Saturday, September 30, 2017

Autumn Plant Care In Florida

Autumn is finally here and we can see this change in the season most clearly in our trees and plants. Here in Florida we do not have the radical widespread color change across our tree canopy they experience in the middle and northern states. Nevertheless with the coming of fall there are enough temperate plants to provide some seasonal color. After Halloween in early to mid November is when the leaves in Florida begin their fall color display.

With the changing of the season comes a change in the needs of our Florida landscaping greenery - which in fall becomes a bit less green. Your grass will grow much more slowly during the cooler months. Now is the time for an end-of-season mowing as disease has a harder time getting established with shorter grass. The leaves that drop from the trees will be great for your compost heap, too. Keep the pile stirred up with a rake every week and you will have excellent mulch for planting in the spring.

Fall is a much less-active growth time for or Florida plants. These cooler months are a good time to manage large plantings in the landscape. This is the time for planting or transplanting trees. Also woody ornamental shrubs benefit from fall planting because the months of cooler weather are less stressful on the trees and shrubs and root growth is enhanced. Fall is recognized as a good time to do nearly everything in the garden.

Here in Florida we seem to go from summer to fall in the blink of an eye. Florida sees the transition from summer growth to winter growth typically begin sometime between mid-September and mid-October. This transitional period is an ideal time to provide fall fertilization and to perform core aeration and over seeding for cool-season grasses. Well-fertilized grass will store up significant food reserves and produce healthy roots during the next 60 days to sustain it during the winter. Core aeration promotes significant root growth during the transitional period.

If you have questions about your trees, plants or property, Zimmerman Tree Service provides consulting and diagnosis services to answer your questions and meet your needs. We provide free estimates. Whatever you need to know about South Florida tree and plant care our knowledgeable experts can help you. We can do a walk through of your property, inventory the major elements of your landscape, identify problem areas, advise you on courses of action and implement plans to meet your needs.