Dayton "Dift" - November 8, 2013

As November marches on, there’s lots of chores to complete before winter. November is for: - Taking a soil test of the lawn and garden - Applying dolomitic lime if needed to the lawn and/or garden - Composting leaves - Spraying persistent perennial weeds with glyphosate (Roundup) - Applying liquid fence in late November to protect susceptible plants from deer browsing - Applying gypsum to lawn areas susceptible to road salt burn - Planting Holland bulbs, most trees and shrubs - Applying one more application of winterizing lawn fertilizer with a high ratio of potassium to nitrogen ratio to feed the still growing grass and to foster an early lawn green up in spring - Digging and storing tender rhizomes (Cannas & Dahlias) before a hard freeze to the ground At the nursery, November is a great month for sticking cuttings of rhododendron, Juniper and Arborvitae as roots on the cuttings form quickly with the heat from our boiler system. This “bottom heat” heats the rooting media to about 72º F with an air temperature of about 60-65º F and conifers will root the various cuttings in about 6 weeks. The conifer evergreens will then be transplanted in spring to containers while the rhododendron will be planted in a bed of pure Canadian sphagnum peat in the greenhouse in January and then replanted to pots in the early summer. The covering of our overwintering houses last week has been eventful in that already at least 25 hungry mice were caught just one day after setting the traps! Another project for this past week has been the spacing of the ever expanding Poinsettias as too close of spacing will force the plants to grow upward instead of the more desirable shape of outward. Poinsettias are very susceptible to white fly insects but so far the fast breeding critters have been absent to the extent not even one can be found! The only detriment to finishing November gardening chores is the weather and the short days growing even shorter. Tom