Fall horticulture preparations for winter

By Nathan Winter
Extension Educator – Agricultural Productions Systems
McLeod/Meeker County
Many people utilize the spring, summer, and fall to grow their treasured houseplants outdoors. Houseplants that have been growing outside should be moved back indoors. Be sure to wash the vacationing plants well on both tops and undersides of the leaves. Check for tiny white specks, sticky leaves or webbing that could signal a spider mite infestation. Also watch for bits of white on leaf undersides that would be shed skins of aphids or white flies. Keep returning houseplants isolated until you determine they're not infected with insect pests.

It is very important to take care of newly planted plants to ensure a positive spring. Watering new trees and shrubs for the first five years is important to help establish their root systems. It is equally important to water trees and shrubs that showed extra amounts of stress during the growing season. The soil should be damp about 6 inches below the surface. Frequent fall rains will alleviate most of the watering that may need to be done. If we do not receive frequent rainfall, supplemental watering may be required. As important as watering is for plants, many times we tend to over water our new plantings. If the soil is damp to the 6 inches below the surface, leave the plant alone. An inch of rain every 10 days to 14 days will go a long ways on established plants as well as new plantings. Typically, this type of watering is important until the soil freezes up later in fall.

Leaves are dropping off the trees in the area. There are many common foliar diseases that continue their life cycle from year to year. A couple of those diseases are anthracnose and apple scab. Anthracnose is typically found on ash, maple, and oak trees this spring. Apple scab also tends to be a perennial problem on apple trees throughout the summer.