Seasonal Gardening Tip – Water Gardens in the Fall!

Watering gardens in the fall is NOT an option – it is essential – especially if it has been a season with little rainfall. Hydrating thirsty roots before the winter lockdown (created by frozen soil) may well be the difference between life or death. A thirsty, stressed plant is at a major disadvantage against Old Man Winter’s assault. The flower buds of spring flowering shrubs like lilac, forsythia, azalea, magnolia, rhododendron and fothergilla are particularly susceptible to damage when entering winter in a parched condition. Be sure to water your gardens deeply, once a week (if no significant rainfall), until the ground freezes. You should also water in any spring blooming bulbs that were planted. If for whatever reason you are unable to provide water to dehydrated perennials, consider cutting them back earlier than usual, to conserve water for struggling roots. Stressed shrubs and trees can be helped with bottled water. Poke holes in the bottom and sides of a plastic soda bottle or gallon milk jug and dig it into the ground near the plant’s roots. Be sure to keep the container’s ‘neck’ above the soil and then pour water into the container as needed to slowly weep this ‘liquid gold’ to desperate roots.(photo of my gardens being watered in October)