Fall - A Time to Prune, Plant and Preen

Well, it is Fall in the Midlands. Not that all the growing and blooming has ceased, but for many of us our landscapes have experienced much growth - for some, out-of-hand growth.

You had (or perhaps, had not) spent much of the summer keeping up with or keeping your beautiful property.

Some of this growth is obvious in some of your more open format trees and shrubs while much of the interior mess is hidden beneath the surface of those more compact shrubs and hedges you've been trimming since April.

Fall (and Winter) is a wonderful season to get at those plants with some well planned and executed pruning to keep them healthy, airy and attractive for next season. A few may need some corrective measures, but you will need to get inside them a little to know what's truly going on with those gorgeous things you spent time and money on.

There are many shrubs and trees which can be pruned in Fall depending on the plants bloom-habit and your preference. Actually, there aren't many plants which can't be pruned (not indiscriminately trimmed or sheared) most any time of year if the right care and techniques are used. And, many will still produce plenty of blooms to enjoy when the time comes. So, if you've missed that ideal time and your favorite whatever(s) is now a mess, let's take care of it soon so you can enjoy it through the holidays and even more so in the Spring.

Depending on the plant, there are many which can be planted or transplanted during the Fall, getting established before and during Winter (If we have one.) and ready to roll next Spring. We don't live in Vermont so the ground temperatures allow for planting virtually year-round. And, you won't be scrambling around during Spring when your existing plants need attention.

Also, with all the humidity, rainfall, growth, and reproduction and its associate droppings, pitch and debris our properties experienced over Spring and Summer, Fall is the perfect time to:

• Prune and/or remove (overgrowth, intruding and encroaching branches, vines, etc.).
• Clean out weeds (remove).
• Pressure wash man-made surfaces - drive and walkways, decks, retaining walls, siding, foundations, etc.
• Re-establish plant bed borders.
• Re-stain/seal decks.
• Simply do some outdoor housekeeping for football season, family and friend visits and the approaching holidays.

And, please remember two things about lawn grasses even after we get out of the growing season (whenever that may be):

• They still take advantage of sunlight so don't wait until you have this downy-like comforter of leaves and/or pine straw on your yard to blow or rake them away - do it when needed.
• Their root system will still enjoy some H2O occasionally even when it's not 90° and 85% humidity.

Need assistance? Give us a call at 803-553-5757, go to back40.us or use the Contact Us feature to the right.