Gardening Guide

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Monthly Gardening Tips (Conventional & Organic) – November

Fall Is The BEST Time to Plant!

PLANT:
• Trees, shrubs, vines, ornamental grass, etc. now so they can get well established by next summer’s heat.
• Annuals & Perennials – Pansies, violas, ornamental cabbage/kale, cyclamen, snapdragons, dianthus, dusty miller, salvia, skullcap, blackfoot daisy, heuchera & more. Dig, divide & replant spring blooming perennials.
• Spring-flowering bulbs. Refrigerate tulips & Dutch hyacinths for at least 45 days at 45º and plant after mid-December. Daffodils and grape hyacinths can be planted as soon as you buy them.
• Annual or perennial ryegrass and fescue seed early in the month for green grass all winter.

PRUNE:
• Perennials by removing dead foliage. Mulch over those that die back to the ground for added protection.
• Shrubs as needed to reshape and remove dead branches—save major pruning for late winter.
• Trees as needed to remove dead or damaged limbs—prune major limbs in late fall/early winter. Remove unwanted surface roots—limit removal to 1 or 2 significant roots each year. Good time to prune oak trees to avoid Oak Wilt problems.
• Tropical plants you want to move indoors for the winter. Spray with Ferti.lome Triple Action, or use systemic insect drench or granules, or drench root ball with a mild orange oil solution first, then move inside before temperatures reach the mid-40’s.

WATER:
• Potted plants & flower beds as needed; shrubs & trees less often in cool weather, but deeply to produce hardier, better rooted plants. Water before forecasted frosts or freezing temperatures to reduce damage to plants and trees. It’s a good time to install drip irrigation or call Covington’s to do it for you (LI0021683).
• To improve water retention in your plantings, add Soil Moist & Expanded Shale, or Covington’s Soil Builder which contains compost, greensand, and expanded shale (holds 38% of its weight in water). Covington’s Soil Builder also breaks up clay, adds nutrients, & revitalizes microbial activity.
• Top dress landscape and flower beds with a 2-3 inch layer of mulch to help retain moisture, reduce weeds & maintain soil temperature. The average first freeze occurs in our area in mid-November, so have frost cloth on hand to protect tender plants.

Trees installed for less than two years must have special care to ensure a strong and healthy root system. See our Plant Article, Tree Care for the First Two Years for details.

CONVENTIONAL FERTILIZATION, PLUS WEED, DISEASE & PEST CONTROL SOLUTIONS

FERTILIZE:
• Pansies & other annuals w/Covington’s Premium Flower & Garden Fertilizer or Hi-Yield Blood & Bone Meal.
• Newly planted trees and shrubs every 3-4 weeks for the first year with Ferti.lome Root Stimulator.
• Trees, shrubs, vines, groundcover, perennials with Covington’s Tree & Shrub Fertilizer.
• Roses with ferti.lome Rose Food or ferti.lome Rose Food with Systemic Insecticide.
• Lawn with Covington’s Premium Lawn Fertilizer 21-7-14 as last application of the year to prepare for winter.
• Herbs and vegetables with w/Covington’s Premium Flower & Garden Fertilizer or ferti.lome Gardeners Special 11-15-11.
• Iron-deficient plants w/Max Green Iron 22/60 or Ferti-lome Soil Acidifier Plus Iron to encourage greening.

WEEDS & DISEASE CONTROL:
• Spot treat broadleaf weeds such as dandelion, henbit & clover in St. Augustine or Bermuda grass with ferti.lome Weed Free Zone.
• Use ferti.lome Systemic Fungicide for powdery mildew, disease & fungi on hawthorn, photinias, roses, etc.
• Keep fallen leaves off your lawn—they compact and trap moisture which can lead to turf diseases. Apply Bonide Infuse to St. Augustine for fungal infections including Take All Patch and Brown Patch. For added protection, spread ½ inch layer of Canadian Brown Sphagnum Peat Moss on infected area & water in.
• Continue spray program for fruit and nut trees with ferti.lome Triple Action or Bonide Fruit Tree Spray.

INSECT & PEST CONTROL:
• Control aphids, spider mites, mealy bugs, thrips & other problem insects with Bonide Systemic Insecticide.
• To control fire ant mounds/infestations, use Hi-Yield Bug Blaster Granules or Extinguish Fire Ant Bait.
• Use Hi-Yield Slug & Snail Killer to control slugs and snails on flowers and foliage, or use Sluggo Plus in children’s play areas and areas near pets.
• For best control of scale & to kill borers in the trunks of trees, use Bonide or Ferti-lome Systemic Insect Drench which protects for months.

ORGANIC FERTILIZATION, PLUS WEED, DISEASE & PEST CONTROL SOLUTIONS

FERTILIZE:
• Newly planted trees and shrubs with Bioform Liquid Fish & Seaweed with Sulfur to help prevent transplant shock, increase beneficial microorganisms, and encourage root development.
• Flowers, perennials, and roses with Happy Frog Fruit and Flower.
• Vegetable gardens with Happy Frog Tomato & Vegetable Fertilizer.
• Turf, shrubs, and trees with Good Natured Make-It-Green 4-1-2 Fertilizer,
• Spread Dry Molasses to enhance weed control and encourage healthy soil.
• Apply Garrett Juice Plus once a month to your landscape to increase beneficial micro-organisms in the soil and to reduce the need for water.
• Add Texas Greensand for deep greening in trees and landscape plants.

WEED & DISEASE CONTROL:
• Spot treat grassy and broadleaf weeds with 20% Vinegar. Add 2 oz. of Orange Oil per gallon of vinegar to enhance the kill on weeds and grasses.
• Apply Horticultural Corn Meal on landscape plants, vegetables, and turf grass for disease control.

INSECT & PEST CONTROL:
• Use ferti.lome Come and Get It Spinosad Bait for protection from fire ants. To treat individual fire ant mounds, use 3 to 4 ounces of Orange Oil per gallon of water as a drench. Spray Orange Oil in areas infested with pillbugs, sow bugs, ants and spiders.
• For bugs & fungus use ferti.lome Triple Action Plus containing Neem Oil. Safe to use on fruit trees.
• Spray Bonide All Season Oil for scale on hollies, crape myrtles & fruit trees. In hot weather, use these oil products in early morning or evening!
• Repel mosquitoes with Cedarcide granules or spray Bonide Mosquito Beater. Use Mosquito Bits with BTI to kill mosquito larvae in standing water & to control fungus gnats in flower beds and containers.
• Control slugs & snails with Bonide Slug Magic or Sluggo Plus w/Spinosad.
• Use Nature’s Guide Diatomaceous Earth for crawling insects and grasshoppers.
• To deter pesky flower and plant-munching rabbits, use Rabbit Scram and/or Bonide Repels-All spray.
• Use eco-friendly Liquid Armadillo Repellant to get rid of armadillos.