Garden Tip 172:

The shorter daylight hours and somewhat cooler temperatures of fall sometime cause me to neglect a very important garden task, watering. It is an even more critical task now because of the abnormally dry and abnormally warm weather of the past 60 days.

Trees, shrubs and perennials planted this summer and fall, and any transplants of this fall, still require a good weekly watering to prepare them for the winter weather ahead.  Top growth of these plants are shutting down and going dormant, but roots continue to grow. With adequate moisture and warm soil, new roots will develop well into November.

Because of the current weather conditions, I plan to continue weekly watering until the end of November or until Mother Nature blesses us with an inch or more of rain. One might even consider adding an extra layer of shredded leaves or mulch to the root area and an anti-desiccant spray to the top growth of any newly planted cherished treasures to protect them from the adversities of the coming winter season.