David W. Marshall
- Fall is an ideal time to plant new trees, shrubs, and flowers, but remember to water them regularly.
- A wide variety of cool-season vegetables, herbs, and flowers can be planted now for color and harvest.
- Protect young citrus trees from potential winter freezes by insulating their trunks with hay or pine straw.
The cooler, yet usually still very pleasant days of November and December are welcomed after a long period of hot weather such as we’ve been through this year. Take advantage of our mild fall weather now to do a little gardening.
As I write this in late October, we just had a decent rain, but it’s one of the few we’ve had this fall. Hopefully you’ve been watering your garden and landscape as necessary.
Water new plants
As we move into November, continue to be attentive to soil moisture conditions, especially if you have any new plantings. I remember that one winter I lost a whole group of new wax myrtles that I planted on the wooded edge of my property as a screen because I just assumed they would get enough rain that time of year.
Hopefully rain frequency will increase now, but don’t assume that it will come regularly enough for new plantings. This is an excellent time of year to plant shrubs and trees, if you remember to water, as plants you start now will get a good jump on those you wait until spring to plant.
A more pleasant mosquito repellant
Twice a year, once in spring and once in fall, I use a small hand spreader and broadcast a fire ant bait across my yard, being especially careful to hit the sunny areas and going a little lighter on the shaded areas. You can use any granular bait formulation labeled for fire ants with the active ingredient hydramethylnon.
Bait can be applied as a broadcast treatment or used on individual mounds, but because widespread broadcasting may reduce native ants that help slow the spread of fire ants, you might opt for individual mound treatments if you notice plenty of native ants in your yard. I have found baiting to be a quick, easy, and relatively inexpensive way to keep my landscape practically free of fire ant mounds.
If fire ants bother you, you may wish to try this method of control. Just be sure that you use a bait formulation and not a contact insecticide and always follow the label instructions.
While we’re talking about pests, other biting pests of which you need to be aware are mosquitoes and ticks. Both of these can carry some nasty diseases to humans. Especially if I’m going to be working in brushy or shaded areas, I usually use an insect repellent. I was using some of the DEET repellents, but as I was complaining to a friend about the oiliness and the smell of some of these, she asked me if I had ever tried a certain brand of repellent that uses picaridin as the active ingredient.
Recently I’ve tried two different brands of fragrance-free picaridin repellents and have found that they work reasonably well and are less oily than the DEET repellents. They’re just more pleasant to wear. So, I thought some of you may be interested in that observation.
Fall and winter color
Let’s talk about some plants you may want to plant now for fall and winter color. Chrysanthemums, geraniums, pansies, violas, Nemesia, Diascia, sweet alyssum, petunias, dusty miller, and ornamental cabbage, kale, and mustard are among the possibilities to add quick seasonal color. All of these will need a lot of sun though
If your landscape beds don’t have enough sunlight, consider using some container plantings of these where you have enough sun. Many of the flowers you plant now will still be providing color in early spring. These plants are cold-hardy and you will have more spring flowers if you plant them now. This is also the time to plant spring-flowering bulbs such as daffodil, narcissus, Spanish bluebell (Hyacinthoides hispanica), and snowflakes (Leucojum aestivum).
Seeds and ornamental grasses
If you have a large open bed in a sunny spot, consider breaking up the soil and seeding larkspur, poppies, bachelor buttons, and sweet peas. Keep the areas moist to germinate the seed and then gradually taper the watering back to only as needed after the plants become well rooted. You will be well rewarded in spring with a blast of color.
Ornamental grasses can be attractive features in the landscape this time of year. Perhaps you’ve noticed the pinkish flower plumes of Gulf muhly grass backlit by the sun on some of the roadsides or medians. Bamboo muhly grass and several varieties of Chinese silvergrass (Miscanthus sinensis) can also be very attractive low-maintenance additions to the landscape.
Camellia season and maples
We’re about to get into camellia season and if you don’t have some camellias in your home landscape you’re missing out on a lot of color from a plant that doesn’t require a great deal of maintenance. Camellias prefer light shade but are sometimes grown even in full sun. This is the time of year to visit the nursery to select and plant the colors and varieties you like.
Though north Florida isn’t known for fantastic fall leaf color, you can still have some right in your own landscape. Visit the nurseries to see the wide range of Japanese maples from which you can choose. These small trees can provide both color and an attractive form in the landscape. Some larger trees with excellent fall color include ginkgo, hickory, red maple, Florida maple, pond cypress, and sweetgum.
Cool season veggies
Now is the time to plant cool-season herbs and vegetables. The list of possibilities is long: arugula, cilantro, parsley, French sorrel, sage, thyme, beets, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, carrots, cauliflower, celery, Chinese cabbage, collards, kale, kohlrabi, mustard, bulbing onions, green onions, radishes, spinach, Swiss chard, turnips, Bok choi, tatsoi, and mizuna.
December through February is the usual planting season for deciduous fruit and nut trees and vines. Consider adding some figs, persimmons, blueberries, peaches, nectarines, plums, or muscadine grapes to your garden.
Tips for protecting citrus trees
If you have young citrus trees, it’s time to begin thinking of how you will protect them if we have a hard freeze this winter. I have found that packing a thick layer of hay or pine straw tightly against the trunk can prevent it from freezing.
Last year when we had that freak ice storm, I had even crammed pine straw in between the branches of my young citrus trees. It helped a lot. It’s even better if you have time to build a frame with something like chicken wire and just fill it with straw and then wrap the cage you built with plastic film to seal in the heat.
Poinsettias and holiday gifts
As we enter the holiday season in December, you may wish to brighten your home with poinsettias and Christmas cacti or even share some as gifts. The variety in poinsettias is truly incredible today.
As you’re buying gifts this year, consider something appropriate for the gardeners on your list. The possibilities are many.
Plants, tools, gloves, bird feeders, bird baths, gardening books (maybe even mine!), gardening calendars, a gift certificate to their favorite nursery, or maybe something even bigger such as landscape design or landscape lighting services may make that special person very happy.
Besides, taking a shopping trip to your local nursery will be a lot more fun than trekking through the mall!
David W. Marshall is a horticultural consultant and an Extension Agent Emeritus with UF/IFAS Extension Leon County, an Equal Opportunity Institution. For gardening questions, email the extension office at [email protected].
