October Gardening Tips

Birds and Wildlife

Continue to provide sugar-water for hummingbirds—4 parts water to I part sugar by volume.
Begin filling your sunflower and thistle feeders this month. Steel weight-sensitive feeders will thwart squirrels, grackles and white wings.

You can plant roses this month through the winter. Use lots of compost and don’t plant them any deeper than they were in the pot, They should be blooming now. Keep them watered and sprayed weekly.
This is the ideal time to plant cool-weather-loving annual flowers, including petunias, dianthus, ornamental cabbage and kale, phlox, and Shasta daisies. Although pansies and violas begin to be available in October, it is best to wait until air and soil temperatures have cooled significantly before planting them. This usually occurs in late October or early November.
Put your spring-blooming bulbs in the ground in October and November.
Divide iris, phlox, daylilies, Shasta daisies, and other perennials. Give half to the neighbors and replant the other half.
Wildflowers germinate and perform better if they are seeded into a lightly cultivated or raked soil If planting in an established turf, chose Bennuda turf since it is dormant during the growing season and Bermuda is usually growing in a full sun location that wildflowers need to do their best. Floratam St. Augustine grass, zoysia, or Bermuda grass sod can still be planted.
Plant perennials now through December. Move any misplaced perennials that have already bloomed.
Refrigerate tulip bulbs for 6-8 weeks in a paper bag prior to planting in December. Do not put them in the freezer.

Continue watering pecan trees weekly. Harvest pecans as they fall to the ground their quality declines quickly if left on the ground.
Watch for rust on figs, plums, and peaches. Use wettable sulfur to slow defoliation. When the leaves are ready to drop, apply Kocide in late October or early November to peaches and plums—preventive treatment for bacterial leaf spot next spring. Be sure to follow label instructions. Use a fungicide labeled for rust on figs or peaches.

Dig and store caladium bulbs for winter.
This is a great time to plant perennials– columbine, old-fashioned roses, perennial asters, blue plumbago, rock rose, Shasta daisies, daylilies and irises.
Reduce house plant fertilization by one-half during the late fall and winter.
Continue to fertilize hibiscus, bougainvillea, allamanda, mandevilla, and other tropical plants that have been spending the summer on your patio, porch or deck. The same goes for hanging baskets and other containerized plants. Use a water-soluble type of product. A light application of garden-type fertilizer will boost annual and perennial flowering plants.
Fall-blooming annuals and perennials can be kept in flower longer and will look better if their maturing flowers are removed. Rejuvenate leggy begonias with a light pruning followed by an application of a water-soluble fertilizer. Avoid drastic pruning of woody plants this late in the growing season. However, dead or diseased wood in trees and shrubs can be readily pruned on an “as needed” basis. Continue to keep vigorous-growing shrubs, such as pyracantha and ligustrum, pruned to maintain desired size and-or shape. Wait until January or February to do any major fruit tree pruning.
Insects can still be a major problem this month, particularly if the weather is hot. Watch for whiteflies, spider mites, aphids, and scale. Treat with the recommended product by your county Extension agent or nursery professional.

This is the absolute best time to plant trees. Do some comparison shopping if you’re planning on buying large trees. Ask about delivery, planting, and warranties.
As they start to fall, collect leaves and put them in the compost pile.
Do not fertilize trees and shrubs now. It will stimulate new growth that might freeze later.
Use hollies and nandinas for foundation plantings. They come in every size and color.
Consider planting some other types of trees this fall—Montezuma cypress, Arizona cypress, cedar elm, Chinese pistache, Lacey oak, Monterrey oak, Mexican sycamore, and bur oak.

Apply “winterizer” fertilizer in a 3-1-2 or 8-1-2 (15-20 percent nitrogen) ratio this month
October is time for the most important lawn fertilization of the year—the application of a “winterizer” fertilizer to condition the grass for winter survival at the rate of one pound of nitrogen (not just one pound of fertilizer) per 1000 square feet. Wait until the lawn grass slows growth and mowing every two weeks is adequate before applying fertilizer.
If you must water, do it in the early morning. Wet grass overnight will induce fungal problems. A dry lawn is better than brown patch.
If you want a green lawn all winter, overseed with rye grass at the rate of 8 pounds per 1000 square feet.
Invading Bermuda and dallisgrass in St. Augustine should be “spot treated” with Roundup, Ortho Kleanup or Finale before they begin winter donnancy. There is no selective herbicide which will kill dalisgrass and not kill St. Augustine grass. With the proper watering and fertilization, the St. Augustine will cover the “kill cavities” within six weeks and the saga of the dalisgrass will just be a memory. Poast or Ortho Grass-B-Gon can be used to kill grasses in ornamentals without fear of damage to the flowers and/or groundcovers.

Plant cole crops such as broccoli, cabbage, cauliflower, kohlrabi, and Brussels sprouts.
October’s cooler weather means time to plant cool-season vegetable crops: beets, Chinese cabbage, carrots, collards, lettuce, mustard, parsley, garden peas, spinach, radishes and turnips.
Plant garlic cloves and 1015 onion seeds (on 10-15).
Plant fall herbs.
Apply one cup of slow-release lawn fertilizer to every 10 feet of row in the veggie garden. 1/4 cup to each tomato plant.
Use Bt or Spinosad products if cabbage loopers show up.
If you have nematode problems in your garden, forego a fall garden and go with Elbon rye. Add compost, fertilizer, water it and till; then seed.
Control caterpillars with Bt or Spinosad.