Time to ...
Be kind to houseplants that spent the summer outside. Frost may be weeks away (or just a few days), but the plants will do better if brought indoors now. Lessen the shock by putting them in the coolest room for several days. This weekend, wash them (use the shower) and examine each individually, removing bugs and yellowed growth. Ants living in the pots can be driven out by submerging the entire pot in water for several hours. Repotting can wait till spring.
Continue to divide perennials (except fall-bloomers). Plant any new purchases promptly. Finish planting and transplanting evergreens.
Begin planting deciduous shrubs and trees. As always, loosen roots of potted plants. If a deciduous tree drops all its leave the day after you plant it, it's no big deal; the disturbance has simply hastened natural leaf drop. But that doesn't mean you can ignore it; keep all new plantings adequately watered.
Lift and replant poorly performing peonies. Be careful not to damage the roots. Break into pieces with four to seven "eyes," as the underground buds are called. Essential: Plant in full sun, no deeper than 2 inches, spaced 18 to 30 inches. Ideal: Dig out the full site to a depth of 18 inches. Fill the bottom 12 inches with soil mixed with lots of organic matter and bonemeal (11/2 cups per bushel of improved soil) or superphospate (1/2 cup per bushel). Compact the soil and water; let it settle for a day or more. Fill the hole with more humus-enriched soil but no fertilizer, compacting again. Then plant the peony divisions no deeper than 2 inches. Since properly planted peonies can thrive for 30 or 40 years, this is not undue effort.
Plant bulbs as you acquire them. If you must wait, remove bulbs from plastic bags and keep them in a cool, dry, dark space. Narcissus and especially fritillaria take priority for planting. As the season progresses, there will be sales of bulbs at hardware stores and the like. Although these can be bargains, they may have been kept in less-than-ideal conditions.
Begin lifting dahlias, caladiums, gladiolus, cannas, hymenocalis, and other tender bulbs and rhizomes. If rain has been scarce, water well a couple of days in advance of digging. Store in a cool, dry space. Ginger lily rhizomes (Hedychium sp.) can be planted in a frost-free cold frame or potted for indoors (cut the stalks back and let them resprout).
Add fall color to your garden - even if it is for next fall. Tour neighborhoods and arboretums; if a tree or shrub suits your taste, determine what it is. Get specific information, as in "sugar maple, Acer saccharum 'Majesty.' "
In this bumper-crop year for acorns, collect choice varieties and plant for long-term-future shade. The woods, arboretums, even your neighbors are sources. Be sure the acorns you collect match the oak you are admiring. Acorns must be planted almost immediately - they will not germinate if stored and planted later. Either pick the permanent location now or plant in a deep pot.
Convert surplus lawn to a flower bed for 2010. Turn the sod over and leave in place, grass side down. Freeze-thaw cycles will loosen it and make completion much easier in spring.
Revivify last year's Christmas amaryllis. This presumes you have kept it unwatered for six weeks and thus induced dormancy. Remove dead foliage and repot with fresh soil. Water thoroughly, but not again until growth shows. If you have more than one, consider staggering the repotting by a week to 10 days to get extended winter blooms.
Add impatiens, roots, dirt and all, to the compost. In a week or so, they are liable to be frozen, becoming unsightly slimy blobs. But in the compost, the green matter and soil micro-organisms will combine well with dry tree leaves.
Deadhead these shrubs to prevent excess self-sown seedlings next year: buddleia (butterfly bush), caryopteris, and rose of Sharon (Hibiscus syriacus).
- Michael Martin Mills
Next week, answers to gardening questions. Write to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia, Pa. 19101 or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.
