Richard Evans

UGA Extension

I want to start this article by saying that those affected by Hurricane Helene are in our thoughts and prayers, UGA Extension is here to help during this time of crisis, please don’t hesitate to call if you think we can be of service.

That being said, I’m sure many of you, like myself, find ourselves in full cleanup mode after this most devasting storm. I personally have not seen this many trees down since Hurricane Matthew hit in ’16. Under normal circumstances, October and November are busy months of the year in the landscape. It signals the ideal time for planting and transplanting trees, shrubs and perennials. This might be of extra importance if you wanted a head start on replacing downed trees on your property. It’s also time to plant winter ryegrass (if you so desire; not usually recommended for centipede lawns), bulbs and pansies and to apply pre-emergence herbicides for winter weed control. While you’re at it, don’t forget to add an inch or two of new mulch to ornamental plantings to help protect them from the cold. Unfortunately, I’m sure most of use will have quite the excess of mulching sources from fallen leaves and pruned plants.

As I alluded to above, fall remains the best time to plant and transplant trees, shrubs and perennials. By now energy produced by the leaves this summer has been funneled to the roots for winter. Although the tops of plants are dormant in winter, the roots continue to grow through the winter. When spring arrives, the plants are ready to explode with new growth.

Now is the time to dig and divide herbaceous perennials, including iris, daylilies, shasta daisies, rudbeckia, coneflower, and peonies (the list goes on and on). Wait until November to divide fall blooming plants like sedum, goldenrod and swamp sunflower. Don’t worry if you can’t get around to some of these tasks immediately, storm cleanup should take precedence anyway. Dividing and transplanting can be done in October, November, December and January. When transplanting most herbaceous plants, cut the foliage back by about two-thirds. Many herbaceous perennials are going to lose their top growth after the first hard frost anyway.

An ideal time to plant pansies is October 15 to the end of November. Many pansies are planted too early, and they stretch and grow lanky in the warm weather of early October. This causes them to be more susceptible to winter damage.

Normally, trees will soon be tossing down their leaves for us to recycle as mulch. I’m sure most of yours got some early encouragement from the wind/ rain brought by Helene. Rake leaves into small rows. Then, set the lawn mower in the highest setting and run over the leaves to shred them into little pieces. Shredded leaves remain in place better on the landscape and do not blow around like whole leaves. They also do a better job of holding moisture in the soil and insulating roots of plants from winter cold. Use leaves for winter protection around tender ornamental plants, and add some to the compost pile for rich organic matter next spring.

I also wanted to add a little additional advice on storm damaged trees. I’m sure many of you are wondering if your tree can be saved, if it needs to be taken down or what you can do to help. The best advice I can give is that if 45% or more of the tree’s roots are exposed or severed after being blown/tilted over, the tree typically can’t come back from that extensive root damage. Even if it were stood back up, the connection to the important nutrient uptake of the feeder roots was likely broken. This means that in many cases the tree is dead and just doesn’t know it. If the damage to the tree was simply losing most of its foliage and a few limbs the prognosis is usually much better and mulching/watering are the best things you can do to help. Extend mulch out to the drip line of the stressed tree and ensure it gets adequate water during periods of drought. Finally, if you are unsure of the status of your tree, I strongly recommend contacting a certified arborist to come out for a consultation. You can search for nearby ISA arborists online, using the “find an arborist” tool. If you need more information regarding anything related to storm damage call the Bryan County Extension Office at 653-2231 or by email at uge3029@uga.edu.

Richard Evans is the Bryan County UGA Extension Coordinator.