Gardening Tips - Fall

Fall Fertilizing

You like to eat a hardy meal after a day of work, don't you? Well, other things are no different. After a season of growth, your plants would also like to have a fulfilling meal. Fertilome Tree and Shrub food offers just what your landscape needs. And fertilizing your trees and shrubs couldn't be any easier. All you need is a fertilizer spreader. For your trees, apply the fertilizer at the drip line (the farthest reaches of the branching) of the tree. The drip line is where all of the feeder roots are. For your shrubs and perennials, just apply through out the entire bed. Of course, you'll want to water the fertilizer in well. Perhaps you could wait until there is a good chance of rain that night or the next day. It won't hurt if the fertilizer sits dry on the ground for a short period of time as long as the ground is bare or mulched. If the fertilizer is on the foliage of any plant, you'll want to wash it off right away or it will burn.

Timing is a small concern. You can't really be too late, but you could be too early. The trees and shrubs must be going dormant before you apply fertilizer. If you apply too early you could spur on new growth that has no possibility of hardening off before the first frost. If the leaves are turning, its time to apply. By waiting until then, the roots will still absorb the fertilizer and store it for use first thing next spring. This will make a fuller plant and more growth next year.