Featured Blog: Awesome Autumn

A sky of blue patches, dark clouds, a fleeting flicker of sunshine, a bit of hazy fog.  It is October with goblins and pumpkins, ghosts and gorgeous leaves swirling all over the place.

What to do first; clean the flower and vegetable beds, tie the rose bushes, see that the hedges are trimmed, water, water, rake, mow for the last time - or all of the above?  That is correct - all of the above!

At this time of year I have a plan. It usually doesn't work. I was trying to get some plants divided and transplanted when I heard it was going to be in the 20s that night.  That meant cover or all the plants on the deck and all the green tomatoes needed to be brought inside immediately. 

Drop everything and deal with the impending situation.  No time to systematically bring in the plants - a place for everything and everything in its proper place - just drag them in and set them wherever there is a spot to put them.  Well, there went the den for awhile.

This is an excellent time to divide and transplant those indoor potted plants that you had outside this summer, also the ones that live inside all year.  Can you really live with that monster cactus in the living rroom, or that huge geranium you want to keep and the only place you have is by the kitchen sink?  Divide and you will conquer your problem.

Don't forget the canna bulbs, the dahlia bulbs, the caladium bulbs, the calla bulbs and any others you had planted outside during the summer.  You may or may not have brought them in now that the foliage is dead. It isn't too late to dig them up, put them on newspaper on a screen in a cool dry place to dry out. 

Bulbs are expensive.  Keep them if you can.  Once the bulbs are dry they can be kept over the winter in very slightly moist sand, in gerbil bedding or paper bags.  Mist them gently, very gently, a couple of times during the winter.  You want the outside of the bulb dry but not parched.

Ah, geraniums.  My mother-in-law kept her geraniums for years.  She had a big bay window in her dining room where her potted plants got lots of sun.  There was a matching window in an upstairs bedroom.  Her family complained of having to sleep wtih geraniums all winter long. 

Geraniums do hava a scent - some people like it, some don't.  Other people pull the plants, put them in paper bags to dry out, keep the bags in a cool, dry place, take them out in March or April, give them a good drink and pot them up.  Seems to work for some people.  I've never had much luck with that method.  Others take cutting now or use the hanging method for awhile and then take cuttings.  However you save them, once potted and growing they will need water, some fertilizer and lots of light, artificial or sun.

Shrub roses.  I tie mine so the canes won't get broken with the wind and weight of the snow.  It is a good idea to take down from their trellises the tall climbers.  Tie the canes, stake them down, then cover with dirt or leaves.  Better put some rodent pellets in with the canes or the mice, moles, voles will have a banquet.

Hardy shrub roses can be cut back at this time of year leaving 12 to 20 inches.  They don't need to be covered unless this is their first winter.  If so, mound the soil around the bottom of the plant  and cover with mulch or leaves 9 to 12 inches.  All roses will need to have a basic pruning in the spring to remove broken or damaged canes and to keep the plant in manageable shape.

I have lots of miniature and miniflora roses that I grow in pots.  Usually I dig trenches 12 to 15 inches deep just wide enough for a pot, leave the bush in the  pot, lay it on its side and cover with the dirt I'd removed. 

This year I've changed the process a little.  Dug the trench more like a pit, about 10 inches deep, set the pots upright. I used the loose dirt around the pots and up the stems 4 to 6 inches.  I'll add a layer of leaves and this whole pit will be covered with a construction blanket.  I'll see how this works when I lift the pots next spring.

Finish up your outside work soon so you can enjoy the Minnesota winter outside or in front of the fireplace with a hot something!