November is the month to prepare your landscaping for the winter but don’t overreact and cut down the ornamental grasses now. Take the time to enjoy the wonderfully bright and comfortable days of Autumn, perhaps with a good friend or book.

In the Garden….

• Tie the arborvitae, junipers and yews with jute twine so they don’t spread apart with wet snow. On taller bushes, tie at your sholder, waist and knee heights, twice around, snug but not too tight.
• Remove any leaves from beds that have black spot, tar marks or other disease. Don’t compost oak leaves with other leaves. Keep seperate.
• Get any Spring bulbs in the ground by the middle of this month for Spring displays. Plant in groups not in lines.
• With leaves down, cut any rubbing branches of shrubs and trees down to prevent futher damage.
• Wrap susceptable bushes and young trees with 1/4 inch hardward metal screen to prevent girdling from voles and rabbits.
• Set out traps and check them daily to limit vole and mice populations before the cold weather comes.

On the Lawn….

• Cut the lawn down to 2 inches to make leaf raking easier. Don’t scalp it, though.
• Blow or rake leaves off lawn areas.
• Fertilize with a 20-15-20 formulation but not a slow release, by Veteran’s Day. This last application will replace the early Spring application but will benefit you and the lawn, better.

In the garden shed…

• Clean all tools and apply WD40 to any metal parts of all tools, power equipment and hand tools.
• Run dry all engines or use Stabil according to directions.

Keep Jacrist in mind for all your gardening design and installation needs. Find out why our clients, “Call Us and Consider It Done!”

We would like to thank all of our clients from this past season for a God-blessed and healthful season. This year was wonderful for all the different projects we were able to be a part of, including patios, decks, walls, water features and site landscaping. We were honored to be a part of your lives and we hope that we have exceeded your expectations. Thank you.

October is a glorious month to witness all that you can behold. Plan on getting outside, take a brisk walk, quietly sit on your patio or deck with a glass of wine with cheese, crackers and apples or take bike or car drive to witness the beautiful fall colors.

What to do this month:

• Don’t fertilize until Election Day!  Wait until the beginning of November to add the final application of lawn fertilizer. Don’t use a slow release formula and keep the potassium and potash numbers (the middle and last number on the label) in the range of 15-20.
• Continue to cut your lawn but no lower than 2 1/2 inches.
• Blow leaves away from beds and lawn - Leaves need to be removed from your lawn to prevent matting and for disease control. Any leaves that fall from crabapples, maples, oaks that may have bacterial spot or fungal spores need to be removed and not recyled on-site. Keep in mind that oak tree leaves contain tannin which naturally keeps competive plants from growing near them. Don’t compost them with other leaves.
• Continue to plant Spring flowering Bulbs until the middle of November. Plant in groups of 3. 5 or 7’s for a natural look, not in a line mimicking the edge of the bed. Use daffodils and fritillaria, not tulips, in rabbit and deer areas. (See link on side of page for Breck’s)
• Divide peonies, dayliles and iris now for better flowering next spring.
• Don’t cut back chrysanthemums until Spring; they will overwinter better.
• Don’t cut back ornamental grasses until Spring; you will lose their architectural beauty to extend landscape interest in the winter months.
• Start to set out traps for moles now to decrease their population prior to the cold weather.

Give us a call for your landscaping or hardscaping needs. We will continue to plant until the end of this month and install patios, walks and walls into December.