Park Seed Garden Journal

For many of us there is still a few good weeks of fall planting weather left. This is a great time for planting those flowering shrubs, trees, and flower bulbs. Planting them now will give them plenty of time to establish a strong root system and really show out next spring. There are a couple things you need to keep in mind if you want what you do now to pay off next year.

1. Remember, the sun is in a different place in the sky at different times of the year. A place that has good morning sun now may be in complete shade in the spring. Know your yard, you where your seasonal sunny and shady spots are and plant accordingly.
2. Moniter the moisture level in the soil around your new plantings. Before they have a strong root system they will not be able to take in a lot of water, and it’s cooling off–that excess moisture will not evaporate as quickly as it did a few weeks ago. Moniter the moisture levels depending on the needs of your plants–you don’t want them to die with root-rot before they ever get to see spring.