evergreens and conifers, however, benefit from early planting in fall.  In either case watering (1 inch weekly until the ground is frozen) and mulching the root zone are crucial to success.

 


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Make Green Tomatoes See Red...
When it gets as cool as it has been lately the green tomatoes still on your vines just aren't going to ripen there
(photo).  And what's worse, if a rogue frost descends on them it's game over.  Here are two approaches to getting them to ripen out of harms way:

  • Remove the whole plant, roots and all, and hang it upside-down in a cool, dark area indoors or in a garage.  At temperatures in the 60's those tomatoes should ripen nicely.  Just pull them off the vine as they are individually ready.
  • If the above method is a bit messy for you try picking the green tomatoes and individually wrapping them in newspaper.  Place them in a paper bag or cardboard box and store in a cool, dark place.  Keep an eye on them periodically.  When they start to redden up unwrap them and let them finish ripening at room temperature.  Hint - If you're in a hurry place an apple in the bag with the wrapped tomatoes.

Tasty red tomatoes won't be far away!

Only 90 Shopping Days Until Christmas...
Christmas is still a way off but if you are planning on displaying home-grown poinsettias it's time to start planning.  Poinsettias are short-day plants and must be tricked into blooming for Christmas.  Follow these steps:

  • Find a dark, cool (around 55 degrees) place where the plant will be kept at "night".  It must be absolutely dark as even short exposure to a light bulb will throw the process out of kilter.
  • Place the poinsettia in this dark place at 5 Pm and leave it there until 8 AM the following day.
  • Between 8 AM and 5 PM place it in a sunny window where temperatures will remain near 70 degrees.  
  • Do this for 11 weeks, watering and fertilizing as usual.

With care and patience you should have healthy, blooming poinsettias for the holidays.

 


Don't Miss Oktoberfest!

Randy's Lakeview Nursery
& Bulk Supercenter

Saturday October 2nd.
There will be specials throughout the nursery along with food and fun for the whole family!

 

 

Needle Drop...
Savvygardeners are starting to see noticeable needle drop on some of their pines. This is a process where 2 to 4-year-old interior needles turn yellow, then brown, and eventually drop off. Don't be alarmed! This is a natural phenomenon that occurs every year and does not hurt the tree. However, some years it is much more noticeable than others. Still worried?  Be sure to check that only the older needles are affected (the needles on the tips of the branches should look fine) and that there is no spotting or banding on the needles that are turning yellow.

Source

New Turf Tips...
If you planted grass seed and have new grass coming in here are a couple of good reminders for you:

  • Keep it cut to about 2½ inches.  Just be careful that mower wheels don't tear the grass from the soil.
  • Don't apply any herbicides or insecticides until the new grass has been mowed three times.  

Finally...
"In the quiet hours when we are alone and there is nobody to tell us what fine fellows we are, we come sometimes upon a moment in which we wonder, not how much money we are earning, nor how famous we have become, but what good we are doing."

~ A.A. Milne, Author

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