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Hurry Up and Wait

© Emily Levitt

I really enjoy working in the fall garden. Crisp air, sunshine and color usually make this a grand time of year to do almost anything outside. Alas, this year's continued heat, hard dry soil, and watering restrictions, have combined to make routine autumn gardening plans and chores uniquely challenging.

Since September, my own garden calendar has been filled with so many set backs caused by drought conditions that I've quit counting them. I've been sitting, waiting for rain and temperature relief for seven weeks. Pansies have grown long and leggy in their flats. Bare-root day lily samples sent weeks ago are still in the potting shed, waiting for a chance to get into the ground with half a prayer of survival. The clean tools I have ready to use in perennial division are hanging on their hooks, gathering dust.

Last week we had a few cooler days and some rain (although like much of the South, we are still two feet below our annual rainfall). This week's cool temperatures will combine with what little moisture there is in the top soil strata to create what will probably be the best shot some of us will have at getting our outdoor work done.

Run out there and get at it if you can!

But... what if you can't?

Lots of folks want to know "how late is too late" to plant ornamentals or divide perennials, particularly in a weird year like this one. There are few hard and fast rules, but there are guidelines even desperate gardeners like yours truly can apply:

If the ground is still hard and dry where you live, give your beds a good soak with a drip hose or sprinkler the day before you put in your plants. Then soak the installed material.

Annuals should get into the ground before the first hard frost (when we get one) or they will lose their ability to spread little roots, and prosper. The only thing worse than hard dry dirt is frozen dirt. Even several days of cold temperatures will not change the temperature of the ground significantly, so you can still plant when it's chilly outside.

Fertilizers high in nitrates seem to help stimulate cold weather annuals better than all purpose fertilizers. Nitrogen helps them green up better and produce more consistent blooms.

Perennials can be treated in much the same way as annuals when transplanted, but a 10-10-10- slow relaease fertilizer will give the best growth pattern.

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