I admitted to pruning the crepe myrtle bush severely, giving it the Lyle Lovett look. Now the top looks like pink cotton candy, with every branch showing off bright pink panicles. The bush is the only one in the neighborhood in full bloom, because I trimmed it for that second bloom.
Gardeners should read more. I did the pruning with our helper because I found out about the second bloom after late summer pruning. I used most of the trimmings for compost. The additional trimmings have been added to the mulch below the bush. Since dead wood holds back roses, dead wood must also slow down bushes. I found about 100 dried up twigs where growth started and then stopped. I have cut them off, added them below, and have done the same with new growth in the wrong places.
Spinach seeds arrived, reminding me to pull back vegetable garden mulch to uncovered bare soil for a wide row of spinach. The sunny, cool weather is perfect for a spinach start. The last time I did this was before a bitterly cold Minnesota winter, where a nurse kept telling me my spinach was deader than a Mondale speech. "It was the winter of our discontent." I won. The spinach emerged from the snow and grew well with cold spring rains and no bugs.
Autumn is the best time to plant trees and bushes. In many areas all gardening supplies go on sale when it gets colder. The bushes that ought to be planted are discounted due to lack of sales. If they are planted now, the root system will develop during the fall rains and the bush will have a great start in the spring.
Suddenly I realize that much of tree/bush health is related to fungi feeding the root hairs nutrition in exchange for carbon. Since fungi are fragile, keeping the soil undisturbed and mulched with wood is essential for future growth. Fungi multiply tree root nutrition by many times, but people rake their bushes down to bare soil for that stranded on a dinner plate look.
The worst example of Knockout roses in the neighborhood are the ones left in the middle of bare soil.
Speaking of pruning - they are "self-pruning" roses. That really means - prune them yourself. Left alone, they look wretched and do not bloom worth a hoot. Repeat after me, timid rosarians - Prunes are good for roses and all bushes.
Autumn Leaf Mulch
Autumn leaves should be treasured rather than sacked and hauled away.
- They can be mulch mowed into the lawn, which is good for it.
- They can be composted in a bin.
- They can be bunched up in chicken wire around roses - great insulation and soil renewal.
