By Tamara Galbraith

Chrysanthemums are one of the staples of the late fall garden. Their hardiness and color range make them perfect for both the landscape and container holiday arrangements.

These tough plants will thrive in less than ideal conditions, although they prefer full to partial sun and good, well drained soil. Their shallow root system dictates that they be watered often. Apply a balanced fertilizer on a regular basis.

After plants are done blooming, pinch or shear back so the mum will eventually develop a bushier shape. Once fall arrives again, don't trim them anymore so buds can develop, and switch to a fertilizer higher in phosphorus to promote blooming.

Mums will survive winter in most zones; however, if you are in one of the extreme northerly areas, apply a thick layer of mulch over your mums to protect them or dig them up and put them in the garage for the winter.

Aphids are the main mum munchers. Other than those little beasts, mums experience little other insect damage.

Believe it or not, the one thing that can really affect the flowering of your mums is nighttime light, so do not plant them where they will be exposed to streetlights or foundation lighting. Like us humans, mums need a good night's sleep to be at their best.

Fall is the time to plant spring blooming bulbs for that wonderful first show of spring that we all love! When you think of spring, daffodils (Narcissus) or maybe crocus come to mind, but there are many other bulbs for fall planting to bring gorgeous color to your spring garden. Some of these even have bloom times that extend into the early summer. These bulbs are originally from all parts of the world. Aren't we lucky that we can grow them here, too!

Preparing your soil for bulb planting is simple. Amend with a good planting mix where you intend to plant your bulbs. As you dig each hole for the bulbs, add a bulb food. Each bulb, corm, rhizome or tuber requires a different planting depth. Follow the packaging instructions or ask one of us for help.

Following this preparation and giving your bulbs the sun/shade and watering that they require will bring you a vividly colorful spring garden.

Now is the time to prepare your soil to plant wildflowers. Plant at this time and you will have larger plants with many more flowers than if you planted them next spring.

To have a good display of spring flowers, you can just sprinkle out the flower seed and rake it into the top 1/4" to 1/2" of the soil and let mother nature do the rest. But if you want to ensure a great color display next spring, it is best to prepare your ground as you would any other seed bed.

• Start by removing weeds.
• Next add a good compost on top of the ground. A 2 cubic ft. bag will cover approximately 100 square feet.
• Turn over the ground with a shovel or rototiller. You may skip this step if the area is exceptionally large.
• Rake out the area, removing any weeds or dirt clods. Sprinkle the seed evenly and rake lightly so that the seed is about 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep.
• Water well so the ground is moist but not soggy.

Most of the seeds will sprout in 3 to 8 weeks. Help Mother Nature a little by watering during dry spells and feeding with a balanced commercial fertilizer. Then stand back and watch that old neglected area turn into a riotous array of color next spring.

1. Plant all types of permanent landscape plants other than bare-root and tropicals.
2. Plant trees, shrubs and vines.
3. Choose plants for fall and winter color in your garden.
4. Continue to shop for spring-blooming bulbs.
5. Plant lilies as soon as you get them home.
6. Buy daffodils, grape hyacinths, ranunculus, anemones and Dutch irises; keep them in a cool, dry place until planting time.
7. Purchase hyacinth, tulip, and crocus bulbs; pre-chill them in the refrigerator.
8. Plant cool-season flowers for winter and spring bloom.
9. Plant cineraria for late winter and early spring bloom.
10. Plant wildflowers.
11. Plant cool-season lawns; this is the best time of year for this job.
12. Overseed Bermuda grass with annual winter ryegrass if desired.
13. Plant cool-season vegetables and year-round vegetables, including carrots and some perennial vegetables.
14. Thin out sweet peas and pinch them back to force branching.
15. Divide, trim, and mulch plants that tend to grow in a clump and that need to be divided, including Kahili ginger, clivia, iris, daylily, moraea, bird of paradise, gazanias, and perennials like Shasta daisies.
16. Cut back zonal and ivy geraniums; finish pruning Martha Washingtons.
17. Divide hardy water lilies.
18. Divide belladonna lilies.
19. Dig up, divide and replant perennials; put unwanted ones in the mulch pile.
20. Cut off runners from strawberries, gather them in bunches, and pre-chill them for November planting.
21. Feed fuchsias.
22. Continue to treat blue hydrangeas with aluminum sulfate.
23. Stop fertilizing chrysanthemums and just enjoy the blooms.
24. Fertilize poinsettias with a complete fertilizer high in bloom ingredients.
25. Feed roses early in October; don't fertilize in November.
26. Water deciduous fruit trees more sparingly in fall.
27. Water roses with up to 1 1/2 inches of water twice a week, unless it rains.
28. Finish pulling out faded annual flowers and cleaning pots and beds for fall.
29. Thoroughly clean up the vegetable garden; pull up the last of the summer crops and compost the remains (if you have had fungus or disease problems, skip the composting and get rid of them instead).

My fruit tree didn't bear any fruit last year; what's the problem?

Answer:

Fruit trees need to flower in order to produce fruit. There are a couple of different causes for fruit trees not flowering. The soil could lack phosphorus, which helps trees produce flowers. It is important to apply a 0-10-10 fertilizer such as E.B. Stone Ultra Bloom to the soil around your trees in November and again in January to provide these vital nutrients. Also make sure not to dormant-prune beyond the previous year's cuts; otherwise you will cut off all of the blooming wood.

We recommend pruning for size control in June using backyard orchard culture techniques. Also, make sure your tree is a self-fertile variety or has the correct pollinator tree, or you won't get any fruit. Remember, only one third of all blossoms will be pollinated and only one third of those pollinated will bear fruit. So, the more blossoms you have, the more fruit you get!

Note: Singing to your tree, massaging it, pleading with it, praying, or having a stern talk with it have been claimed to be effective (to varying degrees) in certain "deeper" parts of the country.

Click to print this article.