Now’s the Time to Mulch your Garden

 

The why and how to mulch your fall garden.  

Now that we’re well into November and we’ve had our first snowfall, it’s time to prepare your perennials and rose garden for the season ahead. Because Colorado’s winter weather is rarely predictable, gardening in our area presents unusual challenges, including temperature fluctuation, dry wind, and inadequate moisture. Minimizing these negative influences on your plants is where the organic mulches come into play. 

The primary reason for applying mulch at this time of the year is to keep the ground cold and stable and maintain plant dormancy, especially during the brief warm spells we typically get through the course of our normal winters. The right mulch will not only stabilize the ground, but conserve moisture, reduce plant damage and protect the soil.  

   

Garden and landscape mulches are available in two types, organic and inorganic. Organic mulches include shredded wood, fine bark, aged compost and leaves.  Inorganic mulches include rock, gravel and artificial products.  Technically, both types of mulch will work. Inorganic materials such as stone and river rock don’t break down, so they typically don’t need to be reapplied every year. 

Inorganic mulches are generally applied with a fabric barrier to discourage weeds from growing, as well as keep the mulch in place. While this helps to reduce maintenance, it also hinders moisture absorption, adding nutrients and making soil amendments. Long term, your plants don’t do as well.   

  

If you want the most effective mulch in terms of winter plant protection, moisture conservation, soil stabilization and enrichment, choose organic mulch. For perennial beds and roses, shredded bark and fine bark work well and provide a natural look. The goal is to apply a three to four-inch layer of mulch to your perennial beds and roses, once the ground turns cold.   

 A two cubic foot bag of shredded cedar or Gorilla Hair mulch will cover approximately six square feet three inches deep.   

You may have read or heard that using bark mulches will lock up the nitrogen in the soil. Organic matter applied to the top of the soil decomposes slowly, without affecting available nitrogen levels deeper in the bed.  

 

Using compost as mulch not only helps insulate plant roots against extreme temperatures but improves soil as it breaks down.   Spread a two-to-three-inch layer of high-grade compost on top of the soil. Compost will gradually break down through the winter, enriching the soil with organic matter and nutrients.  

 

  

Keeping the plants in your landscape healthy through the Colorado winters can be challenging but by applying organic mulch at the right time, your roses and perennials will be better protected from the winter weather.  

 

 

How to Plant and Care for Amaryllis Bulbs

Easily grown indoors, amaryllis are a good choice to brighten your home during the dark days of winter. It takes anywhere from 6 to 8 weeks after planting for the blooms to appear, so now's the time to get started. 

These stunning plants come in a variety of colors including red, pink, white, maroon, and many more! They are a favorite gift plant because they add reliable beauty when grown in containers. 

When choosing a bulb, it’s important to consider quality and size. Look for bulbs that are firm and still have some of their natural papery covering. Amaryllis bulbs are sized from small to X-large. Generally, the larger the bulb size, the more stalks and blooms it will produce.  

Once you've chosen the bulbs you want to start, it's time to pick out a container. Ceramic, clay or plastic pots will all work but it’s important the container you select has good drainage. It's also important to know that amaryllis like to be snug in their pot, so select a container that's about an inch or so larger than the bulb and is deep enough for the roots to grow.

Next, add damp potting soil to the bottom third of the pot. Place the bulb in the center of the pot and spread the roots out so they fan out from the center of the bulb. Do the best you can with the roots. You're mainly trying to keep them from bunching up under the bulb. Fill in around the bulb with more damp potting soil, leaving the top third of the bulb uncovered. Water thoroughly and place the planted bulb in a warm, well-lit location.  

 

Once the flower stalk begins to appear, you can start feeding your bulb with a blooming fertilizer such as 15-30-15. Plan to fertilize every two weeks and water frequently enough to keep the soil moist.   

As the flowers start to fade, cut them off. This is to prevent seeds from forming. Wait until the flower stalk starts to turn yellow before removing it.  

 

When you do cut off the flower stalk, be careful not to remove any leaves. The leaves are necessary to create energy for the bulb, so it will rebloom. Place the amaryllis in a bright indoor location and water regularly, along with your other houseplants. Fertilize monthly with 15-30-15 plant food.   

 

Amaryllis can also be grown in water. Select a container that doesn’t drain, add stones or gravel to the bottom of the pot and place your amaryllis bulb in the center of the container.  Next, add water to the container to reach the base of the bulb. Choose a warm, bright location for your bulb and maintain the water level throughout the growing and blooming cycle. For colorful blooms throughout the holidays, plant an amaryllis bulb every three to four weeks, starting now. 

 

Make the holidays merry and bright with this extraordinary winter flower!  

 

Now’s the time to wrap up Fall tree care

Along with your other late fall garden chores, be sure to include time for getting the trees in your landscape ready for winter. Keeping your trees healthy through winter gives them the best chance to thrive when the growing season returns.  

Winterizing trees includes light pruning, watering, mulching and in the case of young trees, wrapping the trunk.  

Pruning this time of year should be confined to damaged branches and suckers. Tree suckers are branches that can emerge from the base of the tree or low on the trunk.  

Trees that are under stress will tend to send up more suckers. Prune these branches off now. Small dead branches in the trees canopy can be removed at this time. Using a sharp bypass pruner, cut these small branches near the main trunk.  

Avoid heavy pruning of older trees that would expose limbs and trunks that have been shaded to direct sunlight. Gradually thin out these limbs over several seasons. 

Now’s the time to water your trees. This is important because water acts as an insulator to winter’s drying winds and temperature swings. Moist soil will be warmer. Hydrated cells will resist damage from the cold weather.   

As far as how much water your trees need, a general guideline suggests 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter, as measured at chest height. You can water by hand or use a simple lawn sprinkler.

Where you place the sprinkler depends on whether this is a newly planted tree or an established tree. For newly planted trees, water the root ball area. For established trees, place the sprinkler at the drip line. The drip line is the outer edge of the tree’s branches. The key is to water at a slow enough rate that the water soaks in and doesn't run off.   

 

Mulching conserves moisture and helps keep the soil temperature stable. Mulch should be 2 to 4 inches deep and cover the root zone near the base of the tree, while avoiding mulching the trunk itself.

Suitable mulches include Gorilla Hair, Cedar Mulch or bark chips.   

  

Finally, young deciduous trees need to have their trunks wrapped. This is to prevent damage from the winter sun. It’s not unusual for winter temperatures to reach 60° Fahrenheit in the daytime. When it gets this warm during the day, the low winter sun heats up the tree bark, especially on the south and southwest sides of the tree. The sun’s warming action breaks the tree’s dormancy and the cells on that side of the tree wake up and become active.  When the temperatures fall after sunset, the active cells and tissue die. Prevent sunscald on young trees by applying tree wrap now.  

 

Tree wrap is a corrugated paper product, sold in 50' and 150' rolls.

Start at the base of the tree and spiral the wrap upward to the first primary branch. Overlap each turn by one-third.

Once you reach the first set of branches, loop the tree wrap over a strong, sturdy branch and tape it, so it will stay in place.  

A good rule of thumb is to wrap your trees around Halloween and remove the wrap around Easter.