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october Trees Autumn is nature's planting season and the best time to plant trees. Bare root trees can be planted as soon as they are available which is usually from November to February. As a guide these trees can be planted when their leaves have fallen and when they are dormant. October
is an excellent month to plant containerised trees. The soil will
still be warm from the summer and early autumn rain will help them
establish very quickly. For the best results plant in the autumn
or early spring, containerised plants can be planted at any time
of the year as long as the soil is not waterlogged or frozen, or
suffering from drought. If you are planning to move a tree this winter then start your preparations now. Decide where the tree will be planted and prepare the soil thoroughly. Dig the hole ready to take the root ball now and incorporate plenty of Rose, Tree & Shrub Compost into the base and sides of the hole. Mix into this an appropriate amount of Bone Meal. To prepare the tree for moving, cut around the outside of the roots, about level with the edge of the canopy using a garden spade. This will sever some of the roots near the surface and reduce stress to the tree when you come to dig it up completely next month. If you have already prepared a tree for moving by pruning the roots as described above, do not attempt to move it until the leaves have fallen, or in the case of evergreen trees until the plant is dormant. As a guide look at neighbouring deciduous trees and wait until their leaves have fallen. Water newly planted trees when the weather is dry. It is much better to water them thoroughly twice a week, than superficially, daily. If in doubt scrape away the top surface of the soil to see how far down the water has soaked after watering. It needs to reach right down to the roots, approximately 12.5-15cm deep (5-6 inches), to ensure that the tree can absorb the water. If you continually just wet the soil surface you will encourage roots to form higher up where they are much more susceptible to damage from extremes of temperature. After heavy rain apply mulch around the base of your trees. This will improve the overall appearance of the garden and reduces moisture loss through evaporation at the soil surface. It will also insulate the tree roots. Top up existing mulches around trees that have been mulched previously. Weed around young trees by hand removing any weeds that are within 60cm (2 ft) of the main trunk. Weeds will compete with your trees for precious water and nutrients and can also harbour a variety of garden pests and diseases. Roses and Shrubs Encourage pest predators such as birds, bats, beetles, hedgehogs, frogs and toads into the garden to eat garden pests such as caterpillars, aphids and even slugs and snails. Top up the bird food and water to keep your feathered friends properly catered for. Plant berried shrubs such as pyracantha that will provide an autumn and winter food source for the birds. Make small woodpiles in shady areas for beetles and other pest eating wildlife to shelter in and consider installing a pond to attract more wildlife species. Prune out and remove the last of the rose flowers as soon as they have withered. Cut just behind the immature rose hip at the base of the flower and remove this and all the dead petals. This will prevent your roses from putting essential energy into making seed and will encourage stronger plants. Remove any rose leaves showing signs of disease and either burn them or put them in the bin. Don't add them to the compost or you will help to spread the problem to other roses in the garden. If you have ordered bare rooted roses to plant this autumn and winter then decide where you intend to plant them and prepare the ground thoroughly. Plant them as soon as they arrive. Container grown roses can be planted now. Prune back and tidy up roses and shrubs that have outgrown their space. Remove any dead, diseased or damaged growth and reduce long stems by about a third to prevent wind rock damage. After pruning, top up the mulch over the roots. Use some of the autumn prunings to take hardwood cuttings of shrubs like roses, forsythia and deutzia. Choose ripened stems that have formed this year and cut them off below a leaf joint with a diagonal cut. Make a 6in (15cm) deep cut in the soil using a spade and line the base with Sharp sand. Push the cuttings into this trench and leave them to root. This may take several months or even a year. Cut back the dead flowers on lavender plants and tidy up the bushes generally. Fruit and Vegetables Continue to harvest any late vegetables such as summer cabbages and leeks. Dig up the last of the potato crop and store them in hessian or paper sacks somewhere cool, dry and dark. Autumn is a great time to clear the vegetable beds. Remove all the spent crops and dig over the area. Dig in Farmyard Manure or Soil Conditioner to improve the soil. On heavy clay soil, leave the clods of clay on the soil surface for the frost to break up. Remove the frames for climbing beans and peas and tidy them away for the winter. Keep the vegetable and fruit beds weed free. Weeds not only compete for any available food and water, but they also provide shelter for a number of garden pests and diseases. Dig out any perennial weeds making sure to remove all the roots, and hoe off any annual weed seedlings as they appear in warmer weather. Don't leave the hoed weeds on the soil surface or they will quickly re-root into the moist warm soil. Protect winter salad crops with a cloche or horticultural fleece in the event of an early frost. Apply a few pellets of Slug Killer beneath the fleece or cloches to protect the plants from slug and snail damage. Keep a watch on apple and pear trees and harvest the fruit as it starts to ripen. Apply grease bands to fruit trees to protect them from Winter Moths. Finish drying onions and garlic bulbs and then hang them up in a cool, dry dark place for easy access. Keep an eye on stored root crops such as potatoes and onions and look out for rots and problems. Use any bulbs or tubers showing signs of damage. Remove any that are diseased and dispose of them. Propagate Tay berries and loganberries by tip layering. Bend a healthy cane to the ground and dig a hole level with the tip. Incorporate some Multi Purpose Compost with added John Innes into the hole and bury the tip into it to a depth of about 6in (15cm). These should root easily and will be ready to cut from the main stem by mid autumn. Cut them off above a healthy bud and leave the plant to establish for 4-6 weeks. Then they can be dug up and replanted into their final positions, or potted up for friends. Plants propagated in this way should fruit after 2-3 years. Prune out blackberry stems that have fruited this season and tie in this years' new growth to horizontal wires so that the fruit will be easier to pick next season. Take hardwood cuttings of currants and gooseberries. Choose healthy plants and strong ripe shoots. Cut off 10in (25cm) lengths and cut out the tip. Remove all the buds except the top three or four that will grow to form the main frame of the new plant. Cut a trench with a spade 6in (15cm) deep, fill the base with sharp sand and push the cuttings into this space until half of their length is buried. Leave the cuttings to root, which may take up to one year. Earth up around Brussels sprouts and firm in around the stems to give these plants better resistance to heavy wind and rain. Check the plants for signs of pests and disease and remove any affected leaves. Start to harvest plump sprouts from the base of the plant stems as they mature, moving up the stem as the others mature. Bend the outer leaves over the top of developing cauliflowers to keep them white and clean. Plant garlic cloves. Sow spring lettuce varieties under cloches or in a cold greenhouse; keep well ventilated, especially on warmer days. Protect from slug and snail damage using a few pellets of Slug Killer. Cut back this years' asparagus stems leaving about 1in (2.5cm) protruding from the ground. Lawns As the weather starts to cool, the grass will grow more slowly. Adjust the cutting height of your mower so that you allow the grass to grow a little longer than over the summer months. Quality lawns should be mown to about 1- 1.5cm and Utility lawns to 2-3cm high. Cut about once a week, or once a fortnight according to the conditions. Don't be tempted to use a summer feed on the lawn now; it will encourage too much soft and sappy growth that will be affected by the frost. Instead treat the lawn to the new Westland Autumn Lawn Feed & Moss Killer, which will deal with moss and feed the lawn in one easy application. Aerate compacted areas and apply Westland Lawn Dressing to fill in any holes, cracks and hollows. If the lawn is very mossy then either treat with Westland Autumn Lawn Feed & Moss Killer or use the dedicated Westland Moss Killer. Wait until the moss has turned black, (about 2 weeks) and remove the dead moss with a spring tine rake. Treat occasional weeds with the spot treatment Lawn Weed killer. Resow bare patches using Westland Lawn Repair Kit. Be sure to sweep up fallen autumn leaves and to keep the lawn free from debris. Keep a watch out for chewed lawn roots and patchy lawn that may indicate a problem with leather jackets and chafer grubs. These are underground larvae that feed on grass roots and can be controlled using naturally occurring nematodes. Autumn is a very good time to sow a new lawn from seed. The soil is still warm from the summer and the autumn rain will provide vital moisture as the new lawn develops. It is vital to prepare the soil thoroughly and to keep the developing lawn properly watered. Repair damaged or worn areas of the lawn. Large areas can be top dressed with Westland Lawn Dressing and then over sown with an appropriate lawn seed. Westland Fast Acting Lawn Seed is ideal for quick establishment or choose a lawn seed that is specially formulated to suit your garden conditions and the way you use your lawn. Keep newly sown lawns and freshly turfed areas well watered in dry spells. It is far more effective to water the lawn thoroughly once or twice a week than to wet it superficially on a daily basis. Water at dusk and really soak the area so that the water filters through to the soil around the roots, this encourages deeper roots to develop and reduces the likelihood of surface roots forming that may be susceptible to extremes of temperature. Recut the lawn edges with a half moon edging iron. Beds and Borders Harvest seedpods and seed heads from any valuable plants and dry in a cool dark place. Leave some seed heads for the birds. Keep on top of weeds, dig out perennial weeds removing the whole root and hoe off annual weeds from between the plants if they grow during milder weather. Keep an eye on any new plants in the garden and be sure to water them if the weather is dry. They need time to establish a good root system before they can fend for themselves. Protect any susceptible plants with a light scattering of Slug Killer or use your preferred method of control. When the first frosts have blackened the foliage of your dahlias trim them back to the base of the main stems and carefully dig up the tubers. Rub off the soil and remove any damaged or diseased tubers. Stand them upside down to drain off any moisture inside the stems. When dry store them the right way up in trays of damp peat and keep in a frost free greenhouse or cold frame until spring. Tidy up and cut back perennial plants as they die back for winter. Wrap the leaves and stems of frost tender plants such as Cordylines in fleece or bubble wrap to provide extra protection from the frost. Protect the crowns of plants that are not fully hardy with a generous layer of peat.
Refresh summer planters, tubs and baskets with some autumn bedding such as hardy cyclamen, bedding dianthus, pansies or evergreen plants. Replant using fresh Multi Purpose Compost with added John Innes. Buy a variety of spring flowering bulbs and plant these into the base of winter containers so that the flowers will emerge through the foliage in spring. Choose dwarf narcissi, dwarf irises, crocus and other small and dainty bulbs for a natural effect. For stunning displays plant single varieties of tulips en masse into pots and planters. Keep them gently watered and in a sheltered position until the bulbs emerge in spring. Plant
up some new autumn interest planters for the patio. Make the most
of hardy winter flowers and evergreen plants to create interesting
effects. Visit the local garden centre now and buy early to get
the best choice of what's on offer. Ensure that all your pots and containers are well drained. If you are planting new containers use a generous layer of crocks (broken terracotta flower pots) or horticultural grit at the base of the container. Stand your planter on pot feet or bricks to raise it above the ground. Top dress potted shrubs and trees with fresh Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes. Water thoroughly. Ericaceous plants should be top-dressed using Rhododendron, Azalea and Camellia Compost with added John Innes. Pots of bulbs can also be forced in the greenhouse to create earlier displays and also flowers for cutting over the winter months. Containers of plants that have finished flowering should be tipped out and dismantled. Check the compost thoroughly for the grubs of vine weevil and feed them to the birds. Seeds and Cuttings Sow hardy biennials such as Wallflowers, Foxgloves and Sweet William into small pots containing Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes. Cover over with a thin layer of Vermiculite to insulate the developing seedlings. Keep them in a frost-free greenhouse or cold frame to germinate and grow on. If there is a danger of slug damage then protect them with a few pellets of Slug Killer. Although these plants will not flower this year, they will produce strong healthy blooms next spring and summer. Sow hardy annuals such as Nasturtiums, Calendula, Californian Poppies, Sunflowers, Cornflowers, Virginian Stocks, Poppies and wildflower mixtures into the border soil. Rake the soil to a fine, crumbly surface and draw patterns of shallow drills in the surface, line the base with Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes, water gently and then sprinkle the seed thinly on top. Cover over with more compost. If there is a danger of slug damage then protect them with a few pellets of Slug Killer. Take semi-ripe cuttings from shrubs and roses. Choose stems that have started to ripen but are not woody and tough. Good plants to propagate at this time include Hebes, Rosemary, Weigela, Hydrangea, Pieris, Buddleia and Pyracantha. You can take heel cuttings by pulling short side shoots away from the main stem with a heel of bark still attached. Trim off any excess bark, pinch out the growing tip and remove the basal leaves. Push individual cuttings into Seed & Cutting Compost. Alternatively take tip cuttings by choosing healthy shoots and removing the top 15cm (6inches) of growth. Pinch out the growing tip and trim the base of the cutting immediately below a leaf joint, to leave a cutting that is about 5-8cm (2-3inches) long. Remove the bottom leaves and push the bottom of the stem into a pot containing Seed & Cutting Compost. Cover with a plastic bag tied around the pot and place into a cold frame. Take stem cuttings of climbers such as Ornamental vines, Summer Jasmine, climbing Hydrangea and Kiwi (actinidia). Root them in pots of Seed & Cutting compost, and place them in a sheltered cold frame. Take stem and tip cuttings of established fuchsias and geraniums so that you have plenty of plants for next season. Propagate climbers such as Honeysuckle, Passionflower, Clematis and Virginia creeper by layering. This is easy to do. Choose healthy stems on the outside of the plant and bend them to ground level. Where the stem touches the ground close to the plant, remove a small piece of bark and some of the tissue below, taking care not to cut through the whole stem. Mix in some Multi-Purpose Compost with added John Innes into the soil around the main plant and peg down the stem with a piece of bent wire into the improved soil. Layered cuttings can take several months to root. When rooted cut the stem to sever it from the parent plant and dig up the rooted cutting to plant elsewhere. Lift lily bulbs that have flowered this year and clean off the excess soil. Carefully remove the fleshy scales that make up the bulb so that each scale also has a small section of the base attached. Plant them into seed trays of Seed & Cutting Compost and keep in a warm moist place. The scales will grow tiny bulbs that can then be potted up and grown on. If there is a danger of slug damage then protect them with a few pellets of Slug Killer. Take cuttings from gooseberries and currants. Ericaceous Plants Top dress around acid loving plants using Ericaceous Compost or Rhododendron, Azalea and Camellia Compost with added John Innes. Take care not to dig this in around your plants, as you may cause damage to the roots. Instead mulch around the plant stems with the compost, covering an area of soil on the ground that corresponds to the area that the leaves, stems and branches occupy above ground. The activity of worms and other beneficial soil organisms will gradually work this into the soil, acidifying the area around the plant roots and providing vital plant nutrients for strong and healthy growth. Plant heathers into acid soil or containers containing Ericaceous Compost or Rhododendron, Azalea and Camellia Compost with added John Innes. House Plants Top dress houseplants with Houseplant Compost to give them a boost after their summer performance. Feed your plants if they are still growing vigorously or flowering, with Feed-all liquid plant food. Dust foliage plants to remove excess dirt, or wash gently with tepid water. Do not use water on cacti and succulent plants, or plants that have hairy leaves. Provide support for tall and climbing plants and tie them in carefully. Take leaf cuttings of Peperomias, African violets, Gloxinia, Sedum, Crassula, Streptocarpus, Sansevieria and Begonia Rex. Plant healthy leaves into Seed and Cutting compost to ensure that the compost is well drained and gives good contact with the plant leaves to encourage quick and healthy rooting. New young plants will form at the base of the leaves. When your houseplants are growing strongly and are in good health, it's the ideal time to take cuttings and propagate them. Many foliage houseplants can be easily and successfully divided by splitting up the rootstock. Divide plants such as ferns and Sansevieria. Take softwood, tip cuttings from plants such as Coleus. Choose plants that are brightly coloured, as the offspring will be identical to the parent plant. Cut 5-10cm (2-4inch) stems and root them in pots filled with Seed & Cutting Compost, on a warm, shaded windowsill. Take stem cuttings of most other houseplants. Remove suitable non-flowering stems, and cut below the tip to leave a 12cm section. Remove the leaves from the lower half. Cut the stem at the base of the cutting with a very sharp cuttings knife immediately below a leaf joint. Fill small flowerpots with Seed and Cutting Compost, and push several cuttings into the compost making sure that they are not touching. Plant bowls of spring flowering bulbs such as Hyacinths, Crocus and Daffodils, and grow them in a sheltered spot such as behind a shed, covering them over with a thick layer of damp bark or peat. When the bulbs start to emerge and the buds are showing, bring the pots inside for an early display of flowers. Feeding With autumn well under way it's important to tailor any feeding to the exact requirements of your plants. It's too late to use a general feed for most plants as this will encourage soft, sappy growth that will be damaged by the frost. Soil Matters October is a good month to start looking at the overall health of your soil. If you keep the soil in good heart it will support plant growth right through the season and your garden will be healthier all round. If your garden soil is poor or depleted from overactive plant growth then improve it using one of the specially formulated soil improvers from Westland. For example Top Soil or the new Premium Garden Soil are both carefully selected soil with a high content of organic matter, vital for healthy soil. Premium Garden soil has added fertiliser so it is ideal for planting specimen garden plants such as Topiary sculptures. Both formulations are great for new beds and borders, rockeries and for replacing existing soil. Top dress around existing plants or make plans to improve the soil in the autumn and winter. Farmyard Manure is ideal for conditioning the soil and adds vital nutrients and water holding organic matter to garden areas where heavy feeders deplete soil nutrients quickly such as the vegetable plot or rose beds. Organic gardeners can opt for Organic Garden Compost or Soil Conditioner to improve the soil and add vital structure and organic matter to support healthy plant growth. Keep adding these soil foods to the surface of the existing soil, either by lightly working it into the soil surface, or by applying as a mulch. Either way the worms and other soil organisms will work the organic matter into the soil to create a healthy structure. Dig over the area of soil that needs improving. If the area is planted then take care not to dig close to the plants or disturb their roots. You can use the Soil Conditioner or Farmyard Manure as a mulch near to established plants and allow the worms and soil organisms to work it into the soil. Spread Soil Conditioner or Farmyard Manure over the surface of the dug area and work it into the soil with a fork. These natural materials will absorb and hold water in the soil and improve its structure, providing essential air pockets for drainage and for the roots to breathe. The high organic content also encourages the activity of beneficial soil dwelling organisms including worms. To increase the pH of the soil (make it more alkaline) you can add Garden Lime. It is also not a good idea to apply lime and manure at the same time, as a reaction between the two can release nitrogen from the soil. Follow the instructions on the pack for the best results. Cabbages in particular prefer a more alkaline soil and this will also help to protect them from Clubroot, a disease that affects many brassica plants. Mulching Autumn is a great time to apply a garden mulch, especially after heavy rainfall. Dig out any perennial weeds and then apply your chosen mulch over the area to a depth of 3-4 inches. To make the mulch last longer consider applying it over a permeable membrane or planting fabric, this reduces contact between the soil and the mulch and slows down the degradation of the mulch. Use an ornamental mulch on the surface of your pots and containers. It not only looks good, but it also insulates the plant roots from high temperatures and early frosts. More importantly it helps to retain moisture in the compost. Make sure the compost is wet through before applying the mulch. Use a small grade of bark such as Mini Chipped Bark or the new Mini Pine Bark Nuggets for the best-looking results over a small area. Water Gardening Cover over the pond with a net to prevent falling leaves from reaching the water. Otherwise these will rot and pollute the water. Remove dead leaves from water lilies and pond plants so that they do not contaminate the water. If you are considering installing a pond start to plan the position and dig out a suitable area while the soil is moist and manageable. Remove the pond pump from the pond and clean it thoroughly. If necessary you can replace the pump with a pond heater for the winter months to protect your fish from extreme cold. An air hole in the ice is essential to keep fish and ponds healthy in cold weather. A pond heater will usually keep an area of the surface free from ice; otherwise float a tennis ball on the water.
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