Flowers (annual and perennial)

Time to Plant Fall Bulbs

It is becoming time to plant fall bulbs showing up in stores now or order online from bulb companies. You can plant the usual tulips, daffodils, crocus, and hyacinths, but there are other less familiar bulbs you can try.

Fritillarias

One is the Fritillaria lilies growing up to 4 feet tall with large blooms. Another variety is the snakeshead lily, which has a checkered pattern on the flowers.

Alliums

My favorite is the Alliums which are related to the onion family. There are many species ranging in growth from a foot to over 4 feet. The round heads come in purple, white, yellow, and pink colors.

Dutch iris

We know of the German bearded iris which spreads on top of the ground. There is a Dutch iris that grows from true bulbs. The bulbs are small but the flowers are big. The colors range from blue, yellow, purple, white, and bi-colors.

Planting Guide

A good rule of thumb is to plant the base of the bulb at least 3 times as deep as the bulb is tall. Keep the soil moist after planting until the ground freezes.

Spring-blooming bulbs make a wonderful companion to any annual bed or perennial bed. In the annual bed, they provide early color to start offspring. When you get ready to plant your annual flowers, just plant them between the bulb plants and let them grow. They will cover and hide the yellowing foliage of the bulbs.

In the perennial bed, just plant between the perennials and forget them. Depending on the type of bulbs, you added 6 weeks of bloom time to the bed.

Bulbs will naturalize in the corners of the backyard or around trees and shrubs.

The most important thing to remember is to let the bulb foliage yellow and dry up naturally. Never cut and remove the green foliage, you will cut off the food reserve for next year.

Landscaping, Shade Trees and Shrubs, Shrubs

Fall is a Good Time to Plant Trees and Shrubs

Fall is a good time to plant trees and shrubs even better than spring. It is cooler and the weeds are less of a problem and you have more time to spend in the garden or landscape.

Most container plants will be root-bound this time of year. Just be aggressive and rough up the root ball so the roots will break into the surrounding soil. Just keep watered and later on before the ground freezes, mulch with a couple of inches of mulch. The keeps the ground from freezing and thawing, breaking the new roots.

Plant up to 6 weeks before the top of the ground freezes. With a mulch, you can extend the planting time to the end of October. I planted two shrub roses actually in November six years ago and they are still growing.

Landscaping, Shade Trees and Shrubs

Weeping Mulberry

Many of us that plant shrubs and trees, anything that will take the heat of summers and the cold of winters. While that is the main consideration, there are others like leaf color, growth habit, fruit, and so on. A weeping mulberry is a good example of growth habit and form.

Weeping Mulberry Tree
Weeping Mulberry Tree

Take my weeping white mulberry tree. The variety is “Chaparral” which is a male cultivar making this tree fruitless. Planting a weeping tree does make a statement. The Chaparral grows up to fifteen feet with branches coming to the ground. Once established it is drought tolerant. Also, mulberries have no pest or disease problem, and deer leave them alone.

This variety comes from the white mulberry tree, which is native to Asia, however, is naturized in this country. It is the food for the silkworm and was why it was imported to the United States. The silkworm industry was short-lived, and the tree was grown for shade and fruit. The two other mulberries are black and red which are native to Europe and North America.

Mulberries have male and female trees, and it takes two of these trees to produce fruit on the female tree. Many people find the fruit very messy in the landscape, which is why you want to look at getting a male variety.

One note, the weeping mulberry tree is very slow in leafing out waiting till the end of May.