October

These suggestions for your garden are intended for central Texas.  However, if you are not in central Texas these suggestions may still be helpful but may need to be done earlier or later in the season depending on your location.

 

Want to stop the winter weeds before they get started? Now is the time to apply a pre-emerge weed killer to your lawn so you will not have to fight these weeds in the spring. These pre-emerge herbicides can be bought by themselves or with fertilizer and kill weed seed as it geminates for about 3 months.

 

Green Light Amaze is a very good pre-emerge herbicide that can be applied to lawn and flowerbeds. Ferti-lome All Seasons has the pre-emerge herbicide Barricade in it as well as fertilizer. This can save time and money by having to buy one product and having to apply only one product. Ferti-lome All Seasons can be applied in the spring to fertilize and prevent weeds that sprout in the spring.

 

A good fertilizing in the fall will help your lawn recover from the heat of this last summer and promote root and stem growth to help get it through the coming winter. Fall fertilizing is important in helping your lawn tolerate the cold and getting started again in the spring.

 

Now is the time to plant Pansies, Snapdragons, Calendula, Mums, Fall Asters, Dianthus and Cyclamen to add color to your yard this fall and winter. The Pansy, Snapdragons, and Calendulas are annuals and will last through April or May of next year. The Mums and Fall Asters will bloom this fall, then freeze, then come back in the spring and bloom again. These plants are hardy perennials and will repeat this cycle for years.

 

Fall is also a great time of year to plant trees and shrubs. Planting and getting the trees and shrubs established in the fall will allow them more time to get their roots established for next summer.

 

Mark S. Ney   

Certified Texas Nursery Professional #4749