Continue to divide perennials. Plant any new purchases promptly. Continue to plant deciduous shrubs and trees.
Get those bulbs in the ground. Daffodils, tulips, et al, need time to put out roots. Tulips aren't as needy, so save them for last. But don't keep them in your hot, dry house; garage or porch is much better.
Pot hardy bulbs for forcing, and water well. Mark the date on each pot, especially if you want successive displays. Most need 12 to 14 weeks of cold (40 degrees), dark conditions (translate: the refrigerator). For more details, consult www.dutchgardens.com, type "forcing" in the search field, then click on "articles."
Save money: Rake all leaves into a compost pile. Not only do you get free compost to improve plantings, but if everyone does so, the municipality also can spend less on trash pickup. Mix in green matter - annuals pulled roots and all from the ground, plus cleanup from the vegetable patch.
Be selective when cutting back perennials. Stalkier sorts - rudbeckia, sedum "Autumn Joy" - provide winter interest. Ferns and ornamental grasses do better if trimming is delayed to early spring. Leafy trimmings become green matter for the compost.
Delay major pruning of buddleia, caryopteris, and lavender till spring. But deadhead caryopteris - and asters - to prevent a profusion of seedlings next year.
Realize the silver lining of not deadheading earlier: Collect seeds. Sunflowers, species salvias, tithonia, oxypetalum, coneflower, cardinal flower, coreopsis, and platycodon have seeds that are easily gathered and usually come true when planted. Trying to get the spring-loaded seeds of impatiens is fun distraction for young children and the nonjaded.
Thank your lucky stars for any still-outside houseplants that dodged frost early this week. And get them indoors as soon as possible. To the coolest room, to prevent additional trauma from such a change in environment.
Keep the Christmas cactus in the dark. Blossoming is directly related to lessened light as the days get shorter. So with the plants inside, keep them out of rooms with evening lights. An unoccupied guest room is excellent. If necessary, put a cardboard box over the plant so it gets a full night of darkness. When the first bud shows color, bring the plant to a sunny window.
- Michael Martin Mills
Next week, answers to gardening questions. Write to Michael Martin Mills, The Inquirer, Box 41705, Philadelphia 19101, or gardenqanda@earthlink.net. Please include locale. Read his recent work at http://go.philly.com/michaelmartinmills.
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