Trevor O'Reilly of TnT Lawnscapes, a landscaping and lawn care company that focuses on organic methods, was back to talk to us about fall planting and pruning. A few of his tips:
- Now is the time to aerate and seed your lawn. Because of our clay-like soil, aerating is essential for the health of your grass.
- Do a soil test. It's not as hard as it sounds. Simply pick up some boxes at your local extension agent (the closest one is probably at 1418 Armory Drive off 7th Street), fill them with soil from your planting beds and your lawn and mail them in. You'll get back a report that tells you about the soil in each location and what it needs. (Hint: If you have trouble reading it, Trevor can help.)
- Plant new shrubs and trees in the fall, not the spring. All the Garden Centers have beautiful flowering shrubs and trees in the spring, but planting at that time of year is tough if you don't have an irrigation system. New plants often don't survive our hot summers, Trevor says: "Not watering for a week during a Charlotte summer can kill young trees and shrubs." A better idea? Plant in the fall or even in the winter, as long as the ground doesn't freeze.
- Don't just drop your new plant into the ground. Make sure you dig a hole at least twice the size of the root ball and mix some good stuff (peat moss, soil conditioner, sand) in with the clay. Also, don't forget to break up and loosen the root ball with a knife to encourage the roots to grow into the soil. If the plant has a burlap root ball wrapped with twine, just leave it on there; it will biodegrade. If it has a cage, put the root ball into the ground first, and then cut the cage.
- Winter is best for transplanting. Have some plants you want to move? Prune them first to ease the transition, and then do it when they're dormant in the winter. Dig out the biggest root ball you can and then follow the guidelines above. If it's a particularly big plant, you probably need heavy equipment and it may end up costing you less simply to remove it and buy a new plant.
- Remember, plants grow. When you get a new plant, read the tag! If it says your Loropetulum will grow to be 8-feet-tall and 8-feet-wide, it really will grow that big, Trevor says. So don't plant it two feet from your house!
- Pruning Rule-Of-Thumb: Don't take off more than a third at any one time. But you can take off a third this year and another third next year.
Planting Techniques for Plans & Shrubs: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-601.html
Growing a Fall Vegetable Garden: http://www.ces.ncsu.edu/depts/hort/hil/hil-8001.html
Have more questions or need someone to do the work for you? Call Trevor O'Reilly at 704-661-5697 or email him.
