Now’s the time to plant everything from grass and bulbs to berries, trees and shrubs
Late September is a good time to overseed the lawn or to reseed bare spots.
First you need to rough up the bare spots with a rake. Scratch in the grass seed using a Northwest mix of grass seeds. Then cover the seed with a light mulch of soil, peat moss or even dried grass clippings. Water and keep the area moist.
There is still time to plant berries, trees and shrubs and to divide perennial plants. Fall is like a second spring in the garden when it comes to planting, and just like in the spring, controlling fall weeds before they go to seed will save you from thousands of weed seedlings in the future.
Q. Houseplant question. Why are the long leaves of my indoor plant curling inward and looking limp? I do not know what type of plant it is. It is growing near a window. — G.H., Email
A. Leaves curling inward on a houseplant are most likely a sign of too much water. Do not water until you poke a finger into the soil and it feels dry up to the second knuckle of your finger.
Another cause of limp and curling leaves is a cold blast of air. Does your houseplant sit in front of an air conditioning unit?
A potted plant sitting in a saucer of drainage water also can suffer root rot and then the leaves can curl inward.
Many indoor plants can go for several weeks without needing water. Overwatering is the most popular way to murder a houseplant. Giving your potted plant the finger — by feeling the soil — is the best way to decide if it needs a drink.
Q. This fall I would like to plant tulips in my large porch containers. I have a problem with mice and deer eating my bulbs that get planted in the ground. The problem is that the geraniums growing in the pots for summer color still look great and so I don’t want to remove them to plant the tulip bulbs. Any suggestions? — T.B., Enumclaw
A. Fall is all about spring when it comes to planting bulbs, and the easiest way to plant spring bulbs is to fill plastic nursery pots with potting soil and plant your tulip bulbs shoulder to shoulder under 6 to 8 inches of soil. You can leave the plastic pots out in the weather all winter and they will be safe from burrowing rodents.
When you are ready to uproot your geraniums, you can drop the plastic pots into your larger porch pots for a magnificent spring display. If the plastic pot shows, hide it with a layer of moss or bark chips. You can also bury the plastic pots into your flower beds where the containers will give them protection from voles and mice.
Q. How long can I leave maple leaves on the grass without killing the lawn? (Asking for a friend.) — L.G., Tacoma
A. I get it. Waiting until the last leaf falls from the tree before raking them off the lawn makes some sense. The problem is it could be late October before all the leaves fall, and a lawn covered with large, wet maple leaves will suffer after only a few weeks without sunlight. Best to rake those fallen maple leaves every week or so and stuff them into bags to make leaf mold.
Leaf mold is formed when rotting leaves are stored over the winter inside plastic bags that have a bit of soil added to start the rotting process. Be sure to poke air holes in the bags as air will help the composting process.
Your reward comes in the spring. Open up the bags that were hidden out of sight over the winter (under an outdoor table or inside a garden shed is a good place for storage) and spread the partially rotted leaves on top of spring weeds in your beds and around the base of your shrubs. Your home-made leaf mold is nature’s free weed-blocking, moisture-saving, nutrient- filled answer to free mulch.
Marianne Binetti has a degree in horticulture from Washington State University and is the author of several books. Reach her at binettigarden.com.