August 11, 2020

Before you know it fall will be here, and along with it the task of prepping your landscape for winter.

Attentive maintenance now can help you get the most out of your plants before the fall work begins.

1. Keep control of the weeds. Some weeds actually thrive in cooler temperatures, so don’t let them go unchecked. Many survive just fine under snow and are happy to greet you first thing in the spring if you don’t remove them now.
2. Dead head your perennials on a regular basis. By removing spent blooms, you enable the plant to put its energy into developing the last few flowers of the season.
3. Do you have perennials big enough to divide in the fall? You might have open space to fill in your landscape. If so, make a plan now for which ones to divide and where you will put them.
4. For a fresh pop of color, replace spent annuals with a fall annual like ornamental kale or a perennial like chrysanthemum.
5. If you have bushes or a hedge in need of shaping, give them one last trim for the year.