TREE AND SHRUBSLeaf it to me

The BestThings To Do For Fall Clean-up

November in Michigan is the time to put your flower garden to bed for the coming winter. Autumn clean-up can be managed with one out of three possible strategies,each one is good or bad in some way.

The “tidy clean-up” basically cuts every plant-except woody herbs and shrubs-to with-in an inch of it’s life and removes every ounce of dead plant matter with-in a mile. This is the most tidy and neat looking strategy. Not so different from how a clean carpet appears after you vacuum it. This technique will ensure that very few diseased leaves are left behind to infect next years plants.It may also help hinder the slug and pest population. this approach to fall clean up has a few cons because you have removed all the good fertilizer that dead plants provide. The winter protection that plant debris provides has been removed and can no longer protect the roots below. Which means that you will have to add expensive fertilizers and amendments to your garden to make up for this. Expensive in labor and costly in fewer nutrients this approach is perhaps the least recommended.

The “high/low maintenance” technique for fall clean-up is a balance between the sterilizing your beds and the do nothing approach. High/low maintenance technique is by no means a no maintenance approach. This approach may involve a lot of work in the garden now, but will save you tons of work in the garden in the spring. In this approach one would remove dead annual plants,sprinkling the seeds as you go and putting away your decorative garden decor if need be. These seeds will germinate if you don’t use a weed inhibitor in your beds. Go ahead and cut back your perennial plants, leaving one third of the plant, but don’t cut back woody plants and flowering shrubs. Do not prune your flowering shrubs and herbs until warm weather returns in the spring. Don’t remove all the seed heads from all your plants as this will take away food from the birds. If you cut down your grass leave about one foot to provide winter protection. Rake out the beds and remove all of the cuttings and most of the leaves that have come down from the trees. Use a blower and blow leaves onto your lawn and mulch those with a mower. Mulching the last of the autumn leaves into your lawn keeps things looking tidy and is like free fertilizer for your grass. Supposedly oak leaves mulched into the lawn are a weed inhibitor. Ask your lawn guys to mulch leaves before the blow them away. You may need to bury some of your tree roses. protect rhododenrons from die back, spray them with wilt spray and wrap them in burlap. Do not allow burlap to touch the shrubs. You can leave them be, but taking the extra time to protect rhododendrons, roses and hydrangeas will give you more flowers next year.

The third approach to winter preparation is the “no maintenance” approach. Mother nature will tuck in all your perrennials with out any work from you-that is the big advantage of this technique. The con’s of doing nothing now are that your neighbors will hate you for your messy yard and you will have a lot to do in the spring at a time when lots of plants are starting to peek through the debris. These plants and bulbs are very tender in the spring and will get mangled as you tear through the beds with your rake and pruning shears. Also one should remember that soil in early spring is very friable and can be compressed as you step in the beds. Also remember that many weeds will continue to grow through the winter so if you did not pull them out they will have grown stronger.

What ever your clean-up approach be sure to put away your decorative garden decor for the winter as you dont want it to get ruined. Also remember to clean out your decorative bird feeders and stock up on bird seed before the snow falls so you can sit back and watch the animals in your garden while it sleeps.

Every gardener has their own individual way of taking care of their fall garden maintenance before winter descends. This article is intended to be a guide to help you decide which approach is best for you. Go forth and maintain your gardens in the spirit of what will grow and bloom next year!

Pest Control : How to Keep Bees Out of Shrubs

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Lace bugs on trees and shrubs (House and landscape pests) …