Have you ever wondered if fall is a good season to be planting and gardening? Don’t worry – you are not alone.
“We get that question about 10 times a day right now,” said Tynan Heembrock from Anything Grows in Cochrane. “We find especially in Cochrane right now with all of the new developments going in there are lots of new homeowners and they aren’t sure.”
The answer to the very important seasonal question according to Heembrock is an enthusiastic yes, adding that in fact fall is a great time to be planting.
For flowers, Heembrock recommended fall mums and fall pansies, both he said are covered in really nice blooms and can handle the frost.
He also said that this is a great time of year to plant trees and shrubs, because they are starting to go dormant and it is less of a transplant shock for them.
“Yes, they don’t have as much time to establish their roots for over the winter, but if you water it in very well and mulch it, it basically doesn’t realize it has been transplanted until the spring time anyway,” Heembrock explained.
And what about pruning? It is something Heembrock said that again, people are always wondering about when the best time to do it is. He recommended late fall after the leaves have fallen off or early springtime before the leaves have come onto the trees.
Heembrock also mentioned that people would need to be very diligent in clearing away their leaf debris with any plants that had fungus or bugs on them.
“Rake those leaves up, bag them and get rid of them. Any bugs that are on those leaves over winter will come back stronger the next year,” he said.
If there are more bugs they will be able to start infecting early on in the season explained Heembrock, adding that this is the same with fungus where the spores will develop over winter and once it warms up, it will start to disperse again.
We’ve already had a quick taste of winter here in Cochrane, and Heembrock pointed out that the dry air and Chinooks during that season effect plants here greatly with the constant freezing and thawing.
He said that one thing people can do during this fall season is make sure they have lots of mulch of some kind all around their plants and trees, because it helps keep the temperature in the soil consistent.
Despite the tough weather, Heembrock really encouraged people to get out there and continue to garden, because it can be fun and rewarding.
“If something doesn’t work, you can’t cry about it, you just have to try something else. There are tons of things that grow well, and there are lots of things that people have a hard time with, but we’re always here to answer any questions and help people out.”
