October has arrived!

George Wedel

Shorter days, cooler nights, and turning leaves-all announce the most spectacular season of the year. Autumn in Michigan is tops for enjoyable landscape beauty. Autumn weather also provides relief from the hot rays of summer, allowing gardeners to "crank-it-up a notch or two" and complete many landscape and garden projects. Each October there seems to be a flood of landscape, lawn and garden opportunities. Experienced gardeners know taking advantage of every good day to plant, fertilize, weed and seed,
will reap great dividends next year with plants that are rooted in well, will bloom better, green up earlier, and grow faster.

Need some inspiration to jump start your landscape improvement project? I suggest first a walk or ride through several neighborhoods, parks or the local countryside. Take notes of attractive shrubs and trees, pick a few leaves, then pay a visit to Wedel's Garden Center. We will identify the plant of interest and show you the plants that are available.

Wedel's nursery sales area is bursting with fresh plants just received from our nursery farm including beautiful sugar and scarlet maples, bright lush green arborvitae, white pine, hemlock evergreens, blue spruce evergreen, and brilliant euonymus Alatus Compacta burning bush. Hundreds of chrysanthemums have just arrived in bright fall colors. Bopping pansy plants are anxious to brighten up any garden. Flowering kale and cabbage are real show-stoppers. Beautiful asters in blue, red and pink will repeat bloom year after year. Also at the garden center are over 350 varieties of tulips, hyacinths, crocus, daffodils, and a host of specialty bulbs to tantalize every gardener. Now that's some real inspiration for every gardener!

Planting spring flowering Dutch bulbs every autumn is high on the priority list for most gardeners. This fall, let's take on the challenge to plant a sequence of blooms from March through mid-June enjoyment.

Our spring gardens should satisfy all season long. From the early iris, Eranthus (winter Aconite), Snowdrops, and crocuses of late winter, the spectacular show of tulips, hyacinth and daffodils in April and May until the show stopper blooms of the many alliums arrive to take their turn in June, your spring garden can be a garden showplace. All it takes is a smart planting strategy this fall.

When shopping Wedel's exciting spring bulb selection be sure to buy and plant some Double Tulips. Since the early 1700s, Dutch tulip hybridizers have sought naturally-occurring double tulips to create the exquisite Double Tulip hybrids we know today. Double tulips include; mid spring flowering, red Abba, yellow with red stripes Monsella, bright pink Peach Blossom, sulphur yellow Monte Carlo. For late spring blooms try Double Late tulips, White flamed with red, Carnaval de Nice, dark red Uncle Tom, Blue Diamond, Lilac Perfection, soft yellow Crème Upstar and Black Hero.

You have seen them in their full glory lighting up the landscape beds on 12th Street and Texas Drive, every spring at Wedel's Garden Center. They are none other than Wedel's Pride tulips. These extra large blooming tulips on sturdy stems are the hit of the spring flower gardens. Pride tulips are choice Darwin Hybrids that unlike most tulips grow a much larger bulb which develops a larger flower. Pride of Texas Township is golden yellow, Pride of Kalamazoo bright red, Pride of Michigan striking pink, and Pride of Portage ivory white. Want outstanding spring garden color? Plant Pride Tulips. Don't miss one of the greatest shows on earth, a beautiful spring bulb garden. Plant some Dutch flower bulbs this weekend.

Still want more? Don't forget to include daffodils and hyacinths in your bulb planting plans. If you are looking for a traditional yellow daffodil King Alfred, Carlton or Dutch Master are excellent choices. Need something short and cute, try Tete a Tete. Want something unique, try Changing Colors. Changing Colors open to a soft yellow then change to cream and pink. If fragrance is what you desire don't forget to add some hyacinths to your garden. Daffodils and hyacinths are deer and critter resistant.

For successful bulb plantings, plant in well drained soil, at the correct depth, with a teaspoon of Bulb Tone fertilizer under each bulb. Spring bulb blooming sequence and planting depth charts are available free at Wedel's.

There's still plenty of time to plant grass seed, time to kill weeds, and time to apply fall fertilizer to encourage lawns to thicken up. With the weather changes at this time of year bringing shorter days and cooler nights, the turf grows less rapidly, vertically, than occurs in the spring. More lateral growth now results in improvement if turf density after the rigors of summer so fertilization in the fall deserves top priority. Fertilizing now ensures that more of the carbohydrates, manufactured by photosynthesis will be stored, building energy for early spring green-up. I recommend an application of Scotts Lawn Pro Fall Lawn Fertilizer be applied now and Scotts Super Winterizer November 1st.

There is still time to make lawn improvements. If you suspect your lawn soil is too compact; bring samples into Wedel's Lawn Turf Experts for testing. Compact lawn soil will be greatly improved by running a corring machine over the turf and then applying gypsum and Clay Soil Conditioner. Be sure to irrigate lawn with one and a half inches of water 24 to 36 hours before corring.

Lawn owners who have not applied a grub control yet this fall should do so very soon. Grubs have hatched and are now munching on grass roots. Heavy feeding will result in thin and bare spots next spring. Get complete grub control within two days with Dylox. Dylox Grub Control is easy to apply with a spreader and should be watered in immediately. When the snow finally disappears from the lawn in March, many home-owners are dismayed by the mole damage to their lawns. When the ground is not frozen under the security of deep snow, moles begin to plow up your favorite turf. To avoid winter mole damage to lawns and flower gardens, I suggest applying Repellex Mole Repellent soon. I have found one application of Repellex gives me four to five months of mole relief in our yard.

Want a weed free lawn next spring? If so kill perennial and bi-annual broadleaf weeds now. One spray of Weed Free Zone broadleaf weed killer in October will assure you of a dandelion-free lawn next spring.

As the tree leaves fall on lawns, be sure to remove them quickly or pulverize them with a mulching lawn mower before they smother grass, and cause bare spots. Michigan State University research show that tree leaves, when chopped fine, may be left on the lawn. Sharpening the mower blades will help grind the leaves finer. Take care that the pulverized leaves do not cover the grass blades entirely.

Homeowners that experienced snow mold damage last winter in their lawn should be ready to take preventative measures. Both pink and gray snow mold can damage turf when temperatures range from 32 to 50 degrees and the grass is damp, usually from November through April. Prevention of snow mold is the best way to control it. First, fertilize turf with Scotts Super Winterizer. Mow the lawn late into the fall if it is still growing; never allow the grass blades to remain long going into the winter. Tall grass will mat under snow loads, which encourages snow mold. Set your mower for the last autumn mowing in November to one and a quarter to one and a half inches.

Two fungicides applied alternately whenever thawing conditions allow will prevent snow mold damage. The first spray should be Halt Systemic Fungicide applied in mid-November. The second should be Banner sprayed on turf in December. Repeat these sprays in late February or early March.

Now is the time to cut down all dormant perennial flower and leaf stems that have turned from their normal green. Leave stems six inches tall to help catch and hold snow. Next, and most importantly, feed perennial plants now. A great fertilizer mix that works very well in Joyce's perennial garden is as follows; mix well in a half bushel size container, ten pounds of composted cow manure, one cup of bone meal, and five cups of Plant Tone and add to this mixture mycorrhizae. Apply one cup of the mix around each medium size plant. Scratch in three inches deep. This is a sure formula for healthy, strong blooming perennial plants next year.

This is also the best time of year to fertilize deciduous shade trees. In October and November before the soil freezes, trees expand their root systems and store up energy for next spring's growth. Homeowners who value their trees should care for them this autumn. I recommend using Tree Tone fertilizer around every tree. This is my proven method; pour one-half cup of Tree Tone in holes two feet apart under the tree. Drill feeding holes in three circles, one at the drip line, one five feet beyond, and another five feet inside the drip line. Use a tree feeding auger attached to a cordless drill to speed up the task. After feeding trees, irrigate them with two inches of water.

Feeding rose bushes in late autumn is the secret for more vigorous plants and blooms next season. Fertilize rose bushes the first week in November with one-third cup Super Phosphate and five pounds of composted cow manure. Cultivate this mixture in three inches deep around each rose bush.

A great project today would be to remove most all vegetables from the garden. Squash, pumpkins, tomatoes, eggplant, and melons will all deteriorate quickly if left out much longer. Cool, damp weather spells the end for these tender fruits. Potatoes can rot if soil becomes moisture laden. After harvesting, I recommend going over the garden with a rotary mower to shred the vines. Next, rototill in any compost that is ready along with composted cow manure, gypsum, and lime, if needed. After rototilling, overseed the vegetable garden with field rye. The field rye will protect the soil all winter, and when worked into the soil next spring, will increase the organic content of the soil.

It is time to prepare to lift summer bulbs that will not take the cold weather. One of these evenings soon we will experience a killing frost. Be sure to have begonias, cannas, and other tender bulbs dug before the cold soil or frost injures the tubers, rhizomes, and bulbs. If these roots become too cold, they won't store well over the winter. It is very important to be weather wise right now. I winter store these tubers in large pots packed with potting soil placed in a cool corner of the basement. Stop in to Wedel's for a complete bulb and tuber storage instruction sheet.

Now is the time to begin applying rabbit and deer repellents to plants susceptible to winter feeding. Laws banning hunting in some localities have increased deer damage to landscape and native plants tremendously. Both deer and rabbits begin to browse on woody plants after the first hard frost. I recommend Repellex Deer and Rabbit Repellent to protect valuable plants. Repellex can be purchased as a concentrate and applied with any compression hand sprayer or mixed in a ready to use sprayer. For best protection spray now in mid December and again in February.

Many evergreen plants are dropping yellow and brown needles at this time of year. In most cases don't worry! Every autumn, evergreens shed their older, or inner, needles. This is quite a natural event. I use the sight of falling needles as a signal to fertilize evergreens. All valuable evergreens should be fertilized with Tree Tone in the autumn and have soil well irrigated thoroughly before the ground freezes.

Whenever you have gardening questions, feel free to come to Wedel's Nursery, Florist and Garden Center, your twelve month horticultural center. Our experienced Michigan Certified Nursery Specialists and Master Gardeners are always happy to help you any day, any season.