October Notes

Every year at this time I scramble to see what other gardeners are doing for fall color.  I am particularly taken this year with the variations of the Cutleaf japanese maple (Acer palmatum dissectum), sure to be glowing orange and yellow for another a week or so.

Cutleaf japanese maple in Greenwich Village dooryard garden

If you are not satisfied with the brilliant display offered by deciduous shrubs and trees and want something closer to the ground, there a few plants worth trying.  My favorites are the Japanese anemones  (Anemone japonica).  The cup-shaped flowers are a flawless pink or luminous white and are carried high on stems that dance in the breeze.  Sweet autumn clematis (Clematis paniculata) will grow 20-30 feet in a season and cover a multitude of sins.  Asters are also reliable standards, and blue salvias hold their own well into the cold weather.

October Calendar

WEEK ONE

Give a weekly soaking to all shrubs and trees planted this year.  Keep this up until frost.

If you are planting after a dry spell, water well.

Order Now for Fall Spring bulbs in city gardens will benefit from mulch, more so on rooftops than on the ground.  On rooftops bulbs will pop up too early when sunny days in late winter thaw the ground unexpectedly early.

You can plant most trees in the fall, except the ones you can’t --  Magnolia, Dogwood and Birches.