Fertilize your lawn now!That's Dennis Patton's advice this week. It may seem odd if you're like me and you're used to dragging out the spreader after the snow melts each spring, but Dennis explains why it's far better to do that now. To read more, click here. - Craig

LingonberryLingonberries are an interesting alternative to cranberries this Thanksgiving but they also make a great backyard plant, according to one article. To read it, click here. Photo thanks to plants.usda.gov.

Today in my backyardAs my neighbors have been pulling out their flowers and going to a fall look I've been watering mine to keep them going until Thanksgiving. It looked pretty odd in November but I couldn't help myself. Last night's freeze and snow pretty much made the hard decision for me, though. My endless summer is over. -- Craig

It appears that we will hit 32 degrees or below which will be a killing freeze. If you still have some plants outside you want to protect, now is the time to bring them in before it is too late. I have been holding off bringing in a Bird of Paradise and a fern. I will do it tonight. These will be wintered in the garage as there is no room in the house. Hopefully this will work.

It has been a great season - Dennis

My star magnolia is completely covered with fuzzy buds........does this mean we will have no blooms in the early spring......or is there a possibility it will rebud after the current buds freeze back soon?

I have had a rash of calls from people wanting to prune. Now is not a good time. The only pruning that takes place in the fall is dead, damaged or hazardous limbs. Outside of those just hold off till late winter or early spring.

Dennis
Johnson County Extension

Is it too late to plant bulbs for spring? Does planting them later in the season mean they will bloom later next year? Also, is there any reason bulbs cannot or should not be planted in pots outdoors where I had my summer annual plants?

Dennis,

My partner and I are trying to deal with mountains of tree leaves. The past four weekends have been taken up with nothing but yard work. We are about to drop from exhaustion.

We did reseed this past September and so we're trying to protect the newly germinated grass. Also, we tried mulch mowing the leaves last year, but the leaf particles we too large. They ended up compacting, killing areas of grass. Our lawn was spotty, particularly in the shaded areas. Thus, the diligent leaf removal this year.

My wife cannot believe it but I am following my own advice. This fall I have been mulch mowing my leaves into the lawn. It is working like a charm. I have done this for the last two mowings and the leaves are just disappearing.

I recommend to mow the leaves into the lawn as long as they are not piling up on the surface. A few broken pieces of leaves will be OK. The leaves naturally compost and break down. The best news, no time, bagging, composting or worst yet filling up the landfill.

It works - Dennis - Johnson County Extension

Sweet Caroline variety of sweet potato vineWe're all used to the lime green and black versions of sweet potato vines, but some new choices are now available. To read about them, click here.

From Kathy:

I'm a transplanted New Yorker who is deliriously happy to have earth in
my yard now not concrete! As such I've become in the last 3 yrs. a
passionate gardener.

Passionate...but inexperienced. I have a 2 foot high [hardy]
crapemyrtle. I'm thinking it's too late to plant it, right? But I've
never 'kept' a plant over the winter, and I so want to keep this alive
'til next Spring.

Can you advise me? Also I have no clue what goes on with plants in the
winter, inside or out. I mean: Are they hibernating or whatever? What

Lunaria annuaFrom blogger Judy Aull:

November seems like a strange time to think about a spring-blooming plant. However it makes perfect ‘cents’ when referring to the ‘money plant’ or Lunaria Annua. It is also called by many other names, such as Dollar Plant, Silver Dollars, Honesty Plant and Moonwort. The names that are most often used are “Money Plant” or “Honesty”. Its spring-blooming sprays of purple or white flowers are not exactly spectacular. In the spring of 1767, upon seeing the small flowers for the first time and obviously not too impressed, Thomas Jefferson said “Lunaria still in bloom, an indifferent flower.” It is primarily grown and enjoyed for its fall and winter showing of opaque seedpods that look like silver coins in shape and size.

White oak acornFrom blogger Mary Nemecek:

Does it seem like a bumper crop of acorns this year? It may be -- but part of the seeming acorn abundance may be a result of comparing this years acorn numbers to the previous two years, when acorn production was roughly half of what it should have been. Here’s why:

Mowing leavesIf you live in a neighborhood with big trees you probably look forward to the color each fall, then try to figure out what to do with them all when they fall. Dennis Patton has some good ideas about that this week. To read more, click here.

Is this the best time to move a peony? Also can they be dug up, held and replanted at the end of the year?
Thank you

My neighbor this past weekend gave me several daylilies. She was planting them after digging them up from her old house & transferring them into her new home’s backyard. She found that she had too many to fit in the space she had. I’m trying to find a location in my yard for these very tall varieties (4') and I wondered if there is a way to overwinter them until the spring. They have some dirt still on the roots in a large pot & are waiting for me to do something with them.

Sugar mapleI've got the day off so I went out on the deck -- it was a little cool so I wrapped up in a blanket and looked about 120 years old. But it was worth it because one of these sugar maples across the street is about at its peak. Better than TV. Photo from maple-trees.com. - Craig

I don't remember ever seeing such great red, purple and orange fall color. Take time to stop and enjoy the beauty of Kansas City in the fall. I am posting a picture from one of our Demonstration Gardens -wonderful.

Dennis - Johnson County Extension

Garden Gallery Located at 11811 Sunset. Olathe

kc gardensHey, it looks like a great day Saturday -- 60 and sunny. So I guess I'll have to get out and shovel several hundred pounds of compost out of the old dog run I use for a bin. I've got to make room for all the new crass clippings and mulched leaves that need to start going in there. Not my favorite job but at least the mosquitos have flown south. - Craig

StrawIf you're going to scavenge your neighbor's yard waste to use in your own garden, take some care. This week Dennis Patton gives you some tips on dangers and opportunities. To read them click here.