Winter's Coming
A little attention to your landscape in the fall can make it look great the rest of the year. Time to get mulching.
9 Tips for Winter. Why not 10? ‘Cause we didn’t need it.
1. Fertilize Less, Southern lawns like Bermuda, Zoysia, St. Augustine and centipede grasses, largely go dormant in winter months and don't need fertilizer. However, Fertilizing can be extended year-round* in South Florida. A ‘Soil Test’ is an excellent way to determine if you're giving your lawn what it needs. It will give you information like soil pH and nutrient levels, and provide recommendations for fertilizer amounts. *Contact your local government agency for certain chemical restrictions or time limits.
2. Repair summer's damage. Now is a great time to repair a damaged lawn. If you're racing the cold, wait till Spring.
3. Don't put away the hose. Have a professional inspect and adjust your irrigation system. Watering shouldn't end with Labor Day, so don’t turn off your irrigation system. Generally, your lawn should get an inch of water every 14 to 21 days. The ground should be moist as it heads toward winter, but not soggy.
4. Go easy on the pruning. As a general rule, give your loppers and shears the Winter off. The last Pruning should be done in September. Pruning promotes growth, and you don't want to encourage growth when plants are preparing to go dormant for winter. There are some exceptions, so call your local cooperative extension service if you have doubts about a particular tree.
However, now is a good time to cut off dead wood so insects and pests have no place to hide.
5. Transplant away! Autumn is a great time to transplant trees and shrubs. Due to the unforgiving Florida Summer, the Fall will give the tree a much longer season for the roots to get established. They won’t have those other stresses like heat, pests and fungus while the plant can put all of its energy into root growth.
6. Making Ornamental Beddings (flower beds). Flower beds don't need a ton of work, but there are some things you can do. One thing we do recommend for fall is cleaning out Annuals and Perennials that have a lot of dieback on them.
7. Think spring. Now is the time to plant Annuals to enjoy during the winter and possibly year-round. They're not very expensive, and they give you some fresh colorful flowers. October is a great month to start planting your Annuals if it’s cool enough. Marigolds, Pentas, Daffodils, Geraniums, etc.
8. Mulch, mulch around the tree should look like a doughnut, not a volcano. Pull the mulch away from the trunk a bit so it doesn’t smother the plant. Aslo, survey your plant beds for the thickness of mulch and add if needed. You should have about 3 inches of mulch in your planter beds to help hydrate plants and minimize the weeds. Caution: do not place 3 inches of mulch against plants.
9. Survey and Assesment, Now is a good time to take a look back at what worked last season and what didn’t work. Also, try to recall the weather and other contributing factors of why it did well or poorly. This should aide in making future landscape decisions and reducing your carbon footprint. Contact Coastal Quality to help you winterize and you can enjoy a day at the beach before it gets too cold.
