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North Mississippi Gardening Tips
October, 2004

FLOWERS

Fall is an excellent to time to transplant the majority of spring- and summer-flowering perennials. Be careful not to transplant any marginally hardy perennials at this time -  better not to disrupt the root system when winter is approaching. Also avoid transplanting your fall-blooming perennials, as this may affect the fall show of blooms.

Now is the time to select and purchase spring-flowering bulbs. Whatever bulbs you buy select the firm unblemished ones. Don't plant until the ground begins to cool - usually mid to late October in our part of the country. Why? Because if you plant too early the bulbs may begin to sprout top growth before the roots are developed.

This top growth will be killed by winter freezes, which will only weaken the bulb and lessen the chance of quality blooms next spring. Try your best to have all your spring-flowering bulbs planted by Dec. 1 to allow adequate time for root development before spring bloom.

For you "crafty" folks, now is the time to gather armloads of fall flowers, grasses, and other materials from your garden, fields, or woods. Bunching together with rubber bands and hanging in a hot, dry place for a week or two can dry these materials. Couple with lichens, acorns, moss, cones, and other items to create beautiful wreaths, topiaries, swags, garlands, or other crafts. There's a wealth of natural materials in the fall that can be used for dried floral crafts. You're only limited by your imagination.

TREES AND SHRUBS

When selecting a tree for the landscape, we usually consider the size of rhw tree or maybe its flowering potential. We sometimes overlook one attribute that would make an impact in the landscape during the fall and winter. I'm talking about fall and winter color, which could be leaves or fruit.

Think about the attractiveness of the fruit on the crabapples, hollies, American beautyberries, and many others. We all know of the fall color of the maples. But what about the fall foliage color of our native trees like the sourwood, black gum and sweet gum? I don't care what the persnickety folks say about the sweet gum and its "litter ball" problem -  in the right place, I love it! No other tree exhibits the range of foliage color as the sweet gum, and it's all on one tree! If you want this tree, or have this tree in your yard and don't know what to do with all those balls, contact me. I have a whole list of wonderful uses for the sweet gum ball.

The best time to plant trees and shrubs is during their dormant time. This would be around January or February for us.

GROUNDCOVERS AND LAWNS

Growth slows on warm-season grasses in north Mississippi with the onset of cooler weather. Dormancy does not start until the first frost which occurs around Oct. 31 in our area of Mississippi. If you want to overseed with a temporary winter lawn grass you still have time. If you live in Zone 7A, the recommended seeding dates for perennial ryegrass is Sept. 15 through Nov 1. For annual ryegrass the dates are Sept. 1 through Nov 1. For Zone 7B, the recommended seeding dates for perennial or annual ryegrass is Oct. 1 through Nov. 15.

Now is the time to plant your cool-season lawn grasses. Tall fescue, Kentucky bluegrass, and creeping red fescue can be seeded from Sept. 1 through Nov. 1 in Zone 7A. These grasses are not recommended for the other zones in Mississippi.

Groundcovers are a group of plants that are used quite effectively in those problem areas of our landscapes. For example, when you can't get grass to grow under those trees, quit fighting Mother Nature and plant a groundcover instead. Got a bank that is eroding or difficult? Plant a groundcover. Viola! Less maintenance and problem solved. Some common examples of groundcovers for shade are liriope, hosta, ajuga, ferns, or mondo grass. Some less common examples you might want to consider for shade groundcovers are epimedium, strawberry geranium, asarum (wild gingers), bergenia, or sweet woodruff.

VEGETABLES

Before the first killing frost puts an end to your warm-season vegetables, one way to extend your tomato harvest is to pull up the entire plant with tomatoes attached and hang the whole thing upside down in a cool garage, cellar, or basement. The tomatoes will continue to ripen. When you serve these tomatoes to the family and friends at Thanksgiving, you can legitimately claim they were vine-ripened right in your garage. Won't they be amazed!

You can do your pepper plants the same way. Although the fruit will remain fresh on the plants for some time, they will not continue to ripen. A handy tool for "taking care" of the last of the harvest is a dehydrator. In August, my dehydrator was full of figs. After that, I used it for apples, peppers, herbs, rose hips, and anything else I can fit into it! I have even dried out soggy bugs for my son's insect collection. It also comes in handy to dry out wallets, homework, and other important documents that get washed in the washing machine at our house. My husband recently bought an "industrial quality" dehydrator for me at a yard sale. I'm figuring I can dehydrate at least a bushel of apples or a week's worth of homework papers and notebooks.

Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes North Mississippi Gardening Tips monthly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.