Dayton "Dirt" - October 2, 2015

While the rain this past weekend held off for the Mum Fest in Barberton, two weeks have passed since then of the much needed rainfall on September 12th.  One benefit of the dryness is that trees and shrubs are hardening off before winter.  Hardening-off is a term used in the greenhouse and nursery industries that pertains to the cessation of lush, soft growth and instead that of slower more sustainable growth.  For example, greenhouse grown flowers and vegetable plants are at risk for scorching from the hot sun and strong winds that are not present in the greenhouse especially since greenhouses are shaded in late spring with a white compound that is sprayed on the glass or plastic to cool the structure on the inside.  Therefore some flowers and even vegetable plants will suffer when exposed suddenly to the outside elements.  Outside with the trees and shrubs, lower light levels and a shorter day length, cooler temperatures and typical drier conditions of late summer naturally harden off plants.

At the nursery, irrigation of much of the stock is lessened in September and October to slow down growth.  On some plants such as evergreen azaleas, irrigation is withheld to the point of actually causing the plants to wilt.  According to Dr. Hannah Mathers at Ohio State University placing tree guards on tree trunks of young trees to protect them from rodent damage will actually cause a splitting of the trees trunk if the tree guard is put in place too early in the season.  After carefully controlled experiments, Dr. Mathers found that the tree guard created a micro climate around the tree’s tender bark preventing the bark from hardening off and causing the split.  When the guard is placed on the tree when temperatures grow colder such as after Thanksgiving, the tree’s bark is ready for winter.

Next week begins the consolidation of the nursery stock in the back stock area to ready the plants for winter storage.  Some trimming, weeding and moving of the trees and shrubs into the overwintering structures precedes the covering of the steel framed houses with a single layer of white polyethylene which will give plants protection from cold winter winds and wide ranges in temperatures.  The white plastic actually provides 70% shade so that these storage structures do not overheat when bright sun is the mode.

Enough about winter!  There’s still plenty of good weather ahead and lots to do with the lawn and garden and in enjoying the beautiful fall season.

Tom