Things to do in the flower garden for October

In the flower garden:

• Finish planting spring-flowering bulbs except tulips.
• Wait another two wees to begin planting tulips.
• Shred fallen hardwood leaves and use for mulch.
• Finish planting, transplanting spring and summer-fowering perennials.
• Order dormant roses, lily bulbs for November planting.

In the food garden:

• Harvest Brussels sprouts from the bottom up.
• Plant radishes for Thanksgiving dinner.
• Leave leeks, carrots, beets, spinach in the garden for harvest as needed.
• Wait until after frost sweetens kale, parsnips to begin harvest.
• Bundle spent corn stalks for Halloween decoration.

In the house:

• Deprive poinsettias, holiday cactus of all light from sundown to sunup.
• Make succession plantings of paper white narcissus.
• Allow amaryllis to go dormant.
• Water succulents only every three to four weeks, just enough to keep them from shriveling.
• Pinch back leggy vines for fuller grownth.

On the lawn:

• Keep leaves raked from grass.
• Continue mowing until growth stops.
• Treat germinating checkweed with a selective herbicide.
• Lime any time between now and spring.
• Fertilize if none has been spread since September.

Planting Bulbs

October is a great time to plant spring-flowering bulbs. The soil temperatures in early fall are ideal for good root development. With a little planning and effort this fall you can be enjoying their cheery bloosoms next spring. A soil temperature of 60 degrees is ideal. To learn more on how to plant bulbs correctly...

Planting Tulips

Tulips prefer part to full sun. Soil should be well aerated and well drained, sightly acidic., and cultivated to a depth of 8-12 inches. These spring favorites require a cool period of dormancy before they'll bloom. In colder Northern climates, plant bulbs in October and let Mother Nature take care of the cooling. In the South, provide the cooling period by placing bulbs in a refrigerator at 40-45 F for 6-8 weeks (or up to 16 weeks if necessary) and plant them by early January. When planting tulip bulbs, make the job easier by digging trenches. Space bulbs 3-6" apart, depending on the desired effect.

Spring Bulbs

Spring Bulbs Expand your bulb plantings with blooms other than the usual tulips and daffodils. Winter aconite, for instance, blooms faithfully by Valentine's Day in the coastal area; snow drops often flower even earlier. Scillas are commonly found in spring gardens in many forms, the most common are not hardy but are great for forcing. One is Ornithogalum dubium, first cousin to star of Bethlehem, which has bright yellow or orange flowers with a black eye. It can produce up to 25 flowers per stem. The other is Veltheimiak called winter red hot poker, with foot-high stems topped with clusters of drooping tubular flowers. This oine will thrive in an east window and flowers in late winter or early spring. Plant fall-flowering bulbs on arrival Order minor spring-flowering bulbs for September planting Order daffodil bulbs for October planting, tulips for November planting