FALL CHORES. What Is it YOU hate to dobut have to???

OK! New Post here....

Here it is--Labor Day weekend.....SO! I have been "laboring"...What else is there to do?
Something "unexplainable" happens when Labor Day hits....As if overnight--we realize, all of a sudden,
that it is now Fall....Summer is GONE! The weather will cool in a matter of weeks.....
Of course--we all know better----Mother Nature is just playing with us.....RIGHT????

I spent half of today starting to clean up and cut back all the overgrown annuals--as it they will NEVER have
another chance to "show off their stuff"....It just seems the right time to be doing all this......
The immense heat of this Summer has taken it's toll...Nothing is thriving--except a few of the "diehards'....

--Rinsing off the patio floor today--the water felt strangely cool on my bare feet...NO WAY!!!
--The wind was blowing everywhere and blew some of my bigger pots over....Put a few bricks on the pots to help....
--It was cooler outside than inside my house--as the AC was not running.....That's odd!
--As early as it seems--dried leaves are starting to fall off my trees and are littering my lawn and patio.
Is it raking leaves time already? More chores to do sweeping them all up!
--Dormancy seems to be settling in over my lawn--and I have yet to use the Weed/Crabgrass killer spray I bought!
AAAGGGHHHHHHHHHHHH! WHERE has the year gone??????

YUP! Fall seems to be rearing it's head.....SO! WHAT is it you are doing already?

The shed needs to be cleaned out and organized before I start putting all the pots that I clean out and bring in. We will need some rain so that the ground will soften enough to use our plug aerator to loosen up our clay soil and help the new grass seed to grow when we put it down.

The wisteria tree needs trimming for the fourth time this year so that the tentacles don't hit the ground and take over the whole area.

The time has not yet come when I need to do the job I dread most.......dig up all those caladium, dahlias and callas!! Last year I lost all my tubers (including cannas) because they did not make it in the boxes in my garage. I will need to research once more, the proper way to do this. There are so many different methods!!

Roses......

Cleaning out the shed has been on my "to-do" list every year for 5 years now....Still haven't done it!
same goes for washing all the windows on my house---I think that is going on 5 years as well....

The mind is willing----BUT.......

Only things I have to dig up are some Cannas....planted in about 4 different places...
It is dealing with my big Brugs that is scaring me....They have grown SOOO big this Summer!
I know i will be trimming the stems back before I take them in my crowded basement....
This chore can hit suddenly--on any given day--when they announce a light frost is coming....
Talk about hustling.....
This is a bittersweet thing to have to do--as in October, most of my Brugs have had the best flush of blooms.
It hurts to have to cut them all off....
I have 2 large Hemlocks left to trim yet also. Already did my 2 large Junipers....4 lg. bags of trimmings going to the curb tonight for recycle p/u.

Glad for this cooler weather we are having....a nice change of pace....

Here are the Junipers....The one on the left is done--the one on the right still not. This was in August...
I hand-trim every branch with my pruning shears....talk about tired!

You can see one of the Hemlocks on the left...the taller bush.

This message was edited Sep 6, 2010 8:24 AM

Gita, I have a really tough time pruning my Junipers because I thought that I should keep them in that "spikey" form. I really never smoothe trim any of the bushes, but I might start doing that if it is not too late.

I have 4 Brugs that I have been keeping in the same small pot for the last 2 years. When the time comes, I just lift them up by their trunks and line them up on the side of the garage. It's amazing how little care I gave them and they just came back, whereas the tubers that I was so careful with just dried up or rotted.

I have been using the power washer to clean the outside of most of my windows and then I just spritz the insides with a little windex and wipe them down with a squeegee, sometimes with a microfibre cloth stuck to it.. Sooooo easy!!

Roses---

I like to keep that "natural look" also on all my shrubs. That is why I hand-prune them. They still look "spiky".
Don't be afraid--just chop away--as Junipers re-grow so quickly. Do not go as far as the dead wood.
That seldom re-greens....Cut just above some "promising" new growth.

Believe it or not--those two Junipers, I posted a picture of, came with the house when we bought it in 1969.
They were part of the original landscaping....The ONLY survivors.....ALL the other shrubs--Azaleas, Rhodos, etc...are long gone....
Last Winter did the Junipers in quite a bit. The 4' of snow just laid on then and totally weighed them down for weeks--re-arranging their orientation.
They both leaned forward! Seriously forward!
What i was pruning away just now--were branches that used to point UP!
Made it extra hard. Bigger and fatter branches to cut.....

This attests to how religiously I have been hand-pruning them for 40 years.
Don't challenge me to a grip-test! You WILL lose!!! Men are excluded from this challenge....

As we all know--Junipers can grow HUMONGOUS!!!! So can Canadian Hemlocks!
Need to do them next!....I usually have to do the Hemlocks twice a year....
They also get that awful Wooly Adalgae Scale....I try to spray with NEEM....IF and WHEN I remember....
I try to keep them at a height that I can still put X-mas lights on them--IF I am in the mood to do so.
Ladder still required!

I NEVER--EVER "smooth-trim" either of these.....except my Japanese Holy that surrounds the corner of my patio.
It looks good to "smooth -trim" that....and my Boxwoods by the front steps.

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bNOW----Re Brugmansias-----You should save this Primer......
I will! I get tired of re-typing the same advice over and over.....

I plant my Brugs Pot-in-Pot.....By that I mean---get a black, or other cheap, plastic, 2-3gal. pot and cut 4-5 1" holes around the lower half of the pot (for the roots to grow out of--if they need to) and then sink THIS pot 1/2-3/4's of the way into a much bigger Patio pot, or in a flower bed--leaving the rest of the smaller pot sticking out above the soil level.

This provides the Brugs with the cooler temps the roots like---keeps them from drying out as quickly--and also keeps them from blowing over in windy storms. Still--I have had even the bigger pots of Brugs blow over if they were Pot-in-Pot above ground---like on a patio. Their leaves act as parachutes....BAM! Over they go!!!!
I put 2-3 bricks on top of the pot to try to counteract this....Works sometimes???? Sometimes NOT!

When it comes time to bring your Brugs in for the Winter--lift the smaller pot out of the big pots--or the flower bed-- YES! You will have to sever the roots that grew out those holes!--and trim off any remaining roots sticking out--
NO HARM DONE! -- and put a plastic grocery bag around that pot for the Winter--to keep the exposed roots from drying out--and haul the whole thing into your basement. Unheated garages are not the greatest--unless you can run a small heater in there--just to keep the temps above freezing....

You can remove most of the leaves from your Brugs when you bring them in for the Winter.
They will all drop off anyway....except for the growing tip. Less for you to clean up.

IF your Brug has grown all wide and big during the Summer--you will have to prune it back--just try not to prune below the first "Y" of the stem...Brugs HAVE TO "Y" before they can bloom! Simple as that!

Rooting cuttings taken from above the "Y"--will guarantee sooner bloom the following year.
Stem cuttings from below the 1st "Y" root just as well--but you will now have to wait until that stem cutting grows tall and Y"'s on it's own before expecting any blooms from your new Brug. Sometimes this won't be before October.

The trimmed stems can be cut up in 6"-7" pieces and rooted--right into a 5"-6"pot of fresh soil mix. You can use Rooting Hormone if you like....Shove the cutting all the way to the bottom of the pot. Keep it barely moist for now.

I have found that stem cuttings root so easily--compared to tip cuttings. In a matter of weeks--do the gentle tug test.....There WILL be resistance....That means it has started to root in. Yippie!

When new leaf-growth nubs start to appear--you will need to water a bit more regularly....Keep it just moist!
Let the plant tell you when......:o) Also a weak fertilizer might help here at this point...like--1/4 strength MG.
The 7 drops to a quart kind--in the green bottle--for Houseplants....

In the SPRING--
When I bring my Brugs out from their dormancy --I keep them in shade for about a week....then in filtered light for a week--and then in the bright light they will be living in...By now--most of them are green and lush already.
Usually--they don't even "blink".....just turn all green and march on....

About every 2-3 years--you will need to root-prune the root ball. Trust me--It will NOT hurt the plant!!!!
Brugs are nearly indestructible!

To root-prune--pull out the Brug from the smaller pot it has been growing in--get an old, sharp, kitchen knife---and just slice away. Cut off the outer part (rind) of the root ball--maybe 1"-2". Don't be shy! It won't hurt the Brug..
Cut off the same amount from the bottom of the root ball. This will be VERY invigorating to the plant!

Re-pot in the same holey pot--adding fresh soil mix (with maybe some Osmacote type of a fertilizer mixed in) and fill back around the now smaller root-ball with this soil mix --along the bottom and the edges and a top-dressing as well. Water in well.
NOW! You are set for a whole new Season.......Not so hard!!!!

Hope this helps all of you newbie Brug-growers some.
I would suggest you print this out and save it....for future reference.

I will! As I have to re-type this so many times. It is easier to c/p this into a new Thread from My Documents....

Gita

I have a ton uf pruning to catch up on. Well, maybe not as bad as if we'd had a GOOD growing season.
I also do not like sheared bushes, but soemitmes I alternate between shearing and hand pruning thinning, just to save time. Many of my bushes are very mature and you know how they are usualy not sited with enough really mature growing space. Its a battle keeping them in line. Two years ago we di a major hack job on a Euonymus hedge to reduce its size. Of course that grows back just great from any stubs you leave. Given four feet of room for the new stems, I can still get away with shearing about halfway down that and it won't be too dense yet.

Last yearwas my first for keeping a net influx of leaf material in the fall. A few bags might have snuck out on me, (the big tough sycamores that fall right where we put our waste cans) but that was offset by bringng some from Moms and more from a neighbor (new BFF) who shreds oak leaves and puts them in nice handle tie bags
: ^)
THose oak leaves did a great job on my new strawberries this summer! newspaper underneath for weed block.

Sally what a great neighbor. Shredding leaves and bagging them. Can't beat that. LOL
Well we have a week and a half at home before we go again. Not too sure what we will start on when we first get home. This year is going to be pretty hard to get everything done. Last year we had more time and all the work we did in the fall really made a big difference this past spring.
Roses, Getting all the bulbs dug and put away properly has always been a problem for me. I usually end up with totes of mixed bulbs and then come spring I never know what color or size my cannas are going to be. LOL

Today will be a killer! have a lot to do....

Get my hair cut...
Do some laundry

Bought 2 rolls of sod and need to fix this area that the BG&E dropped a new Transformer box
and it sat there for over a month....
Before I do this--I have to mow the lawn....

Need to rake up and seed 3 bare-ruined areas on my sidewalk strip--the BG&E guys dug it all up and seeded it with grass seed that has died in this heat...might come back--who knows?
Will put the soaker hose on this--the soil is sooo dry!

Will continue cutting back/down some overgrown annuals. My South African Foxglove will bite the dust today!
It has become a straggly, 7' tall mess....Have collected plenty of seed....Time for it to go!

Hope I get all this accomplished---sometimes my mind is more willing that the Bod!

Gita

This is TWO S.A.Foxglove plants!!!! YUK!

I am not looking forward to cleaning up my plants/pots that need to come back inside. Not just cleaning them but debugging them, spider webs on some of the pots, and then finding a place inside for them. I may be looking for homes for a couple of them.

I de-bug all my plants that I bring in by applying "Bonide's Systemic Granules" on top of all those pots about 2 weeks before they come in.
Systemic Granules kill anything that has crawled into the soil from the top to the bottom.

They have this in large quantities at Valley View Farms...

Gita

Nice collection ya got there Robin

I don't really hate any of the fall chores because I just love fall so much...love being outside and not sweating to death. Love how it smells, I even love raking leaves.

Leaves, leaves and more leaves. If we are lucky, we get them all raked or blown away.
We try to get all the beds cleaned out. Piles of leaves in the beds make for a haven for voles.

I'm with you Jen I just love Fall weather. Starting to get cool outside and all the colors look so brilliant.

I get overwhelmed with all the decisions that need to be made about where to put what and what to take into the house, the garage, the basement etc. etc.

I actually don't mind doing the job after I figure out how it needs to be done.

Yes bringing in the house plants is hard work, some of those pots are pretty big and then there is that "BIG" question where o where do I put it. Trying to debug them is always a problem, too. Not to mention the time crunch. Don't want to bring things in or dig them up too soon, so there is always that last minute rush to get it all in. Really I should start sooner but it's so hard when everything is looking so nice.

Holy---You are "singing to the choir"......I hear Ya!

Gotta time it just so. I am also starting to think about plants and winter, etc.....
BUT! It is not even mid-September yet!!!!!! TOO soon!!!!!

I mostly worry about my Brugs.....One day, the weather forecast will say---"Frost warnings expected tonight!"-----
and I will freak out!!!! BUT--I will have to work 9-6 and NO TIME to attend to "saving" anything....in the dark?

I don't even care all that much about the Brugs any more--but I don't dare get rid of them! Sick!!!!

---they are TOO LARGE!
---They require too much hands on, attention and fertilizing!
---I have NO room in my basement for 4 large Brugs!
---All this cutting back-- and then digging them up--and then dragging them into my basement
is starting to get to me....WHY??????????????????
---I have had them--enjoyed them---shared them---WHAT else do I need to have them for????

Do any of you feel the same way about something you are "hoarding"in YOUR garden ????
Do you know WHY you are holding on to these plants???

Gita

I feel the same way about Brugs. The only thing that I will do this year is move the pots just the way they are (minus the leaves) into the side of the garage that we don't use much. If they make it again, fine. If not I won't have to worry so much about watering and feeding them next year, and I'll fill their spot with Plox or some other perennial that I don't have enough of.

Roses---I like your attitude! May Fate wield her hand!!!!

I, kind of, feel the same-----Prayer to "Mother Nature"-----"Deliver me from these burdens.....PLEASE!"...
Now i am worried......SHE may just be listening.......or might be checking HER Computer,,,,,;o(

Gita

^_^
yup Fate has just got to be using current technoloogy to keep up with all of us!

Most of the caladiums are in there are a few small pots sitting by the potting shed and some in the window boxes. But all the big pots are inside the garage drying out.

I hate pulling up the raggedy tomato plants. I always overplant in the spring--so eagerly anticipating the different varieties that I fill every square foot of available space with cute little seedlings--but then they all have to be pulled up in the fall.

My daughters want to earn money, so they promised to do it this year.

Hey Nisi!!!! How ya been???

Nisi, That reminds me of when the kids were young I would pay them to weed the area between the road and the fence. $$ for each fence section at the time I was trying to get ground cover established in that area and fighting the weeds.

Ah, yes, "when the kids were young..." (Sigh)

My older daughter needs money for rent and my younger daughter is celebrating her 21st birthday today.

Hi, flowAJen! (Name change???)

Holly, after your caladium pots are dry, do you just store them in the garage that way or are there more steps to take?

Nisi, I think that I got some ornamental pepper plants from you at the swap and they were just gorgeous. I had such an overwhelming spring after I broke my wrist, that I didn't really mark everything when I was planting. Those little plants sure are sturdy having survived my one handed dumping, digging and just plopping them in!!

RRR, how is your wrist now? I'm not sure we brought any ornamental peppers. We might have brought a couple of pepper plants, but they would have been "eating" peppers. By the way, Kat is the 21-year-old daughter I mentioned above. We came to the swap together. She liked to plant peppers but doesn't eat them. Her new gardening interests are violets and pansies. She seeded and planted a variety (I think it's called something like "frizzle sizzle") that turned out very nicely. (See pic)

We were the ones who brought the jungle of tomato seedlings, and purposely put them on one of YOUR tables so we could leave without them. (Oh yes, that was the plan LOL) I felt like the person who left the baby on the doorstep, rang the door and ran away. I was hoping that they would be literally adopted by the gardeners who were at the swap. I hope you will forgive me. I hated to let them die and a plant swap would be the best place to find them adoptive homes. Did at least some of them get planted by attendees?

This message was edited Sep 22, 2010 1:42 PM

Nisi, I had you confused with Wind. I took half a dozen of the tomato plants and gardadare (Jessica) took some also. The remainder went to new gardeners in our area and to a couple who came from Hazlet, NJ to see what we were all about. In other words, most of the tomatoes found homes with new gardeners who couldn't really afford to buy anything for their gardens this year.

I lost the names on the tomatoes, but I really enjoyed one that looked like a fat plum tomato with a little point on its end. Was this from you. If so, I'd love to know the name of it. Which ones were the Rutgers tomatoes (size, shape, color) because I'm sure that I planted one of those.

Yep name change, it was a running joke on the NE forum how they drop their r's up there, soooo.....from flowerjen to flowAjen

Nisi--

LOVE those pansies!!!! Such a nice color mix...

Roses, I don't do much with my caladium bulbs. I do move them to a warmer spot to over winter. My garage is too cold to keep them. I usually dug them up and store them in brown paper bags. Some just stay in the pots till the next year. The room I keep them in is pretty warm it's the room I use to grow and store some of my plants, a warm upstairs bedroom.

I have to bring my tropicals back into the greenhouse. Yuck.