To-Do List

• Take cuttings of coleus and begonias to root for overwintering. Coleus will root in a glass of water, while begonias can be rooted in damp sand.

• Plant a mixture of bulbs with different bloom times so you’ll have a beautiful display of color from snow melt until June. Generally, the smaller bulbs are the first to flower. Larger bulbs produce larger flowers. Planting in random clumps of 3, 5 or 7 will provide a more impressive display than planting in a row. • Mulching is useful to maintain moisture and keep the ground from alternate freezing and thawing in the winter. Evergreen branches, hay, straw, pine needles, bark mulches, or tree leaves make good winter mulch. Make sure that none of these mat too heavily and end up shedding moisture rather than conserving it.

Apply mulch only a couple inches deep.

• Dahlias and other summer-flowering bulbs should bloom until frost. If you want to overwinter them instead of treating them like an annual, dig up the plants and cut off the top at ground level. Let the plants dry for three days then put them in a cardboard box or paper bag. Cover them with vermiculite or peat moss and try to keep them from touching. Keep them somewhere cool but not cold; an unheated basement is good.

Pull them out next March and pot them up for a head start on next year.

• Take soil samples to test for next year’s fertilizer needs. Take at least 10 samples from a bed and mix well. Consult your County

Extension service for details. Find links at www.MichiganGardener.com, and click on

“Garden Resources.”

• Harvest fall-fruiting brambles.

• Bring in houseplants from the outdoors before the first frost. Inspect carefully and treat for any signs of pests or diseases.

• September is an excellent time to establish a new lawn. Loosen the soil, add organic matter, grade it, and firm it down slightly.

Broadcast fertilizer, then sow grass seed.

Cover lightly if desired. Water daily until sprouted and growing well. • Divide and replant overgrown plants, like daylilies. Cut back to a few inches, dig up, and shake dirt off roots. Divide and replant the healthiest pieces at their original depth. • Dig and divide peonies if desired. Lift the plants, being careful not to damage the buds on the crown. Divide with a sharp knife, making sure each division has a healthy portion of root and at least 2-3 eyes. Replant with eyes near the surface.

• Cease pruning, deadheading and fertilizing in early September to avoid encouraging fall growth that is cold tender.

• If frost threatens, cover tender crops. • Through cool weather, harvest Brussels sprouts, collards, kale, mustard, endive, parsnip, turnip, rutabaga, and Jerusalem artichoke. • Begin the harvest of winter squash, pumpkin, and gourds as they ripen. Leave a few inches of stem attached to the fruit to increase storage life. • For a tasty treat, pick green tomatoes, slice, dip in flour, and fry. • Prepare Belgian endive for winter forcing.

Lift and clean roots, removing foliage down to the crown bud. Trim roots and store in sand in a cool place. Every 2 to 3 weeks, bury a few dormant roots in several inches of moist sand in a dark place. Keep moist and harvest shoots as needed. • Dig sweet potatoes just before the first frost.

Allow to air dry for 2 to 3 hours, then cure at 85 degrees for 10 days. Store at 50 to 55 degrees. • Plant crowns of asparagus and rhubarb in

September. • Make final sowings of radish, corn salad, and spinach.

• Begin fall cleanup. Trim back dying growth, leaving a little bit of material for frost protection. Oxygenators should be trimmed and repotted. • If frost threatens, remove tropical pond plants indoors to their winter homes. • Thoroughly clean the pool. If you opt to not do so, make a 20 percent water change to freshen it up. Remove waste from the bottom and stretch a one-centimeter mesh net over the pond to keep out falling leaves. • Reduce fish feeding and move tropical fish indoors when water temperature goes below 60 degrees.

There are many plants that make the winter garden attractive, often in the form of evergreens. But there are also plenty of deciduous plants offering winter interest.

Trees

Japanese maple: Many varieties; some with colorful stems and great structure.

Contorted black locust: The variety Twisty Baby has twisting and contorted stems.

Evergreens

Hemlock: Fine-needled evergreen with graceful, somewhat drooping branches; does great in sun or shade.

Upright juniper: Green, blue and yellow varieties, from very narrow to 8 feet wide.

Spruce: Tall and impressive; excellent foundation and accent trees; available in green, yellow and blue. One variety even has red spring growth.

Pine: Most varieties are green but a few have yellow banding in the needles, resembling a dragon’s eye.

Arborvitae: Full and lush green; great for year-round privacy since they stay full to the ground and are very dense.

Evergreen Shrubs

Spreading juniper: Good for groundcovers because many stay low and spread. Green, blue and yellow varieties.

Dwarf spruce: Many available, from those that look like miniature versions of their bigger relatives to globe, weeping and cascading forms.

Dwarf pine: Usually mounding and globeshaped evergreens that are perfect for rock gardens and accents.

Dwarf arborvitae: From small to large globes.

False cypress: A diverse and interesting growth habit. Green, blue or yellow varieties.

Yucca: Seemingly better suited to a desert landscape; green or variegated yellow, sword-like leaves that stay low. Deciduous Shrubs

Contorted filbert: Often called Harry Lauder’s walking stick; twisted and contorted branches are on full display in the winter when all the leaves fall off.

Witch hazel: Blooms in late winter to very early spring with yellow, orange or red strap-like flowers that are showy on bare stems. Great fall leaf color.

Redtwig dogwood: Small- to mediumsize bush; stems turn bright red when it gets cold in the winter. Prune the older stems out to keep the color show going year after year.

Broadleaf Evergreens

Euonymus: Creeping, rambling broadleaf evergreen with colorful foliage that tends to take on a burgundy color in the winter.

Rhododendron: Medium to large, showy evergreen leaves. Spring flower buds are present all winter long. Leaves tend to curl when it gets really cold out, then relax when it gets a little warmer.

Azalea: Some fall color. They drop their interior foliage in the winter, but do hold onto the tip leaves.

Boxwood: Versatile plant that can stand alone as globes, formal hedges, or topiary shapes.

Holly: Pair the female plant with a male version nearby and it will develop bright red berries.

Perennials

Ornamental grasses: Foliage dies to the ground in the fall, but it persists and stands upright. It is graceful swaying in the winter breeze.

Myrtle & pachysandra: Excellent evergreen groundcovers that will define your beds if there is not much snow.

Ivy: Creeping and climbing broadleaf evergreen vine; showy in the winter if you grow it on a wall, or if there is no snow.

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