Complete these critical tasks for the transition between late fall, early winter

We’re in that transition time where Growing Season 2021 has ended and Winter 2021-22 is at hand. Let’s look at the most important things a gardener should be doing now to prepare for the shifts.

Plants

• Pansies, violas, pinks, ornamental cabbage and kale, red mustard and other hardy winter annuals now. Plant them in beds, but also plant some in decorative pots to enjoy near entries and out on the patio. Those in containers won’t be quite as cold-hardy as their counterparts in beds, so you’ll want to make provision for setting them into the garage on the coldest of nights. However, that will also allow you to include less-hardy types like stocks, cyclamen, alyssum and snapdragons in the plantings.

Finish planting daffodils, grape hyacinths, Dutch iris and summer snowflakes. Hopefully you have had tulips and Dutch hyacinths “chilling” in the refrigerator at 45F. Leave them there for a total of at least 45 days before planting them December 15-31.

• New trees and shrubs can be planted now. Late fall planting allows them many months to get roots established before summer’s heat arrives. Water them with a garden hose every 4-5 days until spring, then 2-3 times weekly during the growing season.
• Transplant established trees and shrubs that need to be relocated once they have been exposed to at least one killing freeze.

Prune

• Dead branches from live oaks and red oaks before they fall during winter and spring storms. The risks are becoming greater with each passing week as the wood dries and cracks. Remove dead ash, Chinese tallow and other trees killed by the February cold.
• Trim old foliage, flower stalks and seed stems from perennials to tidy up their gardens.
• Continue mowing your lawn at recommended height to remove fallen leaves. Bag mulched tree leaves and either use them in the compost pile or put them around shrubs and perennials as a mulch to prevent weed growth over the winter.

Fertilize

• Pansies and other winter color annuals with a water-soluble, high-nitrogen fertilizer each time that you water them. Keep them growing vigorously to help them become well-established before winter arrives later in December. Mulch their beds and keep frost cloth cut and ready to put down over them should temperatures drop to unusually low levels.
• Cut back on feedings you give houseplants over the winter. Your goal will be to maintain them status quo rather than encouraging them to grow until lighting conditions become more favorable once again.
• Fescue and ryegrass turf can be fertilized at half the recommended rates for warm-season grasses. They do most of their growing in cooler weather, so feeding now will give them a boost.

On the lookout

• Houseplants, particularly those you have brought indoors from the patio, for any signs of insects. They can proliferate quickly indoors since they’ll have no natural predators. Beware, too, of pests that might be sheltered inside drain holes. Take plants back outside into a shaded location if you need to spray for pests. Do so on a still, warm afternoon.
• Apply a broadleafed weedkiller spray (containing 2,4-D) in the next couple of weeks if you’re seeing non-grassy weeds growing in your lawn. Most common examples include clover, dandelions, chickweed, henbit and dichondra. Read and follow label directions to get the results you want. Don’t delay. Once it turns cold you’ll have to wait until early spring to use these sprays.
• Disconnect hoses from faucets before freezing weather. Drain hose-end sprinklers and bring them into the garage. Ice can rupture the plastic or aluminum housing of the sprinklers. If you move a hose with water that has frozen the hose will crack. And a hose hooked up to a freeze-proof faucet will allow the faucet to freeze within the wall of your house, a major repair (voice of experience).
• If you have an automatic sprinkling system set to run on a prescribed frequency, consider moving it to the “Manual” setting for the winter. That way you will determine when it needs to run. Better yet, have a “smart” controller installed and let it govern the watering frequency based on actual weather events.
• If you have a greenhouse, have a temperature alarm installed and get yourself a back-up source of heat that does not require electricity. (A hard-wired generator saved my greenhouse and all of my plants last February.)

You can hear Neil Sperry on KLIF 570AM on Saturday afternoons 1-3 pm and on WBAP 820AM Sunday mornings 8-10 am. Join him at www.neilsperry.com and follow him on Facebook.