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Mid-to-late fall is the best time to move shrubs since the days are cooler, rain is often more prevalent and the plants have all winter to begin establishing a root system in their new location.
If the long, hot Texas summer has taken its toll on your landscape, garden or you, take heart! Now is a great time to turn things around and set the stage for a fall landscape makeover with some planning and preparation.
Begin with an early morning or late day walk-through. Look with new eyes to see the overall appearance of the plantings. Where is the grass struggling despite your attempts to keep it alive with summer watering? Which plants are thriving and which are struggling or dying?
What is the overall appearance of the landscape? Are there places where an evergreen or a flowering shrub would be a great addition? Would you like to add or remove any flower beds? Are plantings performing poorly because of too much shade or too much sun?
The answers to these questions will help you create an overall landscape renovation plan. You may not be able to make all the changes at one time, but by creating an overall plan you can prioritize the changes.
If perennial weeds such as nutsedge or bermudagrass have invaded the bed, take time to eradicate them now by either hand-digging them out or using a labeled weed control product to kill them.
This is a good time to redesign flowering beds to make them more attractive or to change the size of the planting. Gradual curves are a good design approach to create beds that are pleasing to the eye and easier to mow around.
Consider having the soil tested if plant performance has been poor over the past year. Make recommended nutrient additions and work an inch or more of compost into the soil. Finish by spreading a 2-3 inch layer of mulch over the soil surface to protect it from crusting and erosion and to deter weed seeds from growing. At planting time, simply rake back the mulch, plant and pull the mulch back around the plants again.
Perennials showing the effects of summer heat, drought and pests will benefit from a rejuvenating makeover in late summer. Shear salvias such as Gregg’s sage back by 1/3 and then fertilize and water them well to spur new growth and a great display of blooms in the fall. Avoid cutting back perennials that only bloom in the fall or you’ll be removing the already-formed flower buds that are soon to put on their fall show.
Cast iron plant, inland sea oats, ferns (including holly fern) and liriope can become ragged looking in late summer. You can cut them back to near the ground and start over with fresh new growth. In the case of cast iron plants and most ferns, you can also just cut out the ugly fronds or leaf stalks and leave the attractive ones. Water the area well to encourage fresh new growth and your tired old planting will look outstanding in a few weeks.
Shear back your shrub roses and butterfly bushes (Buddleia) by about 1/3. Then provide some nitrogen fertilizer and water it in. These repeat-blooming plants will then respond with an outstanding fall bloom display. Remember that we don’t prune “once bloomers” (roses that only bloom in spring) in late summer to fall as they are setting flower buds for next spring.
Lawns that were severely set back by the summer heat and drought have thinned considerably and are much more likely to be invaded by the cool-season weeds that will begin germinating in late September.
Proper mowing, watering and fertilizing is the long-term way to increase turf density. In the meantime, top-dressing the lawn with finely screened compost or peat can help block sunlight from reaching the soil surface and help reduce weed seed germination.
A preemergence herbicide application in late September can prevent weed infestations in the meantime. Follow label instructions closely for best results.
If a lawn area is prone to drought conditions or struggling with excessive shade, consider replacing it with a shade-loving groundcover or drought-tolerant plants.
When you did your initial landscape review you may have noticed some shrubs that were in too much sun or too much shade, or just not where you’d like them to be in your new landscape plan. Mid-to-late fall is the best time of the year to move shrubs since the days are cooler, rain is often more prevalent and the plants have all winter to begin establishing a root system in their new location.
Take an early morning stroll and make plans for your landscape makeover projects. With some well-thought-out planning and planting in the weeks to come, your place will be ready for a garden party or tour next spring and summer!
Robert “Skip” Richter is the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension horticulture agent for Brazos County. For local gardening information and events, visit brazosmg.com. Gardening questions? Call Skip at 823-0129 or email rrichter@ag.tamu.edu.
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Mid-to-late fall is the best time to move shrubs since the days are cooler, rain is often more prevalent and the plants have all winter to begin establishing a root system in their new location.
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