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October 13, 2004

Wishes Granted...
We finally got our wish. Mother Nature showered us with some much needed rain and cooler temperatures. It sure feels like fall! I made homemade chicken noodle soup (one of the family favorites) Monday night. We discussed at the dinner table how it still might be a bit too warm for soup but it was a nice change from all of that summer food we've been eating. Not only does the weather dictate what we do in the garden but the kitchen as well. Fall weather brings changes to the landscape and the Marsh family menu. A relief to all - especially the cook.

I still have some pansies hanging around that need to be potted (photo). Kevin and I are hosting a party this weekend so I am frantically trying to make sure the gardens are manicured to look their best. We are entertaining outside so I am hoping that the weather cooperates. At this point I keep checking the long-term forecast hoping for dry conditions. It would be silly of me to think that it is going to be warm. After all, it is the middle of October and when choosing to entertain outside this time of year there are certain risks involved. 

My dear friend Jan Olson, General Manager of Family Tree Nursery, recently experienced a small disaster. His computer crashed (I think we have all been there before) and he lost the addresses he had accumulated for his store's e-newsletter. So if you would like to know what is happening at all of the Family Tree Nursery stores you can re-subscribe here.

~ Shelly  

Don't Dig Too Deep...
Planting a tree this fall?  Great idea!  Just make sure you do it right.  The planting depth of a new tree is extremely important and often done improperly. Trees that are planted too deep may not grow as fast or be as healthy as those planted properly.

Here's what to do. Dig a hole twice as wide and slightly shallower than the root ball. Roughen the sides and bottom of the hole with a pick or shovel so that roots can penetrate the soil. The root collar (where the trunk and roots meet) should be at least even with, and as much as an inch and a half higher than, the final grade.

Bedtime For Gardens?
We are often asked how and when to "put the garden to bed."  The term "putting the garden to bed" means preparing the garden for winter and the weather will dictate when that date is.  Our first frost is normally in mid-October (any time now).  How "hard" that first frost is will help you decide whether or not it is time to cut back all perennials and rid the garden of all annuals.  We always like to squeeze as much time as possible out of my fall garden knowing that once that hard frost hits winter is well on its way. We'll keep you posted on the weather and when that first hard frost is coming.

Why Isn't My Red Maple Red?
Why do some red maple trees have yellow fall foliage instead of brilliant red? Although fall color will vary with different environmental conditions, in many cases the yellow foliage of these red maples is simply due to the genetics of the individual tree. Unnamed red maple trees grown from seed are not always brilliant red. They have highly variable fall color. If you want a red maple with red foliage in the fall, choose named, vegetatively propagated red maple cultivars such as Red Sunset, Magnificent Magenta or Autumn Flame. October Glory has outstanding foliage color but is late in acclimating for winter and can be damaged by early cold snaps. However, even these "good" cultivars will vary in the level of "redness" from year to year. A number of things can reduce the intensity of color including extreme heat or drought during the summer and cloudy days and warm nights in the fall.


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Oak Galls?
What are those round bumpy lesions that are appearing on some local oak trees?  Very possibly Oak Galls.  A number of tiny non-stinging wasps, mites and flies are the culprits behind abnormal growths that develop on the leaves of twigs of oak trees.  These galls can include growths that are round, spiny, flattened, elongated or star-shaped.

Generally, these gall insects do not cause significant damage to their hosts though some of the leaf galls can cause deformity to make a tree unsightly.  Also, severe infestations of twig galls can cause twig dieback or, in rare cases, death.  However, just because a twig is covered with galls does not mean that it is dead.  Twigs that otherwise look like a solid mass of galls may still leaf out in the spring.  More details and a photo are available here...

Moving The Mums...
Your potted mums can be transplanted into the garden for many years of enjoyment.  For best results, transplant them into well-drained soil as winter injury is most common when mums are planted in poorly-drained soils.  Potted mums are often grown in a mix that is very high in organic matter.  If these are planted in very heavy clay soil without first amending it, the difference between the two soil situations often prevents good root establishment and increases the chance of winter kill.  

After the leaves have turned brown, cut back the tops and apply a loose airy mulch several inches thick allowing light to get to the small basal shoots during the winter. The purpose of this mulch is to provide wind protection and keep the soil shaded and frozen so that frost heaving is minimized.  This protective mulch may be removed or pulled away from the crown by early to mid-April after danger of severe cold is past.

Source

What's Hot On The Hotline...
Mid-October already?!  Yikes!  Time to start thinking about winter.  It's hard to get in that mode - especially when the weather has been so nice.  But we need to plan ahead.  You'll find help in this week's What's Hot On the Hotline...

If It's Growing We're Mowing...
When do Savvygardeners stop mowing their lawns? When the grass stops growing of course. As long as it continues to grow keep bluegrass cut to 2 inches and tall fescue to 2½ inches.  

Don't forget to keep the leaves from piling up and smothering the grass below!

Finally...
"We need two homes, a green one and a brown one, a grown one and a built one, two worlds in tension."

~ Robert Harbison, Eccentric Spaces

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