Fall Yard Care; Trees and Shrubs – My Yard Rocks …

Part one of this series was titled, Fall Yard Care; Lawn & Leaves. Still within the realm of nature, this second article will focus on fall care of your trees and shrubs. Trees and shrubs in our yards and outdoor rooms are landscape specimens to be shown off and admired. Dont forget to protect these lovely focal points in your yardscapes by doing a bit of autumn maintenance.

Autumn is just about the best time to plant or transplant a shrub or tree. This is the time of year when a tree or shrub naturally stops expending energy to produce leaves, flowers or fruit, and transfers that energy to the development of its root system. Considering that when you first plant (or transplant) any living thing, it needs to get its feet firmly established in the ground before it starts showing off, the timing of a new planting in fall is perfect. Your new tree or shrub will also do better in autumn because it wont have the stress of scorching summer heat and soil that constantly dries out. Just one caveat. Dont forget to use a nice thick layer of shredded leaves or mulch around the base (but not touching the bark) of your fall transplants, especially if you live in an area where the ground freezes and thaws throughout the winter. The expansion and contraction of the soil that occurs with freezing and thawing of the ground will play havoc with new roots that are trying to take hold, and in severe cases could even kill your specimen

You definitely want to trim your trees and shrubs in the autumn. What you dont want to do is prune them.

Pruning your trees and shrubs in the fall is discouraged for a couple of reasons. First, in the fall, many shrubs have already formed the buds that will flower in the spring. If you prune them now, youll destroy the shrubs ability to show off any color next year. In addition, pruning now will delay the hardening off process that some trees and shrubs must go through before winter, making them susceptible to various cold weather injuries and desiccation.

To trim your trees and shrubs properly in the fall, you want to thin them, not shape them. Deadwood is pretty easy to spot at this time of year, and should be removed by cutting down close to the branch or trunk from which it begins. If you cant tell whether a branch or twig is dead, just scratch it a bit. If its green (wick) inside, its alive. If its grey (wood), then, well . . . you get it. You might also want to remove branches that cross and rub against one another you only need to remove one, (the least healthy) not both of these. Dont forget those suckers! These persistent pests are aptly named, as they suck the nutrients from healthy limbs. Be sure to cut them down to where they start.

As long as the ground is not frozen, you still need to provide your trees and shrubs with water. In the early fall, water your trees every couple of weeks, and keep in mind that new plantings need more frequent watering. Unless your shrubs are newly planted or wilting, they can go without the extra watering autumn rains will take care of them.

By mid-October, you can stop watering your trees and shrubs so that they can harden off by winter. When all the leaves have fallen from the deciduous trees, give all your trees and shrubs one last deep watering. Set your hose at the base of the tree and run the water slowly just a trickle for several hours. Pay particular attention to your evergreens at this time. They dont go dormant during the winter like deciduous trees do, making the extra water particularly important for them. Keep in mind that if you have an unexpected mid-winter thaw, you should deep water your evergreens again during that time.

Whether you should fertilize your trees and shrubs in the autumn will depend on several factors. Well established trees and shrubs dont tend to need much fertilization. However if they are in any kind of mulch bed they can usually do with a few nutrients by fall. The decomposition of the mulch will have been depleting them all spring and summer long. If you really want to replace nutrients for your mature specimens in the fall, your autumn leaves can be shredded and spread underneath them. Their decomposition will release nutrients that your plants need.

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Fall Yard Care; Trees and Shrubs - My Yard Rocks ...