October Gardening Tips

General Gardening Tips

• Fall is a great time to plant trees, shrubs, bulbs, perennials, grass seed and sod. Plants that are planted in the fall enjoy cooler temperatures and ideal growing conditions that allow roots ample time to grow into the surrounding soil. Merrifield Garden Center carries only the healthiest, most beautiful plants from the country's finest growers. Be sure to use Merrifield Starter Plant Food at the time of planting.
• Plants and trees that provide color in the month of October include burning bush, camellia, ornamental cabbage and kale, pansies viburnum, crape myrtles, October Glory maple, red sunset maple, nandina, pyracantha, sweet gum and Virginia creeper.
• There are lots of perennials with interest now including anemone, chrysanthemums, perennial asters and ornamental grasses.
• Spring blooming fall bulbs are in stock at both Merrifield Garden Center locations and now is the time to plant them. Plant iris, tulips, crocus, daffodils and many others for glorious spring color.
• Add a touch of fall to your home and landscape with hardy mums.
• Do not prune azaleas, rhododendrons and other spring flowering shrubs because they have already set their buds for next year's blooms. If you feel these shrubs do need to be pruned, however, you can prune them now, but you will sacrifice next spring flowers.
• Time to feed your plants with a good quality slow release plant food. We recommend fertilizing perennials and flowering shrubs and trees with Merrifield Flowering Plant Food. This custom blended plant food contains slow-release nitrogen, sulfate of potash, iron and other micro-nutrients for overall plant growth and development.
• We recommend feeding evergreens (hollies, boxwoods and yews) and deciduous trees (maples, oaks and ash) with Merrifield Tree & Shrub Food. This product contains slow-release nitrogen, sulfate of potash, iron and other micro-nutrients for overall plant growth and development.
• Time to dig gladiolus. Remove the tops and let them dry for two weeks. Dust them with Sulfur. Store in dry peat moss or vermiculite at room temperature. See our bulletin on "Wintering Over Summer Bulbs".
• Time to transplant peonies or divide them if you wish to multiply your plants.

Lawns

• October is a great time to lime, seed and fertilize your lawn. You can seed a new lawn in early October or reseed (overseed) an established lawn this month to make it thicker and healthier.
• If you need to, you can lime, fertilize and seed your lawn all in the same day. Otherwise, seed and fertilize the same day and then lime later in the fall.
• If needed, fall is a great time to aerate and/or dethatch the lawn. If you decide to do one or both of these, they should be done prior to seeding.
• If you do plan to aerate, dethatch or rototill (for total renovation), thoroughly soak the soil a day or two before you start your project or perform your project a day or two after a good rain.
• Now is also a good time to control weeds growing in the lawn, however you cannot weed kill and seed the same day. If you choose to kill weeds in the lawn first, you must wait three weeks to seed your lawn. Or, if you seed first, you will need to wait until the new seed has germinated and been mowed at least twice before applying a weed killer.
• If you want to prevent winter annual weeds from germinating in the lawn, you can apply Portrait in early October, but this would prevent you from seeding now. You will have to wait 60 days to seed, which means you would probably need to wait until spring to seed the lawn.

Tips on Applying Weed Killer

• Do not apply weed controls on newly seeded areas.
• Do not apply weed controls on windy days.
• Do not apply weed controls near or on the edge of waterways.
• Do not apply weed controls when temperatures are above 85 degrees F.
• Do not allow children or pets to play on lawns freshly applied with weed controls. Wait until weed control is dry if you applied a liquid weed killer. If you applied a granular weed control, wait one week.
• Always check the label of weed control products and follow the labeling instructions.

Feeding the Lawn

• Fall is the best time to feed your lawn with a good quality, slow-release lawn food, with at least two feedings between the months of September, October, November and December. We recommend using Merrifield Premium 26-4-12 and Merrifield Select 14-18-14 for feeding your lawn this fall.
• If you are seeding or sodding the lawn, use Merrifield Select 14-18-14. It is high in phosphorus, which aids in seedling germination and encourages strong root development. If you use Merrifield Select 14-18-14 now, follow-up with Merrifield Premium 24-4-12 in November or December.
• If you are not seeding or sodding, use Merrifield Premium 26-4-12. It is the ideal fertilizer to help green-up your lawn and keep it looking thick and healthy. This product is high in nitrogen, which will continue feeding the lawn over an extended period of time. If you use Merrifield Premium 26-4-12 now, follow-up with Merrifield Select 14-18-14 in November or December as a root-building winterizer.

Seeding the Lawn

Fruit and Vegetable Gardens

• Pick the largest, almost ripe green tomatoes, just before a frost. Put them in a brown paper bag with some apples and they will ripen as sweet as if on the vine.
• Remove all old vines of beans, squash, etc. to the compost pile and then spade or till the garden. Sow winter rye and do not mow it.

House Plants

• Time to bring houseplants back indoors if you haven't already. If needed, spray them first with one of the following products: Schultz Houseplant Spray, Safer Houseplant Spray or Ortho Rose & Flower Insect Killer. You can dust the soil with insecticide granules to prevent bringing in ants, wireworms, sow bugs, etc.
• Repot pot bound plants with Merrifield Potting Mix.
• Fertilize your houseplants with Jack's Classic, Peters Plant Food or Osmocote through November, and then slow down your feeding schedule until February.

Additional Information

• Fall Lawn Care
• Many Other Lawn Care Sheets
• Roses
• Crape Myrtle Varieties
• Amaryllis
• Paper White Narcissus
• Forcing Bulbs Indoors
• Fruit Tree Spray Program
• Pest Appearance Timetable
• Proper Planting & Watering Instructions

October Reminders

• Merrifield Garden Center has pumpkins, cornstalks and gourds for Halloween and fall decorating.
• Our fall seminars and decorating classes continue at both of our stores, so stop by and pick-up a full schedule and make plans to attend these classes.
• Visit our display gardens at our Fair Oaks location to give you ideas and inspiration.
• Tune in to "Merrifield's Gardening Advisor" television program, which airs every Saturday at 8 am on NEWSCHANNEL 8. This interesting and informative program provides you with great gardening ideas and answers.