October is a great month for gardening. The heat and humidity have begun to move off, and cooler temperatures have arrived.
Enjoying your garden this month can consist of planting, experimenting, landscaping or just puttering about. Below are some tips for making the best of it.
Herbs: This is a great time to plant some herbs. You can start a kitchen garden or use them as a fragrant border. Some good herbs to plant in your Texas garden include:
- Fennel—great herb to use for garnishes. It’s also very pretty, with feathery leaves that will attract butterflies. Plant it in full sun, and it will bloom with yellow flowers in the spring & summer.
- Chives—this a great choice for planting in October. Try garlic chives to add a hint of garlic to a variety of dishes. If you plant in full sun it will bloom with white flowers in the summer.
Shrubs: Planting shrubs is hard work, so the cooler weather of October is a great time to plant new shrubs. Shrubs can bring color, fragrance and lovely foliage to your garden. Try one of these:
- Blushing Bride Hydrangea—has beautiful white flowers that turn pink as it matures. Plant them in a spot were they will get morning sun and afternoon shade. They will bloom from spring through the fall.
- Glossy Abelia—has tubular pink & white flowers that smell heavenly. It is drought resistant, and prefers full to partial sun. They will bloom from May through September.
Bulbs: Plant your bulbs now, so you can enjoy their spring blooms. You can also buy the bulbs that need to be frozen before planting in the fall or winter. Here are couple good choices for this month:
- Rain Lily—tubular flowers in pink, white and yellow. They will bloom in the summer through the next fall. Plant them in full to partial sun. These are hardy bulbs that will naturalize & multiply once established.
- Persian Buttercup-enjoy it’s orange, pink, red, yellow and white blooms from February through April. Plant this bulb in full sun. General Care.
This is a great time to renew the mulch in your garden. You can also start a compost pile from all your fall clippings and rakings. Weed, neaten, plant and prune, and just get outside and enjoy the cooler weather!
St. Augustine, Bermuda and centipede lawns should be fertilized no later than the first week of October, if you have not already made your fall application. Use a 3-1-2 or similar ratio. Continue mowing at the same height, and don’t remove more that 1/3 of the length of the grass blades to prevent stress. If St. Augustine or Bermuda grass isn’t growing well, it could be the pH is too low. Fall is a good time to add lime if the soil is acidic. You can get a soil test done to determine the soil pH, and add lime if pH is below 5.7. Centipede lawns don’t normally need liming.
Stop by Steinhauser’s for all your gardening needs! From mulch to fertilizer, we have what you need for the lawn & garden.