Tips for Protecting Your Fall Landscape

As the crisp fall air ushers in a new season, many gardeners may be left wondering: what now?

Here at GMG we asked a few garden experts to weigh in with their tips on the best things you can do this fall for a fabulous garden next year. Check them out and let us know your favorite tips!

Plant now, bloom later

Judy Nauseef, president of the Association of Professional Landscape Designers (APLD), suggests planning ahead for next spring. “Fall is the time to take stock of your garden and plan for next year,” she advises. “You can see what worked and what didn’t, where you have holes and what needs to be replaced or moved.”

“Once you know what you want to add, plant new perennials and shrubs in the fall, and you will have larger, stronger plants with better blossoms next spring,” adds Nauseef.

Everything’s coming up roses

“Fall is an excellent time for planting, and roses are no exception,” says Steve Hutton, plantsman and president of The Conard-Pyle Co.

According to Hutton, establishing roses in the fall is easy. “The weather and soil conditions are better in the fall, as opposed to spring when it tends to be cold, muddy and wet.”

Frost protector

No matter what you’re growing, a sudden frost or freeze is deadly, spelling doom to your garden and landscape. Protect your lush flowering baskets, vegetables, herbs and favorite plants from Jack Frost with FreezePruf. This non-toxic spray can increase a plant’s tolerance to cold and protect home gardens from damage caused by cold.

This means gardeners can get a couple more weeks of growing and harvesting – at least two weeks earlier in spring and two weeks later in the fall. Sounds good to me!

Deer-proof your garden

Winter months are some of the deadliest times for deer destruction in the garden. "Deer are creatures of habit and stay near a good food source – like your backyard," says Dave Mizejewski, naturalist with the National Wildlife Federation. "A lush garden or lawn is a magnet for hungry deer and rabbits, especially in the winter.”

To keep deer out, look for all-natural products, like Liquid Fence Deer & Rabbit Repellent, that use taste and scent aversion to turn animals off your plants and make them unappetizing to common garden-munchers.

Winterize your accessories

According to the “garden accessory connoisseurs” at Campania International, a little care will help your garden "art" last for generations. Cast stone planters and statuary should be raised off any surface, which freezes and thaws. Terra cotta planters, which can absorb moisture and are subject to winter freeze-thaw cycles, should be stored indoors for winter.

If your planters are left planted outside over the winter, raise them off the ground so they will drain and not freeze to the surface. To winterize both cast stone and terra cotta accessories, simply place them on two pressure-treated wood strips, making sure not to block the drainage hole.

Happy Fall!

-Stacey

GMG

Ellen says, "It Works!"

Ellen Wells, contributing garden writer for the Boston Globe and editor at large of Green Profit, gave her mother a bottle of the FreezPruf and told her to spray half of her begonias and not the other half. They had a frost the other night, and Ellen says, her "mother says the begonias she sprayed look fabulous and the others have succumbed to the weather. So ... it works! She said she'll definitely use it next fall.

Ellen added, "I should remind her she can also use it to put plants out earlier in the spring, as well."

We're waiting for FreezePruf pictures! Send yours to us and we'll post how you beat Jack Frost this year!

New this fall from The Liquid Fence Company.

Breaking News! FreezePruf Protects Mature Fruit from Frost

BREAKING NEWS! Botanists at the University of Alabama discovers spraying FreezePruf significantly lowers the damage caused by freezing temperatures to ripe, mature strawberries, tomatoes, and bananas.

Here are the results and photos directly from developer Dr. Dave Francko:

"Tomato (California): Treated for 2 h at 25 F. In controls 24 h after cold treatment, 3 of 4 tomatoes showed translucent skin and 2 of 4 had cracked skins. The attached vine material was killed. In FreezePruf treated fruit, all three tomatoes were undamaged and the attached vines were still green and alive. NOTE: You need to magnify to see the epidermal cracks and translucent skin.

Strawberries (California): Cold-treated for 2 h at 25 F, then incubated at room temp for 24 h. In controls, 4 of 5 berries mushy 24 h after cold treatment, with significant “bleeding” of juices. With FreezePruf treatment the night before cold exposure, results after 24 h exactly match those of non-cold-treated controls - - 1 mushy berry and some minor bleeding after 24 h at room temp.

Bananas: At 26 F for 2 h, control banana shows blackening at the petiole attachment point, while the +FreezePruf is undamaged. At 25 F for 2 hours, the controls show major damage, with 1 of the 2 banana probably unsalable. With FreezePruf the damage was much reduced and resembled typical “ripening” coloration.

"Hope these new data brighten everyone’s day. No, we have not tested every fruit type, but we now have a solid basis for a new claim that FreezePruf will in fact add a measure of protection to mature fruit and, at least in the case of tomatoes, the attached vine tissue that supports the fruit," concluded Dr. Dave Francko.

For more information or to order, visit The Liquid Fence Company.

Frost Countdown. What's Your Date with Jack?

I can’t believe summer’s over and we’re watching the weather reports for the first “freeze warning” signs. We could have frost hear as early as October 10!

Normally I would be panicking, but now, while everyone else is playing the guessing game as to when the first frost will occur, I’m using the brand new FreezePruf. It’s just been introduced and works like “anti-freeze for plants” to help plants survive hard freeze. It's like moving your entire landscape 200 miles further south -- up to 9 degrees colder.

Check out this interview with Dr. Dave Francko, Univ. of Alabama (Watch video: Science Daily).

No matter what you’re growing, you could use a little more time this season. Find your frost date by just Googling city or the biggest city near you.

New from The Liquid Fence Company.