Fall is a Special Time for Northern Arizona Gardens

It’s a time of transition – there’s still a lot of life left in your late summer garden, with late bloomers that grow quickly and give your garden beds or patio containers a splash of color. (Deadheading flowering plants will help encourage those last few blooms, by the way).

Then, there are the flowers that love the cool temps of this time of year: mums, asters and the second wave of hardy pansies and violas that you haven’t seen since spring.

You can also still harvest from your veggie garden as well. Cool season vegetables like arugula, broccoli, spinach, kale, onions and radishes will germinate within 30 days and can stand a light frost.

Your best bet, if you are growing cool season vegetables from seed, is to find out the growth rate and calculate the time needed to grow versus the first expected frost. In the Flagstaff area, that can range from late September to mid-October, depending on what section of town you are in.

But the stars of the fall planting season are your trees, shrubs and bulbs.

Many experts prefer fall planting to spring for trees and shrubs. The biggest benefit is the combination of warm soil and cool air that autumn provides. It’s perfect for stimulating root growth, which means your tree or shrub will be well established before the ground freezes.

Additionally, at this time of year, the earth is wonderfully saturated from the monsoon rains. This also encourages deep root growth.

This doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about watering! You should always make sure any newly planted plants get daily watering, regardless of the time of year or rain levels.

Here are a few tips for planting your new tree or shrub:

• When you are planting, make sure the hole you dig is about twice the width of the root ball of your shrub or tree and equally as deep. (It’s better to plant it a little above ground level than too deep.)
•  Don’t just fill it with the soil from your garden – amend it with something like Warner’s Supreme Planting Mix to make sure it provides your new plant with the nutrients it needs. Place some of the amended soil in the bottom of your hole as well.
•  Water your plant thoroughly before you place it in the hole.
•  Remember to remove any wire on the root ball or to fold back the burlap so that you expose the trunk and about four inches of soil.
•  You can add some fertilizer tablets, but make sure that they don’t touch the root system of your plant.
•  Don’t forget the mulch. It will help conserve moisture, prevent weeds and maintain moderate soil temperatures.
•  Once your tree or shrub is in the ground, prevent transplant shock and promote root growth by watering thoroughly with a root stimulator.

Finally, there is one more thing you should be planting – although you won’t get to see the results until next year – bulbs.

• If you want tulips, crocuses, hyacinth, irises and daffodils next spring, you need to get their bulbs in the ground now. I can’t tell you how often we get people in March asking if we have daffodils they can plant.

Here are some basic tips to getting gorgeous spring blooms:

•  Your optimal time to plant is late September through October. The cool night temperatures prevent the bulbs from rotting and the coming winter will guarantee your bulbs get the necessary chill needed to bloom in spring.
•  Bulbs need at least partial sun and well-draining soil. If your soil is mostly clay, amend it with planting mix.
•  You’ll want the hole for your bulb to be about 3 times the size of the bulb. So large bulbs like tulips or daffodils will need to be about 8 inches deep and other, smaller bulbs will be planted about four inches deep.
•  Make sure your bulb’s “nose” (the pointy end) is facing up out of the holWe hope you enjoy the end of summer and the beginning of one of my favorite seasons – fall. If you need any help with making the transition and extending your garden throughout the new season, please call or visit Warner’s Nursery. We’d be glad to help.

We hope you enjoy the end of summer and the beginning of one of my favorite seasons – fall. If you need any help with making the transition and extending your garden throughout the new season, please call or visit Warner’s Nursery. We’d be glad to help.

Happy gardening! FBN

By Misti Warner-Andersen

Misti Warner-Andersen is the manager of  Warner’s Nursery & Landscape Co., located at 1101 E. Butler Ave. in Flagstaff. To contact Warner’s Nursery, call 928-774-1983.