MARK CULLEN: Taking Care of Your Garden
By Lucas on Nov 14, 2013
By Mark Cullen
Autumn is a great time of year to take a leisurely approach to your garden. Without the weeds growing to beat the band and insects pretty much out of the picture you might think that all there is to do is to bring in the harvest, cut your lawn one more time and watch TV.
Truth is we have a wall in this part of the country that creates some urgency around the ‘putting your garden to bed’ stuff and it is called ‘winter’. It may be weeks away or the first snow fall can occur in mid November – who knows?
Use this column as your check list and chances are you won’t miss a thing. Post it on your refrigerator.
What to do:
Lawn. This is the most important application of fertilizer you will make to your lawn all year. A quality fertilizer will build up natural sugars at the root zone that will hold your lawn over the winter and bring it back in good shape next spring, like a well fed bear. Less snow mold, burn out and a faster green-up come spring will result. Golfgreen is all that I use as it has the most sophisticated slow release formula on the market. And it is made in Canada by a Canadian company. Look for 12-0-18
Cut your lawn before the major freeze up at its normal height (2 ½”). Use a mulching mower if you can and do not leave anything – leaves or grass clippings – on the lawn over the winter. Rake them off the lawn onto the garden.
Fruit trees and young flowering trees. Crabapples, fruit bearing apples, pears, plums and the like all need to be protected from rabbit and mice damage during the winter. I use plastic spiral protectors on the bottom of the tree trunk and get great results. After a tree has matured to about 10 cm diameter (measured about 80 cm up the trunk) this is no longer a concern as the rodents like the bark of young trees only. Be sure to treat your flowering crabapple and plum the same way.
Roses. Hybrid tea, floribunda, grandiflora and miniature roses all need to be insulated from the effects of the freeze thaw cycles. The best protection is a thick (60 cm or 1 ½ ft) layer of triple mix or clean top soil mounded at the base of each plant. A corrugated plastic rose collar helps to mound the soil even further up the canes of the plant, giving more protection to the roots and bud union of the plant. Climbers do not need winterizing, generally and hardy shrub roses never need it.
Upright evergreens. Upright evergreens like junipers and cedars need to be protected from both the drying effects of the wind and the potential burning effects of late winter sun as it reflects off of the snow. I use 2 layers of burlap. Try the new ‘mummy wrap’ in the Mark’s Choice line up: it simplifies the job.
Wind sensitive evergreens. Rhododendrons, yews, boxwood, holly and other broad-leafed evergreens are all susceptible to ‘desiccation’ – the drying effects of winter wind. This is an easy one to prevent with one application of Wilt-Pruf. Available at all hardware stores and garden centres.
Fallen leaves. Use the leaves that fall in your yard to either build your compost or as a mulch on flower beds for the winter. Empty your compost of the finished stuff to make room for the new raw material. Mix 4 parts leaves with 1 part left over annual plants or grass clippings. Green Earth Compost Accelerator gets compost off to a great start.
Water. Turn off your outdoor water faucets, but not before you water all of the evergreens under your eves or fascia around your home. Believe it or not, the roots of evergreens much prefer to be wet before the serious freeze up and will over winter much more happily for a good soaking. Roll up garden hose and put in the shed/garage/basement.
Come spring your lawn and garden will bounce back to life as it should and you can thank yourself for taking good care of these last minute details.
Mark Cullen appears on Canada AM every Wednesday morning at 8:40. He is spokesperson for Home Hardware Lawn and Garden. Sign up for his free monthly newsletter at www.markcullen.com.
