Greetings!
Fall is upon us! The trees are stunning in their fiery cloaks of orange, yellow, and scarlet. This is the time of year when we shut off our irrigation systems, clean leaves out of gutters and corners, and prepare the garden for winter. I hope you enjoy reading my tips and ideas on how to put your garden to bed this cozy November.
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A Long Winter's Nap
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 Preparing the Garden
To rake or not to rake? Fall leaves make an excellent mulch for garden beds, so if the area does not need to look perfectly manicured at all times, then I usually recommend that people allow leaves to remain on the ground. They can be raked out of lawn areas and into beds, where they will insulate and protect plants over winter and eventually decompose into nature's finest compost and soil improver.
You should no longer be fertilizing plants at this time, except for flowering winter annuals such as pansies and indoor plants. We want plants to harden off in time for winter, so we don't want to encourage them to put out new growth right now that will only be damaged in the next freeze.
Winter pruning is a major question right now. I recommend holding off on all pruning until around March, since any remaining stalks and foliage will help insulate and protect the roots of hardy plants and better ensure their survival through the winter months. You can tie up flopping grasses and only prune things that are really unsightly looking at this time.
Most people forget to water their outdoor container plants in winter, which causes untold numbers of plant deaths each year. Even though irrigation systems are turned off, you will probably still need to hand water or schedule maintenance visits a couple of days each month. Evergreens, especially, will still need to be watered when the soil looks dry. Even dormant plants such as deciduous trees and shrubs and perennials should be watered when the soil is very dry to keep the roots from drying out completely. I recommend waiting for a day when temperatures climb above freezing -- there are a few days like this each month even in winter -- to water your plants, since the soil will need to be thawed sufficiently enough for water to penetrate.
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