Good morning. It seems that fall is fast approaching. I have an orange tree outside the kitchen window that I could have done without for a few more weeks. On the other hand, this summer has been absolutely fabulous.

At this point, I do understand that people are ready to move on to apple pies and foliage trips. Most everyone is pretty much gardened out. I am as well, but spring will be much better for the chores you do now and in the next few weeks.

So, let’s talk about a few of those chores, some of which can also be fun — like buying new bulbs and redoing containers.

*Bulbs: Now is the time to fill the holes in your garden with daffodils, tulips, hyacinths and crocus. The bulbs have begun to make an appearance in stores. I have found store bulbs to be quite usable and stores are tending to offer more variety. Many local nurseries also carry bulbs, including ones you don’t normally find at big box stores. If you want a wider variety and some of the newest flowers, like lime green tulips, go online and type in flower bulbs.

There are just a few things to remember. Moles, voles and other burrowing creatures do not like daffodils and crocus, and usually not hyacinths. They love tulips. The same list holds true for rabbits and deer in the spring. Tulips are also not nearly as long lived as the others. Crocus will naturalize and keep coming for decades. I have some that are more than 20 years old and they just keep popping up. The same is true for daffodils, but not so much for hyacinths.

If you have problems with moles and you still want tulips, consider planting them in a cage you form out of chicken wire. Dig a hole, put in the topless cage, add dirt and the bulbs (remembering tulips will grow to three times their height). Then fill the cage to the top with dirt, top off the cage with a sheet of chicken wire; and using pliers, connect that top to the sides of the cage. Fill the remainder of the hole.

The rain can get in, the roots can grow out — and the moles can’t eat them. None of these precautions are necessary for daffodils, crocus or hyacinths, but do clearly mark where you have planted them so you don’t inadvertently dig them up in the spring.

Caution: Wait until the first frost has hit before planting bulbs so you don’t risk losing them to rot if we have a rainy fall. You can store them in a brown paper bag (but not the plastic they sometimes come in) in a cool, dark and dry location until you get around to planting them. Get bulb food, not bone meal, to plant with them or try the organic method and simply top coat the area with compost after planting. The compost will be drawn into the soil with the spring rains. Plant bulbs at least to a depth of three times their height because this helps protect them from the cold.

*Mulch: To mulch or not to mulch, that is the question. (Please forgive me, William Shakespeare). Mulching can provide many advantages to your garden perennials and small bushes, but it is some work. My rule usually is that if the loss of a plant is going to make me terribly unhappy, I take the time to mulch it. Now with a winter like last year, it was a total waste of time because it didn’t get that cold. However, three years ago many plants were lost as a result of the bitterly cold temperatures and lack of snow cover. It is Maine and you never know what is going to happen, so better safe than sorry.

Again, compost is very useful. It is a terrific mulch and in the spring it gives a kick-start to your plants as the frost comes out of the ground. I make a habit of putting a fine application of a slow-release organic fertilizer around particular plants before adding compost. This would be greens and phosphorus around the roses, rose food around the clematis and phosphorus around the hydrangea. You can also do the same with lilac food around the lilacs after the ground freezes whether you compost them. Just scratch it into the soil so runoff doesn’t take it away.

Mulching is a chore that needs to be done after several frosts, usually around Thanksgiving. It is done not to keep the ground from freezing, but rather to keep it from thawing. If you remember your weather trends, we almost always have a January thaw. If it is too warm for too long, the ground can begin to thaw several inches down. Then February brings the cold back and all that moisture from thawing refreezes and sometimes as it does, the new ice shifts and literally cuts the roots off perennials or lifts them out of the ground.

You can use pine needles as a mulch, but they are acidic so keep them for the blueberries and rhododendrons or any perennials that prefer acid soil. Leaves, if shredded, make great mulch as long as you get them off the plants fairly early in the spring. If not removed, they can keep the rain from getting to the plants. Get large leaves like maples off your gardens and lawns because they will suffocate plants.

*Planting: I often get asked when it is OK to plant. That depends entirely on where you live. A plant needs a good two to three weeks (I prefer four weeks) to settle in, place it roots and feel at home. It doesn’t freeze at my house until about Halloween, which means the first of October should be OK. I never do that because sometimes a frost comes early. I never plant past Sept. 15 unless there is no other option — say, for example, a friend gives you a really great plant and it has to go in the ground. Any plant at my house that goes in the ground after Aug. 15 always gets mulched for that first winter – always.

You also have to be dedicated on the watering front with fall planted perennials. Don’t count on the rain. If the ground feels dry, water. I know many people who assume their watering chores end with autumn’s cooler temperatures. They do not. One of the harshest things you can do to plants and especially bushes is to let them go into winter dry. They need watering until the frost enters the ground. This is especially true of rhododendrons, which have a very shallow root system and tend to use up stored water every time it warms up during the winter. Most of them are lost in the spring because they simply run out of water before the ground thaws. So water them heavily until frost enters the ground.

Also if you are buying plants this time of year, be careful because many are terribly root bound. If there are so many roots in a pot that you cannot find soil, find a different plant. I do not hesitate to investigate all plants very carefully before buying in the fall. If it tends to slip out of the pot or you can see the roots around the inside rim of the plant pot, leave it on the shelf. A bit root bound is OK as long as you loosen or tease those roots out before you plant. If you start at the bottom of the plants, you can usually untangle a large percentage of the roots if you are patient. If you don’t do this, chances are good the plant will not survive.

*Containers: Let’s face it, those containers just don’t have the same look as they did three or four months ago. This is not a reflection on your gardening ability, it is just nature. Most of the containers have plants that are only meant to live four or five months so they are getting old (aren’t we all). The first couple weeks of September is a good time to tear apart those containers that contain perennials so they can be put into the ground and get happy before the cold comes. It also makes a good time to add some vim and vigor to the look of the front door or wherever you use them to decorate. Colorful mums are appearing everywhere, but don’t forget asters, kale and cabbage plants, tall spiky baskets of millet and all those great garden gourds, squashes and pumpkins that will appear soon.

I try to save energy this time of year and since I have at least a dozen containers holding perennials that must be unpotted and planted, I usually plan fall decor on a simple scale. I dig the perennial very carefully out of the container, replant it and throw the annuals on the compost pile. I take any remaining dirt and toss it on to garden spaces that can use some organic matter. I wash the containers at this point. Then whatever plants I have chosen go right into the container pot and I put some fall leaves or peat moss around the top so it looks as though they are planted. When the cold has killed them, you just have to remove the plants from the container and dump them from the pots. I bring the containers in, soak them in a weak Clorox solution, let them dry thoroughly and then put them wherever winter storage allows. They will be ready for spring planting whenever the notion strikes me, without a lot of pot cleaning.

Until next time, watch for all the wonderful apples and the acorn squash, take your kids or grandkids on a hike in the ever-changing forests and enjoy the brilliant blue skies of September.

Happy gardening.

Jody Goodwin has been gardening for more than 25 years. She lives in Turner with her husband, Ike, her dog and two cats. She may be reached by writing to her in care of the Sun Journal, 104 Park St., Lewiston, Maine, 04243-4400 or by e-mail at [email protected].