October Gardening Calendar – 2023

October Gardening Calendar – 2023

As the gardening calendar turns to October the fall season begins to unfold with beautiful cooler weather and the start of seasonal color changes. October brings gardener’s wonderful cooler weather to get out in our garden and perform our October gardening calendar tasks. I would like to mention a few gardening tips for the month of October.

Plant New Shrubs, Trees, and Perennials: Have you been thinking about replacing a few shrubs that just did not quite get established in the landscape or just need to be replaced, or planting a new shade or flowering tree that you just cannot live without in your landscape? Now, is the time to start thinking about making that purchase? The fall season is an excellent time to add new shrubs, trees, and perennials to your landscape. This time of year will let your newly planted shrubs, trees, and perennials to get a head start by developing and establishing new root growth in the soil. Garden centers advertise Fall is For Planting with several fall sales and advice. Plant a tree to help combat Climate Change.

General Watering Tips For Newly Planted Trees, Shrubs, and Perennials: A landscape can be designed to fit a plant's water requirements.  Failing to water properly is a common error among gardeners.  All plants should be moist before planting, plants get all of their moisture and nutrients from the original root ball until establishment.  Shrubs should be watered slowly at the base of the plant for 20 to 30 minutes.  This method waters the area of the root ball and the surrounding soil.  The water will move deeply into the soil encouraging the roots to grow deeper into the soil, instead of along the surface.  Roots that grow along the surface are more prone to wilting.  Trees should be watered slowly for 20 to 30 minutes; the watered area should reach the tree's branch circumference.  This procedure encourages the roots to grow deeper and throughout the soil. Newly planted trees and shrubs should be watered twice a week during the fall and winter months; and newly planted trees and shrubs should be watered three times a week during the spring and summer months. Continue to water your newly planted trees and shrubs for the first year and half or 18 months. After that water once or twice a week. After the third-year or fourth-year watering should be during periods of drought.

Fall Color Annuals and Fall Bulbs: Fall color annuals and bulbs are ready to purchase at your local retail garden center. Add a little color to your garden this season by planting these wonderful, low maintenance beauties. Mentioned in the fall color annuals newsletter, you can still plant annuals in a container even if you have a garden. Fall color containers make wonderful accent pieces to your patio, deck, front porch, or any outdoor living space. Purchase your fall bulbs early for spring color. A few varieties can be used for forcing color for the holidays. For More Information On Fall Color Annuals: Click Here. For More Information On Fall Bulbs: Click Here.

Houseplants: Start planning where you will place your Tropical Plants that spent the summer outdoors. When the temperatures start shifting to towards 55 degrees at night start planning on bringing them in. Trim back, if necessary and inspect for insects. Before bringing indoors it is a good idea to spray with Neem Oil or Horticultural oil a week before coming inside. I prefer to use horticulture oil on my houseplants. Neem Oil and Horticultural oils are environmentally friendly and will give your Houseplants a nice shine along with killing any insects. Neem Oil or Horticultural Oil are both recommended to spray on Houseplants. Read the label for the dosage for houseplants or tender plants. Check out our selection of Tropical Plants.

Fall Vegetables: If you are planning to start a fall vegetable garden early, October is the best time to purchase your vegetable starts. Broccoli, cabbage, collards, beets, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, onion, kale, spinach will grow excellent in the fall. Don’t have room to plant a fall vegetable garden, but would like to grow your own vegetables? A planting container 16 inches or larger can be used to grow fall vegetables. For More Information on Fall Vegetables: Click Here.

Mulching: Rake up all the old mulch under your crabapples, red tip photinia, roses, and replace. This will help prevent diseases on next year’s new leaves. The plants listed are prone to diseases. With all new plants planted in the fall it is highly recommended to add 4 – 6 inches of mulch. Mulch acts as an insulator in fall and winter and in spring and summer will help keep your plants cool.

Composting: Fall is a good time to start composting all the leaves falling off the trees. Composting is a natural form of recycling that continually occurs in nature. Studies have shown that by home composting you can divert an average of 700 pounds per household per year from the waste stream. In addition to the leaves, you can compost kitchen scraps such as, apples, carrots, onions, potatoes peels, tea leaves, coffee grounds, yard clippings, or anything else organic. Your planting beds and garden plants will enjoy the treat. For my information on composting Click Here.

Weeds: Apply a pre-emergent weed killer to lawn and shrub bed areas. The pre-emergent works by killing the weed seeds from germinating. The application will last about three months or longer. Check package label for how long the product last and when to reapply next application. This product does not kill existing weeds, existing weeds need to be pulled or spray with a weed killer.

Halloween Decorations: Halloween is only 9 weeks away and we have wonderful Halloween Decorations and Home Decor. Order early for on time for your Halloween Party. This year Halloween is on Tuesday, October 31. To View all Halloween Decorations, Click Here.

The Blogger, Cheryl Ann Meola, has several Links to share with you featuring her fine art plant photography and merchandise. Click on the links below.

Fine Art America Portfolio.

Society6 Portfolio. Society6 has more Household merchandise. 

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Shutterstock Stock Photography.

For Cheryl Ann Meola’s Adobe Stock Photography.

For Live Herbs and Live Plants.

Cheryl Meola © 2022.

 

Halloween Decor and October Gardening Calendar

 

October Gardening Calendar – 2022

As the gardening calendar turns to October the fall season begins to unfold with beautiful cooler weather and the start of seasonal color changes. The season brings all of us gardener’s wonderful cooler weather to get out in our garden and perform our October gardening calendar tasks. I would like to mention a few gardening tips for the month of October.

Plant New Shrubs, Trees, and Perennials: Have you been thinking about replacing a few shrubs that just did not quite get established in the landscape or just need to be replaced, or planting a new shade or flowering tree that you just cannot live without in your landscape? Now, is the time to start thinking about making that purchase? The fall season is an excellent time to add new shrubs, trees, and perennials to your landscape. This time of year, will let your newly planted shrubs, trees, and perennials to get a head start by developing and establishing new root growth in the soil. Garden centers advertise Fall is For Planting with several fall sales and advice. Plant a tree to help combat Climate Change.

Fall Color Annuals and Fall Bulbs: Fall color annuals and bulbs are ready to purchase at your local retail garden center. Add a little color to your garden this season by planting these wonderful, low maintenance beauties. Mentioned in the fall color annuals newsletter, you can still plant annuals in a container even if you have a garden. Fall color containers make wonderful accent pieces to your patio, deck, front porch, or any outdoor living space. Purchase your fall bulbs early for spring color. A few varieties can be used for forcing color for the holidays. For More Information On Fall Color Annuals: Click Here. For More Information On Fall Bulbs: Click Here.

Fall Vegetables: If you are planning to start a fall vegetable garden early, October is the best time to purchase your vegetable starts. Broccoli, cabbage, collards, beets, brussels sprouts, carrots, cauliflower, garlic, onion, kale, spinach will grow excellent in the fall. Don’t have room to plant your fall vegetable garden, but would like to grow your own vegetables? A planting container 16 inches or larger can be used to grow fall vegetables. For More Information on Fall Vegetables: Click Here.

Mulching: Rake up all the old mulch under your crabapples, red tip photinia, roses, and replace. This will help prevent diseases on next year’s new leaves. The plants listed are prone to diseases. With all new plants planted in the fall in is highly recommended to add 4 – 6 inches of mulch. Mulch acts as an insulator in fall and winter and in spring and summer will help keep your plants cool.

Composting: Fall is a good time to start composting all the leaves falling off the trees. Composting is a natural form of recycling that continually occurs in nature. Studies have shown that by home composting you can divert an average of 700 pounds per household per year from the waste stream. In addition to the leaves, you can compost kitchen scraps such as, apples, carrots, onions, potatoes peels; tea leaves, coffee grounds, yard clippings, or anything else organic. Your planting beds and garden plants will enjoy the treat. For my information on composting Click Here.

Weeds: Apply a pre-emergent weed killer to lawn and shrub bed areas. The pre-emergent works by killing the weed seeds from germinating. The application will last about three months or longer. Check package label for how long the product last and when to reapply next application. This product does not kill existing weeds, existing weeds need to be pulled or spray with a weed killer.

Halloween Decorations: Halloween is only 3 weeks away and we have wonderful Halloween Decorations and Home Decor. To View all Halloween Decorations, Click Here. 40% off Halloween Decor Click Here.

Need botanical stock photography? Click Here.

Cheryl Meola © 2022.   

Spooky Halloween - Cheryl Meola © 2022. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

November Gardening Calendar

November Gardening Calendar

Blow or rake fallen leaves from lawn areas. The leaves left on the lawn block the sunlight to your grass and will create bare spots. Don’t forget to compost the leaves. Spray each layer with water. Need a composter? This month all Cedar Products are 30% off. Click To Order Your Handcrafted Cedar Composter.

Plant spring-flowering bulbs now and add bone meal to the planting hole. For more information on fall bulbs Click Here.

You can save your Elephant Ears, Dahlias, and Caladiums by digging them up now. Let the tubers dry out before storing for the winter. Store tubers in boxes layered with peat moss or vermiculite, then layer tubers on top of your choice of medium. Store boxes in a cool, dry place.

After the flowers have faded on Chrysanthemums and Asters prune to 4 inches.

Fill bird feeders with black oil sunflower seeds. Need a new bird feeder this fall season? Click To Order Your Bird Feeders.

Plant New Shrubs and Trees: Have you been thinking about replacing a few shrubs that just did not quite get established in the landscape, or planting a new shade or flowering tree that you just cannot live without in your landscape? Now, is the time to start thinking about making that purchase? The fall season is an excellent time to add new shrubs and trees to your landscape. This time of year will let your newly planted shrubs and trees get a head start by developing and establishing new root growth in the soil.

You still have time to plant your winter color such as: Chrysanthemums, Pansy, Viola, Snapdragons, Stock, Cyclamen, Dianthus, Sweet Alyssum, Flowering Cabbage and Kale provide winter color through the spring and should be still available at garden centers. For spring blooms plant Bluebonnet and Poppy seeds this fall. For more information on fall and winter annuals click here.

Holiday Plants that you kept last year need to be placed in a dark room during the evening hours for the plants to bloom this holiday season. I remember this gardening ritual when it is time to turn back our clocks; it is time to give my holiday plants total darkness until I see buds or bracts forming. Christmas Cactus and Poinsettias are night dependent plants for them to bloom; these plants need so many hours of darkness to bloom. The cooler weather also helps in the blooming process. If you purchased new holiday plants, try to place them in the coolest area of your home.

Have you ever tried forcing Paperwhites for the holidays and the stems and blooms became leggy? Here is a link to an article about what to do to prevent the legginess from occurring. Click Here To Read More: http://www.hortmag.com/weekly-tips/cultivation/growing-paperwhites?et_mid=525016&rid=2111517

House Plants that were brought indoors need a ¼ turn to prevent leaning towards the light. Turn your house plants weekly to prevent this. House plants do not need as much water during the winter months, water when the top one inch of the soil is dry. Hibiscus and More has a selection of plant stands. This month all plant stands and garden décor are 30% off. Click to order.

Cheryl Ann Meola

Certified Texas Nursery Professional #1282

Fall Bulbs

Fall Bulbs

As the Labor Day Weekend comes to a close that is our signal that the fall season will be coming very soon. We as gardeners know that we have a mental list of gardening duties to perform before the fall season ends. One of the gardening duties would be to plan ahead for planting fall bulbs in your garden. Fall bulbs are sold only for a limited time during the season and should be purchased in advance because a few of the bulbs mentioned require to be chilled in the refrigerator before planting, if you reside in USDA zones 11, 10, and 9. Crocus, Hyacinths, Narcissus, Daffodils, and Paperwhites all require 4 to 6 weeks of chilling. Tulips require 8 weeks of chilling. Bulbs are easy to plant and give you wonderful spring color.

Anemone. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 15”. Planting Requirements: 2 “deep at 3 – 4” apart planting on their sides. Soak the tubers over night before planting and water well after planting. Planting months are from October through December, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. The flowers are good for cutting.

Calla Lily. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 14 – 18”. Planting Requirements: 3 to 4” deep at 1” apart. Planting months are from September through November, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. The flowers are good for cutting.

Crocus. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 4 – 6”. Planting Requirements: 1 to 2” deep at 2 – 3” apart. Planting months are from September through November and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting.

Freesias. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 18 – 24”. Planting Requirements: 1 – 2” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are from October to November, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the bulbs at two-week intervals starting in October. The flowers are good for cutting and are very fragrant.

Hyacinths. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 12”. Planting Requirements: 5” deep at 6” apart. Planting months are from November through December and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting and are very fragrant. The Dutch varieties are good for forcing.

Iris – Bearded. Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade. Height: 30 – 32”. Planting Requirements: ½ - 1” deep at 8 – 12” apart. Planting months are from August through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Iris – Dutch. Light Requirements: Full sun to light shade. Height: 18 – 22”. Planting Requirements: 2 – 4” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Leucojum. Light Requirements: Partial shade to shade. Height: 16 – 20”. Planting Requirements: 2 to 3” deep at 4” apart. Planting months are from October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Muscari. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 5 – 6”. Planting Requirements: 1 to 2” deep at 3” apart. Planting months are from October through November.

Narcissus – Daffodils. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 18 – 20”. Planting Requirements: 4 – 5” deep with 5 to 6 bulbs per square foot. Planting months are from November through December and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting.

Paperwhites. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 14 – 16”. Planting Requirements: 4” deep with 5 to 6 bulbs per square foot. Planting months are from October through November and require 4 – 6 weeks of refrigeration before planting. The flowers are good for cutting.

Ornithogalum. Light Requirements: Full sun to partial shade. Height: 10 – 12”. Planting Requirements: 2” deep at 5 – 6” apart. Planting months are from October through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

Ranunculus. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 18 – 24”. Planting Requirements: 2 “ deep at 4 – 6” apart planting with the claws pointing down. Soak the tubers over night before planting and water well after planting. Planting months are from October through December, and to extend the blooming season you may plant the tubers at two-week intervals starting in late October. Can be combined with Anemones. The flowers are good for cutting.

Tulips. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 20 – 22”. Planting Requirements: 6” deep at 5” apart. Planting months are from late December through January and require 8 weeks of refrigeration at 48 to 55 degrees before planting.

Watsonia. Light Requirements: Full sun. Height: 4 – 6 feet. Planting Requirements: 3 – 4” deep at 4 – 6” apart. Planting months are from September through November. The flowers are good for cutting.

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