Fall plant color

October 11, 2023

Fall plant color
There are a number of flower choices that like the cool weather of fall that we can replace the worn-out ones with and keep the color going.

Pansies and Violas are the main ones for fall planting. They prefer the cool weather. They can take frosts and still bloom! You really get your money’s worth when you plant them in the fall as they will bloom all fall, periodically through the winter and burst out in spring! Also, Snapdragons, Dianthus, Ornamental Cabbage & Kale are all good fall choices. Fall mums and asters are also traditional flowers at this time of the year, but you will need to cover or protect the mums if we get a frost. It will kill mum blossoms.

Prepare the soil by adding peat moss, but not compost if you are planting pansies or violas (they are sensitive to ammonia which is given off in the composting process). You will need to water them in well, then check the watering carefully for two weeks. When it’s cooler they may not need to be watered every day, only when the surface looks dry, or of course if they wilt. Then after a couple weeks, they should be rooted out and you can water as needed. These all look great in containers too with pumpkins or other fall decorations. But if you put them in containers, they might need to be watered every day depending on the location and temperatures.