Rick Durham, Consumer Horticulture Extension Specialist, University of Kentucky

Fall is the time to plant trees and shrubs.

Have you been wanting to add a shade tree to your yard or maybe install some shrubs along one of your property lines? Fall is the best time to transplant trees and shrubs in Kentucky. Broad-leafed evergreens and conifers do best when planted in early fall while deciduous trees will do well if transplanted a little later in mid autumn.

Planting evergreens earlier in the fall will allow the plant's roots to become established before the harsh weather of winter sets in. Deciduous trees are best transplanted when temperatures are cooler so that they will remain dormant. The roots however will be active as long as soil temperatures remain above freezing. For best results with both types of plants, apply a layer of mulch after transplanting and keep the root zone moist throughout the fall and winter.

Another reason for planting in the fall is that great deals can often be had at nursery and garden centers. The store managers will be reducing inventory to avoid the expense of overwintering plants. Remember to transplant your trees or shrubs at the same depth they were previously growing, and keep them well watered for the first couple of years.
 

Poor drainage, a curse for the garden and landscape

Few things are more damaging to the home landscape than poor drainage. Even in sandy soils, the presence of excess water in the upper soil profile will restrict root development. And if a plant's roots are not healthy, the decline of the entire plant is sure to follow. Fortunately, there is a very easy test to determine whether soil drainage is adequate. You can perform this test anytime the soil is not frozen. Simply dig a hole about two feet deep and fill it full of water. If water remains in the hole after 24 hours, drainage is considered poor. Just as water remained in this hole for 24 hours of more, so it will remain around plant roots after each rain or irrigation event. Prolonged exposure to water reduces the health of plant roots and may allow soil borne diseases to become established.

What causes poor drainage? There may be several factors, but in most home landscapes the culprit is likely compacted soil. To correct this problem one will need to deep cultivate the soil to break up the compaction that traps water in the upper portion of the soil. When preparing a planting bed or installing a tree or shrub, be sure to practice double digging. To prepare a bed by double digging, first remove the top 8-12 inches of soil and place it in a mound nearby. Next, take a shovel or garden fork and work up the lower layer of soil, turning the soil upside down as the hole is worked. It is not necessary to completely break up the clods of dirt that will be evident in this lower soil level. However, if compost, manure, or other organic material is available, the soil structure will be enhanced if this material is worked into the lower soil profile. By simply breaking up and amending this layer you will allow water to more easily move through the soil. After the lower 12 to 18 inches of soil have been loosed, backfill with the top soil that was first removed. This should loosen the soil sufficiently to allow better drainage and promote a healthier plant root system. For a large area such as a yard, this process can be more easily done using subsoiling equipment that breaks up the soil to a depth of 2-3 feet or even deeper. Your local nursery, garden center, or landscape contractor may be able to help you locate such equipment.
 

Fall vegetable garden activities.

As crops finish in the vegetable garden, remember to remove plant residue to the compost pile. Repeated working of a garden with a tiller can produce a layer of compacted soil just below where the tines of the tiller reach. This compacted soil will interfere with air and water movement in the soil and may hinder root growth in the soil. To break up this compacted layer, try to plow the garden once a year, or once every other year at a minimum. If the garden is small such that plowing is impractical, use a shovel or garden fork to turn the soil and break up the compacted layer. If you plan to incorporate organic material such as compost or manure, this is a great time to do so. Spread the material over the surface of the garden before plowing so that the organic matter can be incorporated as plowing proceeds. This organic matter will also help reduce soil compaction problems. A soil test at this time of year will indicate whether lime is needed to raise the soil pH. If lime is needed, it can also be applied prior to plowing. For gardens on a sloped, it will be beneficial to plant a cover crop of wheat or rye to reduce soil erosion. Otherwise, there is little need for addition working of the soil until spring.
 

Other things to be doing as cool weather settles in.

Start cleaning things up in the garden and landscape:

• After the first hard freeze, remove non-hardy annuals and cut back perennials to near ground level. The removed plant material can be placed in the compost bin.
• Clean up around fruit trees by raking leaves and removing dried fruit. This will help control several diseases and insects. This has been a big year for apple scab in most parts of the state. If you had apples or crabapples that lost their leaves early in the season, by all means rake up these leaves and destroy them (don't add them to the compost bin). Apple scab will overwinter on disease leaves and fruit.
• Many insects can also be found in dead leaves in and around the garden and landscape. Getting rid of those dead tomato vines, bean bushes, and squash vines and fruit will lessen the chance that these pests will be able to overwinter in the garden and so will lessen the incidence of pest problems next spring.

Don't forget to water those trees and shrubs during fall and winter. Continue watering (in the absence of adequate rainfall) until the soil freezes. This is particularly true for evergreens since they continue to lose water through their leaves in winter. Keep the soil under your woody plants moist, not wet.

A layer of mulch applied at this time of year can have many beneficial effects in the home landscape. Mulch moderates the normal freeze/thaw cycle than can force many herbaceous perennial plants out of the ground. Mulch will also help conserve soil moisture and will serve as an insulating agent during severely cold temperatures.