Garden Tips Newsletter
Pockets of Frost across northern Mississippi!
October 19, 2009
The first light frost has occurred in north Mississippi. I awoke to 34 degrees on my thermometer in Alcorn County this morning. Coleus, basil, impatiens and other tender annuals are showing signs of frost damage. If you haven’t moved in your tender plants that you want to save, you better get moving. Don’t do like I did around 10 o’clock last night as I heard the Memphis TV channels predict areas of light frost, and jump wildly up, dash madly outside and proceed to drag containers of plants through the house. Needless to say my husband was not a happy man!
When planting tulip bulbs in a container, plant with the flat side facing the rim of the pot. This will position the larger outer leaves to drape nicely over the container with the bloom stalk toward the center of the pot.
Start paperwhite narcissus, amaryllis and pre-cooled hyacinth bulbs in mid-November for blossoms at Christmas. Read and follow the instructions that came with your bulb. It takes from 4-6 weeks for these to bloom depending on the growing conditions.
For color and movement in your garden during winter, don’t forget to provide food, shelter and water for the birds and other wildlife. Hulled sunflower seed attracts many types of birds.
Sow fescue or ryegrass directly into containers for a quick, cheap effect. In particular, for those pots that contained summer annuals. These probably look pretty ratty by now and need to be yanked out and thrown on the compost pile. These grass seed can also be used to quickly fill in around those containers of mums, pansies and other fall annuals you have.
Buy spring bulbs now when supplies are plentiful and selection is good. But don’t plant until November in most parts of the state for best results, as the ground will be cooler then. This will help to prevent premature emergence of the foliage before roots have developed sufficiently.
Compost leaves, twigs, and other plant debris from the garden. This is the gardener’s gold. Don’t stress about the correct procedure, just pile it up and watch it rot. You can speed the process by turning the pile and incorporating green material like grass clippings.
STOP! Now, quit working so hard and take time to enjoy the colors, fragrances, wildlife and cool breezes of the fall garden, fields and woods. Take a stroll with a loved one. Sit on that bench with Grandmama or Granddaddy. Swing on that swing with a little one. Go jump in that pile of leaves with your dog!
Lelia Scott Kelly, Ph.D., writes Garden Tips weekly and is a Horticulture Specialist with the Mississippi State University Extension Service. Her office is in the North Mississippi Research & Extension Center, Verona.