How to Pick Trees for Fall Color (and other things to do in November)

November is a great time to add trees to your landscape. Especially deciduous trees with fall color. You can pick trees now, because as you shop for them you will see what they look like in full fall color. Each tree has a slight variation in color and now is the best time to see what the colors of a specific tree are! A planting tip to think about...Remember to support trees in windy areas.



A few other things to do

Use a bloom-booster fertilizer on cool-season flowering annuals to keep them blooming, and if you have Plumeria or other May - July flowering plants you can add some to them too.

If you have a fall/winter crop of vegetables treat them weekly with water-soluble fertilizer only if you did not add slow-release fertilizer at planting time.

Remember... organic is better for our environment! Plants won't know the difference, but the planet will!

What to do in the Garden in October/November

The days are getting shorter and the nights are getting cooler, so you need to make the most of your gardening time. Here is a list of some things that you should be doing in your garden now.

Plant cool-season herbs - chives & parsley & pot up summer herbs & bring into the kitchen.
Plant seeds for cool weather veggies - send me an email if you want a list. Make sure to treat vegetables with slow-release fertilizer at planting.

Dig & divide flowering perennials & ground cover - lily turf, irises, agapanthus,and day lily

Trim evergreen shrubs - remove & replace overgrown shrubs if necessary

Clean up around fruit trees and discard split fruit check those berries and remove raspbery and blackberry plant canes.

Mulch over tender bulbs (cannas, caladiums, dahlias, tuberous begonias & gladioli)

WATERING NOTE: Up to 80 percent of residential water use goes to maintaining our yards. Is your irrigation system running every day? That’s too much! Try taking a day off the timer, preferably the same day the lawn is mowed, and watch the health of your yard improve. If that day is off already… take another one off.

Plant annuals - ageratum, begonia, petunia, sweet alyssum, pansies for winter color

Now is time for the last fertilizer application of the year--including your lawn! Be sure to take this opportunity to fertilize. Make sure to feed citrus trees with a citrus fertilizer at a rate of 1 pound per food of tree spread

Fertilizer Note for Palm Trees, shrubs, and ornamentals:

Slow-release fertilizers provide a steady supply of nutrients for the plants over a long period of time. The primary advantage of a slow release fertilizer is the convenience. In general, slow release fertilizers do not need to be applied as often as water-soluble fertilizers. The optimum fertilizer regimen is three applications per year: once in early spring, once in early summer, and once in late fall. Use a balanced fertilizer (equal numbers) with micro-nutrients.

Add a thin layer of compost to just about everything - your houseplants & lawn included!



"If you are not killing plants, you are not really stretching yourself as a gardener."
~ J. C. Raulston

Lotus - A Guest Post from Ghana

As some of you may know, my eldest son, Marlon is studying abroad at the University of Ghana in Accra. Ghana is in West Africa, so he is VERY far away. I am so proud of him for taking this journey and although I worry (like any other mom) it makes me very happy to know that he is having such a unique and life changing experience. Recently he sent me photos of some plants that he saw in a pond, knowing how much I love plants and wanting to share his photos with me (and to see if I knew what they were). It came to light that he was writing an essay, so of course I asked him for it. I think that it is a wonderful thing to be able to experience so much of this amazing world we live in, so I am sharing this with you in hopes that you will enjoy traveling with me a bit, if only on the worldwide web.

Balme Pond Flora by Marlon Molinare
The pond in front of the Balme library at the University of Ghana,
Legon is home to the magical Nelumbo nucifera most commonly referred
to as the lotus flower. According to Hindu tradition, Visnu along
with Sarasvati and Lakshmi are often depicted sitting on top of lotus
flowers, symbolizing divine beauty and the expansion and unfurling of
the human soul. Among the Botany world however, Nelumbo nucifera is
admired for it’s unique structure and interesting temperature
regulation mechanisms.



The lotus flower anchors itself down to the muddy substrate of the
pond and lies with its leaves on top of the murky water. On average,
the flowers reach heights around 150 cm with radii of approximately 30
cm. This intuitive structure allows the plant to anchor itself to a
stable environment, makes photosynthesis easy by placing the leaves on
the water’s surface, and allows for easy pollination by insects by
sticking up high above neighboring plants



Dr. Roger S. Seymour and Dr. Paul Schultze-Motel of the University of
Adelaide, Australia found that Nelumbo nucifera is able to regulate
it’s internal temperature much like humans and other warm blooded
animals. It has been hypothesized that the lotus flower increases its
temperature in order to accommodate its cold-blooded insect
pollinators. In doing so, the lotus flower provides a warm
environment for the insects that sip its nectar to feed and mate,
while pollinating the plant in the process.



Another fun fact about Nelumbo nucifera is that its seeds can remain
viable for hundreds of years under favorable conditions with the
oldest documented successful germination being from a seed 1300 years
old found in a dried lakebed in northern China. The Lotus flower’s
leaves are also comprised of tiny raised bumps that make them
waterproof and allow water to bead off of the leaves with ease.

You can read about Marlon’s adventures in Ghana at his blog:

http://marloninghana.blogspot.com/