Fall Gardening Tips

Just in case you missed my fall gardening tips, here's a round-up of what I recommend gardeners in Contra Costa County and beyond focus on during September, October and November.

• Plant your bulbs
• Aerate, thatch and fertilize lawns (moved from winter tips)
• Turn off all irrigation water and operate your clock manually if you don't have an ER (evapotranspiration) system
• Insulate all pipes, hose bibs and valves that are exposed to outdoor temperatures
• Think about scheduling to have your trees and shrubs pruned when they go dormant in late December or January
• If the lawn needs to be mowed, mow it on a dry day. Then you shouldn't have to mow until the grass starts growing next spring. Running a lawnmower over the lawn after it has rained will cause ruts in the lawn from the wheels of the lawnmower
• Apply mulch to planting beds. Doing it now helps prevent weed growth in spring

Winter Gardening Tips

It's easy to forget about the garden during winter. It's time to move indoors, build a fire and enjoy a good book or board game with your family.

But it's important to do just enough in your yard during the cold dormant months so that when your landscape springs back to life in March or April, it's in good shape to bloom and flourish.

I should also warn that with the extremely dry summer and fall we've just experienced here in the San Francisco Bay Area, it's important to make sure your trees have been properly maintained and pruned in order to weather the wet and cold months of winter. The drought stresses plants and can cause unforeseen breakages and safety hazards if left unattended in the garden.

So here's my list of tips for winter gardening:

• Trim your roses
• Prune and trim your dormant trees
• Plant bare root shrubs
• Spray fruit trees with high grade dormant oil for scale insects
• If freezing temperatures are forecast, water your citrus trees and other plants that are at risk of freezing as well as cover them with burlap. A well-hydrated plant will tolerate the freezing temperatures better. Burlap will protect the plant from the icy temperatures while still letting it breathe.
• If your lawn is frozen, do not walk on it, it will break the blades of the grass

Thomas Raeth, the owner of Lafayette Tree & Landscape based in Lafayette, Calif., is a licensed landscape contractor, certified arborist and certified pesticide controller. His company has been designing and installing inspirational gardens, ponds, walkways and patios as well as many other decorative landscape features for its clients for decades.

Lafayette Tree & Landscape serves Lafayette, Orinda, Moraga, Walnut Creek, Danville, Alamo, Pleasant Hill, Martinez and many other Contra Costa County communities as well as the Oakland hills.