Fall Checklist

Yesterday I had the task of raking the leaves that had begun to pile up in my yard. I have a feeling I'm not the only one doing that this time of year! After last week's wind storm, I imagine many people have piles of leaves on their lawn and in their flower beds.

As we prepare for winter, now is the time to start working on your fall checklist. Here are a few things you should be doing in your yard:

1. Prune your roses. I know, it's early--I still have buds and blooms on my roses at home. But plan on doing some fall pruning in the next couple of weeks. 
2. Mulch your roses. Many roses are grafted at the base of the plant, and last winter, many gardeners lost roses because they didn't cover the graft with mulch. Adding a little bit of mulch to insulate the graft will protect your roses from hard freezes. 
3. Rake your leaves! They won't go away on their own, and left on your lawn all winter, they can choke out your grass.
   
4. Apply Lilly Miller Super Sweet to your lawn. 
5. Fertilize with Scotts Super Turf Builder with Winterguard.

If you have any questions about the above checklist, please contact us at Vander Giessen Nursery. We are open Monday-Saturday 9:00-5:00 and are eager to serve you in all your gardening needs.